Lismore MP says federal government needs to ‘step up’ flood support – as it happened

Rescue operation under way in Blue Mountains after two killed in landslide; Tasmanian premier resigns to focus on family; state member for Lismore questions federal flood support effort as NSW announces relief package; changes to Victorian Covid isolation rules would be premature', Jaala Pulford says; at least 14 Covid deaths recorded. Follow all the day's news

• Scott Morrison branded compulsive liar' by former preselection rival Michael Towke
• Two dead, two critical after landslide in Blue Mountains
• Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein resigns from politics
• Explainer: Everyone around you has Covid, and you have symptoms - so why are you testing negative?
• Follow the Ukraine live blog
• See all our coronavirus coverage
• Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing

NSW has reported 15,572 new cases and six deaths overnight:

Bruce Baird, the former member for Cook, Scott Morrison's current seat, has come out and defended the PM against allegations he racially vilified a contender in a preselection battle in 2007.

He [Morrison] worked with me for two years when I was on the Tourism Council and I never heard him use racist terms.

I'm sure that people who are opponents of Scott and of the Liberal party would raise it for their own reasons, and Towke was feeling concerned because he'd lost the preselection ... but in terms of all my dealings, and I was around him all the time, never once did I hear that allegation.