Category Archives: New South Wales

Eastern Australia heatwave to make way for ‘volatile’ stormy weather

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Risk of blackouts has receded in Sydney, while a WA bushfire has prompted emergency evacuation in parts of Shire of Dandaragan

The heatwave baking much of eastern Australia will rapidly make way for conditions offering the “perfect ingredients” for thunderstorms later this week, raising risks of heavy rainfall and even flash floods.

Temperatures reached the high 30s across much of western Sydney on Tuesday with Penrith’s 39.7C the hottest – about 12C above the November average. Similar readings were forecast for Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

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Senate crossbenchers side with Coalition to oppose Greens motion to dump anti-abortion bill – as it happened

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The independent MP Zoe Daniel was on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss her alternative to the under-16 social media ban, which she introduced as a private member’s bill yesterday.

Daniel said her bill would implement an overarching statutory duty of care on social media companies “that goes to safety by design – but that in and of itself is not enough”.

What you need to make that work is the companies to assess the risks, mitigate the risks, be transparent about how they’re doing that.

The bill builds in penalties so if the companies do not comply, they could be fined up to 10% of global revenue. Also, their onshore executives could be held accountable for that … and the bill also has a provision to enable users to have control over the algorithm, as exists overseas, particularly in the EU …

[There are] obviously privacy concerns, and given the government’s had to pull their misinformation [and] disinformation – or their censoring the Australian public – bill from the Senate this week, we want to make sure we get strong, robust laws that don’t damage the [right to] privacy and make compulsory Australians having to have digital IDs.

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Fire ant rafts could float down Queensland river after recent heavy rains, expert warns

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Growing infestations along the Logan river pose ‘very high risk’ of spreading downstream, Invasive Species Council says

An increase in fire ant infestations along Queensland’s Logan River is raising concerns Australia’s worst invasive species could form floating rafts and spread downstream.

The Invasive Species Council advocacy manager, Reece Pianta, said governments should urgently ramp up eradication efforts along the Logan River, in south-east Queensland.

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Musk argues social media bill may not be lawful – as it happened

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Does the delay on gambling ad restrictions have anything to do with the demands of lobbyists?

Clare O’Neil said it wasn’t about lobbying, but “about making sure that we get this right”.

And the minister has pointed to previous attempts to scale back gambling advertising that have actually resulted in more gambling advertising. This is a delicate area, and we’ve got to get the balance right, and that’s what the minister is seeking to do.

These complicated matters, they just are. You know, if this was a really simple problem to fix, then it would have been fixed a long time ago.

I would say our government deserves credit for stepping up and saying we’re going to take action on this, and the minister [Michelle Rowland] is doing what is appropriate, which is diligently working through what the proposals will look like.

The minister is working with people, experts, stakeholders, others who will be affected by this legislation, and the government has said will come forward with … proposals early next year.

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Extreme fire danger warnings for Victoria as heatwave sweeps through south-east Australia

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Cool change expected to push through state late on Saturday, bringing intense rain and thunderstorms across the wider region into next week

Extreme fire danger alerts are in place in parts of Victoria, as swathes of south-east Australia continue to swelter through a heatwave sweeping across the region.

However, the weather system driving the warm conditions is expected to bring a cool change by late on Saturday for much of Victoria, before it triggers intense rain and thunderstorms by the end of the weekend and into the middle of next week.

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Greens say leaked pokies reform report ‘a huge concern’ – as it happened

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Heatwave conditions are building over parts of Victoria and New South Wales today.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, much of Victoria will experience heatwave conditions, with maximum temperatures in the mid to high 30s.

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NSW government bid to prevent Rising Tide protest in Newcastle harbour invalid, court finds

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Four-day exclusion zone an improper use of Marine Safety Act, judge rules, despite ‘skilful’ submission from transport minister Jo Haylen

The New South Wales supreme court has set aside a Minns government decision to cut off access to Newcastle harbour to try to prevent a four-day climate protest.

The court found the notice was invalid after hearing an urgent application from climate activist organisation Rising Tide on Thursday.

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Sydney train strike: chaotic shutdown averted after 11th-hour crisis talks with union

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NSW government caves to rail union demands to prevent workers striking

A chaotic two-day shutdown of Sydney’s train network has been averted at the 11th hour after the state government caved to rail union demands to run 24-hour services to prevent workers striking.

However, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has warned that despite securing a two-week hiatus on industrial action amid tense negotiations with rail unions over a new pay deal, there is no guarantee that the threat of a city-wide rail shutdown will not recur in a fortnight.

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Attempt to prevent NSW climate protest overturned – as it happened

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New South Wales MPs condemned for ‘part-time’ parliamentary year

Scores of NSW MPs will earn the equivalent of more than $10,000 per sitting week in 2025 after a bid to increase the year’s 16-week calendar was rejected, AAP reports.

To do this, government MPs have to turn up to parliament and discuss matters. Voters won’t be happy that government MPs would prefer to hide in their electorate offices rather than turning up to parliament, where they face scrutiny.

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Anti-Israel vandalism in Sydney’s eastern suburbs ‘disturbing’, Anthony Albanese says

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Vehicle set on fire in Woollahra and 10 cars vandalised with slogans ‘fuck Israel’ and ‘PKK coming’

A vehicle has been set on fire and 10 cars have been vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, sparking outrage and condemnation from politicians including the prime minister.

New South Wales police said they had discovered the graffiti on the cars and the door of an apartment complex in Woollahra after they were alerted to the blaze about 12.30am on Thursday.

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Uber to limit surge pricing and commuters urged to work from home amid Sydney train shut down

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Government to meet union officials again on Thursday after a Wednesday meeting didn’t resolve the industrial dispute

Sydney’s trains are set to shut down this weekend after an emergency meeting between rail unions and the New South Wales premier on Wednesday produced no solutions.

The government will meet leaders from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union again on Thursday in a final bid to avert industrial action from train staff, which would see trains stop running across the city on Friday, Saturday and into Sunday.

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Dutton’s position on international student caps ‘utterly reckless’, Giles says – as it happened

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Oxfam reacts to Australia’s Cop29 pledge

Oxfam Australia has welcomed the government’s Cop29 pledge of $50m towards a global loss and damage fund to help the world’s most vulnerable people to repair the damage from climate breakdown.

If climate change losses and damages are not included in the new global climate finance goal, the new fund for responding to loss and damage risks becoming an empty vessel.

The danger is that developed country governments will prioritise meeting the new and ambitious climate finance goal, and will not prioritise a fund that doesn’t count towards it.

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Heatwave forecast for south-eastern Australia triggers energy supply and fire danger warnings

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Coming hot weather prompts Australian Energy Market Operator to predict shortfall in electricity supplies for NSW and Queensland

South-eastern Australia will endure its first big heatwave of the season in the coming days, elevating fire risks and potentially straining the power grid in some states.

Dean Narramore, a senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster, said day and night temperatures would be as much as 8-14C hotter than usual for this time of year.

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Australia politics live: Dutton calls Labor’s international student caps bill ‘a dog’s breakfast’; RBA fuels expectations for February interest rates cut

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First investment announced as part of National Reconstruction Fund

The science and industry minister, Ed Husic, was on ABC News Breakfast to discuss the government’s first investment via the National Reconstruction Fund – $40m to a Toowoomba mineral processing factory.

The difference in terms of what the [NRF] does is it provides loans, equity, and guarantees to firms that are [working across] seven priority areas to expand and grow their operations.

Given the sizes of the investments, it does take more time to be able to go through to shape up what the investment will look like, how big it’ll be, over what term, the rate of return – because the other important thing to stress to viewers is – this is not about handing out grants, and certainly not doing it on the basis of political colour-coded spreadsheets as we saw with the last government.

In fact, the social media users were less likely to have a negative attitude towards Jewish and Muslim people, irrespective of where they were on the political spectrum.

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Police officer who tasered Clare Nowland was ‘fed up’ she would not drop steak knife, jury told

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Kristian White did not consider 95-year-old a threat and fired stun gun because he was ‘impatient’ and ‘not prepared to wait any longer’, manslaughter trial told

A police officer’s cursing just before he tasered an elderly woman who was holding a knife showed the aged-care resident was not a threat but that he was simply fed up with the situation, a jury has heard.

Dramatic footage of the incident taken from the nursing home’s CCTV and police bodyworn cameras has been shown at a NSW supreme court manslaughter trial for Sen Const Kristian White.

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Police officer who tasered Clare Nowland tells court taking knife from her hand came with ‘high risk’

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Sen Const Kristian White says situation with 95-year-old carrying knife ‘was not going to be resolved without the use of force’

A police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old woman in a nursing home said he tried to give her “every opportunity to drop the knife” she was carrying, but she had “made her intent clear: she was going to use that knife on anyone that got near her”.

Sen Const Kristian James Samuel White also told the court simply taking the knife out of Clare Nowland’s hand came with “risk, high risk”.

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Alan Jones charged with 24 indecent assault and sexual touching offences against eight victims

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Former Sydney radio host – who has previously denied all allegations against him – charged over incidents that allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2019

The former Sydney radio host Alan Jones has been charged over alleged historic indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.

Jones was arrested by New South Wales police after a “long, thorough, protracted” investigation at about 7.45am on Monday morning at a unit in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

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Queensland fails to crack down on ‘rebranded sunbed’ that claims to stimulate collagen but accelerates ageing

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Collariums, which emit UVA radiation, are often advertised on private social media accounts, thwarting search warrant efforts

Queensland Department of Health investigators are struggling to prosecute sunbed operators claiming the devices are “safe” because inspectors do not have the necessary UV detection equipment, and because services are being advertised on private social media accounts.

Guardian Australia called and messaged several wellness clinics and individuals operating out of their homes throughout New South Wales and Queensland, confirming that businesses are offering “collarium” treatments with rates starting at $25 for 20 minutes of use. Some of these businesses did not explicitly advertise collariums on their social media pages or websites but did offer collarium bookings over the phone.

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Bushfires force evacuations in Victoria’s west as wild weather menaces Australia’s south-east

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Firefighters battle two out-of-control blazes as other communities brace for winds, storms and possible flash flooding

Two out-of-control bushfires in Victoria have forced townships to evacuate and destroyed at least one home as parts of Australia’s east remain on alert for fires while being hit with wild winds and storms.

Firefighters were on Sunday working to contain the fires in Victoria’s west, with flash flooding and heavy rainfall possible in the state’s north-east, south-east New South Wales and north-east Tasmania.

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Bushfire evacuations in Victoria’s west as conditions prompt catastrophic danger warnings

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Gellibrand, Dereel and Kadnook residents told to leave as total fire bans declared across parts of South Australia and Victoria

Several communities in Victoria’s west have been urged to evacuate as firefighters work to control a number of bushfires.

A short-lived heatwave has brought hot, dry and windy conditions to much of southern Australia, with total fire bans in place and some areas experiencing catastrophic fire danger.

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