Category Archives: Sydney

Peter Dutton says if Mark Scott had ‘any shred of integrity’ he would resign as University of Sydney vice-chancellor

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Call comes after Scott apologises for university’s handling of antisemitism complaints

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has called for the University of Sydney vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, to resign, saying he would do so if he had “any shred of integrity”.

The university has come under fire for its handling of protest camps set up on campus in opposition to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 attack.

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Three charges including one of rape against high-profile Sydney man withdrawn during trial

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The man is accused of raping five women, with charges regarding a sixth withdrawn on Thursday. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges

A high-profile Sydney man has had three charges against him – including one count of rape – withdrawn for an undisclosed reason and the complainant will no longer appear before the court.

The complainant who alleged the man had assaulted her three times, which led to the charges, was set to be the sixth and final complainant to appear before the New South Wales Downing Centre district court.

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Man charged with murder after allegedly stabbing rugby league player in Sydney’s Marrickville

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Police arrest 31-year-old man in Concord after Sitaleki Filihiahekava died on Monday evening

A man will face court over the alleged stabbing death of another man on a busy Sydney street.

The 31-year-old was arrested at Concord in the city’s inner-west on Wednesday afternoon and is due to face Burwood local court charged with murder on Thursday.

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Man jailed for pretending to rob Sydney jewellery store in $2.8m insurance fraud plot

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Shanel Tofaeono tied up store employee whose hands were ‘shaking so much due to fear’, judge says

A man who pretended to rob a luxury jewellery store and tied up a terrified employee as part of an alleged $2.8m insurance fraud plot has been jailed for his crime.

Shanel Tofaeono, 39, was part of a wider scheme allegedly headed up by jeweller Michel Germani to stage a robbery of his Hilton hotel store in Sydney’s CBD in January 2022.

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Woman allegedly raped by high-profile Sydney man hoped they would be together, court hears

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The man, who cannot be named, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including six counts of rape

A woman who alleges she was raped by a high-profile Sydney man has denied she is “completely making the incident up”, a court has heard.

Under cross-examination by David Scully SC, the woman was also asked about her feelings for the man, and about her statement to police that she thought she and the man were going to “be together” and that she “had an obsession with him”.

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NSW police reopen two investigations after landmark gay hate crime inquiry

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Police commissioner Karen Webb hopes new technology and fresh eyes lead to breakthrough in two of state’s 854 unsolved murders

New South Wales police have reopened active investigations into two of the state’s 854 unsolved murders as part of their response to a landmark inquiry that found they failed to properly investigate dozens of potential gay hate crimes over 40 years.

The two murders are being investigated while detectives look at a further 213 case files prioritised by a special unit of the state’s police force – Taskforce Atlas - which was launched to oversee the implementation of the gay hate crime inquiry’s recommendations.

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NSW police bust alleged criminal network behind $1.8bn of Sydney cocaine sales this year

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Police allege the criminal gang, dubbed The Commission, controlled the price of cocaine in Sydney by manipulating supply

A drugs gang dubbed “The Commission” linked to the distribution of more than $1.8bn worth of cocaine across Sydney in four months has been “uprooted” by police.

The New South Wales police operation began in July, when a 21-year-old man from Guildford in the city’s west was charged with with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity.

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Mixed bag for Labor and the rise of the Libertarians: the key surprises in the NSW local elections

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ALP faces a variety of results in what premier Chris Minns calls a ‘massive wake-up call for the major parties’, and Liverpool mayor returns amid corruption inquiry

The counting of votes has resumed to determine the makeup of New South Wales’s 128 councils for the next four years.

The main story of the local government elections was the Liberal party’s disastrous failure to lodge the paperwork to nominate more than a third of its candidates.

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Clover Moore claims historic sixth term as Sydney lord mayor

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Longtime independent politician thanks community for support in face of misinformation and ‘awful’ campaign

Clover Moore has claimed a historic sixth term as the Sydney lord mayor despite a swing against her in a campaign she described as the “toughest” of her career.

The longtime independent secured another four years in the top job on Saturday evening, declaring victory in front of supporters at the Arthouse hotel in Sydney’s CBD.

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Mother held in jail after being charged with murdering her two sons in Blue Mountains home

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The 42-year-old woman fronted Parramatta local court in Sydney on Saturday in a brief hearing where she did not apply for bail

A mother charged with murdering her two sons at their Blue Mountains home has made a brief court appearance where she was remanded in custody.

The 42-year-old woman fronted Parramatta local court in Sydney for the first time on Saturday in a brief hearing where she did not apply for bail.

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‘When they go low’: Clover Moore apologises as volunteer caught allegedly pulling down Indigenous rival’s corflutes

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Team Clover volunteer filmed allegedly removing campaign posters of Yvonne Weldon from outside National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has apologised to an Indigenous political opponent after a volunteer was accused of removing corflutes outside the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.

Yvonne Weldon posted a video recorded by one of her team members of a man who had allegedly taken down the corflutes to make way for Moore’s banners.

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Helen Garner, Virginia Woolf and Max Porter headline Belvoir St theatre’s 2025 program

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‘Electrifying’ Judy Davis will star in adaptation of The Spare Room, with Colin Friels as King Lear later in the season

An adaptation of Helen Garner’s award-winning novel The Spare Room will debut at Sydney’s Belvoir St theatre in 2025, starring Judy Davis as a fictionalised version of the author in her first on stage role in almost 15 years.

The announcement caps a banner year for Garner’s work on stage, with an operatic adaptation of The Spare Room in development with the Melbourne company Monstrous Theatre, as well as a remount of the 2008 opera The Children’s Bach.

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Teacher at Sydney’s Knox Grammar school charged with alleged grooming of a child

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Headmaster says alleged online incident occurred outside school hours and premises, and staff member has been sacked

A senior teacher at Sydney’s prestigious Knox Grammar school has been charged with an alleged child grooming offence.

The teacher, 27-year-old William Gulson, was arrested in Wahroonga on Friday after an investigation into allegations he had groomed a child online.

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Labor will have itself to blame if it loses western Sydney over Gaza issue, says Muslim Vote convener

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Wesam Charkawi says Albanese’s party has ‘created this movement through their decisions’ as pro-Palestine communities feel Labor has failed them

A new Muslim political movement backing independent candidates says Labor will have itself to blame if Peter Dutton wins the next election, and that people should not assume the candidates they support will preference Labor.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, one of the conveners behind the Muslim Vote movement, said the group would be aiming to support “at least five candidates” in New South Wales and Victoria.

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High-profile Sydney man raped 19-year-old in his home while she was doing an internship with him, court told

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The man, who cannot be named, has pleaded not guilty to raping five women

A high-profile Sydney man accused of raping five women raped one 19-year-old woman in his home while she was undertaking an internship with him, a court has heard.

The man, whom Guardian Australia cannot name due to a suppression order, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges alleged to have occurred over a six-year period against six women on separate occasions.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org. The Stop It Now! helpline is 1800 011 800.

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Man charged over Sydney stabbing as premier hails bystanders who ‘were able to save someone’s life’

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Driver charged with eight offences after allegedly stabbing his partner while driving, leading to car crash in Engadine

The New South Wales premier has said he is “blown away” by bystanders who tried to help after a Sydney driver allegedly stabbed his partner leading to a car collision, saying “ordinary members of the public were able to save someone’s life”.

A 58-year-old man was Tasered and arrested after allegedly stabbing three people at the site of a car collision in Engadine, south of Sydney on Sunday morning. Police allege the man had been attacking his female partner, 48, with a box cutter while driving, leading to a collision with another car.

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Australia urged to show ‘true climate leadership’ as Pacific Islands Forum begins – as it happened

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Investigations under way after alleged theft of non-fuctional guns from museum

An investigation is under way after a museum in Lithgow, in the NSW Central Tablelands, was allegedly broken into overnight.

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Mardi Gras board decision to consult queer community on police joining parade hailed as ‘massive win’

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Results of consultation will form independent report and motion will be voted on at annual general meeting later this year

The Sydney Mardi Gras board will vote on whether NSW police force members will march in its annual parade later this year.

In an email sent to members on Friday evening, the board announced three community consultation sessions – two online and one in person – would be held in September to gather feedback.

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NSW Liberal Andrew Bragg claims some party colleagues may be ‘playing footsies with nimbys’

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Moderate senator says the idea of new developments in established suburbs does not sit well with some Liberals

New South Wales Liberal frontbench senator Andrew Bragg has accused some of his party colleagues of “playing footsies with nimbys” for blocking real estate developments in Sydney’s suburbs that he says would help ease the housing crisis.”

The shadow assistant minister for home ownership told Guardian Australia that some Liberals were encouraging a not-in-my-back yard attitude to expanding housing stock in some metropolitan areas and obstructing measures that could help increase supply.

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SafeWork NSW investigating Swillhouse hospitality group after staff allege harassment and discrimination

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High-profile Sydney bar and restaurant group issues public apology as award-winning bartender comes forward alleging workplace sexual assault

SafeWork NSW is investigating high profile Sydney bar and restaurant group Swillhouse after a series of allegations by staff of harassment, discrimination and unsafe workplaces.

A Sydney Morning Herald investigation this week alleged staff had experienced sexual assault and harassment and drug use within the group’s venues. A former Australian bartender of the year who worked for Swillhouse has publicly come forward as an alleged victim of sexual assault while working at the hospitality group.

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