Australia live updates: airport chaos; Warragamba Dam ‘likely’ to spill; Albanese meets Macron in Paris

More airport chaos in Sydney

Flights have been cancelled, ticket prices are through the roof and queues are out the door at Sydney airport as travellers looking to jet off have been caught up in more chaos.

More than two million passengers are expected to pass through Sydney airport during the July school holidays and it is not clear whether the airport will be able to handle the massive demand over the coming days.

Hopeful passengers have reported hours-long waits, unexpected cancellations and frantic rebooking of flights with no notice.

Wet weather and staff shortages are believed to be responsible for the disruption.

Updated at 20.18 EDT

Redland mayor charged with drink driving after crash

Redland mayor Karen Williams has been charged after returning a high blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.177% after crashing a vehicle last week.

Redland is south-east of Brisbane CBD spread along the coast of Morton Bay and with a population of 156,863 people.

More to come…

Updated at 20.06 EDT

Abortion rights supporters to march in Australian cities over weekend

The blow dealt by the US supreme court limiting access to safe abortions has shone a light on the situation in Australia as protesters take to the streets in solidarity, AAP reports.

Thousands of people have already turned up at marches in Brisbane and Adelaide, and big numbers are expected in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday.

Supporters are also expected to voice discontent in Perth, Hobart, Wollongong and Rockhampton on Saturday, and in Launceston on Sunday.

The movement has been sparked by the supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade that has seen 27 US states move toward either banning or threatening to criminalise abortions.

Roe v Wade was a landmark 1973 decision where the US supreme court ruled that the constitution protects a person’s liberty to have an abortion.

It was overturned by the conservative majority court last month – allowing separate US states to set their own policy on abortion.

Jamal Hakim, managing director of MSI Australia, says that while much of the attention is on America, there is still work to be done on abortion access at home, contraception and safe abortion providers.

The events taking place in the US are devastating for human rights. Fortunately, we are not at risk of having abortion bans in Australia but we do need increased access and equity to abortion care services.

While the federal government supports abortion rights, Hakim says people without access to public funded services request financial support on a weekly basis.

In particular, people on temporary visas in Australia face extraordinary barriers to abortion care. Reproductive rights are about healthcare access for all, not for some.

Updated at 20.02 EDT

Australia and France to reset relations after submarine deal rift

Australia has a fresh start in its diplomatic relationship with France after a meeting between the leaders of the two nations on Friday where a reset was sought.

Eight months since French president Emmanuel Macron accused the previous Coalition government of lying over a $90bn submarine contract, prime minister Anthony Albanese travelled to Paris where he was invited to the Elysee Palace in Paris.

Anthony Albanese meets Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Photograph: Daniel Pier/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

The pair greeted each other warmly, with Macron saying the relationship between Australia and France had been forged in two world wars.

Our willingness to rebuild a relationship based on trust between our two countries based on mutual respect after we all know a difficult period of time. But also a relationship which is based on strategic and historical partnership.

Macron said the Russian invasion of Ukraine made this relationship more important and that Australia’s new “proactive and ambitious” approach to climate change offered “an opportunity to move together”.

Asked whether the French president expected a formal apology from the Australian government, Macron answered in English.

We think about the future not the past. He’s not responsible of what happened.

Updated at 21.29 EDT

The new acronym for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has just dropped and the somewhat awkward acronym is turning some heads over it’s pronunciation.

For what it’s worth, I humbly suggest: “D-chew”.

Updated at 19.52 EDT

Flash flooding warning for parts of NSW over weekend

More than 200mm of rain has fallen overnight south of Wollongong as the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of flash flooding in parts of New South Wales.

NSW residents have been advised to brace for six-hourly rainfall totals of between 80 and 150mm across Saturday and Sunday, with some areas forecast to receive a month’s worth of rain over the weekend.

The weather system comes on the first weekend of school holidays in the state, and drivers are being asked to take extreme caution.

Hazardous surf and swell conditions could also develop in coming days.

The BoM said on Friday afternoon the system may develop into a low on Sunday or Monday, prolonging the persistent rain into next week.

BoM manager of hazard preparedness and response Jane Golding said heavy falls across the weekend could to lead to rising river levels as the deluge hits multiple already saturated catchments.

We know these are quite dangerous systems. They’ve been known to produce some widespread flooding in the past, and that’s certainly on the cards for the next few days.

Golding said the deluge could lead to flash flooding and landslips.

The landscape is quite vulnerable at the moment and the water can move very quickly down the slopes and through the waterways.

Flooding is possible for the Hunter, Central Coast, the greater Sydney region and the south coast from Saturday, with flood watches in place for catchments between Newcastle and Batemans Bay, including Sydney and the Illawarra.

Areas at risk include Newcastle, the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, the Upper Coxs, Colo, Macdonald, Woronora, Patterson, Williams and Lower Hunter rivers.

Also at risk are the Upper and Lower Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers.

-with AAP

Updated at 19.48 EDT

Victoria records 13 new Covid deaths

Thirteen people with Covid-19 have died in Victoria overnight, with the state recording 6,424 new cases on Saturday morning, 462 people in hospital, 18 in ICU and four on ventilation.

Updated at 19.21 EDT

NSW records 20 Covid deaths

Twenty people with Covid-19 have died in New South Wales overnight, with the state recording 11,085 new cases on Saturday morning, 1,621 people in hospital, and 45 in ICU.

Updated at 19.13 EDT

Dfat bungle delayed visas for former Afghan embassy employees at risk from Taliban

A file number bungle by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade caused a four-week delay in helping some Afghan’s fleeing the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

Freedom of information requests obtained by Guardian Australia revealed how an urgent submission was prepared for then minister Marise Payne asking for a decision about former embassy staff employees within three days.

But the paperwork went missing after it was tagged with a filing number that had already been used, meaning nothing was done until after the Taliban seized the capital of Afghanistan.

The delay meant Afghan citizens who had previously worked for Australian government agencies – interpreters, guards and administrative staff – were not able to get the necessary certification before their humanitarian visas could be issued.

For all the details check out the full story by Guardian Australia’s foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst.

Updated at 20.15 EDT

Good morning

And welcome to another Saturday morning Guardian live blog.

Multiple weather alerts are in place across New South Wales as heavy rain continues to batter the eastern state. Intense showers are expected for Sydney, the Illawarra and parts of the central tablelands with the possibility of flash flooding with forecasts that some areas will receive a month’s worth of rain over the weekend.

The prime minister is in Paris as he continues his government’s whirlwind diplomatic tour in an effort to repair Australia’s international relationships. Anthony Albanese met with French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday night. Macron did not seek an apology from Australia over the deal saying Albanese “is not responsible for what happened.”

I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.

With that, let’s get started …

Updated at 18.55 EDT