Divers demand end to fishing of rays after mutilated carcasses discovered at Chowder Bay on Sydney’s north shore
Jayne Jenkins found the sandy floor of Chowder Bay on Sydney Harbour a mess of fishing lines, hooks and ray carcass, last Saturday morning.
Fins had been chopped from two bull rays, the diver told Guardian Australia. One had a big split across its head – Jenkins identified it as Stumpy, a well known ray that had its tail chopped off in previous years.
Continue reading...State’s electoral commission receives request from NSW Liberal president after party failed to lodge nominations for more than 130 council candidates
The New South Wales Liberal party has demanded a week-long extension to lodge nominations for more than 130 council candidates after the party missed the deadline in a “monumental stuff-up”.
The NSW Liberal party president, Don Harwin, sent a letter to the NSW electoral commission overnight after the party’s head office missed the Wednesday noon deadline to lodge the necessary paperwork to nominate all of its candidates for the local government elections on 14 September.
Continue reading...Independent now has ‘surprise’ backing of Liberal elder statesman and departing Hornsby mayor Philip Ruddock
While many of his former colleagues were furious this week, local councillor Nathan Tilbury has been feeling pretty happy as a former Liberal.
Two days before the party failed to nominate more than 130 candidates for next month’s New South Wales local government elections, Tilbury handed in his resignation.
Continue reading...Palaszczuk, who retired from politics in December after almost nine years as QLD premier, will serve a three-year term as a non-executive director. Follow today’s news headlines live
‘We have to have a constant reminder’
The committee also called for a culturally appropriate and nationally significant recognition and remembrance of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children. Dorinda Cox said this would be “significant” if the government accepted the recommendation:
It would … have some permanent features to remind us the role that history has played for missing and murdered or disappeared women and children and First Nations women and children in this country, because there’s a story there that needs to be told, and we have to have a constant reminder.
Like we do … with the Australian war memorial of the safety that we have as a country, but also that this part of our history – this is now ingrained in and sketched into. And if we want to continue to work on this and continue to maintain safety for women and children and the most vulnerable, which is First Nations – as we know, we’re in an emergency for all women, but First Nations women and children are at the front of that – we have to have some permanent features, otherwise we become invisible.
What we hear too often is that this is a state and territory problem. States are responsible for their police forces, in particular … We have to centre our approaches and our outcomes in [addressing these issues] and we have to look at the culture of the organisations, such as police.
There’s lots of reporting on the media in relation to the attitudes of police across Australia, and that has to get better, but we have to have a measure against that – we can’t just put in the attorney general [to] have a chat to the police ministers, and nothing changes … Because if we don’t look at this in a way of wanting change, nothing ever changes.
Continue reading...Aaron Govendir originally told police his Dover Heights home had been broken into and he was knocked unconscious, but police have new allegations on wife’s cold-case killing
Twenty-six years ago, Aaron Govendir told police his home had been broken into and he was knocked unconscious before his wife was bludgeoned to death.
But detectives allege the story was a lie and the now-elderly man murdered his wife Denise before staging an apparent car theft in a bid to cover up his crime.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...Administrative bungle leaves party without a senior leader, four weeks out from statewide elections
The New South Wales Liberals director Richard Shields has been sacked after a “mind-boggling” failure to nominate more than 130 candidates for local government elections.
In a statement issued after an emergency meeting late on Thursday night, the party’s state president, Don Harwin, said its executive had unanimously decided to terminate Shields’ employment over the fiasco.
Continue reading...Fallout continues over Liberal party’s failure to lodge paperwork to nominate 136 candidates in upcoming council local government elections
Disappointed New South Wales Liberal councillors are not ruling out taking legal action against the party, and others are demanding their money back after an administrative disaster that will prevent them from running in upcoming elections.
Councillors said they were “shocked” to learn through the media that the Liberal party had missed the noon Wednesday deadline to lodge the necessary paperwork to nominate 136 candidates for the 14 September local government elections.
Continue reading...Close associate of Nathaniel Train tells Queensland coroner’s court they forwarded emails to NSW police hours before deadly shootings
A close associate of one of the Wieambilla killers forwarded four “incredibly disturbing” emails from his account to New South Wales police hours before the Train family gunned down three people in Queensland, a coronial inquest has heard.
The emails were not passed on to Queensland police before they sent four officers to 251 Wains Rd, Wieambilla for a missing persons’ search, two of whom would be killed by Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train, the court heard.
Continue reading...More than half the 10- to 13-year-olds who faced court had been a victim of violence and about a third had accessed homelessness services, report finds
Children aged 10 to 13 facing criminal penalties in New South Wales are “overwhelmingly” from disadvantaged backgrounds and disproportionately Indigenous, according to a new report.
It comes amid debate over the minimum age of criminal responsibility, after the Victorian government reneged on a commitment to raise the age from 12 to 14. In NSW, children as young as 10 can be charged, convicted and incarcerated.
Continue reading...Parts of the Queensland coast copped a battering into Wednesday of more than 100mm in less than six hours
Emergency services are poised to carry out rescues as record-breaking downpours have soaked parts of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales.
South-east Queensland’s coastal catchments have been issued with a flood watch warning, as have parts of the NSW Northern Rivers.
Continue reading...Crown alleges in closing statement Robert and Anne Geeves acted like teen was already dead when she was still considered missing
As police were still searching for missing teenager Amber Haigh, Robert and Anne Geeves were speaking about her in the past tense in police interviews because they knew she was already dead, prosecutors have argued before the New South Wales supreme court.
In closing submissions to the nine-week trial over Haigh’s alleged murder, the crown prosecutor Paul Kerr argued Justice Julia Lonergan “would be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Amber Haigh is dead and that she is dead because Robert and Anne Geeves – in the execution of a joint criminal enterprise – murdered her”.
Continue reading...Graham James Kay, who was imprisoned for sexually assaulting eight women, argued he feared for his safety
A man dubbed the “north shore rapist” has failed in a legal bid to keep his identity secret after repeatedly committing predatory acts towards women over several decades.
Graham James Kay had an order prohibiting the publication of his name revoked by the New South Wales supreme court on Tuesday despite the 72-year-old arguing he feared for his safety.
Continue reading...Robert and Anne Geeves recorded discussing how investigating police ‘can’t find nothing’
Listening devices planted in the home of a New South Wales couple accused of murder reveal the pair discussing allegations the husband tied up and raped a teenaged Amber Haigh while his wife filmed. They make no admissions on the clandestine recordings but say, “there’s not enough evidence to back it up”.
Haigh, who had an intellectual disability, was 19 when she vanished from the NSW Riverina in June 2002, leaving behind her five-month-old son.
Continue reading...The $21.6bn extension from Chatswood to Sydenham, crossing under Sydney harbour, is finally on the brink of opening. Join us on a tour
The next stretch of the Sydney Metro, set to open imminently, has been billed as a game-changer for city commuters.
Not only will the Chatswood to Sydenham section of the $21.6bn line drastically cut travel times and introduce a new crossing under Sydney harbour, it’s also set to dictate settlement patterns, with the New South Wales government basing much of its flagship housing policy along the corridor.
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Budgets running on fumes as car costs outpace inflation
High transport costs are fuelling household budget concerns, AAP reports, with research revealing a surge of more than 10% over the course of a year.
Continue reading...New rules declaring the popular devices a form of transport mean the batteries must meet strict international product standards
New South Wales is cracking down on the sale of some ebikes and e-scooters in a nationwide first aimed at reducing the scourge of battery-related fires, while pushing for a nationally coordinated approach to the growing problem.
Low quality ebikes and e-scooters have contributed to a spate of fires across the country, with lithium-ion batteries now the fastest growing cause of fires in the state.
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The prime minister was asked about criticism that increased public spending is fuelling inflation.
Anthony Albanese pointed to two budget surpluses and said this, plus cost-of-living measures, are applying downward pressure:
Fee-free Tafe, cheaper childcare, energy price relief – all of these measures are aimed at making sure we look after people but do so in a way that’s designed to see inflation continuing to moderate, which is what we want to make sure happens.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Watchdog says it ordered disposal of more than 600 tonnes of soil fill, fined three facilities and is considering ‘significant changes’ to rules following Guardian investigation
The New South Wales environment watchdog has vowed to crack down on the waste industry after new tests found asbestos at seven of 13 facilities producing or handling cheap landscaping products.
A 15-month Guardian Australia investigation revealed earlier this year that the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had failed to act after compliance campaigns in 2013 and 2019 found potentially contaminated products had been distributed across the state – including at childcare centres, schools, residential areas and parks – thanks to widespread breaches by the industry.
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Wong endorses call from Blinken for de-escalation in Middle East
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said she endorsed Antony Blinken’s call for de-escalation in the Middle East.
We continue to add our voice to the support for the ceasefire outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the security council.
Thank you for an incredibly productive day.
Continue reading...NSW police allege 63,000 coins featuring popular tv show character were stolen from a Sydney warehouse
An alleged Bluey coin bandit has been charged by New South Wales police for allegedly stealing over $600,000 worth of limited edition currency.
The Royal Australian Mint’s “dollarbucks” coin collection featured Bluey, alongside other characters on the popular tv show, as part of a special limited release.
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