The daily NIRS News half hourly update, for July 12, 2016
Two seats hang in the balance
After more than a week of vote counting following 
the federal election, just two electorates hang in the balance.
In Herbert, north Queensland, last night’s counting placed Labor challenger Cathy O’Toole just 66 votes ahead of sitting LNP MP Ewen Jones.
In Hindmarsh in South Australia, Labor’s Steve Georganas has also benefited from the flow of absentee votes and remains 177 votes in front of sitting MP Matt Williams.
So far the coalition has 76 seats – the minimum number needed to form government in the 150-seat parliament. Labor has 69 seats, the Greens one and independents four.
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Turnbull, Joyce meet to discuss priorities
Meanwhile, Malcolm Turnbull will meet with his leadership
team later today as a new poll shows a sharp drop in his personal popularity.
The prime minister will discuss the government’s priorities with the Nationals in Canberra.
In the latest Essential poll released this morning, Mr Turnbull’s preferred prime minister rating of 39 per cent was the lowest recorded since taking over from Tony Abbott in September.
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Officer pushed on storming of Lindt Cafe
A senior police officer has been forced to defend the time his team took to storm the Lindt Cafe after hostage Tori Johnson was shot dead, as a coronial inquiry into the 2014 Sydney siege continues.
The Tactical Operations Unit veteran, identified as Delta Alpha, led one
of the teams who breached the cafe after Mr Johnson was executed by gunman Man Haron Monis in the early hours of December 16.
Michael O’Connell SC, the barrister for the family of hostage Katrina Dawson, who was killed in crossfire, put to the officer that his team took “far too long” – 21 seconds in total – to enter the café from a side door. But the tactical officer maintained there was little his team could have done differently.
The inquest is set to resume today.
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Vic rapist Adrian Bayley awaits appeal
Serial sex offender Adrian Ernest Bayley will find out today if his 43-year jail sentence can be reduced when senior Victorian judges hand down their findings on his appeals.
Bayley, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Jill Meagher (MARR) in 2012, is fighting two additional rape convictions for attacks on women in St Kilda in 2000 and 2012.
The former pastry chef, 44, is also fighting a total sentence imposed in 2015 for three rapes that increased the non-parole period on his life sentence from 35 years to 43 years.
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Lost Tas bushwalker remains on mountain
A lost bushwalker has spent another night on Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain with poor weather preventing her rescue.
The Northern Territory woman was found on Tuesday morning with an injured thigh after she used a satellite phone to call for help the previous afternoon.
She stayed with five members of the police search and rescue team overnight. Difficult weather conditions are set to continue. Police say she might not be able to be rescued until Thursday.
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Canberra wakes up to snow flakes
Canberrans are waking up to a light flutter of snow as strong winds across the south east of Australia deliver a wintry chill.
Most suburbs are being dusted by snow flakes this morning, with photos of snow-covered rooftops and cars on social media.
The temperature is sitting at 1 degree celsius in the city, but the Bureau of Meteorology says it feels more like minus 7, thanks to northwesterly winds.
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SA power being restored after wild weather
Meanwhile, snow has fallen in other parts of the south east with towns like Ballarat and Trentham in Victoria hit by
temperatures below 2 degrees.
Yesterday, snow fell in the Adelaide Hills, amid 
strong winds and wild weather that cut power to more than 13,000 homes.
The bitter cold is also set to continue for Victoria, but destructive winds will dissipate, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting temperatures close to zero this morning, and strong winds and thunderstorms hitting coastal areas.
The cold front is set to head east Wednesday afternoon, with conditions easing.
