Category Archives: Sydney

Two men charged after police find $60m worth of cocaine in shipping container in Sydney

Posted on by

Police were called to a container logistics company in Port Botany after reports of a break and enter on Thursday night

Two Greek nationals have been charged with numerous offences after police allegedly found $60m worth of cocaine in the walls of a shipping container in Sydney.

Police were called to a Port Botany container logistics company after reports of a break and enter about 11pm on Thursday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Nurses union fined $350,000 for West Australian strike; Rex Patrick loses FOI challenge – as it happened

Posted on by

The former independent senator has lost his legal challenge against what he argued were unreasonable delays in the freedom of information (FOI) system. Follow the day’s news live

Evacuated dental hospital near site of Sydney blaze becomes emergency services hub

While the light rail that runs past the charred husk of the burnt out building on Randle Ln is running this morning, many of the roads are blocked off by police tape, including a usually very busy section of Elizabeth St, which will likely have an impact on morning traffic.

There’s else a lot of work to be done. The building opposite has been damaged by that extreme heat. Firefighters were able to cut that fire off from spreading into the building across the road. But the main priority is that wall. There are two walls that are in a precarious position.

We are talking about tonnes and tonnes of bricks that could come down and become projectiles that is why we have such a tight exclusion zone, not allowing anyone in, including firefighter[s], until we get the engineers in.

Continue reading...

Sydney fire: two teenagers assisting police with inquiries after Surry Hills building blaze

Posted on by

Authorities ‘furiously’ searching for two people among 15 sleeping rough in heritage building the night before fire

Two teenagers were assisting police with their inquiries after a fire at a heritage-listed building in Sydney’s Surry Hills that police described as a “once in a decade” inferno. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Police were also “furiously” searching to locate two people who were among 15 sleeping rough in the building the night before the fire. They have confirmed 13 of those people were safe and well.

Continue reading...

Sydney firefighters working to extinguish building fire after ‘apocalyptic’ Surry Hills blaze

Posted on by

NSW Fire and Rescue say it will be a ‘substantial and very prolonged’ effort of firefighting to extinguish the blaze completely

An “apocalyptic” blaze engulfed a building near Central station in Sydney on Thursday afternoon, sending a massive plume of smoke into the air and causing parts of the building to collapse.

More than 100 firefighters worked to contain the massive fire. Fire and Rescue NSW said it would be a “substantial and very prolonged” effort to extinguish the blaze completely.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sydney dementia patient ‘didn’t sleep for months’ after police called to subdue her, family say

Posted on by

Calls for reform grow with daughter of patient saying families should be notified when police are deployed to aged care homes

A family who say they were not told when police were deployed to help control their 79-year-old mother in a Sydney dementia unit are calling for a change to make it mandatory for family to be notified about the use of law enforcement.

On 4 June 2020, paramedics attempted to subdue an agitated Norma Robertson, who had only been in the care of the dementia unit at HammondCare in a Sydney suburb for about four weeks.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Young humpbacks ‘full of beans’ as whale-watching season takes off in Sydney

Posted on by

Up to 50,000 whales expected to pass Australia’s east coast during annual migration from Antartica to Great Barrier Reef

Carrie Davis describes seeing her first adult humpback whale of the season launching out of the water off the coast of Sydney last week as magical.

“It’s just this feeling of awe to see this fat whale of that size get all that body out of the water,” said Davis of Go Whale Watching in Sydney. “No matter how many times you see it, it always takes your breath away.”

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sydney’s abandoned tram tunnels transformed into light spectacle for Vivid

Posted on by

Hidden platforms and connecting tunnels are having their lights turned back on for the festival’s installation Dark Spectrum

There’s no Hogwarts Express, and instead of running towards a brick wall you slip through an unremarkable door next to a Coles supermarket, but for decades Sydney’s Wynyard station has had its own secret platforms hidden from the public – until now.

The hundreds of thousands of commuters who pass through each week may have wondered why the station boasts only platforms three through to six.

Continue reading...

Clover Moore warns NSW government against sale of state-owned land

Posted on by

Exclusive: Sydney’s lord mayor says plan to sell unused parcels in order to develop housing is ‘disappointing’

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has called a plan to rezone and develop underused state land as “really disappointing” despite the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns’ insistence that the government housing scheme did not amount to privatisation.

Moore said the state government should instead be focused on genuine investment in social and affordable housing, while thinking carefully before making any decisions to sell off land.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Quad summit cancelled after Joe Biden calls off trip to Australia

Posted on by

Leaders of Japan, India, US and Australia will instead meet on sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima this weekend

Anthony Albanese has confirmed the Sydney Quad meeting will not go ahead, after US president Joe Biden pulled out of his Australian visit to deal with domestic issues.

Early Wednesday morning Albanese was still hopeful the meeting with the leaders of India and Japan could proceed with a senior representative from the US, but hours later he confirmed the event was off.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sale of Waterloo South public housing will see residents rehoused nearby, NSW government pledges

Posted on by

Exclusive: Tenants feel let down by Labor, but Chris Minns insists sale does not meet ‘definition of privatisation’

The New South Wales housing mister, Rose Jackson, is moving to reassure tenants in the Waterloo South public housing they will be rehoused within the suburb and offered spots back in the complex when the controversial development is completed.

The government has been fending off criticism for proceeding with the sale and is pushing forward with plans to sell more land to developers for housing, despite promising to end privatisation and freeze the sale of all social housing assets.

Continue reading...

Sydney Harbour to receive $45m for repair and protection after ‘decade of neglect’

Posted on by

Harbourside sites such as seawalls and wharves at Cockatoo Island and Macquarie Lightstation in Vaucluse to be shored up with investment

Culturally and environmentally significant sites in Sydney Harbour will be repaired and protected with a $45m investment in Tuesday’s budget that the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, claims is needed after “a decade of neglect”.

The money will be used to shore up a range of harbourside sites, including unstable seawalls and deteriorating wharves at Cockatoo Island, also known as Wareamah, and critical maintenance to keep sites open to tourists.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

‘Latte line’: poverty rises in parts of Sydney as gap hardens between city’s east and west

Posted on by

Exclusive: One in five renters are among 1 million living in poverty, according to New South Wales Council of Social Services

The “latte line” dividing Sydney’s western and eastern suburbs is hardening, with new research identifying deepening levels of poverty within already disadvantaged areas and groups.

A report commissioned by the New South Wales Council of Social Services (Ncoss) also found one in five renters are among more than 1 million people living in poverty in the state.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Joe Biden to visit Australia in May as Sydney hosts 2023 Quad leaders’ summit

Posted on by

Meeting will bring together leaders of the US, India, Japan and Australia at the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House will be the focus of a major security operation when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomes the US president, Joe Biden and the prime ministers of India and Japan for a key diplomatic event.

Albanese said on Wednesday that “Australia’s most recognisable building” would be the venue for the Quad leaders’ summit on 24 May.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: defence strategic review ‘a cannibalisation of army mobility’, Hastie says; Victorian jockey dies after race fall

Posted on by

Review calls for ADF to develop ability to precisely strike targets at longer range and to develop stronger network. Follow the day’s news live

Plibersek v Joyce on Newspoll

In their regular spot on Sunrise, environment minister Tanya Plibersek and Coalition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce weighed in on those Newspoll results.

They’re very strong support numbers, and I tell you the reason is not based on polling but what people tell me when I’m out around the country.

People tell me that they’re pleased to see a government that is just getting on with the job, doing what we promised and they’re impressed that the prime minister is just sticking with what he said he’d do.

We don’t have an election tomorrow and that’s a good thing.

A lot of people are starting to focus now on issues such as the voice and saying, “I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

Continue reading...

NSW police search for mother after newborn baby abandoned in Sydney’s west

Posted on by

Police believe Blacktown location where baby was found was chosen at random and mother had no connection to the property

The discovery of a baby girl abandoned in Sydney’s west has sparked a search for her mother.

Emergency services were called to a home in Blacktown about 2.40pm on Friday, NSW police said.

Continue reading...

Chris Minns leaves door open to renegotiate gaming tax rise as Star casino cuts jobs

Posted on by

NSW premier criticises former state government’s tax policy for casinos which he says lacked due diligence

The New South Wales government has left the door open to renegotiate a gaming tax forecast to raise $364m over three years, as the financial health of casino operator Star Entertainment deteriorates.

Star announced on Wednesday that it would eliminate 500 jobs and freeze salaries for non-unionised staff as it looked for $100m in annual savings.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Two men charged over alleged Sydney kidnapping which left one victim with severed finger

Posted on by

The men have been charged with kidnapping offences after a couple was allegedly abducted in the Sydney suburb of Fairfield

Two men have been charged over the alleged kidnapping of a man and a woman in Sydney’s south-west, which police say left one of the victims with a severed finger.

The alleged victims, a 26-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, were walking towards a car park at Fairfield in Sydney’s south-west on 18 January when they were grabbed by two men wearing balaclavas, New South Wales police said.

Continue reading...

‘Always ready with a smile’: family and friends pay tribute to slain paramedic Steven Tougher

Posted on by

Wife, parents and sister praise the father of one’s compassion, kindness and love for his job as an ambulance paramedic

Steven Tougher has been remembered as a man “always ready with a smile”, who touched and bettered the lives of those around him before his was cut drastically short.

On Saturday afternoon, Tougher’s wife, Madison, parents Jillian and Jeff, and sister Jess issued a statement on behalf of the family, paying tribute to Tougher’s compassion, kindness and love for his job as an ambulance paramedic.

Continue reading...

Man charged with foreign interference to remain behind bars until Monday – as it happened

Posted on by

The 55-year-old businessman appeared via video link at Parramatta magistrates court. This blog is now closed

‘Really disturbing footage’: David Pocock responds to gas seep video

Senator David Pocock has called the video showing large methane gas bubbles active on the surface of Queensland’s Condamine River “really disturbing footage”.

Continue reading...

NSW police breached body-worn camera policies during shooting death of Indigenous man, coroner finds

Posted on by

Inquest into death of Gomeroi man Stanley Russell urges changes to how officers handle people with an intellectual disability

A coroner delivering findings into the police shooting death of Indigenous man Stanley Russell said officers seriously breached their own policies on body-worn cameras during the incident.

The New South Wales deputy state coroner Carmel Forbes also recommended policy changes on how police handle people with intellectual disabilities, and urged them to clarify rules on when officers need to wear body cameras.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...