Inland rail review supports concerns raised by regional communities

Wagga Wagga and other towns on the inland rail route have been asking for a bypass and say that is supported by Dr Kerry Schott’s review

Communities along the inland rail have welcomed Dr Kerry Schott’s damning review into the National party’s key infrastructure project, saying they have felt dismissed for years over concerns around the route selection, traffic disruption and noise.

Schott’s long-awaited report found “astonishing” cost blowouts in the 1,700km line, now estimated to cost more than $31bn.

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Rishi Sunak scraps plans for new smart motorways in England

Fourteen smart motorways removed from government road-building plans over cost and safety fears

The building of new smart motorways is being cancelled as Rishi Sunak acknowledged concerns about safety and cost.

Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road-building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the lack of public trust.

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EU motorist fined almost £11,000 after falling foul of London Ulez rule

French hire car met emissions standard but had not been registered with TfL, resulting in penalty notices

A motorist was fined nearly £11,000 for driving his French rental car in London’s ultra-low emission zone on a three-day trip to the UK, despite the fact the vehicle met the environmental standards to enter the Ulez for nothing.

Christian Ducarre received four penalty charge notices (PCNs) after falling foul of a little-known requirement under which foreign vehicles must be registered with Transport for London (TfL) or else be deemed non-compliant by default.

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Cheap flights, Brexit, now Dover chaos – is this the end of the road for continental coach tours?

While many operators still ply the cross-Channel route, some businesses are focusing instead on domestic trips

It was once the staple for group travel abroad, favoured by school trips and touring retirees alike, but it now looks like Britain could be falling out of love with the continental coach journey.

Many are likely to have been put off for life by chaos at Dover, as people try to get away for the Easter holiday. An estimated 20,000 people got caught up in gridlock last weekend alone after delays in border processing that forced vehicles to queue for up to 14 hours.

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Pat Dodson takes leave from Senate – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

Former Tasmanian Liberal premier condemns party’s opposition to voice

Tasmania is the last Liberal state government left in the country and its former premier has taken to social media this morning to speak out against the federal party’s decision to oppose the voice to parliament.

Should the Liberal party maintain its opposition to the voice it will simply accelerate its increasing irrelevance.

I have asked for Cyber Security NSW to issue advice to NSW government employees, to implement this change as soon as possible.

I will no longer be using TikTok.

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‘Astonishing’: cost of Inland Rail doubles to $30bn as review savages Coalition over project

Dr Kerry Schott warns she is not confident her assessment captures the full extent of cost blowouts and delays

The predicted price tag of the Inland Rail megaproject has almost doubled in two years to more than $30bn, as an independent review savages the former Coalition government’s handling of the plan.

In her independent review of the Inland Rail, commissioned by the Albanese government last year and released on Thursday, Dr Kerry Schott also flagged further delivery delays of at least four years.

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Wreckage of plane carrying pilot and his pregnant wife found in central Queensland

Rhiley Kuhrt and his wife, Maree, were on their way to visit family when their Piper Cherokee crashed

A man and his pregnant wife have been found dead after their plane crashed during a heavy storm in central Queensland.

Stockman Rhiley Kuhrt and his wife, Maree, were on their way to visit family when their Piper Cherokee crashed in the Mount Hector Range south of Proserpine on Sunday.

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Thousands queue at Dover for second day as Braverman accused of denial

Home secretary says Brexit did not cause chaos seen at port as angry customers see trips cancelled

Thousands of people have faced a second day stuck in queues at Dover, as Suella Braverman denied post-Brexit checks were to blame for the chaos.

Despite extra sailings put in place overnight on Saturday, P&O Ferries said on Sunday afternoon that coaches arriving at cruise terminal 1 would likely face a total wait of over 10 hours.

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‘Gutted and livid’: parents vent anger over children caught in Dover chaos

Families of pupils whose foreign trips were cancelled owing to the delays blame border staff, Brexit and ferry companies

Among those angered by the delays at Dover were parents of children setting off on school trips who had to wait for hours on coaches, in some cases only to have to turn back.

Nicola Eslick, 51, from Brighton, pointed the finger at those in charge of border controls after her 14-year-old son had his school trip cancelled on Sunday morning as a result of the chaos at Dover, approximately 14 hours after departing.

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Port of Dover adds overnight sailings to help clear severe coach backlog

School holiday delays of up to 14 hours blamed on ‘French border processes and sheer volume’

Extra sailings are to run overnight at the Port of Dover to try to clear a backlog that left passengers stuck in Easter school-holiday traffic for hours on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the port, which declared a critical incident on Friday, said it was hoping to clear the backlog by lunchtime on Sunday as some travellers said they had been held up for 14 hours.

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NSW transport minister announces investigation into ‘serious problems’ on Sydney trains

‘What I have learned alarms me,’ says Labor’s Jo Haylen but she insists independent inquiry will not be a ‘witch-hunt’

An independent investigation into repeated failings on Sydney’s train network will be launched by the New South Wales Labor government, but the state’s new transport minister insists it will not be a “witch-hunt”.

Jo Haylen said the dire state of the state’s heavy rail system had been laid bare in the urgent briefings she received in the days since being sworn in.

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Plans for rail pass for UK staycationers axed over cost concerns

Exclusive: extensive consultations since idea was proposed 18 months ago have found it would not be commercially viable

Plans to boost domestic tourism by introducing a rail pass for British staycationers have been axed, the Guardian can reveal.

The idea was initially heralded by the government as a way to help struggling businesses get back on their feet as the final Covid restrictions were being lifted in the summer of 2021, but extensive consultations since have found that the plan would not be commercially viable.

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Australia politics live: rate rises must stop with inflation coming down, Greens say; Brereton named anti-corruption commissioner

Commission appointments must be signed off by the governor general. Follow live

Sorry – I am told by a couple of senators that it was “technically” 4.13am.

So expect to see a few bleary-eyed senators in the coffee lines this morning.

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British Airways cancels 300 flights during Heathrow staff’s Easter strikes

Airport security staff due to hold 10 days of strikes over pay, forcing airline to axe 5% of its schedule

British Airways is to cancel more than 300 flights to and from Heathrow over the Easter holiday period due to strikes by airport security staff.

The airline is axing about 5% of its schedule, with 16 return short-haul flights cancelled daily. It said the majority of affected customers would be booked on to alternative flights within 24 hours, or could be fully refunded.

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Network Rail warns of Easter disruption due to engineering works

Train passengers advised to plan ahead over holiday weekend with west coast main line services hit

Rail passengers have been advised to plan ahead for Easter, with engineering works expected to close the west coast main line between some of Britain’s biggest cities.

No trains will run between London Euston and Milton Keynes throughout the four-day holiday weekend from Good Friday on 7 April, until Easter Monday, on 10 April, meaning replacement buses or alternative routes will be needed to travel between the capital and towns and cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

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Australia politics live: Lidia Thorpe knocked to ground in struggle with police at anti-trans rights speaker’s Canberra event

Independent senator attempts to step up to podium after Pauline Hanson speaks in support of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. Follow the day’s news

Mark Butler says part of the issue is that vaping was allowed to “explode” so it’s a case of putting the genie back in the bottle – but he says the government is determined to do it, so the tobacco industry doesn’t win.

A parent told us last week that they found in their very young child’s pencil case, not a 16/17-year-old but a very young child’s pencil case, a vape that was deliberately designed to look like a highlighter pen. I mean, these things are insidious.

They are causing very real damage not just to the health of very young children but to behavioural issues at schools as well.

This is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools. I mean, this is this is an industry shamelessly marketing, not just to teenagers but to young children. When you look at these things, with pink unicorns on them and bubblegum flavors, these aren’t marketed to adults.

This is an industry that is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts so they get around all of the hard work. Our country and other countries have done over recent decades to stamp out smoking.

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Etihad accused of misleading customers with greenwashing in ‘net zero’ ads

Complaint made to ACCC says airline’s claims of net zero by 2050 are not feasible and company intends to increase absolute CO2 emissions

Etihad has been accused of misleading customers through advertising that spruiked its emissions reductions plans, with Australia’s consumer watchdog now considering action against the airline amid its crackdown on greenwashing.

Aviation emissions advocacy group Flight Free Australia alleged in the complaint that two Etihad advertisements that appeared on digital advertising banners during an A-League football match between Melbourne City and Adelaide United at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on 15 February last year were false or misleading.

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Tax perks driving surge in number of SUVs and larger vehicles on Australian roads, experts say

Calls to tackle rise in SUVs, utes and 4WDs by reducing tax incentives and building narrow lanes and parking spots exclusively for small cars

The surge in popularity of larger vehicles in Australia has been driven by tax perks that incentivise buying SUVs, utes and other 4WDs instead of less-polluting smaller sized cars and sedans, transport experts argue.

SUVs accounted for more than 50% of new vehicles sold in Australia last year, a share which has almost doubled over the past decade. The uptick has prompted calls to tackle the trend by limiting tax incentives, building bus lane-style narrow lanes and more parking spots exclusively for small cars.

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Rail strikes: RMT votes to accept Network Rail pay offer

Members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the offer, worth 9% over two years, in deal that should bring worst of disruption to end

Members of the RMT union have voted to accept a pay offer from Network Rail.

Thousands of rail workers including signalling staff voted by three to one in favour to accept the offer, a 9% pay increase over two years, in a referendum that closed on Monday.

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Timid NSW transport policies show Labor and the Coalition have taken their feet off the accelerator

No matter who wins the election, the task of tackling clogged roads and Sydney’s tolling mess will be immense

Sydney has been treated to a boom in public transport and road construction over the past decade, but the so far timid transport policies of the New South Wales election raise concerns the foot is coming off the accelerator.

The main policy differences to emerge between the Coalition and Labor surround how each side plans to expand the metro network westwards, Band-Aid solutions to address the cost of commuting through Sydney’s tolling mess and support for a contentious tunnel.

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