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 Shoppers are set to return with a vengeance this festive season after being forced to stay away amid extended COVID-19 lockdowns over the past few months.

Retailers expect Australian consumers to spend a whopping $60 billion in shops and online over the Christmas trading period that extends from mid-November until the end of December.

National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb is urging shoppers to support local retailers, given many have endured a difficult 2021.

"A silver lining to lockdowns is that when restrictions are lifted it does result in strong consumer spending from pent up demand," she said.

"As horrible as 2021 has been for retailers who have been in prolonged lockdown, at least they'll be open in time to cash in on Christmas."

Extended Delta lockdowns across NSW and Victoria resulted in a sharp drop in retail turnover during the September quarter as more than half of Australia's population was forced to stay at home.

It did drive online spending to record levels, though, and that momentum is expected to continue.

Overall sales are expected to increase by a robust 8 per cent across the nation over the Christmas period last year.

Online sales are expected to soar 51 per cent to $8.2 billion due to changing consumer behaviour and the growing popularity of events such as Cyber Monday.

"Even prior to the pandemic there was a growing trend of shoppers knocking off Christmas purchases earlier than traditionally was the case. Lockdowns and the subsequent drive towards online shopping has turbo-charged this change in consumer behaviour," Ms Lamb said.

However, she still expects plenty of action in physical stores with consumers expected to take full advantage of once again getting out of the house to soak up the Christmas atmosphere.

The highest forecasted spending will be in New South Wales at $19 billion, followed by Victoria at $15.5 billion and Queensland at $12.4 billion.

Shoppers in Western Australia and South Australia are expected to spend $6.6 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively.

© AAP 2021

Image: REUTERS/Phil Noble

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New Zealand's Devon Conway is "gutted" at missing the T20 World Cup final against Australia after breaking his right hand in a moment of fury after he'd been dismissed in their semi-final triumph.

The Black Caps' joy at reaching the final will have been tempered by the freakish episode in which Conway struck his bat after getting out against England in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

New Zealand cricket chiefs said on Thursday, after an X-ray confirmed a break to Conway's fifth metacarpal on his right hand, that the 30-year-old batter would also miss the forthcoming tour to India.

Team coach Gary Stead said that Conway was devastated by the news which will cost him a place in Sunday's final against Australia, who won the second semi-final against Pakistan on Thursday.

"He's absolutely gutted to be ruled out like this at this time," Stead said.

"Devon is hugely passionate about playing for the Black Caps and no one is more disappointed at the moment than he is, so we're really trying to rally around him.

"It looked a pretty innocuous reactionary incident on the field, but the blow obviously caught the bat between the glove padding and while it's not the smartest thing he's done, there's certainly an element of bad luck in the injury.

"Devon is a great team man and a very popular member of the side so we're all feeling for him.

"He's determined to support the team in any way he can for the remainder of the tour before he returns home to recover.

"Due to the timelines, we won't be bringing in a replacement player for this World Cup or next week's T20 series against India, but are working through our options for the Test series later this month."

© AAP 2021

(Image: AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

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Next year's packed women's rugby league calendar has put women's State of Origin expansion ambitions on hold but the Queensland Rugby League is hopeful of multi-match campaign in 2023.

After being postponed due to the COVID pandemic, the 2021 NRLW season will now be played in 2022 before the women's Origin in June.

The 2022 NRLW season is then slated to be played later in the year with the possibility of a women's World Cup as well.

That schedule means expanding the Origin series beyond one match will have to wait for 12 months at least.

The QRL announced on Thursday it would be giving its women's players in 2022 equal match payments to the men's team and chief executive Rohan Sawyer said that move wouldn't dissuade them from seeking an expanded women's Origin campaign.

"We're looking at '23 now and how we expand that potentially to two games and then ultimately to three games," Sawyer said.

"Our view is obviously as we move through an expanded series that we look to pay our players and our staff to make sure we renumerate them for the work that they do.

"That is something that we'd have a look at to make sure that whatever work they're doing for us, it's on a pay scale that fits."

Queensland women's coach Tahnee Norris said the pay decision opened a pathway to expanding the campaign beyond a one-match series.

"If we went to a three game series too early, we wouldn't have been able to get the players for those three games because it would have been too much pressure on them work-wise to actually commit to that sort of thing," Norris said.

"Now it's a real conversation to have.

"We really want to go to that three game series. We can afford to do that now.

"The girls can take the time off work because we can actually compensate them for that.

"That's definitely the conversation that needs to be had."

© AAP 2021
Image:  (AAP Image/Darren England) 

 

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Intense, widespread rainfall has led to flooding in northern NSW overnight as the SES received nearly 200 calls for help.

Areas around the Gwydir River, which is predicted to deliver major flooding, received huge falls on Wednesday, with 94mm recorded at Delungra and 76mm near Narrabri in the North West Slopes.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jane Golding says that's more rain than Narrabri would typically receive for all November.

NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott says the SES has received more than 190 calls for help since the deluge began on Wednesday.

Fast-rising rivers and flash flooding have led to six flood rescues, with the bulk of the SES calls coming from northeastern NSW, as well as storm-related calls from Sydney.

SES deputy commissioner Daniel Austin says the SES was "heartened" by an incident near Narrabri on Wednesday afternoon that showed people were heeding repeated warnings not to drive through floodwaters.

About 5.30pm an empty school bus and three 4WDs, including one with children inside, were caught on road between two creeks that had risen quickly.

"Those people stayed in place and chose not to drive through those floodwaters," Mr Austin said.

"They called emergency services and we worked together to get those people out ... that's a really positive outcome that highlights what you can do and what you shouldn't do: driving through floodwaters."

A rescue took place near Bingara about midnight, with four SES crews ferrying up to 30 visitors at a flooded caravan park out of danger, Mr Austin said.

"This is a fast-moving event in places, the risk is not just from the long, slow rainfall, but these sharp short thunderstorms," Mr Austin says.

"People across NSW have had a couple days of warning ... we're asking people across the whole state to take that into account and be prepared," he said.

© AAP 2021

Image: Harrison Haines / Pexels