Category Archives: Sydney

In the Philippines they think about gender differently. We could too

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The labels we give ourselves can be helpful but restrictive too. Let’s embrace diversity by celebrating fluid identities

We were excited young filmmakers, sitting in one of our first pitch sessions, a panel of executives lined up against us. They had flicked through our script, looked at our mood boards and praised our song choice for the sizzle reel (Man! I Feel Like A Woman). Then the question dropped: “Which one of you is the alphabet person?”

I realised I was the only one holding my hand in the air. Then the guessing game began, as the executives ran through the letters – LGBTQIA+ – until they landed on one that gave them some understanding of who I am.

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Sydney Opal Tower report finds multiple design and construction faults

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Report says horizontal support beams were of inferior strength and not compliant with national standards

An independent report has found multiple design and construction faults led to damage at western Sydney’s Opal Tower.

The newly-built tower in Sydney Olympic Park was evacuated on Christmas Eve after cracks were found in the building, sparking fears it could collapse.

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‘War on festivals’: second New South Wales music event cancelled in a week

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Mountain Sounds festival called off by organisers a week before event was due to take place on central coast

A New South Wales music festival has been cancelled just a week out from the event, and the organisers say it’s “another example of the government’s war on festivals”.

Mountain Sounds festival was due to be held on the central coast next weekend, but on Saturday the organisers announced it would not be going ahead.

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Festivalgoers hospitalised in NSW and Victoria after suspected drug-taking

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Eleven people left ill in Sydney and six near Ballarat after Australia Day long weekend music festivals

A teenage boy has been found with almost 600 capsules and $2,000 cash at a Sydney music festival where several people left critically ill due to drug use.

Six young men aged under 25 left the Hardcore Till I Die festival at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday in critical or serious conditions. All were either stable or discharged from hospital by Sunday.

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Huge crowds attend Invasion Day marches across Australia’s capital cities

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Scott Morrison talks of his ancestor’s arrival on the continent, and defends celebration of Australia Day

• Hundreds attend first dawn service to be held on Australia Day

Scott Morrison has said 26 January 1788 was “pretty miserable” for his ancestor, in a speech defending the celebration of Australia Day, while tens of thousands of people joined Invasion Day marches around the country calling for the public holiday to be abolished.

Morrison told a citizenship ceremony in Canberra that his fifth great grandfather, William Roberts, arrived with the first fleet in a group that was “wretched, naked, filthy, dirty, lousy, and many of them utterly unable to stand, or even to stir hand or foot”.

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Sydney’s desalination plant likely to start up to ease water shortages

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Low dam levels and the drought lead New South Wales government to act

Sydney’s desalination plant was likely to be switched on this weekend because of falling dam levels and the drought, the New South Wales resources minister said.

The plant is turned on when water storages drop below 60%.

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Man arrested at Sydney airport over baby formula crime syndicate allegations

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Syndicate allegedly handled $1 million of stolen goods in the past year and may have run empire over a number of years

Police in New South Wales allege a Sydney family ran an expansive crime empire that stole and illegally exported thousands of tins of baby formula to China.

Police on Monday said they had arrested six people, including four from the same family, over the alleged coordinated theft of more than 4,000 tins of baby formula, manuka honey and other goods.

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Music festivals will have to be licensed in NSW following drug deaths

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Organisers will have to apply for a specific liquor licence, similar to those for pubs and clubs, in bid to keep young people safe

Music festivals will have to be licensed in New South Wales under new regulations following a string of tragedies.

Five people have now died after attending music festivals, including 23-year-old Joseph Pham and 21-year-old Diana Nguyen, who both died of suspected drug overdoses after attending the Defqon.1 festival in September.

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Great Australian heatwave takes a breather – only to return again soon

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Late monsoon and lack of strong cold fronts cited as main reasons behind back-to-back spells of abnormally hot weather

This week’s record-smashing heatwave is over for now in Australia’s south-east, but the reprieve will be short-lived as temperatures build up again in the coming days.

A perfect storm, or rather the lack of one, is partly to blame for the extreme temperatures, with neither the northern monsoons nor the southern cool fronts making their usual appearances.

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Danny Lim’s supporters surround Sydney police station to protest against arrest

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Lim’s lawyer, Bryan Wrench, tells crowd the pair will not tolerate ‘political censorship’

More than 150 people have surrounded a Sydney police station to protest against the treatment of sandwich board activist Danny Lim after footage of him being arrested sent social media into a frenzy.

The cult Sydney figure is now considering legal action against police.

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Serial Sydney protester Danny Lim arrested for offensive behaviour

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74-year-old previously had a conviction for offensive conduct overturned over sandwich board that mocked Tony Abbott

Sydney sandwich board activist Danny Lim has been arrested and fined for offensive behaviour.

Three police officers arrested the 74-year-old at Exchange Place in Barangaroo about 9.20am on Friday. It’s unclear what the offensive behaviour involved.

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Rahaf al-Qunun: Labor says Saudi refugee should be resettled in Australia

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Bill Shorten urges Scott Morrison to accept Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun now that the UN has validated her refugee claim

Labor has said the Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun should be resettled in Australia now that her refugee claim had been validated.

The party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, told ABC radio on Thursday Bill Shorten had written to Scott Morrison urging him to accept Qunun.

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Sydney man dies after stepping on fallen power line in driveway

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Dr Hossam Ibrahim mourned by friends after being electrocuted by 11,000-volt power line in Punchbowl

A Sydney man electrocuted when he stepped on a fallen power line outside his home has been remembered as a “great humanitarian” by the charity he chaired.

Dr Hossam Ibrahim died after coming into contact with the 11,000-volt power line in his driveway in Punchbowl about 10.30pm on Saturday.

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Opal unit owners furious over claims apartments torn apart and locks changed

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Residents of cracked apartment block say they returned to find homes ‘absolutely trashed’

Owners claim their units have been gutted and their locks changed during works to stabilise the cracked Opal Tower in Sydney.

Some residents are still in temporary accommodation nearly two weeks after cracks were found in the Sydney Olympic Park building on Christmas Eve.

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