Category Archives: New South Wales

Assisted dying advocates shift focus to Australian government’s territory ban

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After NSW became the last state to pass euthanasia laws, advocates say they will fight to overturn ban preventing ACT and NT from passing their own laws

Advocates for voluntary assisted dying say they will turn their attention to the federal government to strike down restrictions which prevent the ACT and Northern Territory from passing laws allowing euthanasia.

The backlash comes as New South Wales became the last state to pass the laws. The historic voluntary assisted dying bill passed NSW parliament on Thursday after a months-long campaign.

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Fred Nile finds a new home among Seniors

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87-year-old NSW conservative joins the Seniors United party after his Christian Democratic party was deregistered

NSW parliament’s longest serving member, Fred Nile, has joined a new party after the Christian Democratic party he helped found was dissolved in March.

The controversial 87-year-old conservative, who insists he has no plans to retire, has joined the Seniors United party (SUP) of Australia.

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Former student tells Chris Dawson’s murder trial he called her ‘petal’ and left notes in schoolbag

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JC, who went on to be the family’s babysitter, has given evidence in a Sydney court where Dawson has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife Lynette in 1982

A former student taught by Chris Dawson has told a Sydney court he would call her “petal” and leave secret love letters signed “God” in her schoolbag when she was 16.

The woman, known as JC, gave evidence in Dawson’s Sydney murder trial on Wednesday. She said in 1980 he had wanted to teach her after spotting her in the playground.

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Government claims of 7% real wage rise since in office disputed – as it happened

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Katy Gallagher disputes prime minister’s claims on real wage growth; nation records at least 53 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

National party deputy leader, David Littleproud was feeling upbeat this morning while speaking to ABC Breakfast TV:

We have achieved a lot together, in fact we have done more than any other nation in the world if you look at an economic and health front. We should be proud but we need to shift gears and make sure we look after those cost of living inflation pressures and who is best to handle that and to drive the economy and to guide the economy. I think that’s where the Australian people are looking at it when the opposition won’t tell them how much of their money they’re going to spend, they’re taking them as mugs. We got to be open and honest and transparent.

We think an upward surprise of 1% q/q growth in [today’s] WPI could be enough to get the RBA over the line for 40 basis points, though if it comes in at our forecast of 0.8% q/q that prospect will recede.

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Emotions run high as showdown on NSW assisted dying bill approaches

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If passed, the state will be the last in Australia to allow terminally ill people to choose when they die

When she moved from Melbourne to Sydney, Siobhan O’Sullivan did not consider what it would mean for the way she died.

But since being diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer mid-2020, the 48-year-old thinks about that decision a lot.

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‘Poisonous pamphlets and pork’: what messages are cutting through to voters in this messy campaign?

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Here’s what is weighing on the minds of five undecided voters before the federal election on 21 May

Undecided voters will play a key role in deciding the outcome of Saturday’s election with many waiting until the final week, days, or even hours, to make their decision.

So what in this very long, and at times messy, campaign has cut through?

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Australian federal election 2022 live: Albanese calls Coalition housing scheme ‘an attack on future generations’; AEC finds signs in breach

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Anthony Albanese labels Coalition housing scheme ‘an attack on future savings’; AEC says Advance Australia ‘Greens’ signs in breach of electoral act; home price increases will be ‘marginal’ under new plan, Scott Morrison says; PM says Labor was informed about Aukus when they ‘needed to be’; NSW records four Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news live

Labor campaign spokesperson Jason Clare has a new line.

He told ABC TV:

The next week is really important. Australians have a big choice to make this weekend. It is a choice between a better future under Labor and more Scott Morrison.

As Australians think about this, they would be thinking “Do you want to wake up on Sunday morning and roll over and see Scott Morrison?”

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Australian authorities to buy out fisheries citing climate crisis

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$20m permit buyback aims to help recovery of jackass morwong, redfish, john dory and silver trevally

The federal government will spend $20m to buy out fisheries in Australia’s south-east in part because the climate crisis is affecting population numbers of some species, making current fishing levels unsustainable.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority will buy back vessel permits in the south-east trawl fishery, which is the largest commonwealth-managed fin fish fishery in Australia.

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Morrison hails close ties with India and Albanese pledges $970m for Medicare – as it happened

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Scott Morrison reiterates new pitch to voters, promising a ‘gear change’, and Anthony Albanese reveals plan to boost primary healthcare. This blog is now closed

Morrison has unfurled his famous boomer dad vibes, snorting at young people using “devices”:

I still remember the mates are used to play with when I was a kid, when I used to go play sport, I used to look forward to it every Saturday and be there with mum and dad, come and be on the sidelines, it is those great
experiences of family life which creates strong families and strong communities.

And by investing in a healthy lifestyles of our children, and doing that with the highly successful sporting schools program, this means we can get more and more about into healthy lifestyles, we need to get them off those phones and get them on the field. I hear some noise from parents who know exactly what I am talking about. And sure, they can have fun with their devices, that has to be on the timing at all the rest of it, you guys struggle without as much as I am sure we all do, but we want them out there running around, we want them living healthy lifestyles.

We have had to come through and toughed it out and push through as hard as we possibly can, and as a Prime Minister and as a government we have had to do that as well.

But as we go into this time of opportunity, and that is exactly what it is, and the kids reminded me of that again this morning, as we go into that time of opportunity, as a government, we change gears, as a Prime Minister, I change gears, and we go and secure those opportunities ahead.

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Nephew of slain gangland figure Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad shot dead in ‘tit-for-tat’ attack, police say

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A 23-year-old man aged was shot at his home in Belmore in Sydney’s south-west, police say

The nephew of slain gangland figure Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad has been shot dead at his Sydney home in what police are calling a “war” around drug supply and organised crime in the city’s south-west.

It is the third fatal shooting in recent weeks, and the second this week, in what police have dubbed a spate of “tit-for-tat” incidents, starting with the murder of Ahmad in late April.

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Australian federal election 2022: Albanese seizes on PM’s ‘bulldozer’ admission; Chinese spy ship off WA coast ‘an act of aggression’, Dutton says

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Opposition leader says ‘bulldozers wreck things’ after prime minister blames pandemic for how he has governed country; Chinese spy ship spotted off Western Australia; Marise Payne and Penny Wong debate foreign policy at National Press Club; nation records at least 52 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news

On what Anne Ruston said, here is some of what Scott Morrison said about the 5.1% figure on 11 May:

Anthony Albanese says that he wants wages to go up by 5.1% and he thinks that Australians don’t know what the impact of that would be on their interest rates, on unemployment or on inflation in the cost of living.

He thinks Australians don’t get the link between these things. He thinks he can just say what he likes and you can have your cake and eat it.

I think you’ll find that the government has been very clear in its condemnation of the comments by Mr Albanese, not because of the figure that he put out there specifically, but the fact that he’s just chosen to put a figure out there you know, without bothering to consult, take advice, you know, there’s no science around it.

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Craig McLachlan allegedly threw tantrums and threatened Rocky Horror Show cast members, court told

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Defence barrister tells defamation trial McLachlan had ‘tendency to get angry easily’

Craig McLachlan has been portrayed in court as an allegedly powerful and angry lead actor who threw tantrums, threatened cast members and physically abused actresses.

Defence barrister Michael Hodge QC on Friday took a defamation trial jury through several incidents in which McLachlan, 56, was alleged to have been furious at supervisor directions, musicians missing cues and fellow actors changing their performances without notice.

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Surge in NSW flu cases sparks concern over hospital capacity with Covid numbers high

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State’s chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, urges people to get flu vaccinations as 2,000 cases reported in last week

Surging cases of the flu are putting extra demand on emergency departments around New South Wales, with major outbreaks in boarding houses contributing to a doubling in cases in a week.

According to NSW Health, 2,000 flu cases were reported in the week to 7 May – up from 1,024 the week before.

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Matt Kean warns of Trump-like shift in Liberal party if teal independents oust moderates

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In election pitch, NSW treasurer says party at risk of becoming like Republicans, with Putin sympathisers and anti-vaxxers

The New South Wales Liberal treasurer Matt Kean has warned of the dangers of a Trump-like shift to the right within the conservative party, as he pleaded with voters not to boot out moderate MPs in favour of teal independents on 21 May.

The plea was supported by the state’s premier, Dominic Perrottet, who said voters would regret stepping away from the party if independents won seats over moderate Liberals.

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Independent funding for NSW’s Icac rejected on ‘philosophical’ grounds

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Premier Dominic Perrottet says the executive should make funding decisions after rejecting new model

New South Wales’ premier, Dominic Perrottet, says he denied a request by the state’s anti-corruption watchdog for its funding to be made independent from government because of a “philosophical view” about the role of the executive.

On Tuesday Perrottet announced an overhaul of funding for the state’s key integrity bodies, including the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac), after long-running concerns about the role government ministers have in providing money to the agencies.

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Dominic Perrottet rules out Sydney congestion tax after confidential plans leaked

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Researchers say the major road transport reform should not be ruled out so quickly as city faces growing gridlock

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, says his government will not introduce a congestion charge but researchers are calling for the major road transport reform not to be ruled out so quickly.

“There is no plan for a congestion tax and and we can rule it out completely,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

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Leaders face off in final debate – as it happened

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Prime minister says wage increase would put jobs at risk as leaders meet for third time during campaign on Channel Seven; Barnaby Joyce discusses China threat in National Press Club address; at least 53 Covid deaths across nation with WA cases hitting new daily high. This blog is now closed

Jane Hume then seemingly defends Scott Morrison’s criticism of barristers and lawyers yesterday as being taken out of context:

Q: Where have we become, as a nation, when the Prime Minister of Australia yesterday said that he has no truck with barristers and lawyers?

Well, I don’t think he said that he has no truck with the legal system.

I’m not entirely sure of the context of that comment but I can assure you the Prime Minister upholds the rule of law and respects the legal profession.

I don’t think this is a comment worth taking out of context.

In the context of the Icac, the Government wants to make sure there is a Commonwealth integrity commission introduced in the life this parliament but we want to make sure that it’s one that presumes innocence, not guilt, that it doesn’t turn into a show trial, that it isn’t simply Icac on 24/7TV. We want to make sure it delivers integrity.

I didn’t say that. The Prime Minister said that.

We want to make sure - I do, as the Prime Minister, and the Coalition Government - that any Commonwealth integrity commission delivers justice, it delivers a presumption of innocence and it doesn’t deliver a show trial which is exactly what the Prime Minister is objecting too.

I think that Katherine Deves is fighting for an important cause, which is fairness for women in sport ...

I would not use those words. I wouldn’t use them on social media, and I wouldn’t use them in conversation with you or anyone. That said, Katherine Deves is fighting for an important cause.

I’m not going to pass judgement on what the prime minister did or didn’t say. But the most important thing is Katherine Deves is fighting for an important cause, which is fairness for women being able to play in sport fairly and equally.

I think there’s an awful lot of women in those seats that want to make sure that they and their daughters can play fairly and equally in sport. In sport.

I’m not going to second-guess how people would feel about those comments. Suffice to say ...

These are sensitive issues and should be approached cautiously, making sure our language is not insensitive in the way it’s expressed, because these are important issues and we know that particularly transgender children are some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

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Comanchero bikie boss Tarek Zahed shot and brother killed in Sydney double shooting

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Tarek Zahed in critical condition after he and his brother Omar were gunned down in the foyer of a gym in Auburn

Comanchero bikie boss Tarek Zahed is in a critical condition and his brother Omar has died after they were riddled with bullets in the foyer of a gym in Sydney’s west.

Emergency services were called to the Body Fit Gym on Parramatta Road, Auburn, after reports of a shooting at about 8pm on Tuesday.

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Election 2022 live updates: prepoll voting rush; Albanese lands in Sydney; 49 Covid deaths

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Reports of rush on early voting; Scott Morrison reiterates support for Katherine Deves; Greens launch environmental policies; nation reports at least 49 Covid deaths. Follow today’s news live

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, Catherine King was also asked about Labor’s timetable (if it won the election) for the religious discrimination bill:

We need to consult again with both religious organisations, with LGBTIQ+ groups, we don’t want – we want to make sure we’re able to protect religious freedoms and people’s religious expression, but we don’t want to introduce new discrimination.

That’s what the government’s bill did. It had their own members, particularly in some of the inner-city seats saying they couldn’t support it. I didn’t get into parliament to put more discrimination on people. I want to remove discrimination from people, including people who have religious faith, but I don’t want to make it worse for other people.

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NSW education staff say they are being sent to schools without adequate training to ‘plug the casual crisis’

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Workers concerned they will be covering flu-related teacher absences in coming months with no end date for scheme given

Education department staff being “conscripted” to fill Covid-related vacancies at New South Wales schools have said they are being sent into teaching environments without adequate training, and were just plugging holes in a broader “casual crisis”.

One employee, who has never worked with or been specifically trained to care for special needs students, claimed they were sent to teach a class of students with disabilities.

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