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Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was in charge of weapons on the movie set where Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, say she doesn't know where the live rounds found there came from, and blamed producers for unsafe working conditions.

Gutierrez Reed was the armourer on the set of Rust. The 24-year-old, who had worked on one previous feature film, hasn't spoken publicly about the accident.

"Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced," said attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence in a statement.

READ MORE: Filmmaker mourned as investigation into film set shooting continues

"Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from. Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that."

During a news conference Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said there was "some complacency" in how weapons were handled on the set of Rust. Investigators found 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what appeared to be live rounds. Industry experts have said live rounds should never be on set.

Attorneys for Gutierrez Reed said she is "devastated and completely beside herself" over the death of Hutchins. They argued that producers on the film were cutting corners that sacrificed safety.

"Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armourer," they said. "She fought for training, days to maintain weapons, and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings. This was not the fault of Hannah."

Veteran prop master Neal W. Zoromski earlier told The Los Angeles Times that he declined an offer to work on Rust because producers insisted that one person could serve as both assistant prop master and armourer. Zoromski said those are "two really big jobs" that couldn't be combined. He called the production "an accident waiting to happen."

A spokesperson for the producers of Rust didn't immediately respond to emails Friday. They have previously said that they are cooperating with the police investigation.

Others have raised questions about the production. The film's gaffer, Serge Svetnoy, earlier faulted the movie's producers for "negligence".

"To save a dime sometimes, you hire people who are not fully qualified for the complicated and dangerous job," Svetnoy said in a Facebook post.

On the morning of the shooting, Gutierrez Reed told detectives that she checked the dummy bullets — bullets that appear real, save for a small hole in the side of the casing that identifies them as inoperable — to ensure none were "hot," according to a search warrant affidavit made public Wednesday.

When the crew broke for lunch, the guns used for filming were locked in a safe inside a large white truck where props were kept, Gutierrez Reed said. The ammunition, however, was left unsecured on a cart. There was additional ammo inside the prop truck.

After lunch, the film's prop master, Sarah Zachry, removed the guns from the safe and handed them to Gutierrez Reed — Gutierrez Reed told investigators.

According to a search warrant affidavit released last Friday, Gutierrez Reed set three guns on a cart outside the church, and assistant director Dave Halls took one from the cart and handed it to Baldwin. The document released Wednesday said the armourer sometimes handed the gun to Baldwin, and sometimes to Halls.

Halls told investigators that he failed to fully check the revolver. Normally, he told detectives, he would examine the barrel for obstructions and have Gutierrez Reed open the hatch and spin the drum where the bullets go, confirming none of the rounds is live.

This time, he reported, he could only remember seeing three of the rounds, and he didn't remember if the armourer had spun the drum. He then yelled out "cold gun" to indicate that it was safe to use.

Messages left with Halls haven't been returned.

By RNZ A Kiwi couple is facing the possibility of being separated from their toddler until border restrictions ease hopefully sometime next year.Daniel Small and his wife got trapped on the opposite side of the Tasman to two-year-old…

Former Premier Gladys Berejiklian has doubled down on claims her secret relationship with Daryl Maguire was not "sufficient" enough to declare, despite admitting she was in love with him and had "aspirations" to marry him.

Ms Berejiklian faced about five hours of questioning in the ICAC witness box, as the body looks at whether or not she breached the public trust.

But when questioned over whether she would have disclosed the relationship if she "had her time over again", she said she "would not have".

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"I did not think it was of sufficient significance," she told Counsel Assisting.

"I was never assured to a level of commitment where I would introduce him to my parents, or introduce him to my sisters," she said.

That's despite agreeing she and Mr Maguire talked about marriage, and a child, and that he had a key to her Sydney home.

"I regarded him as part of my love circle, the people I strongly cared for," Ms Berejiklian said.

"So you're saying Mr Maguire is no different to the rest of your friends, is that what you're saying," Scott Robertson asked.

"No, I'm not saying that at all."

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At times, Ms Berejiklian became defensive in the stand and tried to offer explanations to her answers, earning her the wrath of Commissioner Ruth McColl.

"Could I ask you just answer Mr Robertson's questions and not make speeches," she said.

Several phone taps were played over the course of the day, with ICAC hearing one conversation, in which Daryl Maguire pushed for more hospital funding in his electorate.

"I'll deal with it. I'll fix it," Ms Berejiklian is heard promising him in 2018.    

In a second recorded call that same evening, the then-Premier said she had intervened, speaking to the then-Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet.

"I've just spoke to Dom, and I said just put the 140 in the budget, and he said no worries. He just does what I ask him to."

READ MORE: Wild weather batters Victoria

When questioned about whether she was giving Mr Maguire's electorate special treatment, she said: "building a hospital is not of personal benefit to me… it is a community asset.. it is something the electorate needs."

In another intercepted phone call, Ms Berejiklian talked about holding off firing a public servant for Mr Maguire. 

"I can't stand that guy… his head will be gone soon," she said.

"Not until he fixes my conservatorium," he replied.

"Ok good tell him to fix it and then after he fixes it I'm sacking him," she said.

READ MORE: Cup Day public holiday to be Melbourne's warmest in seven months

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Under questioning about why she did not come forward to ICAC after Mr Maguire was forced to resign following allegations aired at a separate inquiry, she said she believed he had done nothing wrong.

The commission heard long tapes of the phone conversation, in which Mr Maguire first told her he'd been called to give evidence, in 2018.

"I think was the benefit of the skullduggery he was up to," Mr Maguire said of a former associate.

"I don't want to know any of that stuff."

"I've always kept my distance from people like that. I think they're dodgy," she said.

Ms Berejiklian will be back in the stand on Monday, she denies any wrongdoing.

A dust storm has blanketed Queensland's far south-west overnight, turning skies red and leaving a thick layer dirt across a small town.

Wind gusts peaking at 93 kilometres per hour tore through the regional town of Thargomindah yesterday evening, bringing with it giant clouds of earthy red dust.

The town is home to just 270 people, who today have begun a massive cleanup effort to remove the grit from homes and properties.

READ MORE: Extreme winds in excess of 100km/h wreaking havoc across Victoria

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Meteorologist, James Thompson said that the dust originated about 100 kilometres inland in the state's far west, and was carried across the skies due to extreme winds.

"We had a trough moving through the area yesterday and that really brought those ferocious winds associated with those storms," he said.

Although apocalyptic looking, dust storms are not uncommon in Australia and often occur during summer and spring in particularly dry conditions.

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While the dust settled on Thargomindah, a cattle station near Goondiwindi copped the worst of another supercell storm.

Destructive winds tore down several sheds, with residents describing tornado like conditions that saw sheet metal and debris strewn kilometres.

Workers of the cattle station hid under machines to avoid the flying debris.

Goondiwindi shire councillor, Rick Kearney said locals were still recovering from the aftermath.

"I believe they've just finished or they're partway through their harvest and they've put a lot of their harvesting equipment under the shed for protection by the looks of it," he said.

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The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed the worst could be yet to come, with more severe weather set to hit the south-east tomorrow.

A southerly wind change in the afternoon could trigger severe storms from the Gold Coast to Gympie, continuing a month of dramatic weather events.

A 93-year-old great-grandmother has miraculously survived after the roof of her Melbourne home came crashing down during ferocious storms.

Wind gusts of up to 120km/h destroyed elderly resident Lola's Chelsea home of more than 40 years this morning.

Debris then came plummeting down, covering the woman, who managed to reach for her mobile phone to call her son.

READ MORE: Hundreds of thousands without power after storm ravages Victoria

Her son Alex Wies told 9News he ran up with a neighbour to save her.

"The whole roof came down," he said.

"I went upstairs to get my mum and I don't know how she survived it's a miracle.

"The whole bedroom was completely gone, she just got out of trouble in time."

Parts of the roof also landed on active power lines and crushed the family car.

READ MORE: SES hero returns home to find family trapped, house smashed by storm

The woman, who is a Holocaust survivor, managed to escape without a scratch.

"I can't believe she got out, but it's amazing. Somebody's looking after her," Mr Wies said.

The home will have to be demolished along with many other neighbouring houses that suffered similar damage.

More than 300,000 Victorians are still without power and some residents may in the dark until Monday following the destructive storm.

As of 2pm today, there were still about 328,000 properties in the dark.

The SES has received more than 3000 calls for help, 2300 relating to fallen trees and 490 regarding building damage – but only about seven houses are unliveable.

Victoria has been battered by wild storms overnight, causing destruction described as 'carnage' across the state.