Australia News LIVE: Polar blast strikes Australia causes flight delays and wild winds: What you need to know

By KYLIE STEVENS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 23:01 BST, 24 June 2025 | Updated: 00:25 BST, 25 June 2025

Welcome to Daily Mail Australia’s live news blog. Millions of Aussies have woken up to chilly conditions with a severe weather warning for damaging winds in place for large parts of NSW, including Sydney.

Delays expected at Sydney Airport due to damaging winds

Millions of Aussies have woken up to chilly conditions as a cold front sweeps across NSW.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds is in place for large parts of the state and the ACT

The warning impacts the Sydney, Illawarra and Hunter regions, the South Coast, Southern Tablelands and parts of Mid North Coast, Central Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Tablelands.

In Sydney’s south-east, strong winds averaging 50-60 km/h with damaging wind gusts of up to 90 km/h possible throughout the day.

The Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Wollonging regions can expect winds averaging 55-65 km/h with peak gusts of up to 100 km/h.

Overnight, winds reached up to 91km/h in Albion Park about 2.30am, and 115km/h in Bellambi after.

High winds also wreaked havoc at Australia’s busiest airport on Wednesday morning.

Travellers heading to Sydney Airport have been warned of possible delays.

‘Due to high winds, airport operations may be affected throughout the day,’ an airport spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

‘We recommend passengers check the status of their flight with their airline before traveling to the airport and we thank passengers for their patience and understanding.’

The State Emergency Services urges residents in impacted regions to move their vehicles undercover and away from trees and to secure loose items in backyards and on balconies.

Sydney will reach a top of 18C with the chance of afternoon showers.

Elswehere across Australia, damaging wind gusts and blizzard conditions are possible over Victoria’s north-east ranges.

Damaging wind gusts are also forecast for South Australia’s south-east coastal fringes.

D-Day for Antoinette Lattouf and the ABC over controversial sacking

A casual ABC radio host and Palestine advocate who was taken off air after three days on the job will soon learn if she is owed damages for unlawful termination.

Antoinette Lattouf was hired for a week-long stint on ABC Radio Sydney’s Mornings program before Christmas 2023.

She was let go after sharing a Human Rights Watch post that said Israel was using starvation as a ‘weapon of war’ in Gaza.

She has taken her unlawful termination case to the Federal Court, which is due to hand down its judgment on Wednesday.

The 41-year-old is seeking compensation and penalties.

She claims she was fired from the job because of her race and political opinion after publicly commenting on the plight of Palestinians during the ongoing conflict with Israel.

During a hearing in February, Justice Daryl Rangiah heard Lattouf was let go 48 hours into a campaign by a pro-Israeli group, which sent a barrage of complaints to ABC executives, including then-chair Ita Buttrose.

The public broadcaster has been accused of taking a partisan view despite claiming to be an impartial news source.

However, the ABC denies this.

The broadcaster claims it took Lattouf off the air because she failed to follow a direction not to post about Israel or the war in Gaza during her five-day shift.

She rejects this, saying her direct supervisor Elizabeth Green agreed she could post facts from reputable sources.

As well as Ms Buttrose, she has also targeted the ABC’s former content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor and former managing director David Anderson as being responsible for the allegedly unlawful termination.

She has blamed the broadcaster for making her sacking public after an article in The Australian was put out before she had returned home the day she was fired.

ABC executives blamed head of capital city networks Steve Ahern for putting the organisation in an “unacceptable position” by failing to assess Lattouf’s history before hiring her, the court previously was told.

With Australian Associated Press

Major update on horror crash that claimed the lives of a woman and unborn child

A man has been charged over a head-on crash which killed a woman and seriously injured another, causing her to lose her unborn child.

The 19-year-old was behind the wheel of a Holden Commodore when it collided head-on with a Hyundai sedan on Newcastle Road at North Lambton, in Newcastle, at about 2.40am on Sunday.

The 55-year-old female passenger in the Hyundai, who was on holiday from India, died at the scene. Her pregnant daughter, who was driving the Hyundai was seriously injured and has since lost her unborn child.

The man was arrested at a home in Mayfield on Tuesday.

He was charged with three counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct – in charge of motor vehicle, one count each of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death – escaping pursuit, aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm – escaping pursuit, using a vehicle displaying misleading number plates and never licensed person driving a vehicle on a road.

He will face court on Wednesday.

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Australia News LIVE: Polar blast strikes Australia causes flight delays and wild winds: What you need to know

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