Australia news live: ‘very dry and potentially dangerous’ fire conditions in NSW; 141,500 Victorian homes without power | Australia news

Strong winds impacted flights into Melbourne overnight

The strong winds overnight have had an impact on flights arriving into Melbourne.

Cebu Pacific flight 5J49 was meant to arrive at 11.18pm last night, but diverted to Brisbane and instead got to Melbourne at 5.27am.

Meanwhile, Vietjet airways VJ81 was meant to arrive at 11.41pm but diverted to Canberra, arriving at Melbourne at 2.53am.

The Star Entertainment Group has been suspended from trading by the Australian Securities Exchange.

According to a market announcement, it has been suspended “for not lodging the relevant periodic report by the due date”.

This comes after the Star entered a trading halt on Friday, after an inquiry into the casino operator handed down its report.

The Bureau of Meteorology has shared this forecast of the windy conditions ahead today, set to pick up again later in the week.

Large tree snaps from its roots in Melbourne

An Altona Meadows resident has shared footage of a large tree in their yard, which snapped from its roots during the damaging winds overnight:

Housing values growth cools nationally, demand falls

Australian home values have risen for a 19th consecutive month, AAP reports, but growth has slowed as more buyers are priced out of the market.

A cooling housing market over winter has been flagged, with CoreLogic data revealing a national growth of 0.5% in August. It’s slightly above the 0.3% increase recorded in July, according to its Home Value Index update released today.

But the pace of growth has slowed with the quarterly increase in national home values (1.3%) less than half the growth rate in the same three-month period in 2023, when it was 2.7%.

CoreLogic’s head of research Eliza Owen says the monthly gains were led by Perth, with a 2% increase, followed by Adelaide with a 1.4% rise and Brisbane with 1.1%. Monthly growth in Sydney was milder at 0.3% and home values fell slightly in Canberra, Melbourne, Darwin and Hobart.

Housing values cannot keep rising at the same pace in the midsized capitals of Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane when affordability is becoming increasingly stretched.

Particularly in the context of elevated interest rates, loosening labour market conditions and cost-of-living pressures.

Five bush and grass fires in NSW not yet contained

There are currently 37 bush and grass fires across New South Wales, the RFS says. Five of these have not yet been contained.

With Total Fire Bans in place for the Shoalhaven/Illawarra and Greater Sydney areas, strong winds are expected to pick up considerably over the coming hours.

Half of residents around Derwent River have evacuated ahead of major flooding

Mick Lowe, executive director of the Tasmanian SES, has been providing an update to ABC News Breakfast.

He said crews had been out door-knocking amid the evacuation warning, with major flooding forecast for the Derwent River.

We understand about half of those residents have now left their houses. We continue to encourage people to leave the area. Houses will become inundated and there are going to be a lot of houses in those rural communities that are going to become isolated over the next 24 to 40 hours.

In the past 24 hours the Tasmanian SES has received more than 340 calls for assistance, which Lowe said was “significant for a small jurisdiction like ours”.

The issue that we’re facing at the moment is the sheer volume. We are having to triage calls. We understand that there are a number of calls that are outstanding at the moment. We continue to work through those, and will do so throughout today and into this evening.

‘Everyone knows someone’: calls to expose rural DV risk

The quiet seclusion of a farm, winding rural roads and close-knit communities are all selling points of country life. But as AAP reports, those bucolic charms can also pose a threat to women experiencing domestic abuse.

Domestic Violence NSW chief executive Delia Donovan said:

Women exposed to family and domestic violence can be stuck … and no one even knows what’s going on. In small communities women are also hesitant to report to the police; they’re really frightened of the backlash because everyone knows someone.

Donovan said the unique threats faced by rural women, such as the availability of farm weapons, poor transport connections and limited housing, need to be better recognised.

The state’s peak body for specialist domestic violence services is supporting the NSW Country Women’s Association’s annual awareness week calling for greater action on gendered violence.

The CWA’s campaign calls for sustainable funding for victim support services, as well as programs that can target perpetrator risks like gambling and drug and alcohol abuse.

Domestic Violence NSW has been lobbying for a 50% boost in baseline government funding for frontline services, along with a continuation of a trial that supports victim-survivors navigate the legal system.

Victorian energy minister says its too dangerous to make repairs in some areas

Victoria’s energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, says there were 141,500 homes without power across the state as of 8am.

This would continue to fluctuate as the weather progresses across the state, she said, following last night’s extreme wind.

There are hundreds of crews on the ground responding to the outages, but there are some areas where the conditions remain too dangerous to make repairs. Please stay safe: keep away from fallen powerlines.

Ben Domensino from Weatherzone has reported that Australia just had its warmest August on record, with a mean temperature anomaly of +2.43°C compared with the 1991-2020 average.

He said this capped off Australia’s second-warmest winter on record.

Sydney had its hottest August day since 1995 last Friday, passing 30C.