Category Archives: Transport

Hunter Valley bus crash: driver due to face court; community mourns as it awaits official news of the dead

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A 58-year-old man from Maitland is due to appear in court in Cessnock charged with 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Follow the day’s news live

After Sunday night’s tragic wedding bus crash in the Hunter Valley, stunned locals are still anxiously waiting for details of how the accident occurred and official confirmation of who was among the victims.

The driver of the bus, a 58-year-old man from Maitland, will appear in court in Cessnock this morning charged with 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving. The Guardian will be in court and will have the details as they emerge.

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Hunter Valley bus crash: 10 killed after wedding party coach rolls, NSW premier confirms 21 in hospital – latest updates

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Chris Minns acknowledges ‘unimaginable despair’ after bus rolled on Wine Country Drive near Hunter Expressway offramp. Follow the latest updates

We are hearing reports that NSW Police are planning to hold a press conference in the next couple of hours to provide an update on the crash.

Plibersek sends condolences

A day of celebration ending in tragedy. Just terrible.

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Hunter Valley: driver arrested after wedding bus crash near Greta, NSW, kills 10 people in Australia

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Police say 25 others were taken to hospital by helicopter and road after the coach rolled on Wine Country Drive just after 11.30pm on Sunday

Ten people returning from a “fairytale” wedding in Australia’s Hunter Valley wine region in New South Wales have been killed in a devastating bus crash. More than 20 others have been taken to hospital with various injuries after the bus overturned late on Sunday night.

The 58-year-old driver has been arrested and charges are pending, while a crime scene has been declared at the site of the crash.

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Albanese urged to plead with Biden for Assange’s release – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

‘We shouldn’t run a running commentary on the cases,’ says Hume

Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume, appearing alongside Marles on the program, said she believed clarification was still needed:

There is inconsistencies between the reports that we are getting from those text messages and what we are hearing from Labor ministers, and what happened when.

And I think unfolding that, unpacking that, making sure there is some clarification is really important here. Because misleading parliament, misleading the Senate is a big deal, particularly when you rely on the honesty and integrity of ministers and senators, and so there are some questions to be answered here.

Katy has made her position very clear earlier in the week, and she has made clear that she is very comfortable with the statements that she’s made, and that’s the end of the matter in terms of Katy’s position.

Katy is a person of enormous integrity. It is one of my great honours to work alongside her in this government. She does a great job as the finance minister.

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Losing bidder for Myki system upgrade tells Daniel Andrews tender process was ‘flawed’

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Government defends processes and the US company that won the tender, saying it has ‘reputation for delivering successful projects’

A losing bidder for the contract to overhaul Victoria’s Myki system has written to the state’s premier, Daniel Andrews, to claim his government ran a “flawed” tender process and questioned whether the chosen company will be able to provide the technology it has promised.

Senior executives at Cubic wrote to Daniel Andrews last week, detailing their “serious concerns about possible errors in the tender process” for the public transport ticketing system.

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Bridget McKenzie and Mark Coulton reject suggestion they ‘trespassed’ at inland rail project

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Nationals pair say they were at a level crossing on a public road when they visited the rail corridor without ministerial permission

Nationals MP Mark Coulton and senator Bridget McKenzie have angrily rejected suggestions they may have trespassed by visiting the inland rail project near Narromine after permission to do so was denied.

Coulton told Guardian Australia that the issue, pursued by Labor in Senate estimates, was “absolute complete bullshit”, backing McKenzie’s account the pair were at a level crossing on a public road when they visited the rail without the minister’s permission.

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School bus driver and two camels killed in central Queensland crash

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The man was on his way to work when he crashed into the escaped animals in Livingstone, police say

A school bus driver has been killed after he crashed into two escaped camels in central Queensland.

Both camels were also killed in the crash on Emu Park Road in Livingstone, east of Rockhampton, shortly after 5am on Monday, police said.

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Train drivers’ 24-hour strike stops rail services in England

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About 40% of services expected to run on Saturday as 12,000 Aslef members hold second day of industrial action this week

Rail services across England have again come to a halt as 12,000 train drivers strike for the second time this week amid a long-running dispute with the operating companies over pay and conditions.

Members of the drivers’ union Aslef are walking out for 24 hours on the majority of lines in England and some cross-border routes into Scotland and Wales, leaving only 40% of services running.

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Heathrow security guards expected to announce fresh strikes

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Unite says it will serve notice to airport of fresh round of strikes in long-running pay dispute

Fresh strikes by security guards at Heathrow airport are expected to be announced next week.

Members of Unite are embroiled in a long-running dispute over pay which has led to previous industrial action.

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Police release e-fit of man found dead in wheel bay of Gatwick-bound plane

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Detectives hope to identify man, whose body was found on a Tui flight from the Gambia on 7 December

Police have released a digitised image of a man who was found dead in the undercarriage of a plane, as they work to identify him.

The man’s body was found on a Tui flight from the Gambia to the UK. His body was discovered at Gatwick airport at about 4am on 7 December, Sussex police said at the time.

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ACCC’s airline monitoring program to conclude despite growing claims of fare overcharging

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Exclusive: consumer and aviation figures call for continued scrutiny as Australian companies post multibillion-dollar profits and prices remain high

A key government program monitoring Australian airlines’ behaviour is ending just as carriers face claims they are overcharging passengers, prompting consumer and aviation figures to call for a dedicated and ongoing inquiry to probe the industry.

Calls for greater scrutiny from Australian Airports Association chief executive, James Goodwin, and former competition tsar Rod Sims come as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s domestic aviation monitoring taskforce expires at the end of June.

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Melbourne public transport card readers won’t accept credit cards or iPhones until 2025

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Exclusive: upgraded Myki ticketing system could have been in place sooner, according to alternate proposals tendered

Using credit cards and iPhones to tap on to Melbourne public transport won’t be a network-wide reality until at least 2025, but the Victorian government has defended its new ticketing contract amid claims other bidders could have implemented the compatibility faster.

Upgrades to existing card readers on trams, buses and trains – as well as more ambitious schedules for the installation of new readers – were detailed in two proposals to overhaul the Myki system that would have seen credit card and iPhone payments accepted across the network before 2025, Guardian Australia understands.

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Rail strikes: Hopes of a resolution have been indefinitely delayed

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After a year of walkouts and failed talks, the unions, ministers and operators are as far apart as ever

Almost a year since the first national rail strike was called, another series of stoppages loom. Passengers who have been spared the usual round of disruptive bank holiday engineering works this weekend won’t be so lucky in the second half of the half-term break. Strikes by drivers and crew will more or less wipe out services on Wednesday and Saturday, shred schedules on Friday, and add a bit of scattergun disruption in between.

This time in 2022, the mere prospect of the biggest rail strike in decades was causing consternation. Now, though, the latest guaranteed upheaval has not even produced a round of talks between unions and industry – let alone ministers – to try to head off the disruption.

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Travellers faced long queues at major UK airports after electronic passport gates failed

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Hours-long delays were reported as IT problems also caused disruption on Dover-Calais ferries

Passengers arriving at major airports in the UK at the start of the bank holiday weekend faced long delays after problems with electronic passport gates.

Travellers expressed their anger on social media over queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as arrivals had their passports checked by hand instead of the automated machines.

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RMT to hold rail strike across England on eve of FA Cup final

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Latest action on 2 June comes between two days of strikes by Aslef and will bring further disruption to football final

The RMT has announced another rail strike on Friday 2 June, the day before the men’s FA Cup final, warning that the government “cannot wish the dispute away”.

About 20,000 RMT members working for the 14 major rail companies in England will strike for 24 hours in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

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Victoria considers mandates on school bus seatbelts after crash leaves children severely injured

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Daniel Andrews says it is important to see if rules around wearing of restraints need to change

Daniel Andrews says the Victorian government will consider mandating the wearing of seatbelts on school buses after a catastrophic crash in Melbourne’s western fringe that left several children severely injured.

A bus carrying 46 students from Exford primary school was struck from behind by a truck at the intersection of Exford Road and Murphys Road in Eynesbury about 3.55pm Tuesday.

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Council in Melbourne declares health emergency, claiming truck pollution is linked to high rates of illness

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Maribyrnong city council says lack of enforcement of road train curfew has undermined its ability to protect residents

A “health emergency” has been declared by a Melbourne council, which claims residents are suffering above-average rates of hospitalisations for certain conditions partly due to a surge in road trains on its suburban streets.

Maribyrnong city council, which takes in Footscray in the city’s inner western suburbs, announced the declaration on Wednesday, claiming rates of illness in the municipality due to pollution “considerably exceed the Australian average”.

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Rogue NSW taxi drivers still refusing to use meters despite crackdown, commissioner warns

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Exclusive: Opposition calls for greater penalties as data reveals 59 fines issued this year, down from 96 between late November and end of December

Rogue taxi drivers are still being caught refusing to use meters and demanding upfront and excessive payments from customers across Sydney, with calls for the New South Wales government to increase penalties for those fined for the illegal behaviour.

A crackdown on taxi drivers attempting to negotiate fares with customers has so far resulted in compliance officers issuing 155 fines to cabbies, after the former Perrottet government passed laws to give the state’s point to point transport commission stronger powers in November.

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Do you know more? Contact elias.visontay@theguardian.com

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Australia’s road death toll jumps with fatalities still higher than pre-pandemic

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National automotive body says poor data collection is limiting authorities’ ability to formulate an evidence-based response

Australian roads are becoming deadlier, with an almost 6% jump in road deaths in the past year as fatalities remain significantly higher than before the Covid pandemic and worse than long-term safety targets.

The latest road fatality figures, which cover the 12 months to 31 March, reveal 1,204 deaths on Australian roads – an annual increase of 5.9%.

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