Wild winds and big surf batter the Central Coast
Coastal erosion is a concern for people living on the beachfront of Wamberal and The Entrance as a prolonged weather system bears down on the NSW.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
21 hours ago
- ABC News
Winter grain production to dip as dry conditions lead farmers to plant smaller area
Australia's winter crop production is expected to be 8 per cent lower this year, with drought and dry conditions affecting grain growers in South Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales. The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resources Economics and Sciences' (ABARES) June crop report estimates national winter grain production at 55.6 million tonnes. If realised, grain production would still be 13 per cent above the annual average production for the last 10 years. Dry conditions and a lack of summer rainfall across SA, western Victoria, southern New South Wales and Western Australia's northern wheatbelt meant farmers planted a smaller area than last year. "Much of the 2025–26 winter crop has been dry sown and will require adequate and timely rainfall during June to allow for crop germination and establishment. Dry autumn conditions are expected to have discouraged some growers from committing to their full planting intentions," the report said. The latest Bureau of Meterology (BOM) forecast said there was a 60 — 80 per cent chance that winter rainfall in drought-affected states could be above average. In South Australia's mid north, dry conditions and uncertainty over winter rains led grain grower Jono Mudge to reduce the area he sowed this year. "It's as bad as it gets, and it is as bad as it has has ever gotten," he said. Having received just 10mm of rain over the last five months, he isn't putting much faith in the BOM's winter forecast. "Our average annual rainfall is 325mm, if we can get 150mm from here until October I'll be stoked, but I can't see that happening the way it is at the moment." ABARES says if winter rainfall totals are above average, South Australian grain production would increase by 42 per cent to 7.5 million tonnes. Southern New South Wales farmer Ryan Dennis got halfway through his sowing program before the risk of not getting enough rain convinced him to pause. "It was desperate. You're putting money into the ground and hoping [for rain]," he said. Mr Dennis's farm in Downside, near Wagga Wagga, receives an average of 525mm of rain annually. With 150mm of rain so far, he said while crops have been slower to emerge this year, wheat and barley crops still have time. "Normal main season canola would hopefully be up around your ankles by now, but we're just finding [the very first leaves]," he said. "Everything's definitely delayed, but the wheat and the barley is not too far out of its [emergence] window." Many Western Australian grain growers completed sowing their crops into dry soils, but a slow moving low pressure system is expected to bring rain to most of the state this week. "Through all the farming districts, we're looking at most locations getting between 10-30mm [on Tuesday] as this system moves across WA," BOM senior meteorologist Joey Rawson said. "We've got three days of quite heavy rainfall across the farming regions." York farmer, and chair of GrainGrowers Rhys Turton said it's been a nervous wait for a season break. "I think most people plugged through their program without too many changes from what I'm hearing. "So I think as every day went by and there was more dust blowing behind the machines, everyone was looking to the sky and looking to phones for the latest weather forecast." Unlike the eastern states, ABARES said WA growers planted a larger area of winter grain crops this year. Above average rain in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales has helped farmers sow their winter crops with confidence. "Average to above average soil moisture levels at planting, combined with a positive rainfall outlook for winter, are expected to support above average yield prospects," ABARES said. "The weather was very kind to us during summer, which has allowed us to do this winter crop planting," grain grower Stuart McIntyre said. And with basically everything full at the moment, that'll allow us for a nice large summer crop."
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Flood Cleanup
BLAKE: Still on the Hastings River, still in major flood, I'll give you a look around. The debris has slowed down, but the things I've been seeing are really devastating. For the last two weeks, Blake has been recording what he's seen around his hometown, Port Macquarie in New South Wales. BLAKE: Major floods Just in comparison, where I'm standing is the 2021 flood. This is where it got up to, let me take you down to where it is right now. Yep, floods aren't new to this part of this world. But the recent disaster that hit the hunter regions and the mid-north coast was devastating. Noah here lives in Taree, where nearly half the homes were underwater last week. JONATHAN, NOAH'S DAD: Got everyone out through the bedroom window and to the boat and made my way to the next-door neighbour and picked her up. She lives there by herself, and she was almost chest-deep in water. Floodwater doesn't just make things wet, it's full of everything it picks up along the way, including dirt, sewage and chemicals. And it causes mold to grow, meaning a lot of things can't be salvaged even when they dry out. BLAKE: So, we had to put some fridges away, like chuck fridges away because they all got broken and stuff. We've lost heaps of piles of my kayaks. Just basic stuff we've lost, but still a lot. And it's not just homes that have been affected. The floods have hit business, and farms. SAM, FARMER: No matter what we could have done, no matter how well we prepared, no one could have prepared for this. This land is flat, which means there's nowhere for the water to flow naturally. And with the soil already soaked, it sits around and kills grass. JAMES, FARMER: Everything's covered in silt and a lot of the pasture we've sown for the autumn, winter and spring is all dead, so we're gonna have no food at all. Experts say the damage from these floods will be huge. Just repairing the roads alone is expected to cost around 2.5 billion dollars. Some people will be relying on insurance to help them rebuild. But as events like this become more frequent, insurance is becoming more expensive and not everyone can get it. Last week the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, came to Taree to talk to locals. ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PM: We are activating the Australian government disaster recovery payment, in nine government areas. Right now, everyone is working together to clean up the damage. 70 members of the Australian Defence force have come to help out, along with more than 2,000 SES volunteers from around the country. BLAKE: Moving a lot of mud. Cleaning up, getting new furniture in, cleaning everything, cleaning all the grass off because it was a big layer of mud. Getting his sand in cleaning boats. So now we've done all that and the volunteers have helped. So, now we're back up and running. Many people aren't exactly sure what the next few weeks, months or even years of their life will look like, but they're trying to stay positive. SAM: Seeing our cows still there, it gives us hope. BLAKE: There's nothing we could do about it, but right now, we're on the other side, which is a better thing.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
BTN Newsbreak 02/06/2025
TAYLOR SWIFT Some of Taylor Swift's old albums are back in the music charts today, after she bought back the rights to all of her music! As of the 31st of May 2025, she officially owns all of the music she's ever made after buying the rights to the master recordings of her first 6 albums. This also includes all her music videos, concert films, album art and photography and unreleased songs! Yep, it's a dream she's been chasing for years. See, Taylor Swift says wasn't given the opportunity to buy the rights to her own songs back 2019 when they were bought by music manager Scooter Braun after he took over her old record label, Big Machine Records. He then sold them to an investment company called Shamrock Capital for hundreds of millions of dollars, which meant that she couldn't fully control how her music was distributed and licenced. So to fight back, she started to re-record the albums, releasing them as "Taylor's Version" so fans would know which songs belong to her. But now, she doesn't have to keep doing that because all of her music really is hers, and fans have been celebrating by getting some of her old albums back on the charts. SYDNEY FOG A thick blanket of fog caused a bit of chaos in Sydney this morning! The visibility was so bad that all ferries on the Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River were cancelled for some of the morning. Lots of flights were also affected, while drivers and pedestrians were told to be extremely careful. PIASTRI WINS SPANISH GRAND PRIX He's done it again! For the fifth time this season, Aussie Oscar Piastri has finished first on the podium for McLaren, this time at the Spanish Grand Prix. Piastri led from the get go from pole position. Meanwhile, there was absolute chaos unfolding behind him, costing Max Verstappen a 10 second penalty for collision. In the end it was a flawless drive by Piastri who extended his lead in the F1 drivers' championship. WHEELCHAIR RUGBY Over in Adelaide, the Aussies have just missed out on gold in the wheelchair Rugby World Challenge Final. The Aussie Steelers went up against the Netherlands in a tight battle. The fourth quarter began with the Netherlands on 47 and Australia on 46. But the Netherlands edged ahead, taking home gold 64-to-60. WORLD ATHLETICS CONTINENTAL TOUR Finally to the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet in Kenya, where 21-year-old Australian, Lachlan Kennedy, became just the second Aussie ever to legally run 100 metres in under 10 seconds! All eyes will now be on an upcoming meet in June, when he'll take on fellow Aussie sprint sensation, Gout Gout. OLD SKATERS First up, to Perth, where Peter and Barbara here were the only couple competing as a couple, in this year's roller-skating state championships. They both fell in love with the sport more than 30 years ago, but since then, the number of people skating has gone down. OLD COLLECTOR Now to India, where one local anthropologist, that's someone who studies humans, has taken it upon himself to collect all sorts of old tech, preserving it for future generations. Vij hopes that he can one day move his collection into a proper museum catering to schools. 100TH SPELLING BEE And finally to the moment 13 year old Faizan won this year's Scripp's National Spelling Bee in the US, which by the way is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year! Faizan actually almost won last year, but lost during the tiebreaker. As well as the fame and glory, and this trophy, Faizan walked away $119,000 richer.
