Category Archives: New South Wales

NSW to give prisoners cold-case playing cards in hope of solving murders

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Packs contain 52 photos of dead and missing people in initiative backed by victims’ families

Packs of playing cards featuring cold-case murder victims and missing people will be distributed to New South Wales inmates in the hope of solving serious crimes.

The cards, which were produced by prisoners working in Corrective Services Industries, feature photographs and information about 52 unsolved homicide cases or suspicious disappearances.

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John Barilaro received plum New York trade job after senior public servant had already been offered it

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Gladys Berejiklian told Jenny West she had the job in August but that offer was later rescinded and the role readvertised

The New South Wales government offered a plum trade commissioner job to a senior public servant with a stellar résumé, only to rescind the offer and later appoint the former deputy premier John Barilaro after readvertising the $500,000-a-year role.

Barliaro’s New York appointment was not signed off by cabinet, even though it had overseen a series of identical appointments to other cities.

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Fake Twitter accounts for new senator suspended – as it happened

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Twitter suspends two fake accounts pretending to be Fatima Payman; nation records at least 59 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Victoria is reporting a spike in Covid related deaths, after 28 people lost their lives overnight:

Rally outside NSW parliament to protest government’s wages policy

We are losing skilled teachers, nurses, cleaners – and we’re going to have more pressure in NSW for services to be provided that we can’t retain.

It’s not much to ask and the government needs to act.

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Circular Quay to get ‘high line’ walkway amid redevelopment of Sydney gateway

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NSW government allocates $216m for further design work, but Labor suggests announcement is just another ‘grandiose promise’

Sydney’s Circular Quay will get a dramatic new look, with a New York-style “high line” walkway featuring in a long-term plan to overhaul the iconic harbourside gate to the city.

The design includes a public green space, new ferry wharves and a high line walkway along the Cahill Expressway overlooking Sydney Harbour under the NSW government’s vision.

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Craig Kelly staffer Frank Zumbo told alleged victim he was an ‘ultimate feminist’, court hears

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Francesco ‘Frank’ Zumbo, 55, has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including sexual touching and indecent assault

Former federal MP Craig Kelly’s office manager told a young female employee she was “very selfish” and “self-centred” for refusing to give him a “little thank you kiss”, a Sydney court has heard.

The trial of Francesco “Frank” Zumbo, 55, also heard covert recordings where he repeatedly referred to himself as an “ultimate feminist”.

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Coalition criticises ‘parliamentary go-slow’ as sitting calendar released – as it happened

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Anthony Albanese says government will improve energy security ‘in the shortest time possible’; nation records 13 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Julian Assange’s wife and human rights lawyer, Stella Moris, says she is “extremely worried” about what will happen to Assange next, while noting there has been a “shift” in sentiment towards the WikiLeaks founder.

Moris was on RN Breakfast earlier, and says she has also welcomed reports Australia are in discussion with the United States on Assange, and that she intends to appeal against Britain’s decision to approve his extradition to the US to face criminal charges:

I’m feeling definitely there’s a shift.

It feels like we’ve been running a marathon for a long time. And you know, that’s hard – mentally, physically. But now it feels like we have many people running alongside us, and we might see the finish line.

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‘Quick jumpstart’: NSW to spend $38m to speed up EV uptake

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Exclusive: state budget funds to go towards boosting number of charging points in apartment blocks and on streets

The New South Wales government will invest $38m to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by building more charging sites, including for apartment buildings and roadsides.

The extra funds, to be unveiled in Tuesday’s budget, will bring to $633m the money being spent on NSW’s strategy aimed at ensuring half of all car sales by 2030-31 are electric.

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Australia live news updates: Burke blames high inflation on Coalition’s ‘neglect’; at least 42 Covid deaths

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Employment minister says inflation not being driven by high wage growth; opposition leader takes aim at Labor and avoids voicing support for government’s renewable target; nation records at least 42 Covid deaths – follow all the day’s news live

Dutton is being grilled (again) on where he got information that the United States could provide two nuclear submarines to Australia by the end of the decade.

Speers presses Dutton on whether he used classified information to make that point, eventually gleaning from the opposition leader it was a “commonsense conclusion”.

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New South Wales to trial $780m shared equity scheme for first homebuyers

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State government to fund 40% of purchase for single parents, older singles, nurses, police and teachers

The New South Wales government has announced a shared equity trial to help single parents, older singles, nurses, police and teachers to buy their first home.

The $780m shared equity scheme was announced by the state government on Sunday ahead of its state budget on Tuesday, which will include a broader $2.8bn package to address the housing crisis.

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Bluebird days: bumper snow and clear skies welcome relief for Australia’s ski resorts

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Pandemic-hit resorts in Victoria and NSW celebrate perfect conditions and more forecast snow

The bumper start to the Australian snow season has continued, with perfect conditions and “bluebird days” at resorts this weekend and more snow forecast for the alps in the coming week.

Early snowfall has already seen decades-long records broken across Victoria and New South Wales, where resorts at Mt Buller, Thredbo and Perisher were able to open well before the official start to the snow season on the June long weekend.

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Large fire at Illawarra substation not expected to impact energy supply

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More than 60 NSW firefighters dispatched to the scene at Yallah, near Wollongong, to contain the fire

A large fire at an electrical substation in the Illawarra had been contained early on Saturday night, with the operator confident it would not impact on energy supply.

The fire started about 3pm at the substation on the Princes Highway at Yallah, south of Dapto, New South Wales police said in a statement.

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Catholic church uses paedophile priest’s death as shield against new allegations in NSW

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Lismore diocese wins halt on civil case after arguing woman had never complained before Clarence Anderson died in 1996

The Catholic church has used the death of a known paedophile priest to shield itself from being sued over new complaints of child sexual abuse.

Earlier this month, the Lismore diocese won its argument for a permanent stay of civil proceedings brought by a woman who was 14 years old when she was allegedly sexually assaulted by Father Clarence Anderson in 1968 inside her family home.

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Dan and Dom: the two premiers leading a vibe shift in Australian politics

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Differences between Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet are part of their successful relationship

Victoria and New South Wales’ premiers, Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet, couldn’t be more different: one is a progressive from Labor’s socialist left faction and the other a conservative from the Liberal party’s right.

But together, they represent a political vibe shift – a sense that long-term ambitions for their states can be achieved, with cooperation paramount.

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‘Great equaliser’: fears higher parking costs may limit access to iconic Sydney beaches

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NSW Council of Social Services says councils should not make beach visits out of reach for lower-income families

A trip to the beach is about to get more expensive as parking rates rise in some parts of Sydney, causing concerns they will put some of city’s best natural wonders out of reach for lower-income families already facing increasing cost-of-living pressures.

Mosman council said it will increase parking rates by up to 75% at popular spots, including Balmoral Beach.

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Australia news live updates: Albanese extends Covid funding as nation records 51 deaths from virus; energy supply will meet weekend demand, Aemo says

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NSW premier says health funding ‘a great start’ after national cabinet meeting; electricity reserves improve across National Energy Market; ASX plunges to lowest level since November 2020; nation records 51 Covid deaths. Follow live

The PM is making the rounds this morning, appearing on Sunrise and repeating his line that almost a decade of “delay and denial” under the former Coalition government led to the current energy crisis (I feel like this will be a recurring theme today.)

People want an end to the nonsense that’s gone on for the last decade.

You can’t fix 10 years of inaction in just 10 days but we are taking immediate action through Aemo to make sure that the lights stay on. At the same time, we’re making sure that we create the investment environment to make sure we get it right.

The gas is actually the property of the people of the state, whichever state that is, and there should have always been enough for the state and the country in question. It just seems to me to be very strange that there’s no gas for local people yet.

Coal-fired power generation is very old technology and very difficult for coal plants to cope with renewables coming onto the grid, basically, new renewables every minute

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Craig Kelly staffer Frank Zumbo told alleged victim he was ‘very affectionate’ due to Italian heritage, court hears

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Zumbo, who has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including sexual touching, insisted on driving woman to work so Liberal ‘spies’ wouldn’t see her catch bus

Former federal MP Craig Kelly’s office manager gave gift card vouchers to a young female employee and asked her to kiss him on the lips to repay the gesture, a Sydney court has heard.

Francesco “Frank” Zumbo, 55, is facing 20 charges, including sexual touching and indecent assault, linked to accusations by five women between 2014 and 2020. The third alleged victim gave evidence on Friday at Downing Centre local court.

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Shortfall warnings cancelled as units come back online – as it happened

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Foreign minister says Australia ‘has ground to make up’ in Pacific region; jobless rate steady at 3.9%; nation records at least 73 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

So the below comes as both the NSW and Victorian government move to introduce an extra, free year of preschool in the next decade.

Both the NSW and Victorian premiers, Dominic Perrottet and Daniel Andrews, want to introduce a new year for four- and five-year-olds.

It will mean that, in the next 10 years, every child in Victoria and NSW will experience the benefits of a full year of play-based learning before their first year of school. At the same time, it will benefit hundreds of thousands of working families.

We want to expand our existing preschools. It’s a game changer and it’s exciting and there is big money behind it, because we have to do well for our kids.

They do an amazing job, our early childhood workforce, so this is our chance to invest in them and grow and set children up for that best start of life.

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Chris Dawson asked if teammate knew anyone who could ‘get rid of’ his wife, court hears

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Defence raises questions about credibility of witness who claims Dawson meant getting rid of his wife Lynette Dawson ‘for good’

On a crowded flight from the Gold Coast in 1975, Christopher Michael Dawson asked one of his fellow rugby league players whether he knew someone who could get rid of his wife, a court has heard.

Giving evidence at Dawson’s murder trial on Thursday, Robert Charles Silkman said the conversation occurred after the Newtown Jets team had been on a short holiday on the Gold Coast.

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Craig Kelly’s adviser Frank Zumbo used ‘power and control’ to sexually touch staff, court told

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Zumbo is accused by five women of 20 charges including sexual touching and indecent assault and has pleaded not guilty to all charges

Former MP Craig Kelly’s office manager promised young female staffers career development and mentoring but instead used his “power and control” to allegedly sexually touch them.

Francesco Zumbo, 55, faced Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Wednesday accused by five women of 20 charges including sexual touching and indecent assault between 2014 and 2020.

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National electricity market suspended as NSW residents told to conserve power to reduce blackout risk

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Australian Energy Market Operator suspends spot market after it became ‘impossible to operate’ amid projected energy shortfalls

Australia’s main wholesale electricity market has been suspended by regulators in the latest sign that the crisis threatening the stability of energy supplies is deepening.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) took the drastic step of suspending the entire national electricity market for the first time in its history on Wednesday.

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