Key events
Caitlin Cassidy
Almost 70,000 students across New South Wales are waking today to discover their results in the end of year exams.
Yesterday, almost 130 students celebrated receiving First in Course honours – topping the state for their achievements in individual subjects.
Today, Atar results will be released, as well as final subject scores.
While a tense time for students, the state’s education minister, Prue Car, said everyone had “tried their absolute best and studied their guts out”.
At a ceremony at Western Sydney University on Wednesday, Car assured students who didn’t receive the results they hoped for that there were “so many ways to achieve your future”.
“Whether that is further training, employment, whether you want to go on a gap year … enjoy and celebrate what you’ve done well …take it all in stride, you worked hard.”
As for Car’s Atar? It had a nine in front of it – 98.75 to be exact/
“But looking back, it’s quite a long time ago,” she added.
“There are so many things that you’ll do in your future.”
Intense rainfall between Ingham and Cooktown
According to a severe weather warning issued by the BoM just before 5am, there are still risks of heavy, locally intense rainfall and damaging winds, for people across the north tropical coast, tablelands, gulf country and beyond – as the major storm that used to be Cyclone Jasper moves west across the peninsula to the gulf.
Heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding was occurring between Ingham and Cooktown, the update said, with isolated falls up to 350mm possible.
Intense rainfall which may lead to “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding” was developing between Cooktown and Cairns.
And damaging wind gusts peaking at 90km/h were still possible along the coast.
Emergency services advised people to keep their children close, park cars away from trees and close doors and windows.
“Go inside a strong building now,” the advice said. “Stay inside until the storm has passed.”
Flooding and wind damage in far north Queensland as Tropical Cyclone Jasper weakens to a tropical low
Heavy rains and damaging winds have hit Queensland’s tropical north coast as Tropical Cyclone Jasper weakened to a tropical low, reports Australian Associated Press.
Residents took shelter as the category 2 storm hit and winds of about 100km/h uprooted trees and brought down powerlines.
The intensity of the storm was reduced to a tropical low late on Wednesday night and it was due to continue to weaken as it moved inland.
But life-threatening flash flooding was still expected, with the state’s far north facing up to 300mm of rainfall over six hours and 500mm in 24 hours.
Emergency authorities initially said there had been “some damage” and flooding and there were power outages.
There was a risk the system could re-intensify into a tropical cyclone as it hits the Gulf of Carpentaria on Friday.
Prior to the system reaching the coast, more than 17,000 homes and businesses were already without power.
The deputy premier, Steven Miles, travelled to Townsville on Wednesday to monitor the emergency response.
The Australian defence force was also on standby to assist if necessary.
“We stand ready to support far north Queensland, the Queensland government and local governments in any way needed in the days ahead,” the federal emergency management minister, Murray Watt, said.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to the live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you some of our top overnight stories before Emily Wind takes over.
Far north Queenslanders are counting the cost – and still facing damaging winds and life-threatening flooding – after Cyclone Jasper hit the coast as a category 2 storm before being downgraded overnight to a tropical low. The Bureau of Meteorology said: “Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper is no longer of tropical cyclone intensity; however, impacts from heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts are still likely.” A deluge of 500mm in 24 hours was expected along the coast and adjacent ranges between Cape Tribulation to Cairns, with up to 300mm of that falling in a six-hour peak.
A Guardian Australia investigation published today has found that thousands of investors have lost millions of dollars to the schemes set up by Australian blockchain entrepreneur Sam Lee and his business partner Ryan Xu, who were the founders of the collapsed Australian bitcoin company Blockchain Global. There is also anger at Australian authorities who have made no mention of the schemes that were flagged by the New Zealand regulator as a possible “scam” and by another overseas regulator as a “suspected pyramid scheme”, among many other overseas warnings.
After an eleventh-hour deal at Cop28 agreeing countries should “transition away” from fossil fuels, Australia’s climate change minister Chris Bowen says the text sent a clear message that “our future is in clean energy and the age of fossil fuels will end”. Read our analysis and find out what was good Cop and what was bad Cop.
Says Bowen:
The outcome does not go as far as many of us have asked for, starting with some of the most vulnerable countries, but the message it sends is clear – that all nations of the world have acknowledged the reality that our future is in clean energy, and the age of fossil fuels will end.
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