Key events
The latest information is that some ferries have resumed as the fog lifts.
The ferry operator says:
Ferries east of the Harbour Bridge now operating after earlier heavy fog.
F3 and F4 ferries are still affected by the fog, with some cancelled between Rydalmere & Circular Quay and between Olympic Park & Barangaroo.
⚠️UPDATE: Some Sydney ferry services have resumed, with ferries east of the Harbour Bridge now operating after earlier heavy fog.
⛴️F3 and F4 ferries are still affected by the fog, with some cancelled between Rydalmere & Circular Quay and between Olympic Park & Barangaroo.
— Sydney Ferries Info (@FerriesInfo) August 4, 2025
Heavy fog halts Sydney harbour ferries
No Sydney ferries are running at the moment due to the heavy fog, according to an advisory from the NSW transport department.
They say:
Make alternative arrangements or consider catching a bus instead. Also, listen to announcements & check info displays for updates.
At this stage there is no forecast when ferry services will resume.
⛴️SYDNEY FERRIES: No Sydney ferries are running due to the heavy fog.
🚌Make alternative arrangements or consider catching a bus instead. Also, listen to announcements & check info displays for updates.
❕At this stage there is no forecast when ferry services will resume. pic.twitter.com/eBNjkZHxXo
— Sydney Ferries Info (@FerriesInfo) August 4, 2025
Palestine Action Group plans more nationwide protests to build on ‘massive momentum’
Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees says the group is planning protests in Sydney and other cities following the Sydney Harbour Bridge march on Sunday, Australian Associated Press reports.
“We want to build on this massive momentum we have now,” he told reporters yesterday with protests planned for Sunday 24 August.
Despite concerns of regular marches across the bridge, Lees said the group has no plans for a repeat crossing any time soon and accused the NSW premier, Chris Minns, of having an anti-protest agenda.
Lees said:
His stance is pretty clear and he’s passed a raft of anti-protest legislation already.
We’re going to have to keep fighting for our rights to demonstrate.
Wong: two-state solution is “only pathway to peace and security”
Imogen Dewey
Penny Wong was asked if the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, planned to use “the threat of recognition” of a Palestinian state as “a point of leverage” as the UK has, in his forthcoming call with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
She declined to say, answering: “You would anticipate that the prime minister in his international interactions, just reflects the position we articulate as an Australian government, as do I.”
She pointed to Australia’s sanctions on “extremist settlers and … entities that are associated with that”, and said:
We want to do what we can to preserve the possibility of a Palestinian state … Australia believes that’s the only way to assure peace and security for Israelis and for Palestinians.
Asked what steps the government was taking ahead of a September UN conference where Palestinian recognition will lead the agenda, Wong said there was “a lot of coordination and discussion with other parties and other countries”.
I think we all recognise this might be, I think someone said, ‘our last hope’… we cannot stand by with what is happening in Gaza and not add momentum towards two states. We cannot stand by whilst the prospect of a Palestinian state is diminished on the ground by settlements and other statements …
As I keep saying, I cannot see long term stability and peace for Israelis and Palestinians unless the Palestinian issue is resolved: the issue of the Palestinian state. That was the promise that the international community made when we established, as a collective, the state of Israel.
Wong hails ‘extraordinary’ Sydney bridge march but hedges on further Labor action
Imogen Dewey
Australia’s foreign minister was asked on the ABC’s 7.30 last night if Sunday’s march for Gaza on the Sydney Harbour Bridge would directly impact government policy.
“That was an extraordinary march and I think it demonstrates what we all feel,” Wong answered.
I know that Australians are feeling distressed, angry, upset, really horrified by what they’re seeing in Gaza. I certainly share that distress. So do ministers in the government.
The program’s host, Sarah Ferguson, pushed her: “If it wasn’t Israel, would the world’s response be tougher?”
Wong referred back to the government’s announcement yesterday of a further $20m in aid. “Even the US has made its position on [the stopping of aid] very clear … they are probably the strongest ally of Israel.”
She described ongoing deaths from starvation in the Palestinian territory as “horrific”. “As the prime minister said, it can’t be justified. It can’t be defended.”
Still, Wong did defend Australia’s response, saying:
We’re not the central player. But what we have done is worked with others in the international community to press for, to call for aid and humanitarian support to be delivered safely, and at scale. I think you have seen quite a lot, a great deal of pressure being applied to the Israelis on that front, both publicly and beyond.
Wong refused to say directly whether Israel was “using starvation as a weapon of war”, replying: “I think it is impossible to justify the withholding of aid from civilians.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories, and then it’ll be Nick Visser to take the controls.
Penny Wong has called the Sydney Harbour Bridge pro-Palestine march as “extraordinary” but defended the government’s refusal to follow the UK, France and Canada in taking steps towards recognising Palestinian statehood. We have details of what she said on 7.30 last night coming up.
Wong’s comments came as pro-Palestine groups said they wanted to build on the success of the Sydney protest. Further protests are planned on Sunday 24 August in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth with hopes more can be organised in other cities. More coming up.
Plus – Sydney has woken up to a foggy morning, which means (for now) the ferries aren’t running.