Senator accused of 'coaching' lawyers, and everything women are talking about today.

The prosecution case against the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins has closed after an explosive final day of evidence.

Bruce Lehrmann is being tried in the ACT Supreme Court after he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent. 

Ms Higgins alleges the assault took place inside the office of former cabinet minister Linda Reynolds, for whom she and Lerhmann worked as staffers.

The court heard Ms Higgins told Senator Reynolds about the alleged rape in the weeks after it happened but she felt pressure not to pursue a police complaint for fear of losing her job.  

The 2019 federal election was looming and Ms Higgins said emphasis was placed on the impact her allegation could have on the Liberal Party.

She reopened her police complaint against Lehrmann in 2021, two years after the alleged assault.

On Monday, Senator Reynolds was accused of trying to interfere in the trial by requesting a copy of Ms Higgins' transcript of evidence and texting suggestions to the defence.

Senator Reynolds said she was not seeking to coach the cross-examination of her former staffer and was "curious" about what had been said in court.

Advised by her lawyer that it was "inappropriate" to access a transcript, Senator Reynolds did not receive one. 

Prosecutor Shane Drumgold suggested Senator Reynolds was politically invested in the case. 

There have been explosive revelations in the rape trial of former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann today, with Senator Linda Reynolds admitting she sought out evidence in the case, as her colleague Michaelia Cash denied covering up the alleged sexual assault. @LaurenTomasi #9News pic.twitter.com/glDo6j6JNh

— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) October 17, 2022

He put to Senator Reynolds that if she was motivated enough to attempt to interfere when there was not an election on the horizon, her dominant concern when Ms Higgins first raised the complaint in 2019 would have been the impending election.

"Absolutely not. I categorically and utterly reject that assertion," Senator Reynolds said.

The senator also denied knowing details of Ms Higgins' allegation, saying she only knew about the security breach resulting from the two staffers accessing the ministerial suite after hours. 

Ms Higgins has previously told the court she had conversations with Senator Reynolds and later Senator Michaelia Cash about her alleged rape.

Senator Cash also denied knowing about the allegation until two years later when media reports surfaced.

The prosecution has no more witnesses to call and is expected to start closing arguments on Tuesday. 

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Australia should prepare for a treacherous wet season, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says, while visiting the flooded NSW town of Forbes yesterday.

Thousands of people in the central western town have been impacted after the Lachlan River burst its banks, inundating the city centre and forcing evacuations last week.

The latest flood is Forbes' fifth in 12 years.

Mr Albanese on Monday visited Forbes with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, as major warnings remain in place for eight rivers across the state.

"We are living in very dangerous times in the days and weeks ahead," Mr Albanese said.

Relentless rain in western NSW, Victoria and Tasmania is likely to continue to cause flooding in the coming weeks, he said.

Heavy #rain and severe #thunderstorms will spread over a large area of eastern & southeastern Australia this week, adding more water to already flooded rivers in several states.https://t.co/rpAAHAI6Ld pic.twitter.com/UdeqS48mxS

— Weatherzone (@weatherzone) October 17, 2022

Residents in Victoria's north are building walls from sandbags to protect thousands of homes as the Murray River rises. 

Emergency warnings are in place for people in Echuca and other towns along the river, with the Murray expected to peak from Wednesday. 

Close to 13,000 people have applied for state relief payments, with the Vic government announced a $351 million flood recovery package. 

The federal government has announced $1000 one-off payments for eligible flood victims to help them respond to the emergency. 

The flood damage is expected to take a chunk out of the federal budget and drive up costs for households. 

- With AAP

After 46 days and nearly 4000 kilometres, Nedd Brockmann arrived in Bondi Beach yesterday afternoon to thousands of people cheering him on. 

He started in Perth, and ran all the way to Sydney raising almost $1.5 million for homeless charity Mobilise. 

The 23-year-old electrician only picked up running in 2020 during the COVID lockdowns, but has run an average of 100km a day over the month and a half. 

He's been faced with maggots growing in his toes, massive blisters and tenosynovitis in his shins. 

Along the way he received support from his favourite NRL team Paramatta eels, as well as personalities like comedian Hamish Blake who became invested in his journey. 

At 05:30pm at North Bondi, he crossed the finish line to this: 

Thousands have packed the promenade at Bondi to cheer 23-year-old Nedd Brockmann's arrival. The sparkie set off from Perth in September, vowing to run 3800km for homelessness charity Mobilise. pic.twitter.com/PczobCTp4q

— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) October 17, 2022

Parents across Australia were terrified after watching the Todd Sampson documentary Mirror Mirror, where he looked at a website called Omegle, a place where sexual predators are easily linked to young children.

But while many are even more scared of allowing children to play online, the show left us with little resources as to how to deal with it and how to keep on top of all the ways in which predators can find young victims online.

Today, we look at how you actually help young Aussies handle the dangers of sites like Omegle, while at the same time knowing their curiosity will more than likely lead them straight there.

Feature image: Sam Mooy/Getty/Instagram @hamishblakeshotz