Australia news live: Greens welcome investigation into Hannah Thomas incident; NSW coast braced for low
Date: 2025-06-30T20:54:47.000Z
Title: Bureau of Meteorology
Content: In a weather warning issued at 11pm on Monday night, the 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:
Update:
Date: 2025-06-30T20:53:50.000Z
Title: Greens welcome critical incident investigation into injury of pro-Palestine protester
Content: 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.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-30T20:48:35.000Z
Title: Welcome
Content: 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.
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