Sydney braces for potentially record-breaking heat
Petra Stock
The Bureau of Meteorology expects today to be hot, dry and windy across large parts of New South Wales following days of record-breaking heat across several states.
If temperatures in Sydney’s CBD reach 39C as forecast for today, the city’s October heat record of 38.2C, set in 2004 at Observatory Hill, could fall.
The weather bureau expects temperatures approaching 40C in the western suburbs.
On Tuesday, both Queensland and New South Wales recorded their highest ever October temperatures.
The Queensland outback town of Birdsville broke a new record on Tuesday, hitting 46.1C at 2.28pm local time, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, making it the highest October temperature recorded in the state. The state’s previous October record was 45.1C at Birdsville police station on 31 October 1995.
NSW also recorded its highest ever October temperature, with Bourke airport reaching 44.8C at 4pm local time on Tuesday. The previous NSW record for the month was 43.9C at Brewarrina on 31 October 1919.
Read more here:
Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Andrew Messenger
Legal challenge against Queensland’s ban on gender-affirming care in public hospitals begins
Supreme court of Queensland Justice Peter Callaghan will hear a challenge that, if successful, would overturn a health service directive which limits prescription of puberty-blocking hormones to transgender children in state hospitals. Cisgender children continue to have access to the treatment.
In January, the sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, denounced the decision as “discriminatory”, saying it “has the potential to harm the physical and mental wellbeing of children in Queensland who are currently awaiting care”.
There were 491 children on the Queensland gender clinic’s waiting list at the time the ban was put in place.
Guardian Australia revealed earlier this year that director-general David Rosengren held just 21 minutes’ consultation on the directive – a legal requirement under the act – at the same time the minister announced the decision. That will form the basis for one part of Wednesday’s challenge.
The court is expected to hear several witnesses today. The challenge was launched on behalf of a mother of a transgender child; neither can be named for legal reasons.
There is also a separate human rights and anti-discrimination class action challenge against the decision currently before Qcat.
Updated at 20.15 EDT
Victoria police commissioner says it was ‘wrong decision’ to charter police chopper to conference
Benita Kolovos
Victoria police’s chief commissioner, Mike Bush, has admitted it was the “wrong decision” to use a police helicopter to travel to a conference in Tasmania instead of taking a commercial flight.
The Herald Sun on Wednesday morning revealed Bush travelled to Hobart using the Victoria police air wing on Monday afternoon to attend the annual Australian and New Zealand Police Commissioners Forum.
Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Police said Bush was joined on the flight by two support staff and the New Zealand police commissioner. They said the group did not take the police plane “due to strong winds in Tasmania”.
The chopper ended up being grounded in Hobart on Monday night after a mechanical issue. It flew back to Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, Bush said:
It was the wrong decision. We should have looked harder for a commercial flight. While there were no impacts on community safety or financial costs to Victoria Police as the flight fell within our contracted hours with the Air Wing provider, it creates a poor impression at a challenging time for our organisation.
Updated at 20.05 EDT
NSW rural fire service urges people to be prepared, and take care during extreme heat
Trent Curtin, commissioner of the NSW rural fire service, urged people in the state to be prepared in case any dangerous fires break out today, or during the coming fire season.
Curtin spoke to ABC News, saying the service was asking everyone to “think about those conditions and pay attention to those conditions” as NSW braces for an extreme heatwave. He said:
Serious and potentially extreme fire danger conditions [exist] across New South Wales and into Sydney, the Illawarra and the Hunter regions.
Those highly populated areas in Wollongong, Newcastle and right across the Greater Sydney area could see extreme fire danger conditions this afternoon.
We’re asking everyone to think about those conditions and pay attention to those conditions.
Curtin said the unseasonably warm weather today “is a really good reminder that these conditions can come up really quickly and people should have their homes prepared for these types of circumstances”.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/ReutersShare
US senators say they hope relationship with Australia ‘continues to grow’ under Aukus deal
US senators Jeanne Shaheen and Jim Risch, the ranking member and chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, said they hope the reaffirmed Aukus submarine deal will only continue to grow the relationship with Australia after Anthony Albanese’s visit to Washington DC this week.
The senators, a Democrat and Republican respectively, said in a joint statement the Aukus deal would help counter China’s influence in the Pacific and benefit both nations:
It was our pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Albanese to the Capitol today. Australia has long been a true friend of the United States, and it is our sincere hope that our relationship only continues to grow, most notably with the continuation of the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) agreement and the recently announced critical minerals deal.
Together, we will push back against adversaries like China that threaten us and our allies in the Indo-Pacific. We will work to ensure our critical mineral supply chains are free from Chinese coercion. And we will continue to bolster our security and economic cooperation for the benefit of both the Australian and American people.
Anthony Albanese with US senators Jim Risch (left) and Jeanne Shaheen. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 19.28 EDT
Petra Stock
Where did this record-breaking October heat come from?
As Sydney heads for a possible 39C on Wednesday, the weather bureau says Wednesday’s two extreme weather stories are connected – with a low pressure system and strong winds in the south driving the heat east.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s senior meteorologist, Dean Narramore, explained that heat had built up through parts of Western Australia, inland Northern Territory and northern South Australia over the past few weeks, and was now being pushed east by the low pressure system moving across southern states.
This really strong weather system moving across the south has finally captured and dragged that heat across the country.
That’s why we’ve seen record heat over the weekend through WA and SA, and then that record heat is now moving to New South Wales and Queensland yesterday and today, as that system continues to drag that heat towards the east coast.
Further south [in southern SA, Victoria, and Tasmania] near to that low, that’s where we’re seeing widespread rain, and we’re going to see the really strong and damaging winds on the backside of the low.
Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 19.06 EDT
Melbourne man charged after $9,000 in Labubus seized
A man in Melbourne was charged with four counts of burglary and two counts of theft after he allegedly stole $9,000 in Labubu dolls earlier this year.
Victoria police said they executed a warrant at a property on Tuesday, where they allegedly found 43 Labubus, including some that were special limited editions valued at $500 apiece.
The police said the dolls were allegedly stolen during four separate burglaries from a shopping centre in July.
The man was released on bail and will appear before court next year.
Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 19.56 EDT
NSW health minister urges people to stay cool and hydrated today
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, is urging residents to take steps to protect themselves today.
Park said people should ensure they are hydrated and stay cool, avoiding the outdoors when possible and keeping your home cool by closing doors, windows, curtains or blinds. He said in a statement:
Let’s also look out for another, our older friends and family; babies and young children; and pregnant women.
Signs of heat-related illnesses include slurred speech, loss of consciousness, muscle twitching, rapid breathing or a rapid pulse. Emergency departments see more presentations during times of high temperatures.
Ryan Park. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShare
Updated at 18.35 EDT
BoM says parts of Sydney could ‘flirt with 40 degrees’ today as state gets steamy
Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said parts of Sydney could “flirt with 40 degrees today” as major heat settles over the state.
Hines said in a new release:
Sydney is forecast to reach 39 degrees today, a blistering day for the state capital, and all of the suburbs around the Sydney metro area are forecast to reach the high 30s.
And certainly not out of the question that parts of the city could flirt with 40 degrees today, and we will be very near record temperatures around the Sydney area for this time of year.
North of the city, Gosford and Newcastle are predicted to reach 39, while in Wollongong to the south residents should brace for a high of 37.
Parts of the NSW tablelands and western slopes are expected to be 12 to 15 degrees higher than their usual October temperatures.
Updated at 18.18 EDT
US company Air T enters bid to buy Rex Airlines
A US company has made a bid to buy Rex Airlines, administrators confirmed last night, more than a year after the airline entered voluntary administration, Australian Associated Press reports.
North Carolina-based Air T – which operates a number of aviation businesses in the US – has entered a sale and implementation deed with EY, the administrators of Rex.
“The sale and implementation deed is subject to customary conditions precedent for a transaction of this type including receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by creditors,” the administrators’ announcement said.
The estimated return to the airline’s creditors is being determined.
No return to shareholders is expected and the company is no longer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The federal government has been propping up the airline to ensure regional and remote communities remain serviced, buying $50m in debt and loaning up to $80m.
Rex entered voluntary administration in July last year. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images
Catherine King, the federal transport minister, said last night’s announcement marked a positive step to bringing the airline out of voluntary administration.
The government has also entered an agreement with Air T around the restructure of financing arrangements in connection with the acquisition.
“This will allow Rex to keep flying and maintain critical aviation links for regional communities,” King said.
Rex went into voluntary administration in July 2024, after a failed bid to compete with rival airlines on capital city routes.
SharePolice find body believed to be missing hiker in Tasmania
Tasmania police have recovered the body of a man believed to be missing hiker Daryl Fong, who went missing in the state’s Mount Field national park on Sunday 12 October.
Police said this morning search and rescue crews discovered the remains at 6pm yesterday after a lengthy search. Teams worked in difficult conditions, including waist-deep snow and gale-force winds during the effort.
Fong set out earlier this month on a solo hike, with the intent of photographing the Tarn Shelf circuit.
Daryl Fong. Photograph: Tasmania police
Insp Luke Horne said in a statement:
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all search crews, particularly the volunteers, who worked tirelessly in these extreme conditions. Their dedication and resilience are a vital part of our rescue capability and consistently go above and beyond.
Daryl’s family and friends have requested privacy during this difficult time as they come to terms with the loss of their son and friend.
No suspicious circumstances have been identified.
Updated at 17.46 EDT
Kate Lyons
Mayor of inner Melbourne council charged with assault
Stephen Jolly, the independent mayor of Yarra council in Melbourne’s inner north, has been charged with one count of common assault following an alleged incident at an election celebration party in November last year, which he claims was gatecrashed by masked intruders.
Speaking to Guardian Australia, Jolly called it a “bullshit charge” and said he would “vigorously, vigorously defend myself” should the matter go to court, saying he had numerous witnesses to back up his version of events.
In a statement on social media, Jolly wrote:
As this matter may go before a court, there are legal restrictions about what I can say other than I am totally innocent and look forward to vigorously defending myself, if I end up needing to. I will not be diverted from my job of representing the people of Yarra.
ShareRudd doing ‘a fantastic job’, Albanese maintains
Josh Butler
Anthony Albanese is doing a round of breakfast TV appearances on his way out of the US. On ABC News, he said he’d had a “terrific meeting” with Donald Trump and his cabinet, saying he’d spent around three hours with the president.
“We have a very good relationship, and we can talk with each other at any time,” Albanese said.
In an earlier press conference, Albanese said Trump had given him a tour of the Oval Office, White House and its grounds, including seeing the president’s plans to build a new ballroom at the property.
Anthony Albanese and Kevin Rudd speak to members of the ‘Friends of Australia Caucus’ and congressional advocates during a breakfast in Washington DC. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA
Albanese said Australia would continue to “respectfully and diplomatically” make the case for US tariffs to be dropped, and that he’d tried making this case to Trump directly – but indicated the lack of such movement didn’t really sour his visit.
Nor did the altercation between Trump and the Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd. Albanese said “it was fine”, noting Trump told Rudd that he was forgiven, and dismissing the president’s comments as “some banter”.
“It wasn’t, certainly, a significant moment … all’s good. Kevin Rudd’s doing a fantastic job,” Albanese said.
Updated at 17.14 EDT