Morning Buzz: Sydney news, traffic and weather for Friday, June 30

Sydney residents are about to shiver through the coldest period of the year with minimum temperatures set to plummet to single digits for the next four days.

It will be a chilly start to Friday with a minimum of 9 degrees on the coast, 6 degrees in Penrith and 4 degrees in Campbelltown, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The weekend will be even colder with a minimum of 7 degrees in Sydney on Saturday and Sunday. Read more.

Salim Mehajer has insisted it is "absolutely, totally incorrect" to suggest he lied about holding a 5.30am meeting to oust the director of two of his troubled companies, as he made a tense appearance in the Supreme Court witness box.

The colourful property developer and former deputy mayor of Auburn is fighting the appointment of administrators to his companies Sydney Project Group Pty Ltd and S.E.T. Services Pty Ltd. Read more.

Higher-than-expected tax deductions relating to cars, travel, clothing, internet and mobile phones, and self-education expenses are among the top claims the tax man will be keeping a close eye on this tax time.

Each year the Australian Taxation Office targets work-related expense deductions due to the large value of claims made by the majority of more than 13 million Australians lodging tax returns every year. Read more.

If you live in the Lower Blue Mountains area and are looking for a unique volunteering opportunity, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT urgently needs to find caring homes for 30 guide dog puppies.

Puppy raising volunteers care for a guide dog puppy for a year, from when it is eight weeks of age to 14 months, playing an invaluable role in preparing it for its potential career as a guide dog. Read more.

After a long day’s work, the last thing many people want to do is get in the kitchen and cook dinner.

Take-away may be quick but most of the time it’s not cost effective or good for the waistline.

But Narellan Vale resident Christie Plumridge and her 13-year-old daughter Tigah Rose have come up with a solution.

One Sunday each month the duo spend about six hours in the kitchen cooking about 200 meals and snacks to feed both them and Ms Plumridge’s three other children through the month. Read more.

A young plumber charged over the execution of Hamad Assaad allegedly scoped out the crime figure's movements before reporting back the location to his killers.

Twenty-four-year-old Osama Hawat was stirred from his sleep before dawn on Thursday when homicide detectives and riot squad officers came banging on his door.

Mr Hawat was arrested at the Greenacre home he shared with his wife before detectives poured inside to search the duplex.

He was charged with murder and participate in a criminal group. Read more.

The rising price of electricity and gas makes it hard to balance a budget.

Electricity prices will rise by up to 20 per cent from July 1, costing residential consumers an extra $300 a year. Gas prices will also rise by about $50 to $80 a year. Read more.

A music teacher who described her principal as "a maggot in the ground who deserves to be stomped on" and implied that her colleague was faking a disability to get out of playground duty has failed in an unfair dismissal claim against the NSW Department of Education.

Stephanie Gooch taught music at Evans High School in Blacktown from 2005 to 2012, during which time she claimed to have been bullied and harassed by successive principals, but none more so than Kay Smith under whose tenure she departed. Read more.

Having 40-storey towers in The Hills region is “insane”, according to councillor Michelle Byrne.

Cr Byrne made the comment during a debate at Tuesday’s council meeting regarding plans to build towers up to 40 storeys high where Norwest Shoppingtown is. The only places in Sydney that have buildings that high are the CBD, Parramatta and Chatswood. Read more.

The boss of beleaguered law firm Slater and Gordon has quit and the board will be cleaned out under a shake up that passes almost full ownership of the company to its lenders.

Under a recapitalisation announced on Thursday, lenders led by Anchorage Capital and holding three quarters of Slater and Gordon's secured debt will take 95 per cent of the company's stock, but the deal has several conditions including settlement of an outstanding legal proceeding. Read more.

It’s time to dust off your red dress and dancing shoes and gather on the misty moors of the Woodford Reserve for the Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever.

The homage to 1970s British pop sensation Kate Bush and her 1978 hit Wuthering Heights will take place on Saturday, July 15, following a successful debut event last year. 

The idea originated at the 2013 Brighton Fringe Festival when 300 ‘Kates’ performed Bush’s ethereal dance from the original clip in an open field. Read more.

Jockey Michelle Payne banned for a month for using appetite suppressant

Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne was on Thursday suspended for one month after she was found guilty of taking a banned substance earlier this month.

Payne, who pleaded guilty, told stewards: "I am embarrassed and I apologise for what I have done."

Racing Victoria stewards, after hearing evidence from Payne who was represented by lawyer Michael Rivette, handed down the one-month suspension which will begin immediately. Read more.

In their first year as a team, the Bonnyrigg Heights Primary School aerobics team are heading to the National Championships on the Gold Coast. 

Year five and six pupils Olivia Dowling, Angeli Cai, Tiahna Brain, Jaida Thurling, Jessica Hoang, Roxane Cheam, Georgia McGregor and Sasa Loketi make up the state-winning Schoolaerobics team.

Their up-tempo two-minute routine to Aqua’s Jungle Song saw them win the recent NSW State Finals with a score of 73.8 in the primary stage-one classic division. Read more.

Mitchell Moses is quickly endearing himself to Parramatta supporters after booting a golden-point field goal to hold off the fast-finishing Bulldogs on Thursday, sending Canterbury's 2017 season onto life support in the process.

Six games into his mid-season switch from the Tigers, Moses nailed a drop goal from 25m to cap a 13-12 win and help cement the Eels into the top-eight while potentially doing terminal damage to its greatest rival.

Moses played a crucial role for Parramatta on both sides of the ball in front of 14,061 fans at ANZ Stadium, helping set up a try but more importantly producing his strongest defensive game so far for his new club.

Canterbury, meanwhile, were cruelly denied after producing an inspired second-half fightback to level the scores at 12-all before Moses had the last say. Read more.

Surge for footy’s next generation

An enormous surge in female rugby league participation in the shire is expected to continue thanks to Cronulla hosting the women’s World Cup in November.

Six teams from three continents including England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea will compete in the fifth staging of the tournament with Southern Cross Group Stadium at Woolooware to host all pool and semi-final matches.

The shire has helped pioneer women’s rugby league through the local Cronulla Caringbah Sharks and Cronulla Sharks NRL club. Read more.

Cricket's D-Day has arrived – and James Sutherland remains the only man who can avert the biggest industrial crisis the game has seen since World Series.

Australia's cricketers are adamant they will not come to the negotiating table unless the country's top executive is there, but Cricket Australia say that will not happen. Read more.

Boyd Cordner will be given every chance to shake a troublesome calf injury that threatens to rub out the NSW skipper for the State of Origin decider, and teammates have said he will play with "half a leg" if need be.

The health of the Roosters co-captain shapes as NSW's primary concern before what is being billed as the biggest Origin clash in recent memory after the 25-year-old was again left out of the Roosters squad for the second week running.

It means Cordner – if given the green light – won't have played since the Origin II heartbreaker if he heads up the Blues' assault at Suncorp Stadium in a fortnight's time. Read more.