Australia news live: wild NSW weather leaves at least 29,000 without power; Wong says Quad discussions with Rubio ‘positive’ | Australia news
NSW wild weather: about 29,000 properties affected by power outages
At least 29,000 properties have been affected by power outages as strong winds and heavy rainfall lash the NSW coast.
At about 7am this morning, 17,880 Endeavour Energy customers and 11,484 Ausgrid sites had been affected.
Key events
Driver seriously injured after tree crushes truck amid wild NSW weather
A driver is in critical condition after a tree fell and crushed his truck in Moss Vale in NSW’s Southern Highlands, overnight.
Emergency services were called to Berrima Road at about 10.30pm last night. They found a tree had fallen on to a B-Double truck, crushing the driver’s cabin, NSW Police said.
The 55-year-old driver was unconscious as police officers and emergency service workers extracted him.
He was treated for serious injuries to his head and torso. He was taken to hospital and is in a critical condition.
Wong, Rubio working on rescheduling meeting between Albanese and Trump
Penny Wong says she and US secretary of state Marco Rubio are working on rescheduling a meeting between Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and US president Donald Trump after Trump snubbed Albanese at the G7.
The foreign minister told ABC TV:
Secretary Rubio again expressed regret, as he did to me when we spoke on the phone, for the rescheduling of the meeting that had to occur that was between the prime minister and the president as a consequence of the president leaving the G7 early. I explained to him we understood that the president had to leave early. We understood why the meeting needed to be rescheduled.
We’re working on rescheduling a meeting between the president and the prime minister.
Wong: Rubio didn’t refer to Australia’s defence spending at Quad meeting
Asked if she was requested to spend more on defence at the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington, Penny Wong says US secretary Marco Rubio didn’t mention Australia’s defence budget.
She told ABC TV:
I know there’s been a lot written about this, but I would say this to you – we did talk a lot about what we do together. Secretary Rubio didn’t raise Australia’s defence budget with me. What we talked about was our partnership and the ways in which we work together. We obviously talked about the AUKUS agreement and the benefits that it gives all three countries. It’s a good deal for Australia, it’s a good deal for the United States, and it’s a good deal for the United Kingdom.
Nato states have pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – but Australia has sidestepped those calls.
Penny Wong says Quad, bilateral discussions with Marco Rubio ‘positive’
Penny Wong says US secretary of state Marco Rubio hosting Quad members’ foreign ministers “as one of his very first engagements after being sworn in” indicates the importance the US places on the Quad.
Speaking from Washington, Australia’s foreign minister told ABC TV:
We had a very positive discussion. Obviously this is, I think, the third occasion we’ve engaged – the first being when I came here as the first foreign minister to be invited to a presidential inauguration, which was a great honour. And Secretary Rubio hosted me and the two other countries who are members of the Quad as one of his very first engagements after being sworn in. So that was an excellent meeting, but it was a real sign of how important the partnership is and the importance that the United States places on this Quad grouping.
We also had a good conversation after the G7, and I was very pleased to have a very positive discussion with him today, both in the context of the Quad, but also in our bilateral meeting.
Liberals in push to increase female representation in parliament
Away from the weather, our main story today is more Liberal machinations over potential quotas for female candidates.
Some Liberals want party rules changed to increase female representation in parliament. They will propose gender quotas with enforceable expiry dates to win the broadest possible support for the plan, according to Tom McIlroy and Krishani Dhanji.
Read their article here:
You can also hear Tom discussing how Sussan Ley can reform the party, in today’s edition of the Full Story podcast. Here’s the link:
NSW wild weather: about 29,000 properties affected by power outages
At least 29,000 properties have been affected by power outages as strong winds and heavy rainfall lash the NSW coast.
At about 7am this morning, 17,880 Endeavour Energy customers and 11,484 Ausgrid sites had been affected.
NSW wild weather: ‘Conditions can become dangerous quickly’
Wild weather has brought down trees, damaged properties and flooded roads on the NSW coast, NSW SES says.
Most of the damage overnight involved fallen trees and powerlines and damaged roofs, but there was a surge of flood rescues around Shoalhaven as flash flooding swept through the area, SES says.
NSW SES Acting Assistant Commissioner Allison Flaxman said:
These incidents are a timely reminder that roads are slippery, and conditions can become dangerous quickly.
Please, never drive, walk or play in flood waters. If you do come across a flooded road, turn around and find an alternative route.
Emergency warnings have been issued for Burrill Lake, where about 200 properties are affected by flooding – with water rising about floor level in some places. An emergency warning is also current for Sanctuary Point.
NSW SES crews have responded to more than 2,320 incidents since the start of this complex weather system, as we reported earlier in the blog.
Rafqa Touma
Thank you Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning. I’ll be keeping you updated with the day’s news from here – let’s go.
Wave warnings for NSW coast
Senior meteorologist from the BoM Dean Narramore told ABC TV earlier that large surf is likely off the NSW coast today.
There’s actually multiple lows out in the Tasman Sea right now. We’re likely to see big seas and swell, as well. Coastal hazard warnings for dangerous and very high swell and seas [are] likely to lead to coastal erosion for areas from Newcastle.
He also warned there would be “another surge of wind and rain into southern parts of NSW: Illawarra, south coast, and inland areas this afternoon and this evening”.
So we could see the winds and rain continue this morning, ease a bit middle of the day, and then maybe another surge moving up the coast later today into tonight.
But finally, all of this will start shifting away on Thursday.
Foreign affairs minister makes case for tariff reprieve in Washington
Penny Wong met with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, this morning, Australian time, as Australia continues to negotiate for the removal of tariffs.
The face-to-face discussions took place in Washington on the sidelines of a meeting of Quad foreign ministers, AAP reports, which also includes Wong’s counterparts from India and Japan.
Wong told Rubio it was unfortunate they were meeting against a backdrop of conflict in the world.
“So it has never been more important for us to harness our collective strength for peace, stability, for prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” she said.
Rubio responded that the US and Australia had a “great partnership”, and while it was important to discuss ideas and concepts, the next steps would be “concrete action”.
It’s the second time in six months that foreign ministers from the Quad nations have met for in-person talks, with the grouping also holding formal discussions in Washington in the days following US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Defence, trade and stability in the Indo-Pacific have been high on the agenda during the discussions.
Calls for assistance as wild NSW weather continues
NSW SES crews have responded to more than 2,320 incidents since the start of the bad weather, the SES said early today as the coastal low shifted southwards from Newcastle to Sydney, the Illawarra and the south coast.
Flood rescue crews responded to a surge in calls for help around Shoalhaven overnight as flash flooding swept through the area, but most incidents involved fallen trees, powerlines and damaged roofs, the SES said.
As much as 150mm of rain fell overnight in some places, with more than 200mm at Ulladulla.
Flood warnings along NSW south coast
The NSW SES advised people at Burrill Lake, near Ulladulla, to take shelter early this morning, as it’s too late for them to move.
About 200 properties were affected by flooding as of 5am today, the SES said, with water rising over floors.
Residents at Sanctuary Point, south of Nowra were told a few hours ago to move to higher ground.
Damaging winds and heavy rainfall batters coastal NSW
The NSW Bureau of Meteorology issued a weather update at 4.08am in which it said the “vigorous coastal low-pressure system” has moved from off the coast of Sydney to offshore from the northern Illawarra, bringing damaging winds and heavy rainfall along the coastline and elevated parts of the state.
It is expected to gradually tracknorth-eastwards into the Tasman Sea during today.
These are the details:
-
Heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding continues in the south-east of NSW, south of Nowra, extending southwards towards Bega and inland to Braidwood. Six-hourly rainfall totals of between 50 to 80mm are likely, it said, with isolated totals up to 120mm. Rain rates are forecast to ease during this morning.
-
Damaging south to south-westerly winds averaging 60 to 70km/h with peak gusts of around 110km/h are possible along coastal parts from the south coast to the mid-north coast, including eastern Sydney metropolitan area. Damaging south to south-westerly wind gusts around 90km/h are possible for parts of the Snowy Mountains and southern ACT.
-
Strong to damaging west to south-westerly winds averaging 55 to 65km/h with peak gusts of around 100km/h are likely to develop around parts of the northern tablelands, the mid-north coast hinterland and about the Border Ranges from early this morning, and are expected to continue through the day.
Locations which may be affected include Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Armidale, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Tenterfield, Katoomba, Moruya Heads and Penrith.
Significant amounts of rainfall included
-
80.5mm was recorded at Oranmeir in the 6 hours to 2:05 am.
-
108mm was recorded at Nowra in the 6 hours to 12:02 am.
-
133mm was recorded at Morton in the 6 hours to 11:43 pm.
-
116mm was recorded at Vincentia in the 6 hours to 9:37 pm.
The impact of the storm would ease during tomorrow, it said, but pulses of increased winds and rainfall associated with this system could continue to impact areas of eastern NSW.
If you want to find out which parts of NSW are being hit by rain and how much, look no further than our interactive map.
NSW train passengers told to avoid non-essential travel as storm disrupts network
There could be severe disruption and chaos on New South Wales’s rail network this morning after Transport NSW advised passengers last night to “avoid non-essential travel across the rail network” – the warning was updated at 6.03am.
It said the weather had damaged parts of the network’s infrastructure and some services had been cancelled because fallen trees have blocked tracks.
Train and bus users were urged to:
-
Plan their trips before leaving home
-
Check alerts here for real-time travel information
-
Be careful of slippery conditions when travelling through stops and stations
-
Listen to service announcements at stations
-
Leave plenty of extra travel time if you are using the public transport network.
Driving may not be much better either, with Transport NSW advising motorists across eastern parts of the state to “prepare for delays and disruptions, as extreme weather is set to lash the region today and into the coming days”.
Drivers are advised to:
-
Use the Live Traffic NSW app or livetraffic.com for up-to-date road conditions before setting off
-
Not drive, walk or cycle through flood waters
-
Watch out for storm debris on the road.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be my colleague Rafqa Touma to take control.
The wild weather lashing New South Wales continued overnight. The Bureau of Meteorology said early this morning that the storm had moved from off the coast of Sydney to the Illawarra, bringing winds above 125km/h and heavy rain with the risk of flash flooding from Nowra as far south as Bega. Areas as far north as Queensland’s Lockyer Valley are being warned of severe weather, and Central Coast residents were being warned to evacuate late yesterday amid coastal erosion.
There could be severe disruption and chaos on Sydney trains this morning after Transport NSW advised passengers last night to “avoid non-essential travel across the rail network” after the weather downed trees and blocked tracks. It also said drivers should be ready for delays and disruptions to last through the coming days.
The storm is expected to track south before turning back out into the Tasman Sea sometime today.
More details soon.
