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Unfortunately eastern Australia's big wet has brought funnel-web spiders out in force.

Apparently they don't like their burrows being flushed through, while excessive rain also tends to send them in search of the opposite sex.

Worry not, though. While there were 13 fatal funnel-web bites in Australia prior to the development of an antivenom for clinical use by medical researcher Dr Struan Sutherland in 1981, there have been none since.

Moreover, the staff at Australian Reptile Park north of Sydney are determined to keep it that way.

In fact head keeper Jake Meney has just beaten his own record for extracting venom from funnel-webs, which is then used to make lifesaving antivenom.

He was able to milk an average 0.35mg per spider or .03mg better than his previous best.

Although minuscule, the difference is enough to kill a room full of adult humans. It's also why park management likes to think of Mr Meney as their friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

He and his team work tirelessly to capture every drop possible, says director Tim Faulkner.

"We rely heavily on the public handing in funnel-web spiders and would not be able to help save lives if it weren't for their generous donations," he said.

"We are about to head into the off season but funnel-webs are still around due to the heavy rains."

Australian Reptile Park is the only place in Australia that milks funnel-web venom.

It encourages adults to catch wandering funnel-webs safely and drop them directly to them or at participating locations around Sydney, the Central Coast or Newcastle.

The rest is up to Mr Meney and his team who, it seems, can't resist trying to outdo one another when it comes to setting records.

"We do try to make a bit of a competitive game out of it," he said.

"It makes us work a little harder to reach that goal and we're so proud to say all the venom is going straight into saving the lives of the Australian public."

© AAP 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he will only introduce his highly criticised model for a federal anti-corruption body if Labor promises to let it through parliament unchanged.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has meanwhile promised to legislate his own watchdog version by the end of the year if he wins government on May 21.

It is fast becoming an election issue with voters calling for increased transparency and accountability in political decision-making.

Mr Morrison this week backflipped on his promise to introduce a corruption commission as legal experts called for urgent reform to clamp down on questionable spending of taxpayer funds.

"I'm very critical of some of the ICACs, particularly in NSW," Mr Morrison said on Saturday.

"I don't think that's what we need."

Labor's proposal would have powers lacking in Mr Morrison's, including holding public hearings of politicians, retroactive powers and the ability to act on public tip-offs.

Legal experts have criticised Mr Morrison's floated model as ineffective, saying it was important it had the power to hold public hearings, something the prime minister has said would risk it becoming a "kangaroo court".

Mr Albanese said his proposed commission would be kept at arm's length under his government and wouldn't be politicised, with the agency to pick its own targets.

"The reason Scott Morrison doesn't have a national anti-corruption commission is sitting on his front bench," Mr Albanese said on Saturday.

"I think it is good the (NSW) ICAC has held corrupt politicians to account, regardless of where they have come from."

The debate over the agency comes as research from the Centre for Public Integrity raises questions about $55 billion worth of government grants during the past four years.

The think tank analysed billions of dollars in federally approved grants that have at times been green-lit with little oversight by the government.

It proposes a rejigged system for grants, with transparent criteria, quarterly reports by ministers justifying the spending of taxpayer money and an independent oversight body.

Former Federal Court judge Michael Barker said the grant spending under Mr Morrison's administration showed it was time for an overhaul.

"Currently there is little or no oversight of grant spending," Mr Barker said.

The government has been dogged throughout its tenure by accusations of misusing taxpayer money, funnelling cash instead to must-win seats or friendly electorates with little oversight.

Mr Morrison rejected the analysis of the spending, saying the way governments supported vulnerable communities was through grants.

He also stuck by his personal candidate pick for the Sydney seat of Warringah, Katherine Deves, despite her recent history of anti-transgender comments prompting fellow Liberals to call for her removal.

Ms Deves mocked fears inside the trans community of suicide due to discrimination, called trans children "mutilated" and compared her resistance to trans athletes to opposing the Holocaust.

Mr Morrison said Ms Deves had been "insensitive" but continued to back her as a candidate.

The prime minister also recommitted his government to industrial relations changes it chose to dump last year after it couldn't secure votes on parts of the omnibus bill.

Meanwhile, the United Australia Party on Saturday officially launched its federal election campaign with an event on the Sunshine Coast.

But it was not without drama, with billionaire Clive Palmer hospitalised a day earlier after falling off a stage during a rehearsal.

Mr Palmer told Sky News he was "knocked out" for about 20 seconds and required some scans, but he was still able to attend Saturday's launch.

He said the UAP declined 10,000 people who wanted to attend the launch, which showed Australians were looking for an alternative to the major political parties.

© AAP 2022

A new COVID-19 sub-variant has been detected in Victorian wastewater as virus case numbers across the country remain stubbornly high.

More than 41,000 new infections were reported along with a further 35 virus-related deaths on Saturday, although seven of these were historical fatalities announced by authorities in Western Australia.

This follows almost 47,000 cases and 34 deaths reported nationally on Friday.

Net hospital admissions for COVID-19 were up two dozen patients across the country on Saturday while those in intensive care increased in number by seven.

Meanwhile, Health Victoria is monitoring the new BA.4 or BA.5 Omicron variant after samples were confirmed in a catchment at Tullamarine, north of Melbourne.

The sub-variant has been recently detected in a small number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Denmark, the UK and Germany.

The World Health Organisation says there are currently no known significant epidemiological differences between the new Omicron strain and the more dominant BA.2 strain.

"There is no cause for alarm with the emergence of the new sub-variants," WHO regional director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said this week in a statement.

"We are not yet observing a major spike in cases, hospitalisations or deaths."

LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA:

NSW: 13,601 cases, 18 deaths, 1491 in hospital, 72 in ICU

Victoria: 9559 cases, eight deaths, 403 in hospital, 21 in ICU

Northern Territory: 391 cases, no deaths, 28 in hospital, none in ICU

Tasmania: 1334 cases, no deaths, 48 in hospital, one in ICU

Queensland: 5878 cases, one death, 538 in hospital, 22 in ICU

South Australia: 3749 cases, one death, 223 in hospital, eight in ICU

Western Australia: 6314 cases, seven historical deaths, 205 in hospital, eight in ICU

ACT: 856 cases, no deaths, 60 in hospital, two in ICU

© AAP 2022