Brisbane news live: Flights cancelled as Ekka-like winds buffet south-east Queensland; Ex-Brisbane Lions sponsor goes bust, leaving 200 workers in limbo

Multiple flights have been cancelled as strong winds hit Brisbane in what might feel like an early start to the August Ekka winds this morning.

Winds are expected to reach gusts of up to 100km/h in some parts of south-east Queensland, due to a deepening low-pressure system off New South Wales that is also creating blustery conditions in Sydney.

The official forecast for Brisbane is sunny and windy, with westerly winds around 30 to 45km/h, reaching possible gusts of 60km/h.

Brisbane Airport is reporting strong winds in Sydney have caused some flight cancellations and delays to and from the New South Wales capital.

More than a dozen flights between Brisbane and Sydney have been cancelled this morning.

The damaging winds may persist for parts of south-east Queensland until tomorrow morning.

A logistics company that just four years ago was the Brisbane Lions’ major sponsor has gone into voluntary administration, placing about 200 jobs across the country at risk.

XL Express, based at Archerfield in Brisbane’s south, brought in FTI Consulting to act as administrators last week to determine the best path forward for the company’s creditors.

XL Express is a former major sponsor of the Brisbane Lions.Credit:Credit: Getty Images

One employee, who did not want to be named, said XL Express staff had demanded answers but were met with silence from the company.

“On Tuesday [last week], I received a message from the company saying there would be no service on Wednesday and that we would return to work on Thursday, but unfortunately, that did not happen,” he said.

“On Wednesday afternoon, we received a message from our boss saying the company was declaring bankruptcy, and then wishing us good luck in our new ventures.

“We were all speechless.”

Read on for the full story.

More wind is on the way for Brisbane today, with the weather bureau predicting gusts of up to 45km/h this morning.

Otherwise, the city is set for a sunny day with a chilly top temperature that won’t quite reach 20 degrees. Overnight minimums have plunged again, hovering around the single digits for the rest of the week.

Here’s the outlook into the weekend and beyond.

Here’s what’s making news further afield this morning:

Joshua Dale Brown, 26, has been accused of child sex abuse.

Plans are under way to test 1200 children for sexually transmitted infections after a Victorian childcare worker was charged with 70 sex offences against eight children in his care, including child rape.

Australian houses are priced 30 per cent above fair value, data shows, and the gap won’t close without a decade-long plateau in growth. Brisbane is the second-most overvalued city for a house.

In sport, if not for the faith of an NRL great and a twist of family fate, Gehamat Shibasaki’s State of Origin ambitions may never have eventuated. Upon his arrival at the Townsville Blackhawks, having reached a crossroads in his career, the latest Queensland Maroons bolter had a decision to make.

Overseas, wildfires are spreading across parts of Europe as a blistering heatwave triggers fears of thousands of deaths, with 50,000 people evacuated in Turkey and blazes destroying homes in Greece.

The United States Senate has passed Donald Trump’s marquee tax and spending bill, bringing it close to becoming law, as the president’s feud with Elon Musk exploded again over the world’s richest man’s antipathy towards raising the debt ceiling.

Glastonbury Festival revellers have officially packed up their campsites and left Somerset’s Worthy Farm but the robust team of volunteers tidying up the site can’t clean up the mess after Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s incendiary performances. 

Good morning, welcome to Brisbane Times’ live news coverage for Wednesday, July 2. Today we can expect a windy, sunny day, with a top temperature of 19 degrees.

In this morning’s local headlines:

The hotel, designed by architect Harry Seidler, opened in 1987.Credit: InterContinental Brisbane

The closed-down Hilton Hotel has reopened under new ownership, in the lead-up to major renovations to the CBD site. Now branded InterContinental Brisbane, the hotel has opened to guests.

The family of a 63-year-old Brisbane woman say her release from prison on bail is “bittersweet”, claiming the woman’s human rights were violated by being unfairly detained for more than two years while awaiting trial for fraud-related offences.

And freezes, toprocks, headspins and flares are just some of the moves you’ll see pulled out by Brisbane’s best breakdancers when they compete for the chance to represent Australia on the global stage.