Category Archives: New South Wales

Victorian man charged after allegedly making death threats and antisemitic comments against federal MP

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AFP also allege man used social media to contact Victorian state politician

A Victorian man has been charged in connection with alleged death threats and antisemitic comments against a federal politician in the latest incident investigated by a special police taskforce.

The Australian federal police confirmed on Friday a 33-year-old Reservoir man was charged with four counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and one count of using a carriage service to threaten to kill.

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NSW doctors embrace ‘marshmellow’ moniker to highlight ‘catastrophic situation’ in public hospitals

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Union says viral email stuff-up downplaying junior doctors’ concerns has become a focal point for what it labels ‘toxic’ and ‘hazardous’ workplace conditions

If you were to walk into a New South Wales hospital over the past week, you might have seen doctors bringing marshmallows to work, or perhaps cartoon images of the anthropomorphised gelatinous sweet with a stethoscope and white lab coat upon their break-room walls.

Thousands of doctors across the state have embraced calling themselves “clinical marshmellows [sic]” after a medical administration manager at the Hunter New England local health district called junior doctors the moniker in an email stuff-up.

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Sydney man discovers ‘shock’ 102 red-bellied black snakes in garden

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A man in the city’s west spotted six snakes in a mulch pile – but the number keeps increasing as females give birth to ‘baby after baby’

A Sydney man has said he was “totally amazed” when snake catchers removed a bumper haul of 102 venomous snakes from a single spot in his backyard.

David Stein called in snake relocators after seeing what he estimated were six red-bellied black snakes on a large mulch pile on his property in the western Sydney suburb of Horsley Park on Friday.

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Two men accused of attempting to set fire to Sydney synagogue denied bail

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Pair charged with destroying property over attack on Newtown synagogue last month

The two men accused of attempting to light a Newtown synagogue on fire have been refused bail.

Adam Moule, 33, and Leon Sofilas, 37, who are co-accused, appeared via video in Downing Centre local court on Thursday when their individual solicitors made applications for them to be released on bail.

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‘Harassing’ people outside places of worship could result in jail under proposed NSW law

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Premier Chris Minns flags new measures, which would make certain types of protests a criminal offence, in response to ‘racial hatred and antisemitism’

The New South Wales government has proposed legislation that could make certain types of protests outside places of worship a criminal offence amid growing fears about antisemitism.

The reforms are part of a broader measures in response to a wave of arson attacks and antisemitic vandalism over the past two months in Sydney.

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Jo Haylen had to go once it was clear chauffeur wasn’t justified for second Hunter Valley trip, premier says

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Chris Minns says while then-transport minister made some work calls during 2024 trip with husband, ‘it didn’t justify having a driver on the day’

The New South Wales premier says Jo Haylen had to go once a second Hunter Valley trip using a chauffeur-driven car was revealed – and it became obvious she was not “justified” in having a ministerial driver that day.

Chris Minns addressed the media on Wednesday for the first time after Haylen quit as transport minister on Tuesday over the use of taxpayer-funded cars for private purposes.

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One-year-old found dead in car outside Sydney childcare centre

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NSW police investigating girl’s death in Earlwood in Sydney’s inner west on Tuesday afternoon

A one-year-old girl has been found dead in a car in Sydney’s inner west.

New South Wales Police are investigating after emergency services were called to reports of an unresponsive child in a vehicle outside a childcare centre on Marana Road in Earlwood at 5.35pm on Tuesday afternoon.

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Sydney traditional Chinese medicine practitioner found guilty of professional misconduct after tourist dies

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Chinese national, 57, staying with her daughter in Australia died after Yun Sen Luo’s advice to cease all ‘western medicine’

A Sydney-based practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine has been found guilty of professional misconduct after a diabetic woman died after his advice to cease all “western medicine”.

Yun Sen Luo was found guilty on 30 January of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct after being prosecuted by the Health Care Complaints Commission before the New South Wales civil and administrative tribunal.

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NSW minister apologises after asking chauffeur to drive 446km for Australia Day weekend lunch

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Transport minister Jo Haylen admits ‘I made the wrong decision’ after ministerial car booked out for 13 hours for Hunter Valley lunch at winery

The NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, has apologised after using her ministerial driver to chauffeur her and some friends to and from a three-hour private lunch on the Australia Day weekend – at a cost of $750.

“I made the wrong decision,” Haylen said on Sunday when apologising and confirming she would repay the money for the 13-hour, 446km trip to the Hunter Valley.

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Australian lawyer caught using ChatGPT filed court documents referencing ‘non-existent’ cases

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Immigration minister says such conduct must be ‘nipped in bud’ as lawyer referred to office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner for consideration

An Australian lawyer has been referred to a state legal complaints commission, after it was discovered he had used ChatGPT to write court filings in an immigration case and the artificial intelligence platform generated case citations that did not exist.

In a ruling by the federal circuit and family court on Friday, Justice Rania Skaros referred the lawyer, who had his name redacted from the ruling, to the Office of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC) for consideration.

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Man charged after allegedly drawing Nazi symbols in Sydney in latest antisemitism crackdown arrest

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The 37-year-old was charged after police allegedly found him using a marker to write on a wall in the city’s eastern suburbs

The New South Wales police strike force investigating antisemitism has charged another person, after officers alleged they saw a man drawing Nazi symbols including a swastika in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

In a statement, police said that officers from the Strike Force Pearl proactive team were performing “high-visibility patrols” about 4.30pm on Friday when they saw a man allegedly using a marker pen to write on a wall in Anzac Parade, Kingsford.

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Australia news live: youth vaping rates plummet after law reform; police alert 5000 Australians targeted by overseas romance scam

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The federal health minister cited data showing vape use among young Australians has significantly reduced meaning new laws are working. Follow today’s news live

Cyclone threat looms in northern Australia as drenched region braces for yet more rain

North Queensland is on cyclone watch with three tropical lows given a chance of developing in the coming days, bringing heavy rain that has flooded roads and homes.

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Man with ‘sexsomnia’ not guilty of raping woman after judge warns jury in Sydney trial

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The 40-year-old had a medical condition where people exhibit sexual behaviour during sleep, court heard

Jurors have acquitted a man diagnosed with “sexsomnia” of rape.

On Thursday, Timothy Malcolm Rowland, 40, was found not guilty of having non-consensual sex with a woman at his Sydney apartment on 26 August 2022, after the pair spent a night out together.

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Caravan laden with explosives found in Sydney allegedly intended for antisemitic attack

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NSW police investigating after explosives found in Dural with premier Chris Minns warning incident could have led to ‘mass casualty event’

More than 100 counter-terrorism police are investigating after a caravan was found laden with explosives at a residential property in greater Sydney with indications the explosives would be used in an antisemitic attack.

Police said they had found the caravan on a property in Dural, on the outskirts of Sydney on 19 January after a report was made.

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Australia news live: Angus Taylor says cost-of-living pain ‘far from over’ despite inflation falling to three-year low

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Labor adds homelessness focus to disability strategy

Australians with disabilities experiencing homelessness will be prioritised as the government commits to disability reforms, months after a scathing royal commission into the sector, AAP reports.

For the first time, they also include a number of national actions that all governments will work on together, with the disability community, to ensure people with disability right across Australia experience the benefits.

Some students, especially those in our cities, can see a career in agriculture as something that’s only for those who live in the regions or for those whose family own land that can be used to operate an agribusiness.

AgConnections aims to break down these misconceptions and build on the diversity of the industry, by highlighting and encouraging women and Indigenous Australians wanting to pursue a career in agriculture.

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Third arrest after alleged assault on police officers in Sydney – as it happened

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AFP warns parents over rise in AI-generated child abuse material

There has been an increase in the use of AI-generated child abuse material in the past year, including students creating material like deepfakes to harass or embarrass classmates, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has said.

Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not.

The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.

As a society, I think that it demonstrates the need for us to place a high value collectively on a civil political discourse, rather than an extreme one.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that of the 16 arrests, only one person was from South Australia and the rest were scattered from all over the country and for whatever reason, decided to convene in Adelaide.

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‘Very rare’ sighting of juvenile Antarctic minke whale off Sydney coast

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Scientists unsure what prompted juvenile whale to leave icy southern waters for warmer shallows, but ‘it may be a case of mis-navigation’

A young Antarctic minke whale has treated ferry passengers to a rare spectacle after surfacing beside a wharf to the south of Sydney.

Christine Hack, the manager of Cronulla and National Park Ferry Cruises, which manages the Cronulla ferry, said the whale began following the vessel as it approached Bundeena wharf at about 10am on Monday.

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Capital cities expecting hot public holiday as Melbourne braces for 41C

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Hot, dry and windy weather for Australia’s south-east prompts bushfire and heatwave warnings

Multiple heatwave and bushfire warnings are in place for the Australia Day public holiday, with every Australian capital city expecting maximum temperatures above 30C and Melbourne forecast for a scorcher.

On Monday Melbourne was forecast to hit 41C before a late cool change. Sydney was due for 31C, Brisbane 30C, Adelaide 35C, Perth 32C and Hobart 32C.

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Rain causes power outage for tens of thousands of Perth homes as long weekend brings hot weather

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Heat moving east with temperatures over 40C expected in South Australia and Victoria

Light drizzle after a long dry spell is to blame for a series of fires that have cut power to tens of thousands of homes in Western Australia, while extreme heat is set to dominate the remainder of the long weekend in Victoria and South Australia.

A spokesperson from Western Power said dozens of pole top fires had left 38,000 homes in the Perth and midwest regions of WA without power on Saturday morning.

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Three people in hospital in Sydney after suspected botulism cases linked to anti-wrinkle injections

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Woman in intensive care as NSW Health urges community to only receive cosmetic injections from authorised practitioners

A Sydney woman is in intensive care and a further two people are being treated in hospital with suspected cases of botulism linked to unregulated home anti-wrinkle injections.

The case prompted New South Wales Health to issue an alert urging the community to only receive cosmetic anti-wrinkle injections from authorised practitioners or risk “serious harm and … death”.

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