As it happened: NSW premier warns Central Tablelands residents to prepare for evacuation amid flooding; PM continues high-level meetings in Asia

Back to NSW, the Wyangala Dam in the state’s central west is now releasing a record 230,000 megalitres a day, raising concerns for communities along the Lachlan River and its tributaries.

More than 100 people have been rescued in Eugowra so far, while other residents wait, some on rooftops and trees.

Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty said the entire town was cut off and that people were in evacuation centres.

“The whole town is under,” he said. “You can only get to it by helicopter or boat and the telecommunications are down. We’re just trying to make sure that everyone has been accounted for.”

We reported earlier that a meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping was looking likely.

Albanese has now confirmed the first bilateral meeting between the country’s leaders since 2020. Stepping off the plane in Bali, Albanese told reporters that Australia will enter the discussion “with goodwill”.

“There are no preconditions on this discussion. I’m looking forward to having constructive dialogue,” he said.

“I’ve said since I became the prime minister, but before then as well, that dialogue is always a good thing. We need to talk in order to develop mutual understanding.”

Of course, petrol and diesel prices are just a symptom of the broader problem of soaring energy prices.

In case you missed it, the competition watchdog said earlier today that the cost of gas had doubled this year.

Climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley reports from the eve of a meeting of G20 nations that Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said Australia’s “defining challenge” is to make an unprecedented market intervention to bring down energy prices.

“The chaos in energy markets is the defining challenge for Australia and for a lot of countries represented here at the G20,” Chalmers said.

“We are contemplating intervening in our domestic energy market in ways that we wouldn’t have contemplated in earlier years.”

The Queensland Police Service has apologised for racist slurs made by officers in audio secretly recorded at the Brisbane city watchhouse.

Police officers were caught on the leaked recordings discussing beating and burying black people, referring to Nigerians as “jigaboos”, and raising fears that Australia “will be f---ing taken over”.

Transcripts reveal police referring to a black detainee as “a gorilla in the mist” as jokes are made about a female Indigenous detainee who “won’t give you a f---ing blowjob.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed she was aware of the recordings.

“I’ve heard certain excerpts from it – it is horrific,” she said. “Let me say very clearly, that there is no place for people who are police officers to be racist in their language.”