NSW train travellers advised to avoid non-essential travel
Petra Stock
Transport for NSW has advised train passengers to avoid non-essential travel, as severe weather continues to affect services.
Replacement buses are running on parts of the Blue Mountains line and T1 western line due to fallen trees. Buses are replacing trains on parts of the Central Coast and Newcastle lines, due to overhead wiring repairs.
Passengers who need to travel should allow plenty of extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates, Transport for NSW says.
For the latest public transport information, visit www.transportnsw.info or download a transport app.
Key events
NSW SES has carried out seven rescues, fielded more than 700 calls for help
NSW’s SES fielded 745 calls this morning as residents took stock of the overnight damage from severe weather pummelling parts of the state.
SES Ch Supt Dallas Burnes expects a busy day ahead. He told ABC radio:
It’s going to be 36 hours now some of these trees and roofs (have been) exposed to strong winds and isolated gusts.
After a while, those trees in saturated ground fall over and those roofs give up the ghost and peel off.
Emergency crews conducted seven flood rescues on the NSW south coast overnight, all caused by people driving into flood waters.
About 200 properties in Burrill Lake on the NSW south coast were flooded overnight, while more than 200mm of rain smashed several towns, including Morton and Ulladulla.
– Australian Associated Press
ANZ cuts fixed home loan rates before next RBA board meeting
ANZ has cut its one- to five-year fixed rates by up to 0.35 percentage points today, taking the bank’s lowest advertised rate to 5.19% fixed for two years for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest.
The cut comes before next week’s RBA monetary policy board meeting on 7 and 8 July.
It means ANZ is the lowest-cost fixed rate lender of the major banks, according to Canstar.
Canstar.com.au data insights director, Sally Tindall says:
The bank is factoring in the possibility of further cash rate cuts, which could be coming down the line as soon as next week.
ANZ could also be looking to shore up its loan book by locking in more customers on fixed rate deals. The bank’s most recent half-year results show that just 3% of its residential mortgage book is on a fixed-rate contract. This means the remaining 97% on variable rates are free to move at any time without major penalties.
While ANZ’s fixed rates are streaks ahead of the other big banks, particularly on shorter terms, they’re still a far cry from the lowest fixed rates in town, with a total of 13 different lenders now offering at least one fixed rate under 5%.
NSW train travellers advised to avoid non-essential travel
Petra Stock
Transport for NSW has advised train passengers to avoid non-essential travel, as severe weather continues to affect services.
Replacement buses are running on parts of the Blue Mountains line and T1 western line due to fallen trees. Buses are replacing trains on parts of the Central Coast and Newcastle lines, due to overhead wiring repairs.
Passengers who need to travel should allow plenty of extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates, Transport for NSW says.
For the latest public transport information, visit www.transportnsw.info or download a transport app.
Petra Stock
More on flight cancellations, delays and disruptions amid NSW severe weather
Disruptions due to the severe weather event are continuing today, with single runway operations expected to continue.
A Sydney Airport spokesperson said:
The ongoing severe weather means there may be impacts to flight schedules today, including cancellations and delays, and we recommend passengers check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.
Sydney Airport is working closely with airlines and Airservices Australia to manage the impact of these challenging conditions and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding.
Senator Lidia Thorpe welcomes final Yoorrook Justice report, calls for a treaty
Sarah Collard
Independent Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has welcomed the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s final report, which called the injustices and crimes committed against First Peoples a genocide, and recommended compensation, among other things.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission’s final report was tabled in the Victorian parliament on Tuesday, and made 100 recommendations about truth telling, healing and reconciliation. The recommendations relate to a range of institutions including health, education, the justice and child protection system.
Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab woman, commended the findings and those who gave often harrowing evidence, through public hearings, submissions and public documents.
She said that the human rights violations were not unique to the state and called for wider truth telling and treaty processes.
“The final Yoorrook report clearly calls for Commonwealth action, in areas such as Native Title and the safe return of cultural, secret and sacred objects,” she said.
But the findings of the report apply to the whole country in more aspects than that. Genocide has not just occurred in Victoria, but has been perpetrated against all First Peoples of this continent. It is the federal government’s responsibility to uphold our international human rights obligations, including the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.
Thorpe said the federal government must show leadership in response to the Commission’s findings.
The formal recognition of genocide and our rights to Treaty as independent nations, nation to nation, is powerful. Now, the Federal government must follow, accept this truth, and facilitate a national response led and directed by First Peoples.
She said that genocidal practices were evident in the continued over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and in detention.
The policies of genocide, assimilation and destruction are not behind us, they are the foundations of the systems that continue to harm our people today. This is why in the Northern Territory alone up to 40 First Nations people are arrested per day, and child removals continue to climb. This is not just a state issue, it is a national tragedy.
SES reports 2,870 incidents as vigorous coastal low continues to affect NSW
Petra Stock
In an update at 10am today, the New South Wales State Emergency Service said there has been 2,870 incidents reported since the start of the event.
The state operations centre had received more than 2,390 calls for assistance in the past 24 hours.
More than 1,900 volunteers and emergency service workers are on the ground helping people sandbag homes and businesses, door-knocking residents who are at risk from the wild weather, putting tarps on roofs, searching for missing people and removing debris from roads and properties.
NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Debbie Platz said:
The majority of incidents that we have attended overnight have been for fallen trees and power lines and damage to property and vehicles.
There is a lot of debris on the roads. Trees have fallen. Power lines are down. The roads are also very slippery. There have been multiple car crashes, and we’re asking people to please take care on the roads.
I remind everybody that we are not out of the woods yet.
Sarah Basford Canales
Wong: Quad discussed security of supply for critical minerals
Penny Wong says Australia’s critical minerals formed part of her discussions with Quad foreign ministers in Washington DC as the grouping between Australia, the US, Japan and India looks to strengthen its supply chains.
Wong said those at the meeting discussed translating shared interests – such as ensuring a prosperous, stable and peaceful future for the Indo-Pacific region – into “concrete outcomes”.
One of those outcomes is an initiative to strengthen Australia’s supply of critical minerals to diversify the global market.
Expanding on the initiative, Wong said it is “an initiative to try to ensure there is security of supply across a range of critical mineral supply chains”.
We still have a lot of work to do, but you would have heard, I think, from [US secretary of state Marco] Rubio’s public comments, that this is a strategic vulnerability. This is a set of supply chains we need to [secure]. Australia has, I think, 36 of the 50 critical minerals. We certainly have a capacity to do more for those, to secure those supply chains.
Rubio said diversifying global supply chains for critical minerals was an issue he was personally “very focused on”.
In remarks before the meeting, he said:
It’s critical for all technologies and for all industries across the board. And so having a diverse and reliable global supply chain of these is just one example of many that we can focus on and build upon and achieve some real progress on.
Sarah Basford Canales
Penny Wong: Albanese meeting with Trump will be rescheduled
Penny Wong says Donald Trump’s meeting with Anthony Albanese will be rescheduled after talks with US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who “expressed regret” at the last-minute cancellation at the G7 meeting last month.
After talks with Quad foreign ministers in Washington DC, Wong said she was “very grateful” Rubio reiterated the US administration’s regret.
“I explained to him we perfectly understood why the President had to leave, given the circumstances, and we agreed that we will reschedule this meeting. We both look forward to the leaders meeting.”
Wong was asked if Australia’s ties to the US were changing amid Trump’s policies on tariffs and defence spending.
She said:
I think that the Trump administration and President Trump has made very clear to the world that he envisages a different role for America in the world. We understand that, and we respect that, we continue to advocate for our interests. What I would say is our strategic partnership has – is deep. It is trusting, it is to the benefit of both nations and I think that is understood here in Washington.
Sarah Basford Canales
Wong not surprised US reviewing Aukus but confident partnership will continue
Penny Wong says it’s “not surprising” the US Trump administration is undertaking a review into the Aukus pact but remained confident the partnership would “last decades” despite not receiving any iron-clad assurances from her counterpart.
Speaking in Washington DC after a meeting with Quad foreign ministers, Wong said her discussions with US secretary of state Marco Rubio about the importance of the Aukus deal were “well understood”.
I think [Rubio and I] both understand the importance to both our countries and to the United Kingdom, and you would have seen what Secretary Rubio has previously said. Look, we understand a new administration is going to engage in a review – that is not surprising. The United Kingdom did so. This is a multi decade partnership. It will take governments and administrations of both political persuasions over many years to deliver. We will continue to work with the United States and the United Kingdom on delivering it.
The US pentagon launched a 30-day review of Aukus in early June, which is expected to conclude shortly. The review is being undertaken by the JUS defence undersecretary, Elbridge Colby, who has criticised the deal and has urged Australia to increase its defence spending to 3% of GDP.
Australia is on track to lift defence spending from about $53bn a year, or about 2% of GDP – to an estimated $100bn, or 2.4% of GDP, by 2033-34.
Wild weather still disrupting Sydney Airport flights
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 the 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 because of 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.
