Category Archives: Sydney

Legionnaires’ disease alert issued for Sydney as people urged to monitor for symptoms

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NSW Health issues warning after multiple people who visited CBD were hospitalised for pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria

Sydneysiders have been urged to stay alert for symptoms of legionnaires’ disease after seven people were hospitalised after contracting the respiratory illness over Christmas and the new year.

New South Wales Health issued an alert on Wednesday afternoon, warning those who had been in the Sydney CBD area in the past 10 days to monitor for symptoms, which can include fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath. The disease can lead to severe chest infections.

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NSW government fails to veto 15-minute parking scheme at exclusive beach despite pledge

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Roads minister John Graham now says the government is unable to act against the signs at Camp Cove that he previously said took 'the rest of us for mugs’

The New South Wales roads minister has failed to follow through on a pledge to veto controversial parking restrictions by a local council in Sydney, with beachgoers now limited to just 15 minutes to park, swim and return to their car.

In November, Woollahra Council – having learned the residents-only parking scheme that had been in place around Watsons Bay for 50 years was actually illegal – decided to implement 15-minute parking limits on the streets near Camp Cove beach.

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Alleged spearing of beloved blue groper in Sydney sparks outrage

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Department of primary industries investigating after protected fish species allegedly killed in Cronulla

The alleged spearing and killing of a protected fish species in Sydney over the weekend is being investigated.

According to local reports, onlookers were left outraged after an endangered blue groper (Achoerodus viridis) was allegedly speared and killed at Oak Park in Cronulla on Saturday.

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New Year’s Eve: huge crowds turn out in Australian cities to see in 2024

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Hundreds of thousands gather in Sydney and Melbourne to enjoy spectacular fireworks displays

Australians turned out in their hundreds of thousands to see in the new year under a midnight sky lit up by fireworks.

In Sydney, crowds were abuzz and at maximum capacity as revellers crammed picnic rugs together across harbour foreshore vantage points. More than 8.5 tonnes of fireworks went up in smoke alongside 80,000 pyrotechnic effects to the sounds of jubilant cheers.

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New Year’s Eve 2023: heat and hail forecast in Australia’s weather mix as crowds gather early for fireworks

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Displays expected in cities across country to ring in 2024 while predicted wild weather on east coast could disrupt revelry

Heat and hail have been forecast across parts of the country as hundreds queue outside the Sydney Opera House to secure front-row seats for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Lines in Circular Quay began to form at 8am on Sunday as people sought to stake their claim to a view. By 11.24am, organisers announced the Sydney Opera House vantage point is full and advised members of the public to seek alternative options.

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Cocaine packages totalling 124kg found washed up on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle

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About 39kg of the drug was found by a fisherman on Tuesday, before a similar amount was discovered in Newcastle

A fisherman on Sydney’s northern beaches is one of several members of the public to discover packages containing 124kg of cocaine that have washed up on the New South Wales coast, sparking a police investigation.

NSW police on Wednesday confirmed its state crime command were investigating after the packages were discovered on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle from Friday. The initial barnacle-encrusted discoveries sparked a warning against removing or opening any more that were discovered.

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Christmas Day weather: Queenslanders brace for more storms as flood risk remains in NSW

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The Bureau of Meteorology warns of more thunderstorms and heavy rain for large parts of Australia’s east coast

Queenslanders and parts of New South Wales have been told to hunker down amid Christmas Day warnings for large hailstones, heavy rain and possible flash flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued thunderstorm warnings on Monday afternoon for parts of Queensland’s southern interior and the north of the state,

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Police issue warning after suspected cocaine packages appear on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle

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NSW police say no one should open or remove any of the packages after finding seven washed ashore

New South Wales police have issued a warning to the public about packages suspected of containing cocaine washing up on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle.

At least seven packages – with “significant barnacle growth” on the outer plastic wrapping – have been found on beaches since Friday night, and police on Sunday warned people not to open or remove any further finds.

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Christmas weather: rain forecast along Australia’s east coast after Brisbane hit by storms and hail

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Thunderstorm conditions extending from Mackay in Queensland to Melbourne, with BoM warning weather may change quickly

Widespread rain and cloudy weather affecting much of the east coast is expected to continue into Christmas Day, with revellers encouraged to prepare an indoor option for tomorrow’s festivities.

Queensland was lashed with severe thunderstorms on Sunday, with giant hail and huge downpours of up to 43mm in just 15 minutes recorded in northern Brisbane.

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‘Severe, intense conditions’: Christmas weather could be stormy in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra

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NSW SES warns heavy rain may cause flash flooding with storms forecast across three states from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day

Residents of Australia’s eastern states have been warned to prepare for severe storms forecast over the Christmas weekend.

Thunderstorms are expected between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day across a broad region, including much of New South Wales and south-east Queensland and spreading down into Victoria.

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Friendlyjordies case: man charged over alleged arson attack on YouTube personality’s Bondi home

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Man, 37, arrested by police after November 2022 fire at Jordan Shanks-Markovina’s home

A man has been charged over an alleged arson attack on the Sydney home of a popular YouTube personality.

Emergency services responded to the fire in Bondi, in the city’s eastern suburbs, in November 2022, when the property and an adjoining house were significantly damaged.

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More than 520 NSW taxi drivers disciplined in six months for overcharging or refusing to use their meter

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Exclusive: Freedom of information documents reveal which cab companies have received most complaints, with one getting more than 300 in six months

More than 520 taxi drivers in New South Wales have been disciplined for refusing to use their meters or overcharging, with authorities progressing more than 300 cases against just one operator in six months.

As the NSW taxi watchdog warns of an expected uptick in rogue behaviour from new taxi drivers entering the workforce, Guardian Australia can reveal the new taxi fare hotline has been flooded with hundreds of complaints in its first six months.

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Australia news live: Daniel Andrews fires up over ‘Dictator Dan’ moniker; festival-goers warned about heatwave conditions

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Former Victorian premier gives first interview after resignation, saying ‘the haters hate and the rest vote Labor’. Follow the day’s news live

James Ashby to stand for One Nation in Queensland seat

James Ashby, the chief of staff to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, will stand for the party in the seat of Keppel at next year’s Queensland state election, AAP reports.

The Nationals are dead in Queensland’s parliament while the Liberals are lurching further left in their attempts to secure inner-Brisbane seats.

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William Tyrrell’s foster father argues ‘lawful’ force used on another child as punishment, NSW court hears

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Foster parents of missing William Tyrrell facing court on assault and intimidation charges of another child who was in their care

William Tyrrell’s foster father rejects claims he grabbed a child by the neck as his lawyers argue he applied medium force to push the youngster down as they tried to get out of a timeout.

The 56-year-old foster father and 58-year-old foster mother returned to Parramatta local court on Monday.

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‘Until freedom and justice prevail’: rallies for Palestine march again through Australian capitals

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Also on Sunday, families and friends of hostages taken by Hamas addressed a gathering at a Sydney synagogue

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have gathered in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, pledging the rallies will not stop until “freedom and justice prevails”.

For the eighth week in a row, supporters for a free Palestine marched through the Sydney central business district, Melbourne CBD and in Logan, south of Brisbane.

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News live: Australia signs renewables pledge at Cop28; Brisbane mayor quits 2032 Olympics role

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Adrian Schrinner says the Palaszczuk government has ‘completely lost its way’ on road to event as he quits Brisbane 2032 Games delivery forum. Follow the day’s news live

Australia backs COP28 renewables, energy efficiency vow

Now for some more detail on Australia – along with 118 nations - signing a pledge at the COP28 climate summit to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

“We know that renewables are the cleanest and cheapest form of energy - and that energy efficiency can also help drive down bills and emissions,”

Australia has the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the world and has a plan to get to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 to deliver cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy.

It’s clear that the games have become more about over-priced stadiums rather than the promise of vital transport solutions.

The state government’s ham-fisted and foolish attempt to extort Brisbane ratepayers for tens of millions of dollars for a new RNA stadium was the final straw.

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Young green sea turtles tracked travelling deep into Sydney harbour and living near humans

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Taronga Wildlife hospital tracked three turtles that had been rescued, with one swimming as far as Longueville

Endangered green sea turtles spend much of their young lives in close proximity to people, including travelling deep within Sydney harbour, new research suggests.

Satellite tracking shows turtles frequenting busy waterways, including the harbour and Parramatta River, around Wollongong harbour, Brisbane Waters near Gosford and up the Hawkesbury River, as far as Cottage Point.

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‘A tsunami of traffic chaos’: the new Sydney motorway prompting calls for a royal commission

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Top expert says bungled opening of Rozelle interchange is bad enough to warrant a formal inquiry into the $20bn WestConnex project

Sydneysiders had been promised “nirvana” would be delivered by the $20bn WestConnex motorway so they are rightly bemused – if not bitter – about how they seem to have ended up in the other place.

The bungled opening of the final stage of WestConnex, the Rozelle interchange, is bad enough that veteran transport experts such as Michelle Zeibots at the University of Technology Sydney say only a royal commission can open the lid on how such debacles can happen.

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Second Sydney Theatre Company board member resigns in wake of actors’ pro-Palestinian protest

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Third apology issued for cancellation of Wednesday’s performance of The Seagull as foundation member Alex Schuman’s departure is confirmed

The Sydney Theatre Company has issued a third public apology after the on-stage pro-Palestinian protest by several actors during opening night of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

It comes as a second board member resigned.

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Australia politics live: Albanese says Israel-Hamas war protest at Melbourne hotel ‘beyond contempt’

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Chalmers: ‘We are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation’

Is Jim Chalmers confident that interest rates could fall from next year?

My job is to focus on this fight against inflation. And we saw overnight from the OECD, we saw from Deloitte Access Economics, we saw in the Bureau of Statistics data which came out yesterday, that we are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation and that will determine the future directory trajectory of interest rates

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