Category Archives: New South Wales

Calls for independent review of police weapons after alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

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Exclusive: Sen Const Beau Lamarre took a police gun home before allegedly using it to murder his former partner and his ex’s new boyfriend

Civil liberties advocates are calling for an independent review of how police weapons are used in New South Wales after a constable was able to take home a force-issued gun three days before allegedly using it to murder two people.

Sen Const Beau Lamarre allegedly used the same Glock pistol to murder his former partner Jesse Baird, 26, and Baird’s partner, Luke Davies, 29, in Paddington on 19 February.

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Jesse Baird and Luke Davies: police allege Beau Lamarre made ‘partial admissions’ of involvement in deaths

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NSW deputy commissioner further alleges accused police officer purchased angle grinder, padlock and weights from hardware store

New South Wales police will allege one of their own constables made “partial admissions” about an alleged double murder to an acquaintance before he turned himself in to police last week.

The deputy commissioner Dave Hudson said Sen Const Beau Lamarre – who was charged on Friday over the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies – wasn’t cooperating with investigators searching for the men’s bodies south-west of Sydney.

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Police investigate possession of police handgun allegedly used in murder of Sydney couple

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NSW police commissioner Karen Webb expresses ‘heartfelt condolences’ to the families and friends of alleged murder victims Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

New South Wales police are investigating whether murder-accused senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon was lawfully in possession of the police-issue handgun which they believe was fired at a Paddington unit where two men were allegedly killed.

Police continued the search on Sunday for the remains of Jesse Baird, a former Channel Ten presenter, and his partner, Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies.

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Security guard dies and charge laid after alleged punch to head outside Sydney pub

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Police said the guard was allegedly punched by a patron who had been asked to leave the venue

A security guard has died after he was allegedly punched in the head during an altercation at a hotel in Sydney’s south, and a man charged with assault occasioning death.

Emergency services were called to a licensed premises on East Parade in Sutherland about 2am on Sunday.

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Sydney asbestos crisis: EPA ‘following up’ on whether second mulch supplier is involved

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Agency says an unnamed supplier may have provided contaminated mulch at Cranebrook and Bardia

A possible second supplier of asbestos-contaminated mulch is being investigated by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, as the number of contaminated sites rises to 61.

The environment watchdog said on Saturday it was “following up on a possible second supplier” that may have provided asbestos-contaminated mulch to at least two sites where the substance has been detected. The sites, both in western Sydney, were Cranebrook High School and Mont Saint Quentin Oval in Bardia.

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Four people dead after ute rollover in northern NSW

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Police say three men and a woman died after vehicle left the road in Wardell, near Ballina, on Saturday morning

Four people have died after the ute they were travelling in left the road and rolled in northern New South Wales, in another horror smash amid a disastrous period on the state’s roads.

Police were called to Back Channel road in Wardell, near Ballina, at about 5.45am on Saturday after reports of a crash. Officers found that three men and a woman had died at the scene.

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Australia news live: NSW police officer charged with murder after disappearance of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

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Former celebrity blogger expected to face court. Follow updates live

What will happen if there’s a storm during today’s Taylor Swift concert?

With a thunderstorm forecast at Sydney Olympic Park this evening, many are asking what this means for the Eras tour?

The show will play, rain or shine. The only exception would be severe weather, which could impact the safety of artists and patrons. Such a decision would be made by NSW Police, the event promoters and Venues NSW staff.

Please follow venue screens and staff instructions in these circumstances.

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Jesse Baird and Luke Davies disappearance: NSW police officer Beau Lamarre arrested amid search for missing couple

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Lamarre, 28, turned himself to NSW police on Friday morning and is assisting with inquiries at Waverley police station

A serving police officer has been arrested as New South Wales homicide detectives continue investigating the disappearance of the former Channel Ten presenter Jesse Baird and his Qantas flight attendant partner, Luke Davies.

Const Beau Lamarre – a former celebrity blogger – handed himself in at Bondi police station about 10.30am on Friday. No charges have been laid.

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TV presenter Jesse Baird and partner Luke Davies missing after blood found at home and in skip bin

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NSW police searching for former Channel 10 presenter, 26, and Qantas flight attendant, 29, after blood discovered at Paddington property and on personal possessions in Cronulla bin

New South Wales police are investigating the suspicious disappearance of the former Network Ten presenter Jesse Baird and his partner, Luke Davies, from Sydney’s eastern suburbs after bloody items were found in a skip bin.

Police said Baird, 26, and 29-year-old Davies, who works as a flight attendant for Qantas, were last seen in Paddington on Monday.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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Taekwondo master arrested after married couple and young son found dead in Sydney

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Bodies of woman, 41, and boy, 7, discovered in Lion’s Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy in North Parramatta after 39-year-old man found dead in Baulkham Hills home

A taekwondo instructor has been arrested over the “cataclysmic” deaths of a married couple and their seven-year-old son in Sydney.

New South Wales police said the 49-year-old man, a taekwondo master at a martial arts school in North Parramatta, went to Westmead hospital with stab or slash wounds to his chest, arms and stomach on Monday just before midnight.

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‘How many chances do they get?’: second review into Star’s Sydney casino may lead to its licence being revoked

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While analysts are asking why the licence was not cancelled after the first inquiry in 2022, thousands of jobs are at stake

The Star Entertainment Group may be about to find out how low it can go before its casino licence is cancelled.

Almost 18 months since Star was fined $100m after being found unsuitable to run a casino, and after the appointment of an external manager and criticism for not taking its responsibilities seriously, the New South Wales regulator has taken action – with another review.

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Bob Brown arrested at Tasmania logging protest – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Birmingham backs Dutton’s asylum boat comments

The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, was on ABC RN earlier this morning.

It is our responsibility to hold the government to account and if there are cuts to the Border Force budget, if there are reductions in terms of any aspects of maritime surveillance, if the Border Police Commissioner is saying that his resources are being stretched, then these are the things for us to absolutely call the government out on.

Vegetation clearing and repairs to damaged powerlines and poles continue. However, given the extent of the widespread damage, it may still take some days in extreme circumstances to restore electricity to all of those impacted.

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Sydney lightning strikes: four people ‘knocked unconscious’ and train network faces delays

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About 75,000 lightning strikes were detected across the city and afternoon commuters facing delays with T1 Western and T9 Northern lines affected

Four people have been taken to hospital with burns after being struck by lightning in Sydney’s botanic gardens.

A spokesperson for New South Wales Ambulance said the quartet was standing underneath a tree when struck at about 12.45pm on Monday.

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Thousands of NSW students to stay home after asbestos found in mulch at two more Sydney schools

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Positive tests recorded at schools in Marsden Park and Orchard Hills takes total number of sites to have tested positive to 34 since early January

Thousands of New South Wales students will be forced into remote learning for a week after asbestos was found at another two Sydney schools, as testing continues across the city.

The state’s environment watchdog confirmed the additional positive results on Sunday while investigators continued to trace and test mulch that may be contaminated with asbestos.

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Second Sydney primary school among four more sites testing positive for asbestos contamination

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Single piece of bonded asbestos found in a garden bed at Allambie Heights public school

A second primary school in Sydney’s north is among four additional sites that have returned positive results for asbestos contamination.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority on Saturday confirmed Allambie Heights public school in northern Sydney, two residential estates under construction in Sydney’s south-west and Munn Park in Millers Point tested positive for traces of asbestos-laden mulch.

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Participants at retreat where man died after ayahuasca ceremony allegedly told not to talk, NSW inquest hears

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Jarrad Antonovich died after drinking plant-based psychedelic and having frog toxin extract ‘kambo’ dabbed into burns

The ceremonial leader of a spiritual retreat in northern New South Wales at which a man died after drinking ayahuasca may have told witnesses not to talk about the fatal ceremony, a coroner has heard.

The second sitting of the inquest into the death of Jarrad Antonovich – who died after drinking the plant-based psychedelic and having the frog toxin extract “kambo” dabbed into burns in his skin – held its second hearing on Friday.

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Testing regime meant to stop toxic chemicals going into NSW landscape products gamed by suppliers

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Exclusive: Manufacturers retest contaminated soil fill until it ‘complies’ with regulations and can then be used at childcare centres, schools or parks

A testing regime meant to stop toxic chemicals going into landscaping products in New South Wales has been gamed by suppliers who kept retesting samples until they passed.

Waste facilities making soil fill from construction and demolition waste – called “recovered fines” – are required to test their product for hazardous contaminants and report results to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) if they exceed legislated thresholds.

43% of facilities were requesting retesting and were only doing so after they received a result that breached state regulations

Waste facilities were sending in samples for testing that looked very different to material EPA officials collected from their stockpiles, a separate 2013 report shows

One testing laboratory alleged it was asked by manufacturers “not to report the presence of suspected asbestos”

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Taylor Swift concerts will go ahead in Sydney despite asbestos testing at Olympic Park precinct

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Environment minister says authorities are testing mulch in the area but any issues would be resolved before pop star’s sold-out shows at Accor Stadium

The New South Wales environment minister has sought to assure Taylor Swift fans that the pop star’s Sydney concerts will go ahead next weekend, amid an asbestos scare at the precinct where she is due to perform.

On Friday, the day after a special taskforce was launched to aid investigations into sites where mulch containing asbestos may be present, authorities have conducted testing at a location at Sydney Olympic Park, where Swift is set to perform to about 300,000 fans over four days of concerts as part of her Australian tour.

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Australia news live: Dutton says reports of WA boat arrival ‘disturbing’; Barnaby Joyce denies drinking problem

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Opposition leader calls on home affairs minister Clare O’Neil to provide explanation on whether government has ‘lost control’ of borders. Follow the day’s news live

About 400 requests for assistance remaining in Victoria, SES says

The Victorian state emergency service says there are about 400 active requests for assistance remaining, after the extreme weather earlier this week.

We’re making good progress restoring services following the severe storms in Victoria, with more than 90% of our mobile sites now back online.

Many of our network sites have back up power that kept services running after the storms hit, but that back-up power may not last during extended power outages.

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