NSW solar farm to supply almost half energy needs of major gas company

Shift away from fossil fuels by BOC is expected to cut company’s Australian emissions 40% by 2035 and follows similar commitment by Rio Tinto

A major industrial gas company in Australia will shift its power use away from fossil fuels and instead meet nearly half its electricity needs across three states from solar.

BOC, owned by global gas and engineering company Linde, supplies speciality gases to large manufacturers, industry and oxygen to hospitals.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

‘A time of great anxiety’: renters fear surge in no-grounds evictions before NSW ban comes into force

Housing organisations welcome the new laws but are bracing for a spike in evictions before the change takes effect

Renters and advocates are worried there could be a surge in no-grounds evictions in New South Wales over the coming month as landlords act ahead of the law changing in mid-May.

The Tenants’ Union of NSW says it’s a “real risk” and the Minns government has dropped the ball by not putting interim measures in place to protect renters.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

NSW government considering buying back Northern Beaches hospital amid Healthscope debt crisis

Recent incidents, including the death of a newborn, have heightened concerns about the level of care at the hospital

The New South Wales government is considering buying back the public hospital component of Northern Beaches hospital, as its private owner, Healthscope, faces a looming financial crisis.

The government said on Thursday it had been notified of a proposal by Healthscope seeking to have the hospital returned to the NSW public system.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Man charged after allegedly attempting to open plane door on flight to Sydney

Australian federal police say the man, 46, allegedly tried to open the rear emergency exit door of the plane from Malaysia on Saturday

A Jordanian national has been charged after he allegedly attempted to open the doors of a Sydney-bound plane mid-flight.

Australian federal police (AFP) said the man, 46, allegedly tried to open the rear emergency exit door of the plane, travelling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday night.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Environment watchdog confirms Sydney’s mystery beach balls likely came from sewage treatment plants

NSW EPA investigation finds debris that washed up on Sydney beaches in 2024 ‘consistent with a land-based sewage source’

Authorities investigating mystery balls of debris that closed beaches in Sydney and the south coast in recent months have determined that they likely originated from Sydney Water’s land-based sewage treatment network, the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said on Friday.

“The development comes after a comprehensive scientific and technical investigation found similarities between the makeup of the debris balls and samples taken from several of Sydney Water’s major wastewater treatment plants, including those at Malabar and Bondi,” the EPA said in a statement.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

RPA hospital closes HIV psychiatry clinic with 200 patients after staff resignations

Exclusive: Former staff tell Guardian Australia some HIV patients have since required acute mental health care, as hospital also loses specialist pain and eating disorder support staff

The resignation of psychiatrists from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital has led to the closure of an HIV psychiatry clinic with 200 patients, as well as a loss of specialist psychiatrist services for patients in the pain clinic and the most unwell eating disorder patients.

Minutes from a Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) and Balmain hospital medical staff council on 10 February, seen by Guardian Australia, also contain slides from a presentation about psychiatrist resignations that state “there is no HIV psychiatry clinic”.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

‘Australia is a landlord’s market’: rents still at record high despite slow growth, report shows

Kingsford Smith, Bradfield, Sydney, and Warringah in New South Wales and Fadden in Queensland are the five most expensive electorates, data shows

Rents are growing at the slowest rate in four years thanks in part to increased supply, but are still at record highs, Domain’s March Quarterly report has revealed.

It comes as Anglicare Australia launches a heat map showing rental affordability in each electorate, with Kingsford Smith, Bradfield, Sydney, and Warringah in New South Wales and Fadden in Queensland the five least-affordable electorates in the country.

7.7% in Darwin to $700 per week;

6.2% in Perth to $690 per week;

5.1% in Adelaide to $620 per week;

4.8% in Brisbane to $650 per week;

3.6% in Hobart to $570 per week;

3.35% in Sydney to $775 per week;

2.2% in Canberra to $700 per week; and

1.8% in Melbourne to $580 per week.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Passengers hold on as driverless Metro train speeds through Sydney tunnel with an open door

Rail union wants network temporarily shut down and an investigation into ‘one of the worst safety incidents we’ve seen’

Passengers held on to handrails after a door stayed open on a driverless Metro racing underneath Sydney, with a transport union later calling for the system to be shut down until safety measures were put in place.

A “door fault” was identified on a train travelling between Chatswood and Crows Nest stations at about 8.01am on Wednesday, the Metro Trains Sydney chief executive, Daniel Williams, said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Doctors in NSW public hospitals threaten three-day strike over pay dispute, defying ban

State government warns industrial action could halt elective surgeries, as doctors seek pay rise of up to 30%

Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries.

Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred’s hospital.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Melissa Caddick’s duped investors recoup another $3.5m after settlement with auditors

Investors defrauded by 49-year-old before her 2020 disappearance and death to get back portion of their $23m in losses

Investors defrauded by Melissa Caddick before her disappearance and death will recoup a portion of their $23m in losses after settling a class action lawsuit with her auditors.

Victims have already been repaid $7.25m after liquidators of the dead fraudster sold off her assets in 2023 and 2024.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Unregistered Sydney practitioner ‘Injector Josh’ accused of administering Botox without qualifications

NSW Health Care Complaints Commission is investigating the man, who has been the subject of multiple complaints

An unregistered Sydney beauty practitioner who advertises unauthorised Botox injections and “butt lifts” via Instagram and Snapchat is being investigated by New South Wales health authorities.

The man, who performs injectable and invasive cosmetic procedures, goes by the name Injector Josh and uses the social media handles faisalbasim7 and injectorjosh_. He has been the subject of multiple complaints, the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) said in a public health warning on Tuesday.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

Continue reading...

Cadia goldmine operators fined $350,000 for breaches of NSW clean-air laws

Testing had previously revealed the mine was emitting more than 11 times the legal limit of dust containing heavy metals

The operators of Cadia goldmine have been ordered to pay $350,000 in fines and convicted of three offences after a prosecution by the New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority.

Cadia Holdings Limited, trading as Cadia Valley Operations, pleaded guilty to three offences under the environmental protection act relating to breaches of clean air regulations at the mine in central west NSW.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Baulkham Hills stabbing: woman arrested and three children in hospital after alleged attack in Sydney suburb

Two girls, boy in stable condition and 46-year-old woman under guard in hospital after alleged attack in Baulkham Hills

A mother has been arrested after she allegedly stabbed her three children multiple times in their home in Sydney’s north-west.

New South Wales police Det Supt Naomi Moore said on Monday that the children’s father woke to yells in their Baulkham Hills home, and secured the kitchen knife from his partner.

Continue reading...

Queensland premier warns worst flooding yet to come after NSW man swept away by rising waters

Man had been attempting to cross a causeway through rising flood waters that have now cut off a campsite, stranding more than 20 people

Police have resumed the search for an elderly man who was swept into a flooded river on Saturday night, as authorities warn more heavy rain could isolate inland parts of New South Wales and Queensland for up to six weeks.

Flood warnings remain in place for vast areas of eastern Australia, after a record-breaking rain event.

Continue reading...

Clare Nowland’s son says decision not to imprison police officer who killed her a ‘slap on the wrist’

Kristian White was convicted of manslaughter over death of Nowland whom he shot with a Taser at a Cooma aged care home in 2023

A judge’s decision not to send Kristian White to jail for the manslaughter of Clare Nowland is “a slap on the wrist for someone that’s killed our mother”, according to the 95-year-old’s son.

Justice Ian Harrison handed down his sentencing decision for the former New South Wales police officer in the NSW supreme court on Friday, saying the incident in his opinion “falls in the lower end of objective seriousness” for manslaughter and that time in prison would be a “disproportionate” sentence.

Continue reading...

Domestic violence survivors urged to take safety precautions after NSW justice department data breach

Attorney general says hacker gained unlawful entry to state’s Justice Link system and accessed 9,000 files, which could include victim details

Domestic and family violence victim-survivors who are concerned their safety may have been compromised have been advised to take precautions after a major data breach at the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ).

The state attorney general, Michael Daley, said on Thursday that the hacker gained unlawful entry to part of the state’s secure online court registry system via a registered account and accessed 9,000 files.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Sydney woman charged after reports novel contained child abuse material

Police seize copies of novel to be forensically examined as 33-year-old charged with producing child abuse material

A Sydney woman has been charged with producing child abuse material in relation to a novel.

New South Wales police said they began investigations in March “following reports of a fiction novel containing child abuse material”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Suzanne drives eight hours to get ADHD medicine from a specialist. Australian GPs say they need more prescribing powers

Exclusive: Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners urges Albanese government to increase range of medicines they can prescribe

Every three months, Suzanne Grobke makes an eight-hour round-trip to access the ADHD medicine her 12-year-old daughter depends on.

“My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD when she was three and we see a paediatrician in Sydney because it was up to a two-year wait to see someone regionally,” she said.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Lilie James’ ex-boyfriend attempted to control, manipulate and gaslight her before murder, experts say

Paul Thijssen stalked 21-year-old water polo coach as she ‘attempted to push back against his control’, court hears

Paul Thijssen attempted to control, manipulate and gaslight Lilie James as she tried to leave their short relationship in the days before he murdered her with a hammer, a coronial inquest into their deaths has heard.

James’s body was found with serious head injuries in a gymnasium bathroom in October 2023 at St Andrew’s Cathedral school, where she worked as a water polo coach.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

Continue reading...

Sydney caravan incident sparks inquiry into ‘who knew what and when’ before rushed hate speech laws

Investigation will not examine whether laws should be repealed, despite crossbench members’ concerns they may have been ‘misled’

The New South Wales parliament will hold an upper house inquiry into “who knew what and when” about the caravan that was found laden with explosives on the outskirts of Sydney ahead of controversial legislation passing parliament.

The motion for the inquiry – which was moved by independent MP Rod Roberts and supported by the opposition, the Greens, and two members of the crossbench – passed on Wednesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...