About 37,000 properties in NSW without power
More homes and businesses lose power as wild weather continues to hit NSW coast.
About 37,000 properties have been affected by power outages as wild weather pummels NSW.
As of about 8:30am this morning, 19,181 Endeavour Energy customers, 11,296 Ausgrid sites, and 6000 with Essential Energy had been affected.
Key events
Flights continue to be disrupted by wild NSW weather today.
As strong winds and reduced runway operations continue at Sydney Airport today, Qantas flights will be affected, Guardian Australia understands. Qantas passengers can expect to be contacted if there are changes to their flights.
Virgin Australia also expects its schedule to be affected today. Guardian Australia understands there have been several cancellations to today’s schedule, and there may be more delays and cancellations to come.
“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority, and our meteorologists continue to monitor the weather system in Sydney closely,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.
We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and are working hard to reaccommodate impacted guests and ensure they reach their destination as soon as possible.
We encourage all guests travelling today and tomorrow to keep an eye on the status of their flight via our website or app prior to travel for the latest information.
Guardian Australia understands Virgin Australia made more than 20 cancellations yesterday due to the weather.
Petra Stock
Why the BoM is using the term vigorous coastal low, not bomb cyclone
The Bureau of Meteorology is referring to the wild weather system affecting NSW as a “vigorous coastal low”.
Terms such as “bomb cyclone” and “east coast low” have been flying around, but the bureau isn’t using these terms for the current situation.
The low pressure system does have some similarities to an east coast low, but there are also important differences – including physical characteristics, duration and moisture.
The bureau is also not using the term “bomb cyclone”, which is an old meteorological term, senior meteorologist Jonathan How says. The word “bomb” is meant to refer to the way low-pressure systems can intensify quickly, but the bureau is not using that term because it does not capture the full story of the weather system, he says. “Officially, we are calling this a very vigorous coastal low pressure system.”
There’s more details on terms in our explainer here:
Third man charged in relation to alleged murder of teenager Pheobe Bishop
A 30-year-old man has become the third person charged in relation to the disappearance and alleged murder of 17-year-old girl Pheobe Bishop.
The man was arrested at 7pm last night in Bundaberg West, Queensland Police said in a statement.
Police will allege the man used the victim’s mobile phone to interfere with the investigation.
He has been charged with two counts of accessory after the fact to murder, and is due to appear before Bundaberg magistrates court today.
In June, Police charged Pheobe’s housemates with her murder. The housemates allegedly murdered the missing teenager before moving her body from a national park, police say.
Qantas suffers cyber attack with 6 million customers affected
Josh Taylor
Qantas has suffered a cyber-attack at one of its contact centres, potentially exposing the records of up to 6 million customers.
The airline said the affected system has now been contained and its systems were secured. The system in question was a third party platform used by the airline’s contact centre, which contains 6m customer records.
Qantas is assessing the portion of data stolen but said it was expected to be “significant”.
The data includes customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers. It did not contain credit card details, financial information or passport details.
Frequent flyer accounts, passwords, PINs and login details were not compromised.
Qantas said it has told the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian federal police about the attack.
A dedicated customer support line and a dedicated page on the company’s website will update customers as the investigation progresses.
Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said:
We sincerely apologise to our customers and we recognise the uncertainty this will cause. Our customers trust us with their personal information and we take that responsibility seriously.
We are contacting our customers today and our focus is on providing them with the necessary support.
Trump announces Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire in Gaza
Donald Trump has announced that Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and urged Hamas to accept the terms of the agreement. He wrote on his social media platform:
The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.
The news comes as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the White House on 7 July.
NSW SES says risk of flash flooding still affecting Sydney to the south coast
NSW SES has responded to about 1,860 calls for help in the past 24 hours.
Most of those are from the Hunter, Sydney Metro, Illawarra and the south coast, NSW SES said in an update to Facebook this morning.
A complex low is bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to Newcastle, Sydney, the Illawarra and south coast. Overnight conditions intensified, with some areas recording over 200mm of rain.
Flash flooding remains a key concern from Sydney to the south coast today. When traveling about, please stay alert for flash flooding over roads and never drive through flood water – it’s dangerous and unpredictable.
As you head out this morning, please avoid damaged buildings, fallen trees and downed powerlines. Rain and strong winds are expected to continue today before easing from Thursday as the system moves into the Tasman Sea.
Petra Stock
Warragamba dam nearly full, spill expected in coming days
Storage levels in the Warragamba dam, which supplies drinking water to Sydney, are about half a metre below full, with the dam expected to spill in coming days, WaterNSW said.
The dam’s catchment received 56mm of rain in the previous 24 hours and WaterNSW said teams were assessing the flow to estimate the timing and extent of a likely spill.
Smaller Sydney dams, including Cataract, Nepean, Cordeaux and Woronora have started spilling and Avon is expected to do so soon.
Fitzroy Falls, Tallowa, Greaves Creek and Medlow dams were already spilling, and will continue to do so.
Anthony Albanese hoping for another great State of Origin, backing NSW
The prime minister, calling into KIIS Brisbane, says “it’s been pretty miserable, cold weather here in Canberra, let me tell you”.
“It’s been right along the coast … Newcastle, right down through Sydney, down to the south coast,” Anthony Albanese says.
Albanese is calling in for the radio show’s puppy prediction before the final State of Origin match – two pups voted blue, one went maroon. He says:
I just love the contest … I had some people texting me devastated by the outcome in Origin two. I just thought it was such a cracking game, the way that New South Wales came back, and I hope it’s a great game next Wednesday.
I call loyally as a New South Wales person, hope New South Wales wins, but it’s such a great contest each and every year, and it’s something to look forward to. And I just hope Latrell doesn’t get injured. We can’t afford any more injuries for my poor old bunnies.
Petra Stock
Heavy rain and strong winds – Morton 242mm of rain, and wind gusts of 122km/h at Montague Island
The Bureau of Meteorology has reported widespread heavy rainfall of 50 to 100mm across the Illawarra and the south coast in the 21 hours to 6am today.
There has been heavy rain on the south coast, including at Morton, which received 242mm of rain, Ulladulla 223mm, Willinga Lake 203mm, and Fitzroy Falls and Robertson both receiving 200mm.
Wind gusts of 122km/h were recorded at Montague Island and 104 km/h at Ulladulla. Closer to Sydney, wind was blowing up to 104km/h at Penrith while on Sydney Harbour wind gusts of 102km/h gusts were recorded, according to the bureau.
The hazardous conditions aren’t over yet with numerous warnings still in place, says bureau meteorologist Helen Reid.
There is a severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall, which extends across the New South Wales coastal fringe from Forster to Bega, into the alpine areas of parts of the southern tablelands and the northern tablelands.
About 37,000 properties in NSW without power
More homes and businesses lose power as wild weather continues to hit NSW coast.
About 37,000 properties have been affected by power outages as wild weather pummels NSW.
As of about 8:30am this morning, 19,181 Endeavour Energy customers, 11,296 Ausgrid sites, and 6000 with Essential Energy had been affected.
Evacuation orders issued for parts of NSW Central Coast
People living in parts of the Central Coast have been told to evacuate because of fears dangerous waves could erode coastlines and damage buildings.
The Central Coast coastal erosion emergency warnings to evacuate are current for properties along Hutton Road at North Entrance, and parts of Ocean View Drive and Pacific Street at Wamberal.
SES issued the warnings to evacuate just before 4pm yesterday.
Driver seriously injured after tree crushes truck amid wild NSW weather
A driver is in critical condition after a tree fell and crushed his truck in Moss Vale in NSW’s Southern Highlands, overnight.
Emergency services were called to Berrima Road at about 10.30pm last night. They found a tree had fallen on to a B-Double truck, crushing the driver’s cabin, NSW Police said.
The 55-year-old driver was unconscious as police officers and emergency service workers extracted him.
He was treated for serious injuries to his head and torso. He was taken to hospital and is in a critical condition.
Wong, Rubio working on rescheduling meeting between Albanese and Trump
Penny Wong says she and US secretary of state Marco Rubio are working on rescheduling a meeting between Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and US president Donald Trump after Trump snubbed Albanese at the G7.
The foreign minister told ABC TV:
Secretary Rubio again expressed regret, as he did to me when we spoke on the phone, for the rescheduling of the meeting that had to occur that was between the prime minister and the president as a consequence of the president leaving the G7 early. I explained to him we understood that the president had to leave early. We understood why the meeting needed to be rescheduled.
We’re working on rescheduling a meeting between the president and the prime minister.
Wong: Rubio didn’t refer to Australia’s defence spending at Quad meeting
Asked if she was requested to spend more on defence at the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington, Penny Wong says US secretary Marco Rubio didn’t mention Australia’s defence budget.
She told ABC TV:
I know there’s been a lot written about this, but I would say this to you – we did talk a lot about what we do together. Secretary Rubio didn’t raise Australia’s defence budget with me. What we talked about was our partnership and the ways in which we work together. We obviously talked about the AUKUS agreement and the benefits that it gives all three countries. It’s a good deal for Australia, it’s a good deal for the United States, and it’s a good deal for the United Kingdom.
Nato states have pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – but Australia has sidestepped those calls.
Penny Wong says Quad, bilateral discussions with Marco Rubio ‘positive’
Penny Wong says US secretary of state Marco Rubio hosting Quad members’ foreign ministers “as one of his very first engagements after being sworn in” indicates the importance the US places on the Quad.
Speaking from Washington, Australia’s foreign minister told ABC TV:
We had a very positive discussion. Obviously this is, I think, the third occasion we’ve engaged – the first being when I came here as the first foreign minister to be invited to a presidential inauguration, which was a great honour. And Secretary Rubio hosted me and the two other countries who are members of the Quad as one of his very first engagements after being sworn in. So that was an excellent meeting, but it was a real sign of how important the partnership is and the importance that the United States places on this Quad grouping.
We also had a good conversation after the G7, and I was very pleased to have a very positive discussion with him today, both in the context of the Quad, but also in our bilateral meeting.
Liberals in push to increase female representation in parliament
Away from the weather, our main story today is more Liberal machinations over potential quotas for female candidates.
Some Liberals want party rules changed to increase female representation in parliament. They will propose gender quotas with enforceable expiry dates to win the broadest possible support for the plan, according to Tom McIlroy and Krishani Dhanji.
Read their article here:
You can also hear Tom discussing how Sussan Ley can reform the party, in today’s edition of the Full Story podcast. Here’s the link:
NSW wild weather: about 29,000 properties affected by power outages
At least 29,000 properties have been affected by power outages as strong winds and heavy rainfall lash the NSW coast.
At about 7am this morning, 17,880 Endeavour Energy customers and 11,484 Ausgrid sites had been affected.
