Hollywood star 'heartbroken' over ABC host's departure, 'concerning' de Minaur twist after Wimbledon win: Australia news live

It's certainly been a wet first half of the year for millions and July seems to be no different.

With NSW copping yet another drenching in the past few days, some communities received their heaviest July falls in over a decade.

Quirindi and Gunnedah, NSW recorded their wettest July day in 14 years, with 31mm and 30mm of rain respectively, Weatherzone revealed.

While Moree, Inverell and Mungindi, NSW recorded 23.6mm, 45mm and 24mm respectively, the most July rain the sites have seen in 12 years.

The rain impacting the southeast of the country will ease on Wednesday as the rainband heads over the Tasman Sea.

The University of Auckland has been ordered to pay $20,000 in damages to a professor after New Zealand's employment court deemed the university failed to protect her wellbeing after she spoke publicly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles had her personal details shared online by anti-government groups and received rape and death threats after she provided expert commentary in the media.

The court found it was fair for Wiles to assume the university would have had a plan in place to keep her safe to continue with her work.

"The judge's decision makes it clear that simply telling experts that they should stop providing public commentary is not reasonable. The harassment of scientists and researchers cannot be solved by just telling researchers to “stay off the internet”," Lyndal Byford, Director of News and Partnerships at the Australian Science Media Centre said.

A Gold Coast father accused of leaving his three children alone in a car overnight allegedly turned up at a pub “highly intoxicated” and with no money after parking his vehicle outside a 7-Eleven servo.

The chilling allegation against the Paradise Point man – who cannot be identified due to legal reasons – follows a court appearance on Tuesday when he applied for bail on serious child cruelty charges.

The man’s mother and brother were seated in the back of the court but declined to comment to media as they left.

Police located all three children on Monday after they were last seen getting into a blue Hyundai I30 on Sunday afternoon.

The report triggered an urgent amber alert over fears the children were at “significant risk”.

It is alleged the two boys and a young girl were left by themselves in the vehicle overnight.

The man has since been charged with three counts each of cruelty to children under 16 years and leaving a child under 12 unattended.

Read more here.

- NCA NewsWire

Well this is one of the stranger stories today.

Rangers at Carnarvon Gorge, a popular national park in Queensland's central highlands are fed up with visitors who are defecating along walking tracks. Yes, you read that correctly. Tour guides have described the act as "feral".

"When you've got to go, you've got to go — we do understand that but probably a little bit of thinking before you go and preparation would make it much easier," chief ranger Lindie Pasma told the ABC.

She said it would be best if those that did dug a hole and put their waste inside and filling it back in.

Read more here.

The cost-of-living crisis rolls on and so do the price hikes.

Telstra is the latest company to announce higher fees, with some mobile contracts rising by as much as $4 a month.

It comes after the telco announced in May it planned on cutting 2,800 workers.

Read more here.

A man has been arrested after a woman's body was found at a waste management facility in Melbourne's north last week.

Staff at the Epping facility made the discovery last Wednesday while moving green waste, with police now arresting a 45-year-old man over the discovery. Police believe he is known to the woman, who investigators believe is a 67-year-old woman.

They allege the woman was inside a bin picked up outside a Coolaroo home last Tuesday.

There's been plenty of chat about the increasing use of e-bikes and e-scooters on our roads, with concerns from some that not enough is being done to crack down on dangerous riding.

Well an Upper House inquiry to identify where the NSW government can "improve the regulatory framework" has now been established and will look to ensure "safety for users and the broader community", according to Greens MP Cate Faehrmann.

You can have your say here.

A man has now been charged after the fatal stabbing of a young woman in an alleged domestic violence-related murder in Sydney's west.

The 21-year-old was arrested in Penrith and will face court on Tuesday after the woman was found with two stab wounds to her chest.

Paramedics and police found the critically injured woman at a unit in nearby Kingswood about 1.40pm on Monday after another person in the complex called triple zero.

The 21-year-old woman was treated by first responders but died at the scene.

A man was seen running from the area at the time.

Police arrested the man on Monday night and he was taken to Penrith police station where he was charged with domestic violence-related murder.

Officers had not previously been called to the Kingswood address and there were no court orders in place to protect the woman, police said.

The charged man has been refused bail and will appear in Penrith Local Court on Tuesday.

- AAP

This is a pretty remarkable sight from on board a British Airways flight.

It's a still image captured from a video recorded on a flight heading for London's Heathrow airport, and captures the moment the plane was struck by lightning, forcing the plane to divert to Gatwick airport.

It turned out it was one of two planes struck en route to Heathrow, local media reported.

Bad weather has led to dozens of flights being cancelled at both airports, leaving passengers frustrated over lengthy delays.

A Hunter Valley man has vowed to carry on working despite scooping a life-changing $6 million on Keno.

“I have no idea what I’ll do with the prize. There are six million things that I could do but I need to have a think," he told lottery officials.

“I really love my job and I’ve been doing it for a long time, so I’ll probably continue to work."

His winning Keno Mega Millions 10 Spot entry was purchased at East Maitland Bowling Club and he revealed he's only played a "few times".

Well I'm not sure Lisa Millar was expecting this from a Hollywood star this morning.

Sam Neill has told the departing ABC News Breakfast host how sad he is to learn of her decision after five years on the show.

"I'm a little bit heartbroken you're leaving in the morning, Australia will never be the same, certainly my mornings won't be," he told her as he appeared on the show chatting about his series The Twelve.

Millar said his words were "so kind" after a "difficult" call.

Speaking about his health, Neill said he was doing "great" and has been in remission for two years after being diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.