Category Archives: New South Wales

Bondi beach closed down after crowds defy ban on gatherings of more than 500 people

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Authorities say lifeguards will now be directed to close any beach where headcount reaches more than 500

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Australian authorities closed Bondi beach and removed hundreds of people from other popular Sydney beaches on Saturday, citing the “irresponsible behaviour” of large crowds that had gathered in clear defiance of public health warnings.

Images of a packed Bondi on Friday – when temperatures in parts of Sydney exceeded 35C – were criticised internationally as governments in Australia announced stricter regulations to encourage social distancing and restrict the spread of the coronavirus.

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Coronavirus Australia latest: at a glance

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A summary of major developments in the coronavirus outbreak across Australia

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Key Australian developments in the global coronavirus outbreak on Thursday include:

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Paracetamol cannot treat coronavirus, NSW chief health officer says, only its symptoms – video

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New South Wales chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant addresses a misconception around paracetamol and the coronavirus crisis. With pharmacies and stores running low on supplies of the painkiller due to hoarding, Chant explained paracetamol only treats symptoms of Covid-19, not the virus itself

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Chinese film star Yunxiang Gao and producer found not guilty of raping woman in Sydney

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Actor and producer Jing Wang acquitted of sexually assaulting woman at the Shangri-La hotel in 2018

A Chinese movie star and producer have been found not guilty of raping a woman inside a Sydney hotel room, ending the near two-year legal saga.

Actor Yunxiang Gao and producer Jing Wang were on Thursday found not guilty of a raft of charges and cleared of sexually assaulting the woman inside the Shangri-La Hotel in the early hours of 27 March 2018.

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Coronavirus school closures: dozens of Australian private schools move to online learning

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New South Wales teachers union warns it is ‘impossible’ for schools to practise social distancing measures recommended by the government

Dozens of independent schools across Australia are going ahead with shutdowns as the New South Wales teachers union warns it is “impossible” for them to practise social distancing measures recommended by the government.

On Tuesday, Pymble Ladies College in Sydney joined dozens of private schools in Victoria when it announced it would move to online classes from Thursday.

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Tropical Cyclone Gretel set to bypass Norfolk Island but damaging winds expected

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Strong wind warnings also in place for coastal regions across south-east Queensland and northern NSW

Tropical Cyclone Gretel is set to bypass Norfolk Island in the next 48 hours, although it will still create damaging winds.

Tropical Cyclone Gretel may not make landfall but was still expected to have an impact with damaging wind warnings of around 100km/h for coastal regions across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales.

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How Spanish flu nearly ripped apart Australia’s fledgling federation | Paul Daley

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A nation supposedly forged in the hellfire of war almost crumbled in the face of a virulent threat at home

Newly federated Australia, with its population not yet 5 million, was still enduring shocking fatalities on the European western front when its authorities began paying attention to the virulent strain of pneumonic influenza sweeping Britain.

Early Australian awareness of the “Spanish influenza” – an epidemic in Britain by mid to late 1918 – came with an acknowledgment that the new states grown of old colonies would need to stick together should the virus reach this isolated continent.

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‘I’m sure it was William Tyrrell’: witness tells inquest he saw missing boy in car

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Kendall resident Ronald Chapman says he saw the child in the back of a fast-moving vehicle on the day he went missing

A man living in the New South Wales town where toddler William Tyrrell was last seen is “sure” he saw the boy in the back of a fast-moving car, a court has heard.

The inquest into the three-year-old’s 2014 disappearance resumed in Taree on Monday.

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Drought-breaking rain brings joy to some Australian towns, but many dams still await relief

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Heavy rainfall across New South Wales and Queensland boosts rivers and allow farmers to plant crops for the first time in several seasons

Heavy and widespread rain across three states is bringing joy to parched towns with some farming regions receiving “drought-breaking” rains.

Further rainfall from ex-Tropical Cyclone Esther was delivering water into regional water storages and rivers, with farmers able to plant crops for the first time in several seasons.

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Sydney teenager jumps off bus to intervene in alleged domestic violence assault

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The 14-year-old boy came to the aid of a women allegedly being punched by her partner in western Sydney

A 14-year-old boy has jumped off a school bus in western Sydney to come to the aid of a woman allegedly being assaulted by her partner.

The boy was on the bus in Riverstone on Friday afternoon when he saw a man and woman involved in an argument on the footpath. The man then allegedly punched the woman repeatedly in the face.

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Sydney baboon escape: police confirm three animals recaptured at Royal Prince Alfred hospital

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NSW police say they were called to incident next to University of Sydney in Camperdown area of the city

Three baboons have been recaptured after they were spotted on the loose at a major Sydney hospital, triggering a police response and a flurry of interest online.

Police told Guardian Australia on Tuesday evening that they were attending “an incident of that nature” when asked if reports of baboons on the loose were true.

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Bushfire state memorial honours the 25 victims and the heroes of the NSW fires

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Families enter Sydney Olympic Park service through a guard of honour, with a row of 25 candles marking each life lost

The scars remain but traumatised communities are starting to heal as a state memorial honoured the lives lost and the heroes forged in the New South Wales bushfire crisis.

A public state memorial was held at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday to recognise the devastating toll of the bushfires that ripped through much of NSW.

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Counting the cost of Australia’s summer of dread

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Australia’s catastrophic bushfire season has taken 33 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, shrouded cities in smoke and devastated the country’s unique wildlife. Guardian Australia surveys the damage

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Prince William and Kate expected to visit bushfire-hit regions of Australia

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A formal invitation from the prime minister to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is expected this week

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to visit Australia to tour regions affected by this summer’s bushfire crisis.

The trip would be Prince William and his wife Catherine’s second visit to Australia as a married couple.

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NSW and Queensland weather: flash floods and fallen trees as rain lashes east coast – latest updates

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Sydney and the New South Wales Central Coast are set to receive more rainfall in 24 hours than they have since 1998. Follow the latest

• NSW weather: six families rescued from floodwaters as rain lashes east coast

Commiserations with Canberra and other parts of the east coast that have missed this rain.

Rain: the ONE type of weather #Canberra actually wants this summer, and apparently THE ONLY TYPE we won't get. pic.twitter.com/n7ftT8CNgi

Sydney is not the only place that’s flooded.

Awabakal Nation/Lake Macquarie pic.twitter.com/S5LVHa1PBp

Plenty of locals stopping to have a look at the flooded Hanlon Park in Stones Corner @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/Aawo9orQw5

Rains in Sydney#sydneyrain #sydneystorm #parramatta pic.twitter.com/3yTHtSgFaA

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Australia fires: threat remains for ACT bushfires as NSW issued with smoke health warning – latest updates

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A total fire ban remains in place across the capital territory as fires continue to burn, causing severe smoke and dust haze in NSW

A quick recap.

Looks like the forecast rain is heading over Canberra. We’ll wait to hear if this helps or hinders the firefighting efforts.

Rain heading through Canberra. Let's hope this brings some relief. No sign of the storm yet though. pic.twitter.com/YVJDd3HK3u

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Australia fires: bushfires menace homes and lives – and firefighters warn winds will create new threats

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Embers flare into an out-of-control blaze on ‘another difficult day’ in NSW and in the country around Canberra

• Terror on all sides: inside a firestorm tearing through the Australian bush

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, says the Australian state has experienced “another difficult day” as multiple emergency fires burned across its south-east.

While five emergency warnings were in place on Saturday afternoon for blazes across the NSW south coast and south-east, at 9pm on Saturday evening just one remained at the highest level.

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Canberra fires live updates: capital of Australia faces renewed bushfire threat – latest news

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Huge fires to the south smother city with smoke amid weather forecast for heatwave and searing temperatures as Scott Morrison prepares to address National Press Club today. Follow live news and latest updates

From Tuesday night. A lot of ACT residents are comparing this fire to the devastating 2003 blaze.

Just a reminder of where we’re at. On Monday, a defence helicopter landed in the Namadgi national park, south of Canberra, and accidentally sparked what authorities have called the city’s “most serious” bushfire threat since the city’s devastating 2003 fires.

Tuesday saw dramatic images of the fire approaching Canberra’s southern suburbs, but conditions eased throughout the evening and the fire was downgraded from emergency level to watch and act just before midnight.

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Federal government withholds water funding from NSW in Murray-Darling standoff

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Minister disappointed that New South Wales did not submit Murray-Darling basin resource plans

The federal government is withholding millions of dollars from the New South Wales government for failing to complete water resource plans for the Murray-Darling basin.

In a letter to the state’s water minister, Melinda Pavey, the federal water resources minister, David Littleproud, raised concerns the 20 plans had not been submitted.

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