Informer: Regressive or progressive? Depends who you ask

'Cancel culture' has come for many high profile people over the past few years.

And Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to make sure religious people don't fall victim to public 'cancellation'.

The PM said Australians should not be "cancelled, persecuted or vilified" for expressing their faith when he introduced the Coalition's controversial religious discrimination bill to parliament today.

The government reckons this bill will act as shield to protect people of faith, but its detractors worry it will open the door for discrimination against other groups, including the LGBTQI+ community.

Advocacy group, Equality Australia have slammed the bill as "regressive".

"The states and territories are progressing reforms to strengthen protections for LGBTI people and other groups," she said.

"Instead, we're seeing the federal government overriding that progress... with a bill that would override those protections."

But it's not just this proposed bill making waves.

Rainfall predictions have been issued for much of eastern Australia with today expected to be a "peak day of rainfall".

Severe weather warnings for heavy rainfall have been issued across multiple states and "further warnings are likely". Flooding is still an issue in regions across NSW - check out this drone footage to see its impact.

But rain isn't likely to dampen people's shopping sprees this weekend.

It's Black Friday tomorrow, after all (I don't remember when it became a thing in Australia, but here we are).

So if you're running behind on Christmas shopping, maybe you'll be able to snap up some good deals?

While you're out and about, or perhaps clicking away, spare a thought for those up in the NT who cannot leave their homes due to COVID lockdowns.

Rumours have been circulating on social media that Australian Defence Force (ADF) members were forcibly vaccinating or removing members of remote communities as the territory grapples with the outbreak.

These claims were rejected by the ADF in an official statement last night.

"ADF personnel serve in a supporting role to State and Territory authorities and are not empowered or authorised to conduct any law enforcement activities," the statement said.

Katherine is expected to be in lockdown until at least next week - so here's hoping the locals get some reprieve before Christmas.

Did you know you can receive this daily digest by email? Sign up here

THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW: