Soaring air fares between Melbourne and Sydney see travellers take 11-hour train

Exclusive: Seats on Sydney-Melbourne train service regularly sell out over holiday period, as one-way flights to Tullamarine average almost $500

The 11-hour Sydney-Melbourne train has become so popular services are selling out – even with extra carriages added – as travellers seek alternatives to an aviation duopoly that is stronger than ever, with carriers charging $900 for one-way economy tickets.

Ridership on the Sydney-Melbourne rail corridor has exploded in recent months, with 203,000 passenger journeys between July and December. Data for the 2023-24 financial year revealed 393,000 passenger journeys, a 14% increase on the previous year and just 7,000 shy of the annual record.

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Australia weather: rainy week forecast for Sydney and Brisbane – but BoM says summer isn’t over yet

Bureau of Meteorology says showers and storms a regular feature of Australian summer but warm and dry periods still to come

Showers are expected to continue for Sydney and Brisbane throughout much of the coming week but summer isn’t over yet, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

In fact, the senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said showers and storm activity were a regular feature of the Australian summer, especially for northern Australia, as well as south-east Queensland and eastern New South Wales.

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Invasion Day marcher stripped of $800,000 compensation as police duty of care ruling overturned

Laura Cullen was among 5,000 people at a 2017 Sydney protest when she was knocked down and injured as NSW police tried to arrest a man

A landmark legal ruling that set out the duty of care New South Wales police owe people attending protests has been overturned on appeal, stripping an Invasion Day marcher of an $800,000 compensation claim and forcing her to repay $103,00 in legal costs.

The NSW court of appeal handed down the decision shortly before Christmas, overturning an earlier ruling that found police had a duty of care to a woman who attended a protest where she was a bystander to an arrest, and who was knocked down and injured during the arrest.

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Man falls 20 metres to his death from cliff at national park in northern Sydney

Body recovered from water after tragic accident near a picnic area on the Duckholes Trail in Ku-ring-gai Chase national park

An investigation is under way after a man fell from a cliff and died at Ku-ring-gai Chase national park in northern Sydney on Friday afternoon.

The man believed to be in his 40s reportedly fell 20 metres from a cliff at the Duckholes Trail, Terrey Hills, into the water below.

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Heatwave descends on south-east Australia with temperatures forecast to exceed 40C

Bureau of Meteorology says Melbourne’s hot weather will peak at 38C on Saturday while Penrith will reach 39C on Sunday and 40C on Monday

Much of south-east Australia will swelter through a heatwave over the weekend that is expected to exceed 40C in some places, bringing extreme fire danger before a cool change comes through.

Melbourne was expected to peak at 38C on Saturday, reaching 37C on Sunday and dropping to 22C by Monday as the cool change brings widespread showers.

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Man released without charge after woman’s fall to death from seventh-floor Sydney balcony

Multiple calls made to triple zero before 39-year-old found critically injured outside high-rise unit block on River Road in Parramatta

A man has been released without charge after a woman fell to her death off his balcony.

The 40-year-old man was arrested on Thursday morning after the woman was found dead at the bottom of his apartment block, forcing investigators to examine the scene, their relationship and multiple triple-zero calls.

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Police praise mostly well-behaved NYE revellers despite firework-related blazes

Melbourne and Sydney fires brought under control, including in Tempe, and stabbings reported in Guildford and the Mornington Peninsula

New Year’s Eve revellers have largely been praised for their behaviour at Australia’s biggest fireworks shows, while officers were kept busy with outbursts of trouble around local fireworks.

More than a million people swarmed the main vantage points around Sydney harbour and hundreds of thousands of Melbourne partygoers were treated to a fireworks and laser spectacular.

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More than 1m people flock to Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks spectacular

Nine tonnes of fireworks are set off around the harbour, while Brisbane and Melbourne also enjoyed shows

Australians have bid farewell to 2024, ringing in the new year with one “world-famous” fireworks display and many others not so famous.

More than a million people rushed to the shores of the Sydney Harbour and hundreds of thousands more to the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne to watch the midnight displays.

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Man charged after alleged bungled Sydney ambush led to chase and shots fired at police car

Police rushed to Edensor Park after two armed men were allegedly seen trying to break into a home

A man has been charged after an alleged bungled shooting resulted in a high-speed chase through south-west Sydney.

Police had attended a home in Edensor Park about 1.30am on Tuesday after two men armed with guns were allegedly seen trying to break into a property, before leaving in a Hyundai sedan.

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Sydney shooting: alleged getaway driver charged after man shot dead in Canley Heights and car found burning

Police allege 31-year-old victim was shot in his car outside family home in western Sydney in ‘targeted attack’

Police have charged an alleged getaway driver after the shooting death of a man outside a family home in western Sydney in what they have labelled a “targeted attack”.

Emergency services found a 31-year-old man in Canley Heights on Sunday night after reports of shots being fired just before 7pm. Paramedics treated him for gunshot wounds but he died at the scene.

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Four-year-old boy dies after being hit by car in Sydney’s west

Boy dies while being transported to hospital after being struck by Ford at Glossop Street in North St Marys

A four-year-old boy has died after being hit by a car in Sydney’s west.

Emergency services were called to a Glossop Street in North St Marys just after noon on Monday after receiving reports a pedestrian had been hit by a car.

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New Year’s Eve fireworks 2024: the best places to watch NYE celebrations around Australia

Night skies will light up on New Year’s Eve to welcome in 2025. Here’s your guide to child-friendly shows plus what time and where to see the fireworks in Sydney, Melbourne and across the country

Night skies across Australia will light up on New Year’s Eve to herald the beginning of 2025.

Whether you are in a capital city or regional town, there are fireworks displays scheduled early in the night – for children, and those wishing to hit the hay early – and at midnight, for people counting down to the new year.

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Man dies after Sydney arrest for allegedly attempting to enter vehicles armed with knife

Critical incident team from Bankstown Police Area Command to investigate circumstances surrounding 33-year-old’s death

A man has died after he was arrested while allegedly attempting to enter vehicles armed with a knife in the middle of Sydney traffic.

Police declared a critical incident after officers responded to reports of a man trying to stop traffic and enter vehicles on Remembrance Driveway at Tahmoor in Sydney’s south-west at about 1pm on Friday.

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Swept overboard: Sydney to Hobart sailor’s struggle to survive alone in the ocean at night

Yacht race claims two crew members’ lives on separate boats, while survivor recounts ‘getting thrown down waves’

The first mayday call came late on Boxing Day.

Just before midnight, there had been an incident onboard the Flying Fish Arctos, a vessel competing in Australia’s most iconic boat race, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

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University of Sydney has invested in world’s biggest poker machine maker and global betting giant

Experts say ‘disappointing’ relationships with gambling industry, including funding for research, should be scrutinised

The University of Sydney has financial stakes in the world’s biggest poker machine manufacturer and a global sports betting giant, both of which have funded its academics and bankrolled specialist gambling research centres.

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show the university held shares in Aristocrat, and in Entain, which runs the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, between 2021 and early 2024. Shares may have been held before and after this period, beyond the scope of the FoI.

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Uniformed NSW police again face Sydney Mardi Gras ban

Officers could be barred from marching in 2025 over concerns force hasn’t improved relations with LGBTQ+ community

New South Wales police are facing a ban from the upcoming Mardi Gras parade over concerns about the force’s relationship with the queer community.

At the event’s annual general meeting on Saturday, members will vote on three resolutions on police participation in the parade after uniformed officers were banned from joining the 2024 march.

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Man charged with murdering his parents after bodies found at Sydney shop

Allan Chiem, 31, will remain in custody after allegedly murdering his father, 69, and mother, 68

A 31-year-old man has been charged with allegedly murdering his parents at their shop in western Sydney.

Allan Chiem appeared in Parramatta local court on Sunday morning after he was arrested just after midnight at a home in Canley Heights in the city’s west and charged with two counts of domestic violence murder.

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Family ‘devastated’ after two found dead in ‘confronting scene’ in Sydney’s west

Bodies discovered on Saturday morning after police were called to shop on Oxford Street in Cambridge Park following reports of an assault

New South Wales police are appealing for information after two people were found dead with “significant injuries” in Sydney’s west on Saturday morning.

Officers were called to a shop on Oxford Street in Cambridge Park, near Penrith, after reports of an assault at about 9.40am.

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Laughter and tears as fans farewell ABC radio host Richard Glover after 28 years on air

Host of ABC Sydney Drive wanted to highlight ‘joy in the everyday’ rather than report on ‘terrible things’

In the competitive world of talk radio Richard Glover is the great survivor who stayed on top and chose the manner of his exit after almost three decades on ABC radio.

The former Sydney Morning Herald journalist has owned the Drive slot in Sydney for 26 of his 28 years on the ABC, offering listeners a mix of hard news, insightful interviews and what he says is the “silly and stupid” that makes up the life of a city.

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Justin Hemmes’ Merivale to pay $19.25m to ex-staff who allege they were underpaid

But the Sydney hospitality giant, which operates more than 90 bars, restaurants and hotels, didn’t admit any liability in relation to the claims

Sydney pub baron Justin Hemmes’ company has agreed to pay millions to ex-employees who alleged they were underpaid, but did not admit any liability in relation to the claims.

Merivale has agreed to pay $19.25m to settle the lawsuit which was approved in the federal court on Friday, after five years of legal arguments and closed-door negotiations.

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