Category Archives: Sydney

Reported plan to move Rosehill racecourse to endangered bell frog habitat surprises conservationists

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Horse racing industry insiders said to be pushing for Sydney track to be relocated to former brickpit in Olympic Park – a sanctuary to an unlikely urban survivor

Conservations have expressed surprise at reported plans to move Sydney’s Rosehill racecourse to a historic brickpit at Olympic Park, which is home to a colony of endangered green and golden bell frogs.

The plan has reportedly been devised by racing bosses, alongside the deal between the Australian Turf Club and the New South Wales government to redevelop the famous track into new housing, as well as two additional metro stations.

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Man charged with murder after alleged pre-arranged fight in Sydney’s west

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Police allege the accused dumped an injured man on a street in Melonba and left him to die

A man will face court accused of murder following a pre-arranged fight after which he allegedly dumped his opponent in a western Sydney street and left him to die.

Emergency services were called to Georgina Crescent in Melonba about 8.45pm on Friday after reports a man had been found and was likely deceased.

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Two injured at Westfield Liverpool after teenager accidentally reverses display car into department store

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A man in his 50s and another in his 30s have been taken to hospital after being hit by an SUV at a Sydney shopping centre

Two people are in hospital after being struck by a display car at a busy shopping centre in Sydney.

A teenager was sitting in the SUV when it accelerated forward and hit a glass panel before it reversed into a department store, New South Wales police said.

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City bustle returns to Melbourne and Sydney – largely thanks to weekends and Taylor Swift

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Foot traffic near Melbourne’s town hall recorded at highest since 2015, as Eras tour concert coincides with busiest day of 2024

The pre-pandemic hustle and bustle of the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne is returning, and in Melbourne’s case it’s busier than it’s been for nearly a decade.

But the weekend crowds appear to be doing most of the heavy lifting.

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NSW to double penalties for worst environmental crimes in wake of asbestos crisis

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Planned overhaul of Environment Protection Authority’s powers to be biggest since it began in 1991, government says

Penalties for the most serious environmental crimes would double and the New South Wales environmental watchdog would have powers to recall potentially contaminated products from consumers under major changes to environmental protection laws proposed by the Minns government.

The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government was proposing the largest set of amendments to the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA’s) powers since the regulator was established in 1991.

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Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia to swelter through heatwave on long weekend

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Hot weather will send temperatures soaring to 38C in Melbourne, 40C in Adelaide and the low 30s in Launceston, the BoM forecasts

Victorians, Tasmanians and South Australians will swelter through their long weekends, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing heatwave warnings for the three states.

Melbourne is expecting maximum temperatures of 38C across Saturday, Sunday and Monday. If temperatures do reach 38C, it will be the highest temperature recorded across three consecutive days in March since 1942.

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Wolli Creek national park gains additional 4.7 hectares of land to complete ‘green ribbon’

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Minns government fulfils $13m election commitment following long-running community campaign to protect the area

Almost five hectares of parklands has been added to the Wolli Creek regional national park – “a patch of green ribbon” which runs through dense suburbs in Sydney’s south – in the past year.

The Minns government added the additional 4.7 hectares after a $13m election commitment to complete the park, which borders Wolli Creek and was first promised by the Carr government in 1998.

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Asbestos-contaminated mulch found at 75 sites across Sydney, watchdog finds

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Focus turns to criminal investigation after NSW Environment Protection Authority completes its trawl through the supply chain

Mulch contaminated with asbestos has been found at 75 sites across greater Sydney, with the New South Wales environmental watchdog turning focus to its criminal investigation following the completion of contact tracing.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will on Thursday announce it has finished tracking mulch through the complex supply chain after asbestos was first discovered by a parent in mulch at a park in the inner west more than two months ago.

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Liberals pick management consultant Simon Kennedy for Cook byelection

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The party misses the chance to have a female candidate in the safe seat vacated by former prime minister Scott Morrison

Simon Kennedy will contest Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook for the Liberals in the byelection triggered by the former prime minister’s resignation.

Kennedy, a consultant and the former candidate for Bennelong, won preselection in the first round on Monday night with 158 out of 296 votes, beating the mayor of Sutherland shire, Carmelo Pesce, and war widow and veteran family advocate commissioner, Gwen Cherne.

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Australia news live: siege unfolds at Geelong home; PM says Dutton’s team ‘dominated by blokes’

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Albanese also flagged concerns over ‘nature of behaviour’ in comments in lead-up to Saturday’s Dunkley byelection. Follow the day’s news live

PM congratulates new MP Jodie Belyea for ‘strong and positive campaign’

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, joined community leader Jodie Belyea at a polling station on Saturday, his 61st birthday, and praised the strong campaign she ran, AAP reports.

And I’m now going to be your strong local voice in Canberra.

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Pro-Palestinian protesters charged after Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

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Police confirmed one man and seven women were charged after entering the parade route near Taylor Square on Saturday night

Eight pro-Palestinian protesters who allegedly attempted to disrupt Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have been charged.

Police confirmed a 25-year-old man and seven women, aged between 29 and 42, were charged after entering the parade route near Taylor Square about 9.20pm on Saturday.

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Crowdfunding campaign brings first Timor-Leste float to Sydney Mardi Gras parade

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It was only two weeks ago that the founder of Timor-Leste’s own pride march learned he and 10 others were coming to Australia

Natalino Guterres likens getting the chance to march down Oxford Street in pure queer pride to the feeling he had when he was 12 and Timor-Leste achieved independence after a brutal occupation.

“It’s really emotional for me,” he said. “It’s one of those moments when you’re really happy and get to look forward to having some momentum.”

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‘Breakdown’ in processes may have allowed police gun to be used in alleged murders, former senior detective says

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If police claims are correct, a gun appears to have been ‘largely unaccounted for’ the weekend before alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, Vincent Hurley says

A former senior detective has raised concerns about an apparent “breakdown” in processes that may have allowed a force-issued firearm to be used in the alleged murder of two young men in Sydney.

Vincent Hurley, whose New South Wales police career spanned almost three decades, said he was troubled by police claims, made in the course of the ongoing homicide investigation, that suggested a Glock had been “largely unaccounted for” before being used to allegedly kill Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

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Asbestos mulch locations: full list and map of sites in Sydney where asbestos has been found

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Hundreds of sites including schools are being investigated by the EPA for asbestos removal amid the contaminated mulch crisis across NSW. This map shows confirmed contaminated parks and other locations

Asbestos-contaminated mulch has potentially been used at hundreds of locations across Sydney and regional New South Wales.

The premier, Chris Minns, has said the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is examining the sites as it undertakes its largest investigation ever.

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Former NSW government accused of ‘pork barrelling at public’s expense’ after scathing audit

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The $5bn post-pandemic spending program ‘not informed by robust research or analysis’ auditor general finds

Labor has accused the former New South Wales Coalition government of “pork barrelling at the public’s expense” after the auditor general found the design of a $5bn scheme to funnel money into areas worst hit by Covid lockdowns “lacked integrity”.

In a report released on Wednesday, Margaret Crawford found that more than $1bn was allocated to “low or moderate merit” infrastructure projects in western Sydney as part of the massive post-pandemic spending program WestInvest.

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AFP confirms it won’t march in Sydney Mardi Gras after NSW police asked not to join parade

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The decision comes after NSW constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon was charged over the deaths of the gay couple last week

Organisers of Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade have asked police not to march in the event on Saturday after New South Wales constable Beaumont Lamarre was charged with murdering a gay couple in the city, the New South Wales force have said.

A NSW police spokesperson confirmed the decision by the board of Australia’s premier LGBTQI event on Monday night.

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Bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies found at Bungonia four days after serving officer charged with murder

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NSW police say remains found near Goulburn after Sen Const Beau Lamarre charged with murders of ex-Channel Ten TV presenter and Qantas flight attendant

Two bodies have been found south-west of Sydney during the search for missing couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

The discovery came four days after the serving New South Wales police officer Beau Lamarre, 28, was charged with their murders.

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Jesse Baird and Luke Davies: police allege Beau Lamarre made ‘partial admissions’ of involvement in deaths

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NSW deputy commissioner further alleges accused police officer purchased angle grinder, padlock and weights from hardware store

New South Wales police will allege one of their own constables made “partial admissions” about an alleged double murder to an acquaintance before he turned himself in to police last week.

The deputy commissioner Dave Hudson said Sen Const Beau Lamarre – who was charged on Friday over the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies – wasn’t cooperating with investigators searching for the men’s bodies south-west of Sydney.

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Police investigate possession of police handgun allegedly used in murder of Sydney couple

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NSW police commissioner Karen Webb expresses ‘heartfelt condolences’ to the families and friends of alleged murder victims Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

New South Wales police are investigating whether murder-accused senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon was lawfully in possession of the police-issue handgun which they believe was fired at a Paddington unit where two men were allegedly killed.

Police continued the search on Sunday for the remains of Jesse Baird, a former Channel Ten presenter, and his partner, Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies.

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Sydney asbestos crisis: EPA ‘following up’ on whether second mulch supplier is involved

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Agency says an unnamed supplier may have provided contaminated mulch at Cranebrook and Bardia

A possible second supplier of asbestos-contaminated mulch is being investigated by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, as the number of contaminated sites rises to 61.

The environment watchdog said on Saturday it was “following up on a possible second supplier” that may have provided asbestos-contaminated mulch to at least two sites where the substance has been detected. The sites, both in western Sydney, were Cranebrook High School and Mont Saint Quentin Oval in Bardia.

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