The 42-year-old entered closed zone at Whistler Blackcomb resort, reportedly causing an avalanche
An Australian woman has died while snowboarding at the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort in Canada.
The 42-year-old, from New South Wales, died after entering a permanently closed zone on Thursday in the area above Lakeside Bowl on Blackcomb Mountain, which is said to have triggered an avalanche.
Continue reading...Report says horizontal support beams were of inferior strength and not compliant with national standards
An independent report has found multiple design and construction faults led to damage at western Sydney’s Opal Tower.
The newly-built tower in Sydney Olympic Park was evacuated on Christmas Eve after cracks were found in the building, sparking fears it could collapse.
Continue reading...Items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux found at Shelley beach on NSW mid-north coast
A British tourist and a French tourist are missing at a beach on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
Personal items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux were found by walkers on Shelley Beach, near Port Macquarie, 390km north of Sydney, at sunrise on Monday.
Continue reading...Mountain Sounds festival called off by organisers a week before event was due to take place on central coast
A New South Wales music festival has been cancelled just a week out from the event, and the organisers say it’s “another example of the government’s war on festivals”.
Mountain Sounds festival was due to be held on the central coast next weekend, but on Saturday the organisers announced it would not be going ahead.
Continue reading...An independent inquiry has delivered its findings about the gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed after Guardian Australia revealed he was the subject of dozens of complaints from women about botched surgery and other practices at numerous hospitals in New South Wales and the ACT. Here are some of the cases uncovered so far – the list will be updated as more information is received or when more patients give permission
Continue reading...Eleven people left ill in Sydney and six near Ballarat after Australia Day long weekend music festivals
A teenage boy has been found with almost 600 capsules and $2,000 cash at a Sydney music festival where several people left critically ill due to drug use.
Six young men aged under 25 left the Hardcore Till I Die festival at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday in critical or serious conditions. All were either stable or discharged from hospital by Sunday.
Continue reading...Low dam levels and the drought lead New South Wales government to act
Sydney’s desalination plant was likely to be switched on this weekend because of falling dam levels and the drought, the New South Wales resources minister said.
The plant is turned on when water storages drop below 60%.
Continue reading...With high temperatures also forecast for Victoria and NSW, there are warnings about potential power outages and blackouts, as well as total fire bans amid worsening weather. Follow developments live
Yes please.
Elite marketing by Royal Park Foodland #adelaideheatwave pic.twitter.com/IMMLZdywLq
Just on the issue of heatwaves and climate change, the ABC Melbourne presenter Rafael Epstein has pointed to recent statements from Victoria’s Bureau of Meteorology (Bom).
Just in case someone says hot weather has nothing to do with climate change
"Australia's climate is increasingly influenced by global warming... has warmed by just over one degree since 1910, with most of the warming occurring since 1950."
From @BOM_Vic this month
Five mayors warn their towns could run out of water within weeks and call for their needs to be prioritised over irrigators
The mayors of several western New South Wales councils have warned their townships face major water crises within weeks and have urged the state government to impose a one-month embargo on irrigators pumping from the upper part of the Darling River system.
Continue reading...Indigenous leader and former Labor boss to be parachuted in as a Liberal in the NSW electorate held by retiring MP Ann Sudmalis
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine will be parachuted in to contest the marginal seat of Gilmore under a Scott Morrison-endorsed plan being considered by the New South Wales Liberal party executive.
On Tuesday the state executive voted to block the preselection of real-estate agent Grant Schultz, who had been picked by local members to contest the seat held by the retiring MP Ann Sudmalis.
Continue reading...Syndicate allegedly handled $1 million of stolen goods in the past year and may have run empire over a number of years
Police in New South Wales allege a Sydney family ran an expansive crime empire that stole and illegally exported thousands of tins of baby formula to China.
Police on Monday said they had arrested six people, including four from the same family, over the alleged coordinated theft of more than 4,000 tins of baby formula, manuka honey and other goods.
Continue reading...Organisers will have to apply for a specific liquor licence, similar to those for pubs and clubs, in bid to keep young people safe
Music festivals will have to be licensed in New South Wales under new regulations following a string of tragedies.
Five people have now died after attending music festivals, including 23-year-old Joseph Pham and 21-year-old Diana Nguyen, who both died of suspected drug overdoses after attending the Defqon.1 festival in September.
Continue reading...It was 48.9C last Tuesday in Port Augusta, South Australia, an old harbour city that now harvests solar power. Michelle Coles, the owner of the local cinema, took off her shoes at night to test the concrete before letting the dogs out. “People tend to stay at home,” she said. “They don’t walk around when it’s like this.”
It’s easy to see why: in the middle of the day it takes seconds to blister a dog’s paw or child’s foot. In Mildura, in northern Victoria, last week gardeners burned their hands when they picked up their tools, which had been left in the sun at 46C. Fish were dying in the rivers.
Continue reading...Murray-Darling commissioner offer to include Menindee fish kill in inquiry rejected by South Australia attorney general
Another 80cm Murray cod has died in the Lower Darling River on Friday afternoon, raising fears among Menindee locals that the predicted drop in temperature overnight will trigger another fish kill incident.
The Guardian saw the large cod, estimated to be about 30 to 40 years old, floating about 1km downstream from where another large cod died on Thursday.
Continue reading...Australia had its warmest ever December on record and temperatures this week nudged 50C in some places
Temperature records have been broken in towns across parts of Australia sweltering through a heatwave, which is currently in its fourth day.
Australia also recorded its hottest December on record the Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday in a special climate statement on “the unusual extended period of heatwaves” across much of the country.
Continue reading...Severe weather conditions forecast to bring maximum temperatures 8C to 16C above average, as three towns record overnight minimums of 33C
Coping with extreme heat: share your photos
Port Augusta in South Australia has reached 48.9C on Tuesday, as a heatwave sets in across much of Australia threatening more record hot days.
All-time highest minimum temperatures have also been broken in three places. Meekatharra in Western Australia and Fowlers Gap and White Cliffs in New South Wales all registered an overnight minimum of 33C on Monday.
Continue reading...Lim’s lawyer, Bryan Wrench, tells crowd the pair will not tolerate ‘political censorship’
More than 150 people have surrounded a Sydney police station to protest against the treatment of sandwich board activist Danny Lim after footage of him being arrested sent social media into a frenzy.
The cult Sydney figure is now considering legal action against police.
Continue reading...Much of Australia will bake this week with meteorologists forecasting the hot conditions will last for days in some parts
Every state and territory will bake through a heatwave on Monday with meteorologists saying soaring temperatures will last for days in some parts.
The Bureau of Meteorology said hot days were expected in January but multiple days in a row of temperatures above 40C were unusual.
Continue reading...74-year-old previously had a conviction for offensive conduct overturned over sandwich board that mocked Tony Abbott
Sydney sandwich board activist Danny Lim has been arrested and fined for offensive behaviour.
Three police officers arrested the 74-year-old at Exchange Place in Barangaroo about 9.20am on Friday. It’s unclear what the offensive behaviour involved.
Continue reading...Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the 46-year-old’s death
The model, actor, TV presenter and jewellery creator Annalise Braakensiek has been found dead in her Sydney unit.
Police said a woman’s body was found at a Potts Point unit on Sunday afternoon after concerns were raised for her welfare.
Continue reading...