Category Archives: New South Wales

Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann seeks judge-only trial on rape charges; off-duty police officer in hospital after Sydney attack

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Asked about the future of the weekly pro-Palestinian protests across Australia, Malarndirri McCarthy said as long as they are respectful and peaceful, “they are part of our democratic way”.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? I mean, we are a democracy. Whatever the rally or protest is, we enable that. We allow that so long as it’s peaceful and respectful.

Police across every jurisdiction in the country know they have to be prepared. Rally organisers, whoever they may be, also know they need to consult to be able to have access to those streets. Come on, let’s be mindful that these rallies, so long as they are held in a respectful manner, in a peaceful manner, they are part of our democratic way.

I think when I look at the polls, Karl – and I think I’ve talked to you about this over the years, you know, when we went into the 2019 election – every poll said we were going to win. The reality is, you have to work every single day right up – and the only poll that does really count, and I believe that especially after that loss, is the one on election day.

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Threat of more Sydney train chaos lingers despite government’s pay deal hopes

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Prospect of further public transport disruption remains despite unions’ commitment to halt work bans

Hopes of an end to industrial action that has thrown Sydney’s train system into chaos may be dashed as the NSW government faces the prospect of pay negotiations with unions breaking down.

The Minns government had been optimistic that negotiations could deter further train disruptions, after six combined rail unions on Wednesday morning committed to halt work bans that have wrought havoc across Sydney’s transport network in recent months.

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Sydney man arrested over Newtown synagogue fire

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Adam Edward Moule is ninth person charged under Strike Force Pearl investigation into spate of antisemitic attacks across Sydney

The arrest of a man who allegedly attempted to set a synagogue on fire in Sydney’s inner west this month is a “big breakthrough”, the New South Wales premier has said, as investigations continue into a spate of antisemitic vandalism in the city.

Adam Edward Moule, 33, had his case briefly mentioned at Downing Centre local court on Wednesday and was scheduled to appear again on Thursday before the same court.

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Housing completions fall behind accord target – as it happened

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Watt defends government response to antisemitism as ‘very strong’

Asked if the federal government has been going enough to combat antisemitism, Murray Watt said it had responded “very strongly here”.

Unfortunately, there are some people in the community who are engaging is disgusting behaviour and the AFP and state police have demonstrated they will be caught and go to jail, which is where they belong.

I [will] leave it to the AFP to confirm some of the details about this, but I think this demonstrates exactly how far our police authorities are going to try to crack down on the shocking behaviour …

[The number of arrests made] sends a really clear message from the whole community that there is no tolerance that this kind of hate, and you will be caught if you do these kind of disgusting attacks.

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Water quality expert calls for wider PFAS ban as NSW community seeks blood tests on ‘poisoned’ land

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Cost of fixing ‘forever chemical’ pollution should be borne by manufacturers and polluters, not governments and consumers, expert tells Senate inquiry

A water quality expert says the Australian government should expand a planned ban of PFAS as a New South Wales indigenous community called for funding for blood tests for people living on “poisoned” land.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of several thousand synthetic compounds, are found in a wide variety of products including waterproof fabrics, food packaging, hygiene products and firefighting foam. They are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are slow to break down and persist in the environment for extended periods.

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Wards in NSW’s largest psychiatric hospital close as mass resignations begin

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Doctor calls situation ‘an absolute disaster’ for public mental health system and vulnerable patients

Mental health wards have begun to close in New South Wales as negotiations to avert the mass resignations of psychiatrists continue.

At Cumberland psychiatric hospital, the largest mental health facility in NSW and the oldest in Australia, the acute and rehabilitation wards have closed, and the NSW branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) predicts more will follow.

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Australia news live: second child dies after Tasmania house fire; mental health ward closures begin in NSW after mass resignation of psychiatrists

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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says it was a “privilege and honour” to be the first Australian foreign minister to “be invited and to attend an inauguration on behalf of our country”.

She spoke with the Today show from Washington DC, where she attended Donald Trump’s inauguration.

My message here in Washington to those I meet is to point out the reality of the economic relationship between Australia and the United States, that there is a surplus in America’s favour. There has been for decades. In fact, it’s about two to one. And of those exports from Australia that come here, about half of them go into the US production.

As we know, the Wall Street Journal is obviously reporting, now [Trump is] going to review the trade situation and then look at what sort of tariff changes need to be made.

We need to make sure that our foreign affairs ministry, our trade minister and our ambassador are deeply engaged in that review process to make sure our national interest is upheld.

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Debris balls that closed Sydney beaches contained faecal matter and E coli bacteria, tests reveal

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As Northern Beaches mayor awaits confirmation of pollution source, water expert says: ‘We know it’s sewage’

Testing of the debris balls that closed nine Sydney beaches last week has revealed they contained faecal matter, E coli bacteria and saturated fatty acids.

The Northern Beaches council said on Tuesday it had received the results of further analysis of balls it sent to the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for testing.

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Teacher who told Sydney Catholic Schools she was transitioning allegedly asked to move and not given shifts

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Zoe Conolan-Glen’s discrimination case has now been referred to the federal court

A music teacher who told the management of Sydney Catholic Schools she was transitioning was allegedly asked to move to a different school before being given no shifts for a year.

Sydney woman Zoe Conolan-Glen lodged a discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission in July 2024, which was referred to the federal court on 18 December, claiming the prospective school’s management also asked intrusive questions, including which staff bathroom she would use and how she would react if a parent complained about her identity.

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Anthony Albanese convenes national cabinet on antisemitism after Sydney childcare centre set alight

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Prime minister, who has previously resisted calling the meeting, says it will focus on recent wave of attacks and graffiti

National cabinet will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss antisemitism in Australia, after Anthony Albanese pledged that the latest attack on a Sydney childcare centre “will lead to action”.

The prime minister previously resisted calls for such a meeting, saying on Monday Australians did not just want to see more meetings on antisemitism.

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NSW government in 11th-hour bid to postpone mass resignation of psychiatrists

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State asks Industrial Relations Commission to urgently arbitrate on the matter before resignations take effect from Wednesday

The New South Wales government will make an 11th-hour attempt to postpone the mass resignation of the state’s psychiatrists by asking the Industrial Relations Commission to urgently intervene.

With one in three psychiatrist positions in the state already vacant, psychiatrists have been in negotiations with the government for more than 16 months on how to solve the workforce crisis, arguing higher salaries were needed to attract new doctors and retain those currently working in the public system.

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Wild NSW weather expected to ease as WA’s Pilbara region braces for cyclone

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Cleanup continues in parts of NSW as tropical low threatens heavy rain between Port Hedland and Ningaloo

The skies above New South Wales are expected to clear this week, bringing relief to thousands who have been left sitting in the dark as massive storms swept the state and knocked power offline.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the NSW capital and parts of the state suggests calmer skies in the week ahead, with light winds and a chance of a thunderstorm over Sydney on Tuesday.

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Two injured by falling tree at Sydney’s Hyde Park as strong winds damage houses and SCG grandstand

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More than 1,000 trees have fallen in Sydney as wild weather causes problems around city

At least two people have been hit after a huge fig tree fell in Sydney’s centre amid strong winds.

The large tree in Hyde Park crashed to the ground across a footpath and on to a busy street at about 3pm on Friday.

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Australia news live: relief for Sydney morning commuters as train unions ordered to halt action; man charged over death threats to Jewish group

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First charge by AFP’s Special Operation Avalite established in December. Follow today’s news headlines live

Richard Marles will become the first minister to visit Kiribati in almost two years, AAP reports.

The deputy prime minister and defence minister is travelling to Kiribati for high-level talks with the nation’s re-elected government, which closed its country’s borders in 2024 while national elections were held.

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NSW government asks private sector to take public hospital patients as hundreds of psychiatrists set to resign

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Exclusive: Guardian Australia has seen an email from the director of Australia’s largest private mental health provider about the contract

The NSW government is considering moving public psychiatry patients into private hospitals in preparation for the mass resignation of the state’s psychiatrists next week, but doctors warn the panicked response will not help the “droves of people with significant illness and crises”.

At least 205 psychiatrists will resign on Tuesday after 16 months of negotiations over the workforce crisis, with the government not agreeing to the psychiatrist’s proposed solution – a special levy increasing their pay by 25%, similar to that which emergency doctors received in 2015.

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New weather system to strike eastern Australia with strong winds and rain

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Eastern NSW, particularly northern rivers, and Gold Coast at high risk for severe thunderstorms and winds on Thursday, BoM forecasts

Persistent rain and strong winds will sweep across New South Wales into the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts, with parts of Victoria and south-east Queensland also likely to be affected.

Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said Sydney’s weather could shift from storms to a “dreary” mix of wind, rain and cloud. It would be “persistently windy” and “quite chilly”, he said.

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Australia news live: delays up to 70 minutes on Sydney trains as industrial action begins; Hume says Coalition would cut ‘bloated bureaucracy’

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‘Passengers should expect delays, service cancellations and large service gaps’ across Sydney today, NSW TrainLink warns. Follow today’s news live

Wong ‘absolutely confident’ government can work with Trump as US president

Moving to another topic, Penny Wong was asked about her invite to Donald Trump’s inauguration in the US, and responded:

Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States, and I’m honoured, on behalf of the country, to have been invited to his inauguration.

This includes humane treatment and the right to a fair trial. So that is their obligation, [and] we will look at the facts when they have been ascertained.

But I want to be clear, all options are on the table. Those options include expelling the ambassador and recalling Australia’s ambassador in Russia … I need, as the foreign minister, to identify and ascertain the facts beforehand.

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Australia news live: SpaceX debris disrupts Qantas flights from Sydney to South Africa

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Rowland reacts to number of women preselected by Liberal party to replace retiring MPs

Michelle Rowland was also asked about the fact just one woman has been preselected to replace eight Liberal MPs who are retiring at the next election. Is she disappointed by this?

Clearly, Peter Dutton talks a big game when it comes to these issues, but the reality is borne out by the fact that they continue to overlook women for public office … For my mind, that says everything about Peter Dutton being stuck in the past, just as he’s stuck in the past around the national broadband network, his response to this announcement is to call it a joke, which is an insult to regional communities.

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Mystery balls close nine northern Sydney beaches months after fatbergs washed ashore

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Grey ball-shaped debris found washed up along shore will be tested by Environment Protection Authority, local council says

Nine of Sydney’s northern beaches have been closed after ball-shaped debris washed ashore.

The Northern Beaches council on Tuesday advised beachgoers to avoid Manly, Dee Why, Long Reef, Queenscliff, Freshwater, North and South Curl Curl, North Steyne and North Narrabeen beaches until further notice.

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Mystery syndrome killing rainbow lorikeets and flying foxes leaves scientists baffled

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‘The animals that don’t die need total nursing care,’ wildlife rescuer says, ahead of a potential spike in cases in coming weeks

Thousands of rainbow lorikeets and hundreds of flying foxes have been hospitalised in Queensland in the past year with a mysterious paralysis that can affect the animals’ ability to fly, swallow and even breathe.

Lorikeet paralysis syndrome has struck birds in Queensland and New South Wales since at least 2012, and a similar syndrome was identified in flying foxes five years ago.

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