That storm was strong, long and thin, stretching unbroken from sunshine coast to gold coast (see the BOM warning map on
Wild storms lash the Gold Coast ? myGC.com.au ). It was also quite fast moving, any location only copped around half an hour.
Which brings me to my question: Would it have been possible in this set of circumstances for the plane to fly a holding pattern at cruising altitute above the storm for around an hour instead of diverting to Sydney?