Category Archives: Australia weather

Australia news live: man drowns as Sydney floods continue; NSW SES commissioner warns area dams above 100% capacity

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Man drowns after boat capsizes in Abbotsford; vaccination mandates to ease on international flights; PM says ADF available as thousands are urged to evacuate in Sydney flood crisis; 30 Covid deaths recorded nationwide. Follow all today’s news, live

Karvelas asks about that time Pocock was arrested for chaining himself to mining equipment to protest against a coalmine expansion in New South Wales and whether, given this history, whether he could support legislation that would allow the construction of new mines.

Pocock answers that the IPCC was “very clear” that keeping warming below 2C means “we can’t approve and open up new fossil fuel projects” but adds “we have to actually be getting targets in place and then having the policy to have an orderly transition to renewables”.

My sense is that the community does want something legislated. We actually have to be able to legislate something and move forward and so I’m committed to being constructive when it comes to action to make sure we legislate something, and look at other ways how to ramp that up over time but crucially to be looking after regional communities who have relied on fossil fuels for generations.

In terms of the 43%, I have been very open saying that I’d like to see a higher target, but my sense is that what Australians really want is a target to be legislated. We have to actually bank some of these gains and I want to see a target with integrity. There’s some real concerns about the way that we’re actually getting to whatever target we set and that will be my focus.

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Sydney flooding: communities evacuated and residents rescued as torrential rain batters region

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NSW State Emergency Service issues emergency alert text messages as severe weather threatens low-lying areas

Thousands of people in low-lying areas around Sydney are being asked to evacuate as residents and holiday-makers face “dangers on multiple fronts” in the region’s third major flooding event since March.

Emergency services minister Steph Cooke warned affected communities between Newcastle and Batemans Bay needed to be prepared to evacuate “at short notice” and should reconsider travel plans as an east coast low set in.

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Driving rain batters NSW coast as authorities warn of flooding and landslips

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WaterNSW is preparing for Warragamba Dam to spill after days of persistent rain pushes water levels to capacity

New South Wales residents are being warned the current bout of wet weather hitting the east coast is only going to get worse, with more rain, powerful winds and surging seas on the way.

Two Australian Defence Force helicopters have been made available to assist with rescues as areas of the state brace for intense rainfall and possible flooding.

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Three rescued from flood waters; abortion rights protests; 54 Covid deaths – as it happened

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SES warns of flooding across saturated NSW; airport chaos spreads from Sydney to Melbourne; Anthony Albanese meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris. This blog is now closed

Flights have been cancelled, ticket prices are through the roof and queues are out the door at Sydney airport as travellers looking to jet off have been caught up in more chaos.

More than two million passengers are expected to pass through Sydney airport during the July school holidays and it is not clear whether the airport will be able to handle the massive demand over the coming days.

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Nation records 60 Covid deaths as SA reports first monkeypox case – as it happened

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Nation records 60 Covid deaths; SA records first monkeypox case; Anthony Albanese meets Justin Trudeau at Nato summit. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has renewed his calls for China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world”.

Albanese – who has been in Madrid for a Nato summit – spoke to reporters yesterday after having a meeting on the sidelines with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

There we discussed the important focus of this Nato’s summit on the Asia-Pacific region. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has solidified the support amongst democratic countries for the rules-based international order and a determination to continue to provide support to the government and the people of Ukraine who are suffering as a result of this breach of international law and this brutal invasion by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Vladimir Putin has made a strategic mistake because what his actions have done is unite the democratic world and provide a real determination to make sure that the resilience being shown by the Ukrainian people is backed up by resilience and support from democratic countries, including Nato, but also countries throughout the world.

Well, what we saw is prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we saw a without-limits partnership between Russia and China. We’ve seen a failure of China to condemn any of the Russian aggression that has occurred against Ukraine. China must look at what is happening and look at the resolve that is there from throughout the world and should be condemning Russia’s actions.

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Unseasonal deluge to bring wet and windy end to Australia’s east coast winter dry spell

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New South Wales and Queensland set for coastal showers with wet weather to last into mid-next week

The winter dry spell is set to end this week with the east coast of Australia set to receive a deluge leading up to the weekend, while record-breaking rainfall is expected for parts of northern Australia.

A cold front moving towards the east coast will bring coastal showers and wet weather to most of the New South Wales and Queensland coast.

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Cyclone numbers have fallen since start of 20th century, study suggests

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Scientists warn that while total number of cyclones may be decreasing, global heating will see a higher proportion of more damaging storms

Global heating has coincided with fewer tropical cyclones forming each year around the globe compared with the second half of the 19th century, according to a new study.

The average annual number of cyclones fell by 13% across the 20th century, with steeper declines seen after 1950.

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La Niña has ended but there’s a 50-50 chance another will form by the Australian summer

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Bureau of Meteorology says winter will be wetter than average and a rare three-in-a-row La Niña is still on the cards

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has announced an end to the 2021-22 La Niña in the tropical Pacific – but it could return with the BoM changing its status to “watch”.

La Niña, which involves warming ocean temperatures in the western Pacific, typically delivers increased rainfall across much of Australia along with cooler daytime temperatures south of the tropics and warmer night-time temperatures in the north.

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Bluebird days: bumper snow and clear skies welcome relief for Australia’s ski resorts

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Pandemic-hit resorts in Victoria and NSW celebrate perfect conditions and more forecast snow

The bumper start to the Australian snow season has continued, with perfect conditions and “bluebird days” at resorts this weekend and more snow forecast for the alps in the coming week.

Early snowfall has already seen decades-long records broken across Victoria and New South Wales, where resorts at Mt Buller, Thredbo and Perisher were able to open well before the official start to the snow season on the June long weekend.

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Hikers rescued with hypothermia in Tasmania as extreme cold front sweeps Australia’s east

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Eight people became trapped on Mt Wellington’s summit, and another is missing, as blizzard-like weather causes ‘deadly’ conditions

Eight people have been rescued from blizzards and extreme winds on the summit of Tasmania’s kunanyi/Mt Wellington on Saturday night, as winds, rain and below-average temperatures moved across Australia’s eastern states over the weekend.

Six people became trapped in intensifying winds and snow on Mt Wellington’s summit, which overlooks Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart, just after midday on Saturday. The group took shelter in the summit’s toilet block.

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Labor says Dutton ‘desperate’ to distract from defence failures – as it happened

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Nadesalingam family arrive back home to Biloela; New Zealand ‘heartened’ by Albanese government’s climate stance; Australia records at least 40 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Jacinda Ardern will be raising Australia’s controversial deportation policy in today’s meeting. Asked if she has knowledge of whether the government is prepared to “water it down a little bit”, she replies:

Just to be clear, the issue we have is not with deportation. We deport as well. If a New Zealander comes to Australia and commits a crime, send them home ... but when someone comes here and essentially, hasn’t even really had any connection with New Zealand at all ... have all their connections in Australia and are essentially Australian, sending them back to New Zealand, that’s where we’ve had the grievance.

I’ve heard the prime minister prior to winning the election speak to his acknowledgement that that is the part of the policy that we’ve taken issue with. Even that acknowledgement says to me he’s hearing us, he knows it’s a problem.

It’s been a bugbear for us for a long time so I would like to see movement on it.

We talked about music on occasion but I’m not sure I would’ve picked necessarily the right music if I think I was given that task.

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PM says prospect of Chinese naval base in Cambodia ‘concerning’ – as it happened

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Prime minister responds to reports of Chinese naval base in Cambodia; nation records 29 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

There’s no magic fix for inflation, Jason Clare says

Education minister Jason Clare appeared on the Today show this morning alongside Scott Emerson.

Inflation is through the roof. Wages are through the floor. We have got interest rates knocking at the door. The Reserve Bank ... have made it clear there will be a number of interest rate rises, which makes it harder for people with big rate rises already. Especially for people who are ahead in their mortgage, but if you have just signed up and the bank says you have to pay more, it will make it harder and harder.

There is no simple magic fix to this.

The market expects them to increase interest rates because we have an inflation problem in the economy and rising interest rates were something that the Reserve Bank governor flagged before the election and that is the trajectory we are on, but just because these interest rate rises are expected, it won’t make them any less difficult for a lot of people who are already confronting cost-of- living pressures.

That is the unfortunate reality. There is no point mincing words about that. Our job is the government is to make sure that after some of this near-term cost-of-living relief runs out that it is replaced by responsible long-term sustainable cost-of-living relief in areas like medicines and childcare, getting power bills down over time and getting real wages moving again.

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Severe weather warnings for NSW and Victoria as blizzards move in to alpine areas, while SA is lashed by rain

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Residents urged to avoid travel as cold front brings frigid temperatures, rain and damaging winds to several states

Blizzard conditions are on their way for large parts of New South Wales and Victoria’s alpine areas as a “vigorous” cold front brings cold showers, strong winds and frigid temperatures, while South Australia has been hit by torrential rain.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe weather warnings for damaging wind gusts and blizzard conditions for southern NSW and across much of Victoria, with peaks gusts of up to 130km/h likely over Alpine areas.

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New shadow foreign minister says he wants to work ‘constructively’ with Penny Wong – as it happened

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Simon Birmingham says Australian foreign policy should work with ‘one voice’; Anthony Albanese says Australia has ‘raised concerns’ with China after P-8A Poseidon intercepted by Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft; at least 30 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

NSW records five Covid deaths

The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has just shot back at Coalition criticisms of how Labor is handling the energy crisis.

We’re managing them very actively. As I said, the gas supply guarantee has already been activated and it’s already had an impact and I’m working very closely with my state and territory energy minister colleagues.

But, you know, advice from the previous government – which Angus Taylor has been happy to give out, and I noticed Peter Dutton has been giving out – is about as effective as advice from the captain of the Titanic on navigation skills.

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Environment minister seeks ‘urgent briefing’ over scrapped recovery plans – as it happened

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Tanya Plibersek seeks ‘urgent briefing’ over Coalition scrapping of recovery plans; NSW man diagnosed with monkeypox; nation records 57 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news

Treasurer questioned on staff shortages in hospitality

Amid his media blitz, treasurer Jim Chalmers appeared on Sunrise this morning discussing energy woes.

What are we going to do to alleviate those staff issues and how long is it going to take for that to happen?

Obviously there is a role for cheaper childcare so that if people want to work more and earn more we can tap [into] that really big workforce of parents that find it too hard because they get priced out of work by the childcare system. And we are up for ... conversation with business about migration settings to make sure that they are appropriate so that they are not a substitute for doing those other things at home.

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Australia news live update: Labor ministry to be sworn in; Richard Marles admits no short-term solution on power prices

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Deputy PM says power prices a ‘real issue’ in cost-of-living crisis; new consent laws in effect in NSW; NSW plastic bag ban now in effect; ten women to be sworn into new cabinet, including Clare O’Neil as home affairs minister; Victoria records 17 Covid deaths, NSW records nine. Follow all the day’s developments

Richard Marles on power prices

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has imposed a price cap in Sydney, Brisbane and Victoria for the first time ever in response to record levels and a cold snap driving up gas use.

We have got a cost of living crisis in this country. That’s what has been left to us by the former government. And we have got a real issue with power prices. Again, that’s the legacy of having had a decade under the Liberals where they haven’t had a consistent energy policy. Where there has been no investment in getting renewable energy going and that’s now the challenge that we face.

It is not something we can solve overnight but ... there are some things that we can do sooner rather than later in terms of ... making childcare more affordable ... arguing for a wage increase for those on the minimum wage. There are issues here which are going to take longer but which we need to start addressing now ... around having a settled policy in relation to energy policy and getting our grid up to a modern standard where it can take on renewables which are cheaper.

I think all of us can see the impact plastic pollution is having on our environment. By stopping the supply of problematic plastic in the first place, we’re helping prevent it from entering our environment as litter, or going into landfill.

No one told these small businesses that plastic bags are banned … now they’re sitting on thousands of dollars’ worth of bags they can’t use.

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Perfect storm: Australian ski resorts gear up for big season after snow blankets resorts

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Polar blast across southern and eastern Australia has already brought good falls and more snow is expected after cold front arrives on Friday

It’s likely to be the perfect storm for Australia’s ski fields, with the first day of winter on Wednesday expected to herald almost a metre of snow in high traffic areas in coming weeks.

This week’s icy blast across southern and eastern Australia has already resulted in good falls along Kosciuszko, Mount Buller and kunanyi/Mount Wellington.

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PM says ministry has more women than any other in history – as it happened

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Guide Dogs Victoria CEO Karen Hayes resigns; at least 56 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Quotas ‘might be’ something for Liberals to consider, Sussan Ley says

Deputy leader of the Liberal party Sussan Ley followed David Littleproud.

It doesn’t need to be legislated, however those policy discussions will happen through our party room and our shadow cabinet ... Demonstrating you’re serious about climate change doesn’t just include a conversation about targets.

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Pacific nations ‘very positive’ on re-engagement, PM says – as it happened

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Bushmaster reportedly destroyed in fighting in Ukraine; nation records 30 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Finance minister Katy Gallagher is speaking now to ABC Insiders host David Speers. She says Labor faces “a very serious set of economic and budget challenges, and we don’t want to pretend it is anything but that”.

Q: Are you saying that the figures that were produced showing deficits totalling $224bn over the next four years – were they accurate or not?

Well, they are certainly the numbers that the finance department and the Treasury signed off on in the election campaign, but I think the point we are making is that there is a range of spending that we are having a look at in the budget and there is also clearly some huge budget pressures coming.

I guess in those areas – health, aged care, the NDIS, defence, national security – where there are all of them growing faster than GDP and going to play significant pressure on the budget going forward …

I haven’t had many moments to reflect, I’ve got to say ... it’s been a busy time. But I do understand the great responsibility that I have – I’m humbled by it. It says a lot about our great country that the son of a single mum, who was an invalid pensioner living in council housing, can rise to lead the country as prime minister and I’ll never take it for granted. I’ll honour it every day and I’ll do my best. That’s not to say I’ll be perfect, because none of us are, but I’ll try to keep it real on the way through and continue to keep my feet on the ground, because I think that is really important as well.

Australians are generous people and I think that they’ll give us a go. I get the sense out there that they want us to succeed. And I had people who didn’t vote for us as well, who said to me, we really want you to succeed for the sake of the country. So we’ll do our best.

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Lismore braces for more flooding amid storm warnings for south-west Western Australia

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Northern NSW continues to be hammered by rain and Queensland’s south-east back on flood watch

Lismore residents are being warned they could be hit with more floods as rain continues in northern New South Wales.

The region has already endured repeated severe flooding in recent months and the Bureau of Meteorology said more could be on the way after rain over the weekend.

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