Sydney Now: What you need to know on Thursday, December 29, 2016

Good morning.

The really hot day is upon us. It is expected to reach 37 degrees in the city today and 42 in Penrith. And it will only be a little cooler on Friday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

NSW Health has advised anyone showing signs of heat-related illness should attend their GP or emergency department. The signs include: confusion, dizziness, fainting, nausea, vomiting, weakness, headaches and loss of sweating.

Sydney will register its hottest year in more than a century-and-a-half of records.

No camping out

People camp out at Blues Point Reserve last year. Photo: Wolter Peeters

If the heat wasn't enough to put you off, authorities are not allowing revellers to camp out to secure a good spot ahead of the New Year's Eve fireworks for security reasons.  Last year the Herald caught people camping from December 29. Here's how to make the most of your NYE this year whether the city or suburbs is your choice.

What's for dinner?

Zeus Street Greek general manager Costa Anastasiadis likes our Thursday laziness. Photo: Ben Rushton

If you haven't thought about what you might cook tonight, you're not alone. Turns out Thursday is the day we are over it enough to order takeaway. Kim Arlington reports here.

Cocaine ring smashed

The accused men have been refused bail. Photo: NSW Police

Police say they have smashed a major drug smuggling syndicate allegedly smuggling cocaine via the Sydney Fish Market.

Which level of government do we not need?

Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Photo: James Jessup

"The simple fact is the states should be abolished." Those are the words of former prime minister Bob Hawke, who has urged an unemotional discussion about removing our middle layer of government. "What we have today basically represents the meanderings of British explorers across the Australian continent more than 200 years ago," Mr Hawke said. It's a similar line to that of the Premier, Mike Baird, selling council mergers to  a local government conference in 2014. "That 19th century boundaries, that's something that needs to be challenged," Mr Baird said.

Students left in limbo

Beauty college owner Maureen Houssein-Mustafa Photo: Australian Financial Review

A Sydney beauty college run by a prominent political donor  has gone into administration, leaving hundreds of students in the dark and up to 80 staff rocked by dismissal letters on the day before Christmas Eve.

Follow us on Facebook for the latest Sydney news