What women are talking about today, Friday July 1.

Morning everyone,

Welcome to your live news feed for the first day of July. 

Here are the top five news stories you need to know this morning. 

1. NSW in for 'messy day' on rail network.

NSW commuters are in for a "very messy day" as the state's rail union pushes ahead with industrial action which will take out 70 per cent of the train fleet.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has been locked in long-running stoush with the Perrottet government over a new Korean-made Intercity fleet, which it says is unsafe.

While the government has signalled it could be prepared to spend $264 million to modify the fleet, the union says it has refused to sign an agreement confirming it will fix the safety issues raised by train drivers.

"This will be the fourth time the government has offered to make the changes, announced the changes, and then backtracked as a result of internal politics," it said in a statement today. 

Sydney commuters have been advised to expect significant train delays and cancellations today, with train drivers refusing to operate foreign or privately made trains. 

"It's going to be a very messy day," said Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW Secretary Alex Claassens. "It'll be a weekend timetable with other trains taken out of it."

It is going to be a very messy day with nightmare delays as train drivers walk off the job in New South Wales. #9Today pic.twitter.com/4IU9yzcDBR

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) June 30, 2022

Meanwhile, radical climate group Blockade Australia has called off its organised protests in NSW, after spending Monday and Tuesday protesting in Sydney's CBD.

"We have made the hard choice to end the mobilisation and wait until next time when we are bigger and stronger," they said on the Telegram messaging platform yesterday.

2. Canadian PM appears to forget Anthony Albanese's name at NATO Summit.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau have shared a rather awkward moment after Trudeau appeared to forget Albanese's name at the NATO Summit in Spain. 

During a meeting in Madrid on Thursday, Trudeau seemed to struggle with Albanese's name before referring to him as "Tony". 

"It’s a real pleasure to be meeting with, ah, ah, ah… a… great… progressive leader," said Trudeau.

"We’re really, really excited to have… ah, a… friend in Australia.

"Australia has been a long-time friend.

"We’ll be talking lots with, ah…. with Tony and all our friends in Australia."





"It's a real pleasure to be meeting with, ah..."

During an awkward exchange at this week's NATO Summit in Madrid, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to have forgotten Anthony Albanese's name. FULL DETAILS: https://t.co/5igndRrxur #9News pic.twitter.com/hczUvoq0Sf

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) June 30, 2022

Trudeau later recovered and referred to Albanese by his name.

A similar incident occurred last year when US President Joe Biden seemingly forget former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's name, referring to him as "that fellow Down Under". 

3. Agent appointed to sell Caddick mansion to compensate for victims. 

A real estate agent has been picked to sell the multimillion-dollar mansion owned by missing Sydney fraudster Melissa Caddick.

The investment broker disappeared in November 2020, hours after the Australian Federal Police and Australian Securities and Investments Commission raided her Dover Heights home. She is believed to have used her company to conduct a Ponzi scheme and was facing a string of charges.

The real estate firm has been chosen to handle the sale of Melissa Caddick’s Sydney mansion with proceeds expected to compensate investors from whom she took more than $23 million. https://t.co/OZ4bRI1mx2

— Financial Review (@FinancialReview) June 30, 2022

Jones Partners, the receivers of Caddick and liquidators of her company Maliver Pty Ltd, issued a statement last night saying it had appointed Sydney Sotheby's International Realty to sell the property in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

"We are actively working towards having the Dover Heights property ready for sale in the vicinity of 5-6 weeks," Jones Partners principal Bruce Gleeson said.

The house is being sold to compensate Caddick's 74 victims, who lost a total of $23 million through her Ponzi scheme.

NSW Police have stated they believe Caddick is dead after her foot was found on Bournda Beach. An inquest into her disappearance is scheduled for September.

4. House prices fall as rates rise.

A decline in house prices is currently under way and falls are expected to accelerate in coming months, as rising interest rates take their toll.

CoreLogic will release its home value index for June today, which will have captured the Reserve Bank's 50 basis points increase in the cash rate, its second hike in as many months.

"Home prices have begun their descent," said Commonwealth Bank's head of Australian economics Gareth Aird, who expects a further 0.9 per cent decline in national home prices for June.

This includes a 1.5 per cent drop for Sydney, the nation's biggest housing market.

The home value index posted its first fall since September 2020 in May, led by declines in Sydney, Melbourne and Australia's second most expensive property market Canberra.

Still, over the past year, national house prices were up 14.1 per cent.

5. Australia's fire season now a month longer.

Australia's bushfire season is a month longer than it was 40 years ago, a new study has found.

According to a global study, which involved scientists from the CSIRO, Australia's fire season has climbed to 130 days, up from 100 days in 1979. 

The number of extreme fire weather days is also up by 56 per cent over the same period.

CSIRO scientist Pep Canadell says that will grow further, depending on global efforts to tackle climate change.

“These numbers are confronting. We no longer have a stable fire regime,” said Dr Pep Canadell, a climate scientist at CSIRO and a co-author of the study. ⁦@readfearn⁩ https://t.co/AxIiPiHMHd

— Gabrielle Chan (@gabriellechan) June 30, 2022

If warming is limited to 1.5C - the primary target in the Paris climate pact - the fire season will grow by another 11 days.

But if warming hits 4C - at the extreme end of scenarios considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - another 36 days would be added.

Last year, CSIRO research found climate change is fuelling the risk of more "mega fire years" in Australia. It also found the fire season is extending well into autumn and winter, limiting opportunities to mitigate risks with prescribed burning.

That's it, you're all up to speed. 

- With AAP. 

International and state borders are open and with the school holidays upon us, millions of Aussies are on the move to take a much needed break.

The Quicky speaks to a travel expert and two women who've recently returned from overseas trips to find out all the tips and hacks you need to make sure your long-awaited holiday is as blissful as you dreamed.

READ: 

• What women were talking about on Thursday
• What women were talking about on Wednesday
• What women were talking about on Tuesday
• What women were talking about on Monday

Feature Image: Lisa Maree Williams/Eduardo Parra/Europa Press/Getty/Facebook.