‘I had a lot of respect’: Frank Zumbo tells court he never kissed women in MP’s office against their will

‘The kisses and cuddles were always in the context of a thank you kiss … not to do it because of an obligation’, court told

Frank Zumbo has defended his behaviour while running the office of former federal MP Craig Kelly, denying allegations he inappropriately touched women working in the office, or kissed them against their will.

He told Sydney’s Downing Centre local court he always treated women in the office with respect, saying if they said they did not want to be kissed on the cheek or hugged, he would accede to that.

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Family of Sydney man killed in New Caledonia shark attack remember ‘beloved’ husband and father

Chris Davis died after being bitten multiple times by a shark while swimming at Chateau Royal beach south of Nouméa

The family of a Sydney man killed in a shark attack while visiting a busy New Caledonia beach is mourning their “beloved” husband and father.

Chris Davis, a 59-year-old software engineer and triathlete, was swimming 150 metres from chateau Royal beach just south of Nouméa on Sunday when a shark bit him several times, according to reports.

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Australia news live: defence pursuing joint patrols with Philippines in South China Sea, Marles says

It comes as Anthony Albanese grilled on balance of power under Aukus after press club address. Follow the day’s news live

Chalmers highlights importance of sustainability of superannuation

Treasurer Jim Chalmers isn’t ruling in or out whether there will be any changes on superannuation tax concessions in the May budget.

I’ll tell you what I think. I gave a longish speech about this on Monday, where I said the priority [of] super is and should be nailing down the objective. For too long, the lack of an agreed objective has meant that our predecessors could mess with superannuation when it came to all kinds of ideological pursuits. We want to take that out of the system.

Ideally, we’d want to get some kind of broad agreement amongst the industry in the community … about what super is for, so that we can build from that. And as part of that speech, I pointed out the fact … that the cost of superannuation tax concessions will overtake the cost of the pension. That’s a fact.

Not necessarily.

I just think as part of a broader assessment of where our superannuation system is at and how we locked down the objective of super so that we can provide more certainty and security around its purpose, as part of that I acknowledged earlier in the week, that these concessions in the superannuation system, they’re not cheap. I don’t think it’s especially controversial to acknowledge that.

Well, as I keep saying, we haven’t changed their view. We haven’t taken any decisions.

We haven’t determined that.

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Voice to parliament should not be the subject of a partisan debate, Albanese says

The PM promises to ‘reach out’ to any opposition politician who wants to discuss how the voice will work as he kicks off a national week of action on the referendum

The Indigenous voice to parliament should not be the subject of partisan debate, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said, promising to “reach out” to any opposition politician who wants to discuss how the voice will work.

He opened a national week of action on the referendum in front of an enthusiastic crowd in his home electorate in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday.

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‘Party with purpose’: Sydney WorldPride kicks off with 500,000 expected to attend 300 events

The city’s biggest ‘occasion’ since the 2000 Olympics will be a 17-day program celebrating equality

Sydney has marked the start of WorldPride with a Progress Pride flag raising ceremony, kicking off a 17-day program of art, performances, talks, parties, sport and comedy to celebrate equality.

The festivities will amount to Sydney’s biggest “occasion” since the 2000 Olympics and are expected to draw 500,000 visitors to 300 free and ticketed events.

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HarperCollins refused appeal in defamation case over claims made in Scientology book

High court decision relates to previous judgment on allegations of controversial psychiatric treatments at Sydney’s Chelmsford private hospital

HarperCollins has failed in a bid to have Australia’s highest court rule on legal issues in a defamation case over controversial psychiatric treatments at Sydney’s Chelmsford private hospital.

The high court on Friday refused special leave to appeal two aspects of a federal court decision overturning an earlier judgment. That earlier judgment found claims in Steve Cannane’s book Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia were substantially true.

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NSW parliamentary inquiry to use firm to track down key witnesses, including two of Dominic Perrottet’s brothers

Committee examining allegations of ‘impropriety’ against a Sydney council and developers will take the unusual step of using a private contractor to serve summons

A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry examining allegations of “impropriety” against a suburban Sydney council and property developers says it will hire private contractors to track down key witnesses who are “failing to cooperate” with the inquiry, including two of Dominic Perrottet’s brothers, in an extraordinary bid to force them to answer questions at a public hearing.

On Tuesday an upper house committee examining the “role and influence of developers and their interactions with councillors and members of parliament” at the Hills Shire council took the unusual step of saying it would contract a private firm to issue Charles and Jean-Claude Perrottet with formal summons to appear.

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Can you predict which parts of Sydney will be next to gentrify?

Researchers have developed a model which uses changes in the socioeconomic status of an area to anticipate gentrification

One consequence of rising rent and house prices in Sydney is the further gentrification of inner suburbs, with wealthier people displacing poorer households in certain desirable areas.

These shifts in neighbourhood composition in Australia’s largest city can have negative effects on the people displaced – people losing access to their community networks and familiar surroundings, as well as more practical concerns like access to transport and health infrastructure.

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Sydney man confirmed dead in Turkey after devastating earthquakes

Can Pahali’s body was found among the rubble after members of his family flew to Turkey from Australia to help search for him

A Sydney man has died in Turkey after devastating earthquakes in the country, making him the first confirmed Australian death in the disaster.

Can Pahali’s body was found among the rubble after members of his family flew to Turkey from Australia to help search for him, Australian Associated Press reported. Pahali’s nephew, Ilyas Pahali, told the Guardian he was heading to the Turkish capital, Ankara, to “try and dig out his body”.

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Three-year-old boy dies after being left in car in Sydney’s south-west

Investigation launched after report child was left in a vehicle in part of the the city where temperatures soared past 30 degrees

A three-year-old boy has died after allegedly being left inside a car during scorching temperatures in Sydney’s south-west.

According to police, emergency services responded to reports of an unresponsive child inside a car on Railway Parade at Glenfield around 3pm.

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George Pell funeral: hundreds protest outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney

LGBTQ+ protesters condemn cardinal’s record on same-sex marriage, women’s rights and protecting children from clergy abuse

Hundreds of people have marched in protest outside Cardinal George Pell’s funeral service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, with heated exchanges between his detractors and admirers.

Campaign group Community Action for Rainbow Rights (Carr) planned the protest through Sydney to the cathedral on the day of Pell’s requiem mass, in condemnation of his opposition to same-sex marriage and women’s rights, and his failure to protect children from widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic church.

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Iraqi man dies in suspected suicide at Villawood immigration detention centre

The man in his 30s, who was a detainee for five years, found in his cell at the Sydney centre

An immigration detainee from Iraq has died in a suspected suicide at the Villawood detention centre in Sydney.

The Department of Home Affairs, which oversees immigration detention, confirmed the death of the man on Sunday.

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‘Tolls discriminate’: western Sydney residents face $60 a day levy to drive into CBD

Driving into central Sydney from city’s west costs almost twice as much as commuting from east and south of the city

Ammar’s daily commute from Bankstown to Barangaroo in Sydney’s CBD can cost him almost $60 a day, an amount he describes as “ridiculous”.

“It feels like we are paying a tax for living in western Sydney – and … the further out west you are, the more you pay.”

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NSW Greens to push for dedicated First Nations seats in parliament, truth-telling and treaty processes

Lidia Thorpe and upper house candidate Lynda-June Coe to announce party’s treaty policy in Redfern on Tuesday

Dedicated seats for First Nations people in the New South Wales parliament and truth-telling and treaty processes will be called for as part of the state Greens’ pitch to voters ahead of the March election.

The federal senator Lidia Thorpe – who has described the proposed voice to parliament as a “waste” – will stand alongside NSW upper house candidate Lynda-June Coe as they announce the party’s treaty policy in Redfern on Tuesday.

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Is it time to turn western Sydney into a city of fountains? It might help beat the heat

A combination of water technologies and cool building materials are more effective at tackling urban heat than greenery, a study has found

The secret to more livable, cooler Australian cities may lie with the ancient Romans and a network of fountains like the Trevi and those in Piazza Navona, a new report on tackling urban heat has found.

Rome has a network of 2,000 fountains which draw huge crowds daily to enjoy their cooling effects in the dense city.

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Sydney shark attack: beaches in north closed after dolphin mauled

Lifeguards close Shelly and Manly beaches after attack by multiple bull sharks

A shark attack on a dolphin has forced lifeguards to clear swimmers from the water on Sydney’s northern beaches.

The attack by multiple bull sharks off Shelly Beach near Manly occurred about 7am on Saturday, Surf Life Saving New South Wales (SLSNSW) said.

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Sydney enjoys first day over 30C in nearly a year, ending cool streak

Observatory Hill recorded the city’s hottest temperature in 331 days on Wednesday

Sydney marked its hottest temperature in 331 days on Wednesday as the mercury in many parts of the city soared past 30C.

Maximum temperatures had stayed below 30C since 21 February last year – the longest cool streak since a 339-day record set in 1883.

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Sydney forecast to welcome its first day over 30 degrees in almost a year

The city is just eight days off its longest streak of days below 30, the last being in February 2022

After 330 days, months of downpours and unusually cool weather, Sydney is finally staring down the barrel of a 30C day.

Wednesday is forecast to be the first day in nearly a year where temperatures are expected to top 30C at Observatory Hill, in the heart of the city, ending Sydney’s longest cool streak in over three decades.

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Sydney man Myron Love named as one of 72 feared dead in Yeti Airlines plane crash in Nepal

Friends have begun mourning the passionate cyclist and surfer as ‘a truly kind, fun, energetic man’

Sydney man Myron Love has been named by Nepali authorities as one of those feared dead in the nation’s worst aviation disaster in three decades.

Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority on Monday released the names, passport numbers and nationalities of the 72 passengers and crew onboard the plane that crashed west of Kathmandu, shortly before it was due to land. So far, at least 68 people have been confirmed dead.

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Woman drowns at Gordons Bay in Sydney as surfer dies at Jervis Bay on NSW south coast

Two deaths on Monday come amid a deadly summer in the water across Australia

A woman has drowned while swimming at Gordons Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, while a man in his 60s died while surfing on the New South Wales south coast on Monday.

It has been a deadly summer in the water around Australia. At least 30 people have drowned across the country this summer, according to Royal Life Saving Australia’s national drowning toll.

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