What we learned: Tuesday, 1 July
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Stay safe out there. If you’re in New South Wales, you can keep up to all the latest weather developments with the NSW SES for live warnings, the Bureau of Meteorology and Live Traffic for road closures.
Until tomorrow, here were today’s biggest developments:
Parts of the Central Coast have been urged to evacuate due to dangerous waves causing coastal erosion as wild weather continues to hit New South Wales. Rainfall may reach up to 250mm in the coming hours, with the worst still to come.
Ausgrid, which services Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter, has confirmed about 30, 000 customers are without power amid today’s severe weather. Emergency services were responding to more than 1,000 jobs on Tuesday evening, including fallen trees and powerlines.
Some ferries in Sydney and regional trains have been suspended amid the storms, while more than a dozen roads have been closed due to flooding across the state.
And in Victoria, a childcare worker has been charged with more than 70 offences after alleging sexually abusing eight children in his care.
Updated
Central Coast community divided over sea wall amid extreme weather
The severe weather and subsequent evacuation orders for parts of the Central Coast have reignited fierce debate over whether a sea wall should be built on Wamberal beach to protect beachfront properties from erosion.
Earlier this evening, the NSW SES told people in properties along Hutton Road at the north entrance of the Central Coast and at Wamberal on parts of Ocean View Drive, which backs on to Wamberal beach, and Pacific Street to evacuate.
The community of Wamberal Beach, 90km north of Sydney, has been struggling with coastal erosion for years, with division over whether or not the council should install a sea wall.
Mark Lamont, from the Save Our Sand Wamberal group, which is opposed to a sea wall, is advocating for “sand nourishment” as an alternative, that is for the beach to be replenished with sand from nearby locations.
The SOS is not an extremist, greenie group. We’re a pretty broad church. We are open to experts giving advice on a strategy that’s led by an understanding of and working with beach processes.
Lamont, whose wife is a Central Coast councillor who is also opposed to the wall, said the houses on the beach “probably shouldn’t be there” at all.
But, he said “given what we’ve got”, an alternative would be to build an “entirely buried, flexible, sloping revetment”, which he argued would cause less damage or additional erosion than a wall.
Of the revetment idea, Lamont said:
In a one-in-100 year event it could provide that extra support. But that only works if you have the sand nourishment.
Everyone is very concerned about the impact the storms are having here on the coast.
Updated
NSW Central Coast resident says many evacuees would be ‘distraught’
Chris Rogers is among the residents of Wamberal on the NSW Central Coast who were on Tuesday afternoon evacuated by the SES and police from their homes because of dangerous coastal erosion.
We’ve been running around saying ‘Is everyone all right? Does anyone need anything?’
Most people have got a place to stay tonight, but there are some people that are in Sydney, summer holiday homes.
Rogers, who is chair of the Wamberal Protection Association, said the southern end of the beach was the most affected.
I’m fine, but I’ve got neighbours down the road that are really distraught.
One was in her 80s, he said.
She’s been there for 50 years, never been evacuated before. Now she’s getting evacuated. She’d be distraught.
He said that after the bank in front of his home collapsed in 2020, emergency bags filled with rocks had been placed below his home on the beach.
He said the measures had saved his family home “time and time again” and is calling for more protection of nearby homes.
Five years ago, almost to the day, we got evacuated, [I had to] tell my kids to grab stuff, and we’re out of the house for three months, and then five years later, evacuation orders issued again. We watch and we wait, and we get up in the morning and we see what we’re dealing with.
Updated
AusGrid reports power outages at more than 28,000 sites
An update from AusGrid, which services about 1.8 million customers in Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter.
The number of sites affected by outages has now risen to 28,375, with 66 unplanned outages across the region, including parts of the CBD, Ashfield, Mosman, Manly and Balgowlah.
Updated
NSW south coast communities urged to stay indoors
Communities from Jervis Bay to Batemans Bay have been urged to stay indoors due to heavy rainfall and damaging and destructive winds.
The NSW SES previously listed the area under an “advice” level warning, but it has recently been upgraded to “watch and act”, which is one level before evacuation.
The warning extends to the coastal community of Ulladulla, Tabourie Lake and Kioloa.
As mentioned earlier, four evacuation warnings have been issued for parts of the Central Coast. Eighteen “advice” warnings remain active for flooding or severe weather across New South Wales.
Updated
Fallen tree causes four-car accident in Hunter region
The New South Wales SES deputy commissioner, Debbie Platz, says trees and powerlines are coming down in parts of the Central Coast and Sydney, with one instance causing a four-car accident as emergency services grapple with callouts.
Speaking on ABC News, Platz said “we will see conditions deteriorate even further overnight for Sydney, the Illawarra and South Coast areas”.
What we’re seeing already are trees and powerlines coming down in some parts of the Central Coast and Sydney. And we have at the moment over 1,200 amazing volunteers and our emergency services partners who are responding at the moment to well over 1,000 jobs.
We have about 9,000 customers that are without power on the Central Coast at the moment, and there are significant crashes reported on the road. In one instance, for example, there’s a tree that came down in the Lake Macquarie area and that caused a four car accident. So it’s very dangerous conditions out along the east coast of New South Wales.
Updated
Destructive wind to strengthen this evening in parts of NSW
The Bureau of Meteorology is projecting winds will strengthen across the central to northern Great Dividing Range, southern ranges and ACT this evening as the weather event moves south.
Locations which may be affected include Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Armidale, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Tenterfield, Katoomba, Moruya Heads and Penrith.
The BoM says:
Locally DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS with peak gusts in excess of 125 km/h are possible along the coastal fringe of the Illawarra and South Coast this evening and overnight, roughly between Jervis Bay and Moruya, with this risk easing during Wednesday morning.
HEAVY RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is expected to develop in the Illawarra south of about Wollongong later this evening, extending southwards towards Bega in the South Coast. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 50 to 80mm are likely, with isolated totals up to 120mm.
DAMAGING SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS averaging 60 to 70 km/h with peak gusts of around 110 km/h are possible along coastal parts from the South Coast to the Mid North Coast, including the Sydney Metropolitan area. DAMAGING SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY WIND GUSTS around 90 km/h are possible in the remainder of the Sydney Metropolitan area, parts of the Snowy Mountains and southern ACT, eastern Central Tablelands and adjacent Hunter ranges.
Updated
Some ferries and trains suspended amid NSW storms
A tree on overhead powerlines at Dora Creek has suspended train services on the Central Coast between Fassifern and Wyong.
Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon briefing, Transport for New South Wales coordinator general Howard Collins said the state was facing a “dynamic” situation.
Collins said workers had also dealt with a tree down near Kiama that had delayed services.
The F1 ferry service has been suspended except for its hourly Manly service, and the F9 Watsons Bay Wharf has been closed due to high winds. F9 Watsons Bay ferries are not running between Rose Bay and Watsons Bay.
Collins:
We are anticipating quite a tough night on public transport and the roads are very slow.
Our view is and the forecast is that swell conditions across the coastline of New South Wales will increase damaging winds … that may mean [ferry] services are suspended …
The combination of strong winds and heavy rain means not only flooding, but trees and other things. We’ve just seen the roof of a restaurant blow away just near Gosford. That’s affected the local neighbourhood there. There is so much going on.
If you are planning to get home, leave early. Take your time. Don’t leave it till late in the evening because that’s when disruptions occur.
Updated
About 18,000 customers without power in NSW, Ausgrid says
Meanwhile, Ausgrid, which services Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter, has confirmed around 18,000 customers are without power amid today’s severe weather.
In a statement this afternoon, it said today’s weather had caused damage across the network, with strong winds and heavy rain bringing down powerlines and leading to widespread outages.
Ausgrid crews, including emergency teams, are working around the clock to restore power safely and as quickly as possible. We’re asking everyone to take extra care, especially around fallen trees and storm debris, which may be hiding hazards. If you see fallen powerlines, always assume they are live.
As of 4pm, around 18,000 customers were without power across the Hunter Region, Central Coast, and Sydney coastline. As of 5pm, its website was listing 54 unplanned outages affecting 26,797 sites.
The NSW SES has just issued a statement noting the Central Coast was starting to “feel the impacts of the coastal low, with rising incidents and reports of power outages”.
Stay indoors if safe, avoid unnecessary travel, and never drive through floodwater.
Updated
Why doesn’t the BoM use the term ‘bomb cyclone’?
Bradbury was also asked about the word that’s been thrown around in some media outlets today – a “bomb cyclone”.
She says it’s not a term the Bureau of Meteorology choose to use because it can “give people specific ideas of what they might expect with the weather”, which aren’t what are being forecasted.
Bomb means rapid intensification. That’s what we saw earlier this morning when the low-pressure system did develop. A cyclone is not necessarily a tropical cyclone … a cyclone is any system that’s rotating cyclonically.
Bomb cyclone means a low pressure system that develops quickly. What we choose to say here is it’s a vigorous low-pressure system. It’s bringing this severe weather in the form of rain, winds, large waves and flooding and impacting the coast at the moment.
It’s best to just focus on the warnings and what we’re seeing on the radar and what we hear from our emergency services at the moment.
Updated
Miriam Bradbury, a meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, is appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing now.
She says “widespread rain” is affecting much of central and south-east New South Wales, including metropolitan Sydney.
High rainfalls have been observed on the South Coast, with 80mm at Ulladulla and Kiama, including winds in Kiama in excess of 91km/h.
Over the coming hours, going into Tuesday evening, the wet and windy weather will continue, particularly about the coastal fringe and those areas that are included in our severe weather warning.
Updated
Dangerous surf conditions expected to persist until Thursday in NSW
The coastal low pressure system is forecast to track south off the Illawarra coast this evening, before turning and moving further east into the Tasman Sea on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology has projected.
In its latest update, a severe weather warning that was in place for Lord Howe Island was cancelled as damaging winds and surf had now eased.
A severe warning is still in place for metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and parts of the Mid North Coast, South Coast, Tablelands and Northern Rivers, while a coastal hazard warning is also active.
The BoM:
Gale to storm force south to southwesterly winds around the low are expected to generate large and powerful surf conditions, with damaging surf possibly persisting into Thursday.
DAMAGING SURF CONDITIONS which may lead to coastal erosion and localised damage to coastal infrastructure are likely for coastlines between Seal Rocks and the Illawarra, extending south to Batemans bay this evening and further south to the New South Wales/Victorian border during the late evening.
A 5.4 metre wave was observed at the Sydney Waverider Buoy this afternoon, while a 5.2 metre wave was also recorded at the Port Kembla Waverider Buoy at 2pm.
Updated
ACTU’s Sally McManus says $3m super tax policy should be indexed in future
The secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus, says the $3m threshold for Labor’s extra earnings tax on large super balances should be indexed at some point in the future.
I do think it’s got to be indexed… But that’s a very long time in the future.
She said it wasn’t unreasonable to ask the “small percentage” of people affected to pay an extra 15% tax on earnings made on that portion of their super balance over $3m.
Super isn’t there to be a tax fraud. It’s there to make sure you’ve got a dignified retirement.
McManus pushed back against Paul Keating’s claim that a young Australian entering the workforce today would be “guaranteed” to retire with $3m in retirement savings, saying it was “not realistic”.
I think that it (the $3m threshold) does need to be indexed, though, so I do support what they’re saying about that, but I don’t think there’s some, you know, urgent need to do so right now.
AMP’s deputy chief economist, Diana Mousina, has estimated that an “average” 22-year-old earning $98,000 today would breach the $3m threshold by the time they retire in the year 2070.
Tax experts back indexing the threshold to inflation or wages growth, but have ridiculed the idea that the threshold would stay static for decades.
Updated
Heavy traffic in Sydney amid road closures and wild weather
If you’re commuting home today, road closures are impacting Sydney traffic as a result of the ongoing weather event.
According to Live Traffic, one of three lanes are closed on Castleraegh street in the CBD between Liverpool Street and Goulburn Street following a burst water main, and water over the road is causing heavy conditions in Haberfield on the City West Link at Boomerang Street, Alexandria near Sydney Park, at St Leonards on the Pacific Highway and at Jamisontown on the M4 Motorway.
Flooding has also caused around two dozen road closures, including near Wollongong, Newcastle, Gunnedah and Bourke.
🌧️ ALBION PARK: Terry St is closed in both directions due to flooding at Taylor Rd.
— Live Traffic NSW (@LiveTrafficNSW) July 1, 2025
🔁 Avoid the area, use an alternative route.
📲 Check the latest: https://t.co/PEdCSqBdi8
Updated
Children’s commissioner says child safety ‘is not a priority in this country’
Australia’s national children’s commissioner, Anne Hollonds, is appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing now after the alleged sexual assaults linked to childcare centres across Melbourne.
The Greens are calling for a royal commission into safety and equality in Australia’s early childhood education system.
Asked if the system had failed families, Hollonds said: “Absolutely”.
These are issues and risks that we’ve known about for a long time … child safety and wellbeing is not a priority in this country.
Hollonds backed recent measures to ban mobile devices in childcare centres and tightening reporting requirements. She said mandatory CCTV cameras was also something “we should be looking at”.
We have been quite slow to take on board the need to minimise as much as possible risks to our children. And to not be just worried about regulatory burdens on providers and governments. There are costs involved in keeping children safe. And we have to bear those costs.
Updated
Parts of Central Coast told ‘evacuate now’ amid coastal erosion threat
Parts of the Central Coast have been urged to evacuate due to dangerous waves as wild weather continues to hit New South Wales.
Properties along Hutton Road at the North Entrance of the Central Coast and at Wamberal on parts of Ocean View Drive, which backs on to Wamberal beach, and Pacific Street have been told to evacuate now:
The NSW SES is directing people in the following area(s) to EVACUATE NOW due to dangerous waves resulting in significant damage to buildings from coastal erosion caused by storm activity … It may become too dangerous to stay in this area.
We have covered coastal erosion impacting the community of Wamberal in the past. You can read about it here:
Updated
Australia’s avocado production dips, but still enough for 20 per person
Australian avocado production has taken a dip. Australia’s avocado crop is estimated to be down 15% in the 2024-25 season compared to the previous year, according to a global report by Rabobank.
The culprit is alternate bearing, in which trees can produce a lot of fruit one year followed by very little the next. But Australians need not cry into their sourdough. The nation’s farmers were still expected to produce 128,000 tonnes of the green fruit, or about 20 avocados per person, for a year.
Export prices went up in 2024 to $5.18 per kg, with China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and India the top markets for the Australian industry.
New avocado tree plantings have dropped off sharply across the nation, sitting at the lowest level since 1999 and signalling a plateau in Australia’s crop size, the report states.
Nearly half of Australia’s avocados are grown in Western Australia, followed by Queensland and New South Wales, data from Avocados Australia shows.
The global market has surpassed nearly $30.4bn, with strong demand from consumers in the UK and Germany.
– via Australian Associated Press
Updated
Coalition says child abuse allegations in Victoria are ‘deeply disturbing’
The Coalition has condemned reports of alleged “horrific” crimes committed in Victorian childcare and early learning centres as “deeply disturbing”.
Childcare worker Joshua Brown is facing more than 70 child sexual abuse charges allegedly involving eight children aged between five months to two years old who were in his care.
In a joint statement, the shadow education minister, Senator Jonathon Duniam, and the shadow minister for education and early learning, Zoe McKenzie, said the allegations represented “a fundamental breach of trust in the very places on which parents rely to care for their children and keep them safe”.
This is every parent’s worst nightmare – and the Coalition extends our deepest sympathies to the victims, their families, and everyone else affected. We acknowledge the deep distress this has caused our dedicated early childhood educators and carers.
The statement urged the government to review Australia’s child safety safeguards – including those under the National Quality Framework.
The Coalition stands ready to work with the government to ensure our child protection systems are as strong, transparent, and accountable as they must be to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.
Updated
SA’s ban on political donations takes effect
Among all the 1 July changes, South Australia now has a ban on political donations. You can read the details of the legislation here.
Parties will get (capped) public funding instead of electoral donations, with some exceptions for newcomers. Premier Peter Malinauskas said the changes made SA “a world leader in democratic reform”:
We are getting money out of politics. The perception that the makeup of our parliament can be determined by who has the deepest pockets, or who spends the most money, is damaging to our society overall.
We want elected representatives spending their time talking to their communities, not hawking for donations. These reforms will help keep our elections fair and keep the democracy where it belongs – in the hands of the people.
Not everyone agrees. Bill Browne, the Australia Institute’s Democracy and Accountability Program director, says “the vast majority” of taxpayer funding will go to the two major parties. The University of Sydney’s professor emerita in constitutional law, Anne Twomey, has voiced similar concerns, saying public funding tends to favour incumbents.
Updated
More than 20 road closures amid NSW flooding as drivers urged to take care
There are 23 road closures due to flooding in New South Wales according to Live Traffic, with the bulk north of Sydney around Newcastle, Tamworth and Kempsey.
There are also four road closures south of Wollongong around Bowral and Albion Park.
Drivers have been urged to “never drive through floodwater, use an alternative route [and] allow extra travel time”.
Meanwhile 11 floods are at “advice level”, including Penrith, and the Sydney Coastline is under a severe weather warning at a “watch and act” level, one behind an “emergency warning”.
Updated
NSW SES has responded to more than 900 incidents since weather event began
The NSW State Emergency Services (SES) says there have now been 1,700 calls to its operations centre since the start of the wild weather and that it has responded to 928 incidents.
More than 1,200 volunteers are responding to the impacts of the complex low off the east coast, which is shifting southwards and bringing intense rainfall and damaging winds to Newcastle, Sydney and the Illawarra this afternoon.
In a statement, the SES said calls for assistance were increasing in Sydney and the Illawarra this afternoon with conditions expected to worsen in the coming hours. Widespread rain totals of up to 150mm are likely, and isolated falls of 200mm in 24 hour periods.
Minor to moderate flooding is possible on coastal catchments and in the Hawkesbury Nepean, while riverine flooding and warnings may escalate tonight for low lying properties on the Nepean River.
In the Central Coast, Sydney, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and South Coast regions, damaging wind gusts could reach up to 125km/h this afternoon.
On the south coast, NSW SES volunteers have assisted beachside properties with sandbagging efforts to protect them from coastal surges, while door knockers have communicated possible evacuations on the Central Coast.
Here are the incidents by zone:
South Eastern Zone: 218
Metro Zone: 223
Northern Zone: 433
Western Zone: 9
North Eastern Zone: 27
North Western Zone: fourSouthern Zone: six
State Units: two
Updated
Thank you for joining me on the live blog today. Handing over now to the great Caitlin Cassidy who will keep you updated into the evening.
Heaviest rainfalls expected south of Wollongong
The heaviest rainfall is expected south of Wollongong, the Bureau of Meteorology said in a weather update:
We could also see heavy falls towards Sydney, but really through this southern area we could see six hourly totals up to 120mm, leading to flash flooding and riverine flooding. We also see areas of rainfall further north, but the heaviest and the focus will be south of about Wollongong.
BoM also warns of dangerous surf conditions that will build into the evening:
There is a warning for coastal hazards, and damaging surf will build through the afternoon and into the evening, first between Seal Rocks in the north and down towards Illawarra, extending down towards the Victorian border into tonight. Heavy surf and large waves could cause coastal erosion and make conditions dangerous on the beach.
Updated
Severe weather warning stretches from southern Queensland to southern NSW
The impacts of a vigorous coastal low pressure system will increase across eastern Australia over the rest of today and will continue into the coming days, the Bureau of Meteorology says in a weather warning.
A severe weather warning is in place for damaging winds above 90km/h stretching from southern Queensland down towards the south coast of New South Wales. The BoM says:
It is quite a broad area, and the timing of the winds will depend on where you are, but generally speaking, for areas south of the central Tablelands and the Hunter, including Sydney, those winds will really ramp up on Tuesday afternoon and into the evening.
Further north and into southern Queensland, those winds intensify from Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
There is also a risk of locally destructive wind gusts above 125km/h possible in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and down the coastal fringe towards Illawarra and the south coast.
“These could cause significant damage,” the BoM says.
Updated
Accused Melbourne childcare worker passed all legal checks, former employer says
The operator of a Melbourne childcare centre where it is alleged a worker sexually assaulted eight infants and children has issued a statement saying the accused is no longer working for them.
Police on Tuesday confirmed that a Point Cook resident, Joshua Brown, 26, was charged in May with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims aged between five months and two years old.
The provider said Brown’s employment, all required employment and background checks – including his working with children checks – were in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
They said:
The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is our highest priority. We are deeply committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment for all children and families. We are aware that a former ... team member has been charged with offences involving children. These allegations are serious in nature and are extremely distressing. We are focussed on supporting all those impacted not just at our centres, but across the community.
They said Brown was “no longer employed” by the operator and they were cooperating fully with Victoria police, the government and other relevant authorities:
We are committed to supporting the legal process in every way we can.
Updated
NSW swim spots likely polluted and ‘unsuitable for swimming’ amid wild weather
More than 60 swim spots in NSW are likely polluted amid severe wet weather pummelling the state.
Beachwatch NSW has flagged 66 swimming locations, including popular beach spots like Coogee and Bronte, as “pollution likely” with a warning that “water quality is unsuitable for swimming”.
“Across the Sydney, Hunter and Central Coast regions may be impacted by stormwater pollution this morning,” Beachwatch NSW said in a post to Facebook.
For your safety, please avoid swimming and be cautious if you’re out and about.
Updated
Wet weather in NSW will worsen over next 24 hours, minister says
New South Wales emergency services minister Jihad Dib says the wet weather in the state will worsen over the next 24 hours:
A very complex and a large system that’s developing and already developed and off the coast now and partly on the coast and moving further inland as well. The system stretches as far from say about the mid north coast, down to Bega. The size of it is enormous …
We have seen in the past 24 hours 120 millimetres of rainfall around the Jervis Bay area. In other parts of the state, between 50 and 90 millimetres, including parts of the Mid North Coast. It may seem pretty bad but the terrible thing is the situation is going to worsen over the course of the next 24 hours. Particularly later this afternoon and into the evening tomorrow. So once again we’re asking people to be as prepared as they possibly can be.
Updated
‘Quite a substantial amount of rain’
Rainfall may reach up to 250mm in some areas of New South Wales amid the wild weather hitting the state, emergency services minister Jihad Dib says.
He is speaking live on the severe wet weather forecast to pummel NSW:
What we will see in the next 24 hours is rain but also very strong winds. In the rain, potentially around 100 millimetres, isolated in parts to 250 millimetres. That’s quite a substantial amount of rain. That won’t fall all through the catchment and the coast but it will be in different parts.
We are worried about the winds and we know the grounds are saturated and the potential for trees to be blown over. What I would say to people is please be very careful about what you have loose around in your backyards and properties, where you park your cars. Keeping in mind that when the wind blows, and the wind could potentially reach up to 125km/h, the wind will do some serious damage. Some of those branches may end up becoming projectiles.
Updated
Wong meets Rudd in US ahead of Quad meeting
Foreign minister Penny Wong has posted to X a picture with Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd upon her arrival in Washington DC for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting.
In the post Wong thanks US secretary Marco Rubio “for hosting our second meeting in six months”.
Looking forward to discussing how we continue to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Updated
Jason Clare says he has spoken with Victorian minister about alleged child abuse case
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, says he has spoken with Lizzie Blandthorn, Victoria’s minister for children, about the charges against childcare worker Joshua Brown, who police allege sexually abused eight children.
Clare says the case is extremely serious.
There is nothing more serious than this. The alleged perpetrator is in custody right now, but this is one of the reasons why this was top of the agenda when education ministers met in Adelaide on Friday.
It’s one of the reasons why we’ve banned the use of personal mobile phones in childcare centres. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve made mandatory reporting of physical and sexual assaults in childcare centres a requirement within 24 hours rather than seven days.
It’s one of the reasons why I will bring legislation to the federal parliament in the next few months to cut off funding to childcare centres that aren’t up to scratch.
There is nothing more important to me than making sure that we take every step we need to take to keep our kids safe.
Updated
Residents along NSW coast warned to stay indoors amid wild weather
The NSW SES is warning people in Jervis Bay, Ulladulla and Batemans Bay to stay indoors due to severe weather, including heavy rainfall and damaging winds:
Locally destructive wind gusts with peak gusts in excess of 125 km/h are possible along the coastal fringe of the Illawarra and South Coast this evening and overnight, roughly between Jervis Bay and Batemans Bay, with this risk easing during Wednesday morning.
A severe weather warning to stay indoors also applies to people on the exposed coastal fringe of the Sydney Metropolitan area, in areas between Bulli and Collaroy.
Updated
Victorian authorities reach out to parents after carer charged with child abuse
Victorian health authorities are recommending 1,200 children get tested for infectious diseases after Joshua Brown was charged with more than 70 child sexual abuse offences allegedly involving eight children.
The Victorian Department of Health and Victoria police are directly contacting families as a precaution.
About 1,200 children are being advised to get tested for infectious diseases, which can be treated with antibiotics.
Not every child who attended the childcare centres listed will be recommended for testing, as they won’t have attended at the same time as Brown.
- with Australian Associated Press
Updated
Carer charged with child abuse worked at 20 Victorian centres
Childcare worker Joshua Brown is facing more than 70 child sexual abuse charges allegedly involving eight children aged between five months to two years old who were in his care.
He worked at 20 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025. The alleged offending occurred in Point Cook. Police are investigating allegations at a second childcare centre in Essendon. No charges have been laid in relation to the those allegations.
Police said they believe all alleged offending has taken place within Victoria and no other staff have been involved. Here is a list of where and when he worked:
15 January 2017 - 9 June 2019: Nino Early Learning Adventures in Point Cook
18 August 2019 - 27 October 2019 and casual work from 10 November 2019 - 22 December 2019: Explorers Early Learning in Point Cook
25 November 2019 - 24 July 2020: Adventurers Education in Wyndham Vale
28 October 2020 - 30 March 2021: Only About Children in Williamstown
13 April 2021 - 25 May 2021 - Wallaby Childcare centre in Sanctuary Lakes
21 June 2021 - 16 July 2021: Nido Early Learning School in Werribee
28 October 2021 - 2 February 2024: Creative Garden Early Learning in Point Cook
9 February 2023 - 13 February 2023: Leopold World of Learning in Leopold
14 February 2023 - 10 March 2023: Greenwood in Point Cook
14 August 2023 - 17 August 2023: Little Blossoms Child Care Centre in Werribee
1 March 2024 - 30 April 2024: D.O.T.S Occupational Therapy for Children in Footscray
13 August 2024 - 21 August 2024: Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Sunbury
14 August 2024 - 16 August 2024: Milestones Early Learning in Werribee
19 August 2024: Milestones Early Learning in Hoppers Crossing
22 August 2024 - 12 March 2025: Papilio Early Learning in Hoppers Crossing
12 September 2024: Kids Academy in Melton
7 October 2024 - 9 October 2024: Kids Academy Early Learning in Kensington
11 February 2025: Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Keilor
17 February 2025 - 9 May 2025: Papilio Early Learning in Essendon
8 May 2025: Milestones Early Learning in Bundoora
- Australian Associated Press
You can read about what he has been charged with here:
Recall on Coles Smooth and Coles Crunchy Peanut Butter 1kg
Coles is recalling their 1kg smooth peanut butter and crunchy peanut butter sold between 1 May and 30 June this year, with a Best Before date of 05/02/2027, due to aflatoxin contamination.
They apologised to customers for inconvenience in a statement:
Food products containing aflatoxin may cause illness if consumed. Any customers concerned about their health should seek medical advice.
Customers can return the product to any Coles supermarket for a full refund. Coles Online customers can receive a full refund or credit by contacting Coles Online Customer Care on 1800 455 400.
Warragamba Dam likely to spill in coming days, WaterNSW says
Warragamba Dam is likely to spill in the coming days, based on the current rainfall forecasts, dam operator WaterNSW has advised.
The dam’s storage level was at 98% capacity on Tuesday. The timing and rate of a spill would depend on the rainfall received in the Warragamba catchment.
WaterNSW said:
The smaller Sydney dams, including Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon, Nepean and Woronora are also likely to spill.
Fitzroy Falls, Tallowa, Greaves Creek and Medlow dams are already spilling and will continue to do so.
Spills from the dam have occurred more than 50 times since 1960, including three times in 2024 and once in May this year.
Updated
Alleged sexual assaults at Melbourne childcare centres – what should parents do?
Police today confirmed Point Cook man Joshua Brown, 26, was charged last month with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims aged between five months and two years old.
What should parents do?
Unless you have been directly contacted by Victoria Police, there is no evidence to suggest that your child is an alleged victim.
If you believe something inappropriate may have happened to your child or have any more information, police are urging people to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Some families will be eligible for a payment of $5000 to help with alternative care arrangements, loss of earnings, and other practical needs.
– with Australian Associated Press
• In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Updated
Sydney woman stranded in Iran reaches Azerbaijan
A Sydney woman who attempted to flee Iran via its Azerbaijani border only to be marooned because Australian authorities had not provided a special code has finally made her way to Baku.
Rose, 70, whose real name is withheld to protect her safety, first left Tehran on 14 June, the day after Israel began its bombardment of the country and its nuclear assets.
Under a communications blackout and using choked roads, the grandmother reached Astara on the Caspian coast on 20 June, just hours after Australia’s Tehran embassy staff were evacuated via the same crossing.
Her family had told the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that Rose was on her way to Astara and was assured she would be able to leave via its crossing.
But at the border, Rose was told she needed an 11-digit code from the Australian embassy in Turkey. That code took six days to be provided, in which time Rose ran out of heart medication and was forced to leave the border town to seek urgent medical treatment.
In better health and with Tehran’s airspace still closed, she again made her way to Astara yesterday. Last night, she left Iran and is now safely in Baku, her daughter told Guardian Australia.
Her daughter said:
She’s exhausted. I’m counting down until she boards her flight home.
Read more on the background to this story:
Updated
Qantas freight pilots to take industrial action after ‘lowball’ offer
Qantas pilots responsible for delivering parcels will take industrial action over the company’s wage offer, which they say will leave them at the bottom of the industry.
More than 100 Express Freighters pilots will be eligible to begin low-level action from Friday after over 90% voted in favour of protected action over the company’s “lowball” offer.
After protracted negotiations over six months, unions said the company has refused to improve the offer, which they say in some cases would see pilots’ remuneration hovering around the bare legal minimum of the Air Pilots Award 2020, and would entrench poor work-life balance.
The pilots fly a significant amount of Australia Post’s parcel freight, mostly overnight, “back of the clock” flights, and spend up to 260 hours away from home per month.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Sportsbet fined for sending texts to self-excluded customers
Australia’s largest online sports gambling company, Sportsbet, has been fined for accidentally sending text messages to people who asked to not be contacted.
The Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission, which regulates the majority of online bookmakers in Australia, found Sportsbet sent texts containing a survey to 124 customers “who were on either a short-term or long-term break”.
Another 30 people who received the message were on a national self-exclusion register, which is designed to help them address gambling addictions or to limit harm.
According to the regulator, the texts were sent by accident during a training session for new staff on a third-party platform that delivered Sportsbet’s text campaigns.
The error, which was self-reported to the regulator, was quickly spotted and Sportsbet blocked “a further 48,891 messages from reaching unintended recipients”.
The commission decided to treat the messages as one single contravention, rather than 154 separate incidents. Sportsbet was fined $92,400, which is half the maximum penalty amount.
But the commission delivered this criticism:
It is imperative that marketing communications are not directed to individuals who have self-excluded or are taking a break from the use of online wagering services, as such actions risk undermining their efforts to manage gambling related harm and may contribute to relapse.
Moreover, doing so represents a failure to uphold the licensee’s ethical obligation to prioritise customer welfare over commercial interests.
Updated
Jacinta Allan says she is ‘sickened’ by child abuse allegations
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, says she feels “sickened” after childcare worker Joshua Brown was charged with more than 70 offences for allegedly sexually abusing eight children in his care.
The early childhood regulator will investigate the conduct of the early education providers Brown worked at, the premier said at a news conference earlier:
I’m sickened by these allegations of abuse. They are shocking and distressing, and my heart just breaks for the families who are living every parent’s worst nightmare. And as a parent too, I can only imagine the unbearable grief and pain the affected families are experiencing right now.
Can I also say that our educators and carers in our early childhood education sector will also be shocked, and I want to make it clear to our early childhood education workforce that I know the alleged actions and allegations of [a] single individual do not reflect the many dedicated and professional childcare educators and carers and staff who go above and beyond every day to teach and care for our children.
The specifics of this case are being thoroughly investigated by police and are being examined by the courts. The safety of our children is our number one priority. The early childhood regulator will immediately commence an investigation into the conduct of the early education providers in which the alleged offender has worked.
Updated
A joint Victoria police and government press conference was under way earlier into the investigation into alleged sexual assaults at a Melbourne childcare centre.
Acting commander Janet Stevenson says the alleged assaults were uncovered after the discovery of child abuse material. She says:
We immediately acted and executed a search warrant at the Point Cook home of a 26-year-old Joshua Brown. As a result, Brown was charged with over 70 offences which relate to alleged sexual assaults committed against eight identified child victims.
She says Brown was not known to police prior to the investigation:
However, as soon as we identified his alleged offending, he was removed from the community. He had a valid working with children check, which has since been cancelled.
Updated
Above-ground work on stage one of Sydney’s beleaguered M6 tunnel project is set to continue after the New South Wales government and the contractors charged with its construction reached a last-minute compromise.
The consortium building new twin 4km motorway tunnels linking Arncliffe and Kogarah in Sydney’s south have been plagued by sinkholes and a “reverse” rock fault which led to CGU – a joint venture of CPB, Ghella and UGL – pulling out of the project and downing tools from yesterday.
This morning, Transport for NSW announced an agreement had been reached with the contractor.
Surface works, including road works, building pathways and cycleways and revitalising parklands, will continue and are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Transport for NSW secretary, Josh Murray, said the works would progress “separately to the underground challenges”.
In a statement, he said:
The local community deserves certainty. Finishing these areas will be treated as a priority, including surface roadworks, new walking and cycling links and parklands.
This agreement will also allow Transport to continue work on a solution that will lead to tunnelling being completed, while the contractor continues to play its role in securing the construction site.”
Anthony Albanese has dismissed a suggestion by a Sky News host he’s prioritising his relationship with China over the US as he faces pressure to lock in a face-to-face meeting with US president Donald Trump.
The prime minister is expected to visit Beijing this month but has yet to lock in a formal in-person chat with Trump after the president abruptly left a G7 meeting last month amid an escalation in conflict between Iran and Israel.
Albanese is under pressure to convince Trump to grant Australia an exemption on global trade tariffs set to resume next week. The US administration has also urged Australia to drastically lift its defence spending to 3% of GDP or higher in response to China’s growing military. A 30-day review by the US Pentagon into the Aukus deal is also expected to conclude shortly.
On Sky News this morning, the prime minister was asked whether his imminent trip to China suggested he was prioritising that relationship over the US.
Albanese responded:
Well, [Chinese president] Xi Jinping has been in office for some time, and the person who had Xi Jinping address our national parliament here was Tony Abbott, just for the record. I’ve met with the US president more than I have met with the President of China since I’ve been the prime minister and I’ve traveled five times to the United States and one time to China.
Albanese told Sky News he’ll have the chance to meet with Trump and other senior US officials in the upcoming summit season toward the latter half of the year.
When we have a meeting, we’ll have a meeting, and when it’s scheduled, that will occur. We’ll see each other a lot in the last months of the year. That’s when summit season occurs ... Australia and the United States are both members, of course, of the G20, of the Quad, of Apec. We’ll see each other quite a lot in coming months.
Some Virgin flights cancelled amid severe weather
Passengers flying in or out of Sydney and Newcastle with Virgin today may have their flight affected by severe weather.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said:
Some services on Virgin Australia’s network have been impacted by adverse weather in Sydney and Newcastle today. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority and our meteorologists continue to closely monitor the weather system.
We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and are working hard to ensure they reach their destination safely and as soon as possible.
We encourage guests travelling today and tomorrow to keep an eye on the status of their flight via our website or app.
Guardian Australia understands there have been 12 cancellations.
Updated
NSW SES responds to more than 600 incidents since Monday
New South Wales State Emergency Service has responded to more than 600 incidents since Monday morning, as a severe weather system battered the state’s coast.
An SES spokesperson said there had also been more than 900 calls to the state operations centre.
We’re seeing a lot of debris and trees down, requests for sandbags and also leaking roofs.
We’ve been asking people to prepare their homes and properties since last week, and now it really is too late to be outside in the weather.”
We are anticipating there to be flash flooding this afternoon as commuters head home. So we’re just urging people that if they do come across flood water on a road, to stop, turn around and find an alternative route.
Updated
Weather system could persist into Thursday morning, BoM says
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Gabrielle Woodhouse says weather warnings will persist until late Wednesday or early Thursday:
At this stage, the earliest that we’ll see some of those warnings being cancelled from the weather side of things is going to be potentially later Wednesday, or more likely on Thursday.
With that wind threat persisting into Thursday along the waters, we also have a coastal hazard warning and hazardous surf warning with the winds that we’re expecting around this low pressure system. It’s really going to increase the waves along the New South Wales coast, with significant wave heights in excess of about five to six meters, expected along at least central and southern parts of the coast. And this is also going to elevate some of the sea levels, and so we’re going to have a greater coastal erosion risk as a result of this system.
Updated
More than 900 calls for assistance made so far, SES says
NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz says most of the 900 calls for assistance are from people who are already experiencing damage to homes and vehicles.
She is giving a live update on the severe wet weather forecast to pummel NSW:
Most of the incidences that we have received calls for predominantly are from the mid north coast area. So around about 200 calls to that area, and then 100 for the Sydney area and also the Illawarra area, our south-east zone.
Majority of those calls are from people who are preparing already seen some damage with trees down that have damaged homes and vehicles.
Updated
Woodhouse says the threat of destructive wind gusts will increase as the low pressure system deepens further today:
What we’re talking about here is destructive wind gusts of around 125km/h being possible right along the coastal fringe. We’re expecting that that risk is going to shift southwards towards parts of Sydney and potentially parts of the Illawarra, even as far south as Jervis Bay or Ulladulla.
Conditions are expected to escalate through this afternoon, bringing the risk of flash flooding. Woodhouse continues:
We’re looking at that wind potential increasing, but also that threat of heavy rainfall increasing. This is most likely for areas across the Illawarra as well as parts of Sydney.
This means that we have a greater flash flood risk, with potential for some fairly heavy falls to develop over a short period of time, and we could see some of those falls in excess of 100 or 120mm over the course of three to six hours.
Updated
Destructive wind gusts of up to 110km/h expected today, BoM says
The BoM’s Gabrielle Woodhouse says the low pressure system in NSW shifted south overnight, bringing rainfall to the coast.
The system is expected to run through to Thursday, with peak impact from midday today and tomorrow.
Woodhouse gave a forecast update a moment ago:
We have a number of warnings in place, and that includes a severe weather warning for damaging to locally destructive winds as well as heavy rainfall.
It’s likely that we’ll see some damaging winds of around 60 to 70km/h, and gusts of about 90 to 110km/h. That includes across parts of the ranges, but also near the coast. This includes southern parts of the mid north coast, the Hunter, Sydney, and down through the Illawarra and parts of the south coast.
Updated
Vigorous coastal low will bring ‘short and sharp’ rain, NSW SES says
The NSW SES is giving a live update on severe weather conditions in the state:
Deputy commissioner Debbie Platz says:
This system is a very dynamic system. It is fast moving and very different to recent events that we have seen in New South Wales.
What we expect is the rain will be very rapid, it will be heavy, it will be short and sharp.
Updated
More on flights as severe wet weather is forecast to pummel NSW.
There have been cancellations of some Qantas flights in and out of Sydney today.
Passengers can expect to be contacted directly if there are changes to their Qantas flights. There may be more cancellations to come.
Travellers reminded to check their flight status due to severe weather in NSW
Travellers in and out of New South Wales have been reminded to check their flight details, with severe weather conditions already affecting flights in and out of Sydney airport.
Airservices Australia said aircraft movements had been reduced on Tuesday morning, and it was working to manage the impact of severe weather conditions in Sydney.
We are continuing to monitor the situation and will adjust operations throughout the day as appropriate.
A Sydney airport spokesperson said there could be impacts to flight schedules.
Sydney Airport is closely monitoring the forecasts of severe weather for NSW. There may be impacts to flight schedules, and we recommend passengers check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.
Updated
Almost twice as many deaths by drug overdose than road traffic in 2023, new research finds
Drug overdoses caused 189 Australians to die a month in 2023, with a policy research non-profit calling for a national strategy to end the overdose crisis.
New analysis from Penington Institute found 2,272 Australians died from an overdose that year – almost twice the number of road traffic deaths in the same year (1,315).
Over three-quarters of the deaths were unintentional, and most involved more than one drug type.
The data snapshot found opioids were the most common drug involved in unintentional deaths (43.9%), stimulants replaced benzodiazepines as the second-most common drug (33.1%), and unintentional deaths involving cocaine increased by from 94 in 2022 to 100 in 2023.
It also found people over 50 made up a larger share of deaths than in previous years (47.9% in 2023, compared to 46.8% in 2022), and the rate of deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remains significantly higher compared to non-Indigenous people (21.3 deaths per 100,000 Australians, compared to 5.7 deaths per 100,000 Australians among non-Indigenous people).
“People don’t often think about overdose, but these figures bring home just how big and persistent an issue it is in Australia,” the Penington Institute CEO, John Ryan, said.
A decade of losing more than 2,000 Australians to overdose annually marks a sombre milestone.
Governments need to tackle overdose with the same level of energy and enthusiasm used to reduce alcohol and tobacco harm in Australia. We need a comprehensive national overdose response strategy to end the overdose crisis.
Updated
Five Australians evacuated from Iran
The federal government has helped a group of five Australian citizens get out of Iran, via a commercial flight from Mashhad to Dubai.
Commercial flights are not yet operating from Tehran, however limited departure flights are happening from the east of the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is securing seats on the flights and contacting hundreds of Australians who have registered with officials to seek help getting home.
But airport operations continue to change at short notice. Officials are monitoring the situation closely.
As well as communicating information directly with registered Australians in both English and Farsi, Australian officials are helping Australian citizens cross the land border between Iran and Azerbaijan.
A backlog in the number of Australians seeking permission to cross the border has been cleared, following representations from the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and Australian officials.
The border crossing requirements are a complex process and are subject to change without notice.
More than 150 Australians have now received border codes for crossing from Iran into Azerbaijan and more than 50 have successfully crossed in recent days, being met by Australian officials once across.
Updated
Continued from previous post:
Victoria police deputy commissioner Wendy Steendam, acting commander Janet Stevenson, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, police minister, Anthony Carbines, minister for children, Lizzie Blandthorn, and the chief health officer, Dr Christian McGrath, are going to hold a press conference on the investigation at 9.30am.
In a statement, Stevenson said it was “an incredibly distressing and confronting investigation for all involved”. She said:
I know many members of the community will hear this news and feel enormously concerned. The most important thing for our investigators was that we needed to identify the [alleged] victims involved. These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community and the conversations police have had to have with their families were no doubt life changing in the worst possible way.
Stevenson urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
Updated
Man charged with alleged sexual assaults worked at 20 childcare centres, police say
Victoria police say since Brown’s arrest, a significant investigation has taken place, led by detectives from the sexual crimes squad.
They say it has been established that the man worked at 20 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025. They allege there is evidence of offending at a second childcare centre which is being “investigated as a priority”.
A website has been set up by the Victorian government listing the centres and the known employment dates of Brown.
Families who had children placed at the impacted centres during the time of the man’s employment are in the process of being contacted to ensure appropriate support and welfare services are provided.
This work involves the department of health, the department of families, fairness and housing, the department of education, the Commission for Children and Young Persons, Family Safety Victoria, Gatehouse and the Royal children’s hospital.
Police say at this stage, it is believed all alleged offending has taken place within Victoria. They say there is no evidence at this time to suggest any other staff member at any centre is involved in this matter.
Updated
Man charged with alleged sexual assaults at Victorian childcare centre
A childcare worker has been charged with over 70 offences after alleging sexually abusing eight children in his care.
Victoria police this morning have issued a statement confirming that last month they charged 26-year-old Point Cook man Joshua Brown with offences including sexual penetration of a child under 12, attempted sexual penetration of a child under 12, sexual assault of a child under 16 and produce child material for use through a carriage service.
They said the charges relate to eight alleged victims, who were placed at a western suburbs childcare centre.
Brown was remanded and has remained in custody since his arrest on 12 May.
He will appear at Melbourne magistrates court on 15 September.
Updated
PM dismisses 'absurd' reports Marles not briefed by senior defence officials for years
Anthony Albanese has dismissed reports that defence minister Richard Marles was not briefed by senior defence officials for almost 2.5 years as “absurd” and “ridiculous”.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday that military chiefs did not give Marles formal updates on the readiness of the army, air force and navy to be deployed on missions, as outlined in an audit report last Friday.
The prime minister was asked to explain the situation but dismissed its veracity on the Today Show on Tuesday morning.
That’s just ridiculous, frankly. I haven’t seen that report. But we sit in the National Security Committee with the Chief of the Defence Force. We meet regularly. I certainly have met with heads of all of the armed forces regularly, and that is just completely incorrect.
The Australian National Audit Office released its report into the navy’s amphibious assault ships on Friday, which found the two-ship fleet’s procurement and sustainment had not been managed effectively.
Hidden in the pages of the report was a revelation that defence had not provided the minister preparedness reports in 2023 and 2024 due to the ongoing defence strategic review. The ANAO indicated defence said it updated the minister on preparedness through “other means”, including conversations.
The report highlighted the lack of proper planning and sustainment led to incidents such as the ships experiencing power failures and requiring urgent maintenance while tasked with offering humanitarian assistance to Vanuatu in 2023 after a powerful cyclone.
Updated
Date for Albanese-Trump meeting will occur in near future, but date not locked in
Anthony Albanese says he will talk up Australia’s value to the US as part of his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump in the coming months as the administration looks to resume its global tariffs while pressuring allies to raise defence spending.
The prime minister is on a media blitz this morning to spruik changes coming into effect this financial year but the elephant in the room – Trump – is getting all the focus.
Speaking on the Today show this morning, Albanese admitted a date for the meeting was yet to be locked in but would occur in the near future.
The United States is an important ally of Australia, but Australia contributes to that partnership. When you look at some of the coverage, you would think we were this country that just did nothing, contributed nothing to it. I will talk Australia up because we are an important ally.
We contribute so much to peace and security in our own region by investing in our capabilities. But importantly as well, the role that we play in investing in our relationships in the region is absolutely critical.
Asked whether he should consider telling the US president to “bugger off” after what many perceived to be a recent snub when their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 was abruptly cancelled, Albanese responded:
No, not at all. And we’ve had really constructive discussions. They’ve been respectful.
I’ve been respectful of the president. And I must say that he’s been respectful of me as well.
Updated
Consumer watchdog sues Banana Boat for greenwashing
The consumer watchdog is taking Banana Boat sunscreen companies to court for alleged “greenwashing” claims that its sunscreens are reef friendly.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched federal court proceedings against Edgewell Personal Care Australia Pty Ltd and its parent company in the US, Edgewell Personal Care Company or Edgewell PCC.
The ACCC deputy chair, Catriona Lowe, said:
We allege that Edgewell engaged in greenwashing by making claims about the environmental benefits of Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens that it had no reasonable or scientific basis to make.
Edgewell claimed that the sunscreens were ‘reef friendly’, including because they did not contain “oxybenzone or octinoxate” – chemicals banned in some jurisdictions including Hawaii due to damage they case to reefs, the ACCC statement says.
However the sunscreens contained other ingredients – octocrylene, homosalate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (also known as 4-MBC or enzacamene), and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (also known as avobenzone) – which the ACCC alleges either cause harm to reefs, including coral and marine life, or risk causing harm to reefs. The ACCC also alleges Edgewell companies were aware of science indicating the ingredients, or some, were known to adversely affect reefs or that there was a risk of harm, and that neither company tested the ingredients’ impact on reefs.
The ACCC’s case relates to more than 90 Edgewell sunscreen products sold over four years, which contained one or more of these ingredients.
Lowe said:
Many consumers consider environmental factors when purchasing products. By engaging in this alleged greenwashing, we say Edgewell deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed decision and may have prevented them from purchasing a different brand of sunscreen that did not contain chemicals which risked causing harm to reefs.”
Updated
SES warns residents from Newcastle to Forster to stay indoors
The NSW SES is warning people to stay indoors between Newcastle and Forster as severe wet weather is forecast to pummel NSW.
The watch and act warning for Newcastle, Nelson Bay and Forster advises staying indoors and away from windows “due to heavy rainfall, damaging winds, destructive winds”.
For coastal parts of the Hunter and mid north coast, including Newcastle, the alert reads:
Damaging south to southwesterly winds averaging 60 to 70 km/h with peak gusts of around 110 km/h are possible from early this morning, becoming likely from the afternoon onwards. Locally destructive wind gusts with peak gusts in excess of 125 km/h are also possible from midday today for exposed coastal areas between Newcastle and Forster.
Isolated heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding is also possible for the coastal fringe south of Seal Rocks this morning. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 70 to 90 mm are possible, with isolated totals up to 120 mm.
Updated
Midwives hold snap rally to protest staff cuts at RPA hospital
Midwives at one of Sydney’s largest public hospitals will hold a snap rally today to protest cuts to their staffing levels and the closure of beds in the postnatal ward that take effect from today.
Up to 20 full-time equivalent positions will be removed from the women and babies service at Royal Prince Alfred hospital (RPAH) in Camperdown, including five from the midwifery group practice, and nine beds in the maternity ward will be closed, said the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA).
The changes which come into effect from 1 July, are part of the sweeping changes to the service, outlined by the Sydney local health district, the NSWNMA said.
Midwives at RPAH will hold a snap rally outside the hospital at 10:30am today.
NSWNMA’s general secretary, Shaye Candish, said experienced midwives working at the hospital, and those within the midwifery-led service, both hold serious concerns about the delivery of care to local families.
In last week’s budget, the NSW government confirmed more than $83 million to boost maternity care across the state, including 53 additional midwives, yet this week we have one of Sydney’s largest hospitals decreasing positions.
We have been calling on the Ministry of Health for years to conduct a thorough review of the Birthrate Plus staffing model to ensure it is fit for purpose and is delivering the best possible midwifery care to women and their babies.
RPAH has been contacted for comment.
Updated
NSW wild weather not a ‘bomb cyclone’, Bureau says
A note on terminology for the severe weather system affecting New South Wales today.
The Bureau of Meteorology has classified the system as a “vigorous coastal low”, and not an “east coast low”, nor a “bomb cyclone” as some have reported.
Meteorologist Helen Reid said the current weather system was more mobile than an east coast low.
While the current low-pressure system had some similarities to an east coast low, there were some important differences in physical characteristics, duration and moisture.
Regardless of the name, authorities were still preparing for dangerous weather conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, with hundreds of emergency services personnel, helicopters and specialist vehicles on stand-by, even though the system had not yet met the criteria for an “east coast low”, as predicted.
You can read more on that here:
Updated
Nest eggs on the boil as super guarantee cracks open
Workers will receive a boost to retirement contributions as a long-awaited lift to the superannuation guarantee kicks in, but further increases are unlikely any time soon.
The rate of super employers are required to pay employees increased from 11.5% of their wages to 12% on Tuesday, along with a raft of other changes to payments and prices to mark the dawn of the new financial year.
It’s the culmination of a decades-long process to increase the super guarantee from 3% when it was introduced in 1992, and follows a six-year delay in the rollout to 12% under the previous Coalition government.
The Labor party’s national platform still lists an aspiration for the party to “set out a pathway” to increase the guarantee to 15%, but voices in the labour movement have recently cooled on the idea.
Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said getting to 12% was an “amazing achievement”, but the union movement was not pushing for more. She told AAP:
There’s a question about whether or not we’ve actually reached the point of a dignified retirement at 12%. Obviously, we’ll keep assessing that.
Former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan, who legislated the increase of the super guarantee from 9% to 12% and now chairs industry super fund Cbus, doesn’t want further rises.
The scheme provides “adequate retirement savings for most workers” at 12%, Swan argued in an op-ed in the Australian Financial Review at the weekend.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Sydney airport warns NSW low may affect flights
Sydney airport urges passengers to check the status of their flights amid severe wet weather forecast in NSW.
A Sydney airport spokesperson said:
Sydney Airport is closely monitoring the forecasts of severe weather for NSW. There may be impacts to flight schedules, and we recommend passengers check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.
Updated
Gas market review will ‘drive efficiencies in the system’, King says
The resources minister, Madeleine King, says a review into gas market regulations will drive efficiencies into the system.
She is speaking on ABC RN after the federal government announced a review into gas market regulations in a bid to strengthen domestic supply and the nation’s exports yesterday.
Asked when gas is expected to be diverted to the domestic market, King didn’t give a timeframe:
Our existing policy has made sure that that gas is available. So that’s that combination of existing policies brings in that extra 600 petajoules. So indeed, that work is already happening.
What we’re trying to do and will endeavour to do, and the industry is very supportive of, is to make that more coherent, and how we can make sure we learn from the whole system, reduce duplication in some of the regulation, some of the reporting factors, simply how we can make it work better for consumers, for industrial users, and for the Gas industry itself. And that drives efficiencies in the system, which we expect will help with pricing.
But it’s really important that the Australian people know, but also the gas industry know, that the Australian government is willing to act when things aren’t working out, as we did with the gas code of conduct and the price cap in 2022.
Updated
NSW projects extra $100m revenue from toll roads in 2028-29
An extra $100m is expected to be made on tolls in NSW in 2028–29, with two new motorways scheduled to open.
Toll revenue is projected to rise from $180m to $283m in the 2028–29 financial year.
Two new tolled motorways – the Western Harbour Tunnel and M6 Stage 1 – are on track to open in 2028.
“This will double the number of toll roads in the network that are not privately owned – essential to rebuilding competition and wrestle back some control and ownership for the people of NSW,” the transport minister, John Graham, said in a statement.
We were honest with the public from day one: the toll situation would get worse before it got better. That’s the reality of the infrastructure pipeline locked in by our predecessors.
And now, the most recent NSW Budget reflects that – with toll revenue projected to rise from $180m to $283m in the 2028–29 financial year.
That jump is simply the start of toll collection on those two new roads … No new decisions have been made to increase tolls or implement two-way tolling, and forecasts will be updated as real-world data comes in.
Updated
Funding boost for legal support in effect from today
Legal assistance and frontline support services will get a funding boost from today with the National Access to Justice Partnerships coming into effect.
The $3.9bn program will fund five years of legal and support services for women and children escaping family violence, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to support Closing the Gap targets and those who cannot afford their own legal representation.
The Albanese government has committed to providing continuing funding beyond the five-year period.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, thanked frontline workers for providing the services to those most in need.
“Access to justice can make an immense difference to the lives of individuals and communities, ensuring people are treated fairly in the legal system and giving a voice to those who might otherwise not have one.”
The decision was first announced in September 2024 after a national cabinet focused on the “national crisis” of family and gender-based violence.
The Mundy review, released in May 2024, recommended increased investment to reverse the “neglect of Australia’s legal assistance sector”. The review had heard from Women’s Legal Services Australia, which said it turned away 1,018 attempts to receive assistance during a five-day period”, meaning an estimated 52,000 people, “many of whom are experiencing domestic, family, and sexual violence”, were turned away each year.
Read more about this issue here:
Updated
More on NSW stormy conditions
The Bureau of Meteorology’s hazard preparedness manager, Steve Bernasconi, said the system would be at its most intense on Wednesday and produce destructive winds and coastal erosion to large stretches of coast.
Damaging winds were expected in Sydney, the Hunter Valley and Illawarra regions.
Hazardous surf was expected along the coast, the bureau cautioned.
The heaviest rain was expected over the state’s central coast, with totals of up to 200mm possible, although a “subtle shift” in conditions could move those falls to Sydney or the mid-north coast.
Coastal communities were being urged to prepare before the impact of the storm by tying down loose items and moving cars away from trees.
“As we move into Thursday, rain will ease, the winds and the surf may still remain a hazard, and on Friday conditions are expected to improve,” Bernasconi said.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Flood threat returns as wild storm bears down on NSW
Hundreds of emergency services personnel, helicopters and specialist vehicles are on stand-by as a wild storm tracks towards regions still recovering from deadly floods.
Millions of residents are in the path of a severe low pressure system intensifying off NSW’s north coast.
The “rapidly deepening complex” system – also known as a “cyclogenesis” – was forecast to strengthen on Tuesday, prompting heavy rain, strong winds and hazardous surf, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
It said peak impact would be on Wednesday from Coffs Harbour south to Bega, and included the risk of flash flooding at Wallis Lake near Taree, one of the towns hard hit by floods in May that killed five people and damaged thousands of properties.
The State Emergency Service has about 400 personnel ready to be deployed.
BoM meteorologist Angus Hines said the system met the definition of a “cyclogenesis”, the formation of a low pressure area.
“It’s likely that this system will bring significant weather to these coastal fringe areas,” NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz said.
We do expect that as a result of that we will have flash flooding, as opposed to riverine flooding, that is not to discount riverine flooding.
– Australian Associated Press
More on the forecast in the next post.
Updated
Thank you Martin Farrer for getting the blog rolling this morning. I’ll be keeping you posted with the day’s news updates from here – let’s get going.
Aboriginal prison inmate died of possible insect bite, NSW police say
An insect bite is being investigated as the possible cause of the death of a Sydney prison inmate at the weekend, NSW police have confirmed.
At around 10pm on Friday, officers were informed of the death of the 41-year-old Aboriginal inmate, who was being treated at Westmead hospital after being transferred from Parklea prison for treatment earlier in the day.
NSW police said an insect bite was a line of inquiry, but the manner and cause of death would be ultimately determined by the coroner. His death was not being treated as suspicious.
Following his death, a group of inmates held a peaceful protest at Parklea prison on Saturday morning.
A spokesperson for Management & Training Corp (MTC), which runs the prison, extended sympathies to the man’s family and friends and the Aboriginal community and said they were working with Corrective Services NSW and police to investigate the death.
The spokesperson said there were no injuries during Saturday’s protest, and nothing was damaged:
After a period of negotiation, the majority of inmates were voluntarily secured in their cells. A small number of inmate representatives then spoke with centre management. At about 12.30pm, inmates were released from their cells, and normal routine recommenced.
NSW coast braced for low
In a weather warning issued at 11pm on Monday night, the Bureau of Meteorology said a vigorous coastal low was developing offshore to bring damaging, locally destructive winds and possible heavy rainfall over central and northern NSW from Tuesday.
At 4.10am on Tuesday it repeated warnings of storm force winds for the Macquarie coast and Hunter coast, a gales warning for Sydney enclosed waters, Sydney coast, Illawarra coast and Batemans coast. There was also a warning of strong winds for the Byron coast, Coffs coast and Eden coast.
Read our explainer to find out what is in store:
Updated
Greens welcome critical incident investigation into injury of pro-Palestine protester
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, has welcomed the declaration of a critical incident investigation after a woman was injured at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney.
Hannah Thomas, who ran against the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in the Sydney seat of Grayndler at the federal election, was arrested at the protest attended by about 60 people in Belmore on Friday morning before she was taken to hospital.
Thomas – who has said she could lose sight in her right eye after the arrest – was charged with resisting police.
Police yesterday announced they had declared a critical incident, meaning the force will undertake an investigation into the conduct of the officers who were involved.
Critical incident investigations are triggered when a death or serious injury has occurred during a person’s interaction with NSW police.
In a statement last night, Higginson said she welcomed the police move, adding:
This must be recognised as the minimum requirement … This cannot just be left as police investigating police.
It concerns me deeply that the police in announcing the critical incident have referred to the protest at Belmore “unauthorised”.
It’s important to remember people do not need authorisation to hold a protest. To do so would mean we really do live in a police state.
Thomas has also criticised the Minns government’s “draconian anti-protest laws”, which give police broad powers to issue move on orders outside places of worship whether or not the protest is directed at the place of worship.
Minns and the police have denied that the laws were used in this instance.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Rafqa Touma will be taking over.
It looks like a busy morning for emergency services down the New South Wales coast with high winds and rain forecast to sweep in during the morning. The Bureau of Meteorology said last night “a vigorous coastal low was developing offshore to bring damaging, locally destructive winds and possible heavy rainfall”. More coming up.
And the NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, has welcomed the declaration of a critical incident investigation after the Greens’ former candidate for Grayndler, Hannah Thomas, was injured at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney. More coming up.
Updated
