Category Archives: New South Wales

Nearly one in 10 NSW men have faced legal action for domestic and family violence, study finds

Posted on by

According to the research, the first of its kind in Australia, 1.2% of people born in the state were responsible for more than 50% of recorded offences

Nearly 10% of men in New South Wales have had police take some form of legal action against them for domestic and family violence, according to the first Australian population study of prevalence of offending, published on Monday.

The research published by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 6.3% of people – 9.6% of men and 3% of women – born in NSW were found to have been proceeded against by police for a family and domestic violence offence by the age of 37.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Mixed bag for Labor and the rise of the Libertarians: the key surprises in the NSW local elections

Posted on by

ALP faces a variety of results in what premier Chris Minns calls a ‘massive wake-up call for the major parties’, and Liverpool mayor returns amid corruption inquiry

The counting of votes has resumed to determine the makeup of New South Wales’s 128 councils for the next four years.

The main story of the local government elections was the Liberal party’s disastrous failure to lodge the paperwork to nominate more than a third of its candidates.

Continue reading...

Canberra shivers through coldest September morning ever as south-east Australia records freezing temperatures

Posted on by

Capital’s weather falls to -6.9C on Monday while parts of inland NSW drop below zero and SA town has coldest September morning in more than 62 years

Much of Australia’s south-east shivered through freezing temperatures overnight, with another frosty morning forecast for Tuesday before temperatures warm back up.

Canberra marked its coldest September morning on record, reaching -6.9C on Monday. The previous September record of -6.8C was set 12 years ago in 2012.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Was Amber Haigh murdered? More than 20 years on, a judgment will be delivered

Posted on by

The nine-week trial of Robert and Anne Geeves, accused of killing teenager Amber Haigh in 2002, comes to an end on Monday

The enduring mystery of the disappearance of Amber Haigh faces a key reckoning Monday morning, with judgment in a trial for her murder.

Haigh, who had an intellectual disability, vanished without trace from the New South Wales Riverina in June 2002, leaving behind her five-month-old son.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

The rise of the Libertarians: ‘fringe’ party could win 15 NSW council seats after Liberals’ bungle

Posted on by

Minor party could be largest group on MidCoast council and state MP John Ruddick says ‘if you put in a development [application] we will approve it’

The Libertarian party could have up to 15 councillors across New South Wales and take control of a major regional council following the Liberal party’s failure to nominate more than 100 candidates for the weekend’s local government elections.

The NSW Liberal leader, Mark Speakman, said on Sunday his party had “performed strongly” where it had fielded candidates – despite 16 council areas either having no Liberal candidates or fewer than they were meant to.

Continue reading...

Woman killed by falling tree branch in Sydney as wild winds hit NSW coast

Posted on by

Meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse says dangerous conditions caused by low-pressure system offshore generating gale-force winds and large waves

A woman has died in New South Wales after a tree branch fell on her as strong winds hammered Sydney.

Emergency services were called to Castlereagh Street in Liverpool at about 1pm on Sunday after the woman was struck. Ambulance paramedics treated the woman at the scene but she could not be revived, NSW police said.

Continue reading...

Clover Moore claims historic sixth term as Sydney lord mayor

Posted on by

Longtime independent politician thanks community for support in face of misinformation and ‘awful’ campaign

Clover Moore has claimed a historic sixth term as the Sydney lord mayor despite a swing against her in a campaign she described as the “toughest” of her career.

The longtime independent secured another four years in the top job on Saturday evening, declaring victory in front of supporters at the Arthouse hotel in Sydney’s CBD.

Continue reading...

Mother held in jail after being charged with murdering her two sons in Blue Mountains home

Posted on by

The 42-year-old woman fronted Parramatta local court in Sydney on Saturday in a brief hearing where she did not apply for bail

A mother charged with murdering her two sons at their Blue Mountains home has made a brief court appearance where she was remanded in custody.

The 42-year-old woman fronted Parramatta local court in Sydney for the first time on Saturday in a brief hearing where she did not apply for bail.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘When they go low’: Clover Moore apologises as volunteer caught allegedly pulling down Indigenous rival’s corflutes

Posted on by

Team Clover volunteer filmed allegedly removing campaign posters of Yvonne Weldon from outside National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has apologised to an Indigenous political opponent after a volunteer was accused of removing corflutes outside the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.

Yvonne Weldon posted a video recorded by one of her team members of a man who had allegedly taken down the corflutes to make way for Moore’s banners.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

National RSL head backs call to stop veterans charity name being used on pokies venues

Posted on by

Exclusive: Concerns venues ‘don’t share values’ as debate continues over whether poker machines belong in RSL clubs at all

The national head of the Returned and Services League of Australia has backed a push to stop licensed clubs from using the RSL letters in their names amid internal division over whether poker machines should be phased out of the venues altogether.

The RSL president, Greg Melick, said the veterans’ charity was concerned its name was being used by “organisations that don’t share our values” and that licensed clubs should have to ask for permission before using it.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘Not on my watch’: how windfarms became a key issue in NSW local elections

Posted on by

From Port Stephens to Illawarra, council candidates are running against renewable schemes because of ‘lack of consultation’

Part of what’s driving Mark Watson’s pitch for mayor is his opposition to a project he says is the talk of the town and the “biggest issue” in his coastal home’s history.

The former One Nation candidate for the state government is now running as an independent for mayor of Port Stephens. The coastal town just north of Newcastle overlooks the middle of the 1,800-square kilometre offshore windfarm zone off the Hunter, where the Albanese government plans a renewable energy hub to be operating by 2030.

Continue reading...

Mother of two boys found dead in Blue Mountains home charged with murder

Posted on by

The 42-year-old woman was charged with murdering the boys aged 9 and 11, in Faulconbridge will appear at Parramatta local court on Saturday

A mother of two boys who were found dead in a house in the Blue Mountains has been charged with two counts of murder.

Emergency services were called to a house in Faulconbridge on Tuesday following concerns for the welfare of a woman and two children.

Continue reading...

Weekend cold front to bring hail, snow and chilly winds to parts of east coast

Posted on by

BoM modelling shows chance of above average rainfall for eastern states in coming months, and high bushfire risk for parts of NT and Queensland

A cold snap will hit Australia’s south-east over the weekend, with cool winds and rain sweeping up through Tasmania to Brisbane from Friday evening.

Victoria will face chilly weather, showers and potential thunderstorms on Saturday, with Melbourne expecting up to 10mm of rain and potential hail amid daytime temperatures of just 12C.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

John Howard weighs in on stoush between NSW and federal Liberals – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Assistant treasurer says Elon Musk post is ‘crackpot stuff’

The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has said Elon Musk labelling the Australian government as “fascists” is “crackpot stuff”.

And whether it’s the Australian government or any other government around the world, we assert our right to pass laws which will keep Australians safe – safe from scammers, safe from criminals.

And, for the life of me, I can’t see how Elon Musk or anyone else, in the name of free speech, thinks it is OK to have social media platforms publishing scam content, which is robbing Australians of billions of dollars every year. Publishing deepfake material, publishing child pornography. Livestreaming murder scenes. I mean is this what he thinks free speech is all about?

Continue reading...

Australian politics live: Labor confirms aged care deal; AEC abolishes Kylea Tink’s electorate; parliamentary standards bill passes Senate

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Helen Haines condemns ‘stitch up’ over Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission bill

Independent MP Helen Haines is furious at what she calls a “stitch up” between Labor and the Coalition that “weakens the transparency of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission”.

The bill as currently drafted means serious findings could be made about an MP, but they could face no sanction and the public could never know.

I want to see more transparency around this process.

The government made two last-minute changes to its own legislation that would reinforce the major party duopoly, ensuring no member of the crossbench can be deputy chair of the parliamentary standards oversight committee. What a stitch up!”

We’re going to have the same people on the joint select committee as on the privileges committee, meaning the people who are meant to make sure the whole system is working are the same people who are part of it.

I’m really staggered by this, and it isn’t right.

We’re taking a stand against the unchecked greed that’s fuelling the cost-of-living crisis, and we’re urging the parliament to support this critical reform.

Our bill will put an end to corporate price gouging by making it illegal for corporations with substantial market power to charge excessive prices for goods and services.

Continue reading...

Teal independent Kylea Tink considers options after seat abolished by AEC

Posted on by

North Sydney MP says decision is ‘deeply disappointing’ but has not ruled out running for new local seat or switching to Senate

The teal independent MP Kylea Tink says she is considering her political options after it was confirmed her seat of North Sydney will be abolished by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Tink is not ruling out running for a new local seat or even trying to switch to the Senate at the next election.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australians urged to get whooping cough vaccination as infections rise more than tenfold in year

Posted on by

Health authorities say infants are at greatest risk so pregnant women, parents and others in close contact with babies should be vaccinated

Health authorities across Australia are urging people to get vaccinated as cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, continue to surge.

The latest national data shows more than 26,700 cases reported so far in 2024, compared with 2,451 cases for all of 2023. The numbers are being driven by cases in Queensland and NSW.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Families to launch class action after Hunter Valley bus crash driver jailed for decades

Posted on by

Legal case targets Transport for NSW for alleged safety failings on road where 10 passengers were killed and company that employed Brett Button

Families who lost loved ones in a deadly New South Wales bus crash say they will launch a class-action lawsuit as the driver responsible was sent to prison for decades.

Brett Button, 59, was sentenced on Wednesday to 32 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 24 years, for killing 10 passengers and injuring 25 who had been celebrating a young couple’s wedding in the Hunter Valley.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Labor’s hate speech bill will not not criminalise vilification; man who ‘flipped the bird’ in parliament was not signed in by politician

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Dan Tehan outraged over tattered flag after devastating winds

Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan is continuing to moonlight as Australia’s flag hall monitor.

While values are still rising at the national level, albeit at a slowing pace, beneath the headline figure, we’re starting to see some weakness, particularly in Victoria.

Continue reading...

NSW town Bungendore to ‘heal’ after it finally gets a high school eight years after John Barilaro promised it

Posted on by

The then deputy premier announced $71m Bungendore project in 2019 but it was found to breach crown land law. Now Labor is proceeding with its own

The regional New South Wales town of Bungendore will finally get a high school after four years of legal headaches after the announcement of the $71m project by the then state deputy premier and member for Monaro, John Barilaro.

The new high school was a 2019 election commitment and due to be built by January 2023 in the middle of Bungendore’s heritage precinct, requiring the demolition of its pool, community centre and council offices. It caused immediate division and outrage among residents.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...