Willyama High School at Broken Hill set to be rebuilt, education minister Prue Car says
A New South Wales school where mould has infested carpets, chairs, plasterboard and even drum kits will be demolished and rebuilt, the state’s education minister has announced.
Willyama high school at Broken Hill has been closed to students and staff since mid-January when an extensive mould outbreak was discovered by a staff member after returning from the summer break.
Continue reading...Force responds to scathing NSW law enforcement conduct commission report, dismissing four of 19 recommendations
New South Wales police have rejected calls from the state’s police watchdog for updated training and protocols for officers on the use of force, especially when handcuffing children, after a scathing report handed down last year.
In its Operation Mantus report, the NSW law enforcement conduct commission (Lecc) said the way police were trained should be changed and ongoing education provided to officers.
Continue reading...Follow the day’s news live
‘There’ll be a lot of people grieving today’
Both Barnaby Joyce and Tanya Plibersek were asked about soldier Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon.
The Fitzgibbon family are a family of honour. Jack died in service to our nation. Joel has served our nation. The family will be absolutely grieving. We hope and pray Jack is with our maker, give comfort to them. You’ve seen the Fitzgibbons, you’ve watched them on television. They’re a great family. He is also my mate. We’ll turn up and give what support we can to Jack’s family.
It’s just the worst thing that any parent can imagine and so our hearts go out to Joel and Diane and their family and the friends and comrades that Jack had in the service as well. We know there’ll be a lot of people grieving today.
Well, first of all, of course it’s not on government devices in Australia either. We’ve got a ban here in Australia on government devices. But there are 8.5 million Australians who are using it.
We’ll take the advice of our security and intelligence agencies on anything we need to do around TikTok. I think people should be careful of the data that they put online in general. Like I say, if the security and intelligence agencies give us advice on TikTok, we’ll take it.
Continue reading...Police continue to investigate suspected hit and run in Fletcher Street, Tamarama that killed 28-year-old Arnold Bloch Leibler lawyer Mitch East
A Sydney firm has paid tribute to promising young lawyer Mitch East after his death in a suspected hit-and-run incident in the city’s east.
Emergency services were called to Fletcher Street in Tamarama shortly after 4am on Sunday, when they found an injured 28-year-old man.
Continue reading...Announcement comes as motoring body says EV blazes are rare, and after four unrelated lithium battery fires recorded in a single day
Firefighters in New South Wales will need to complete compulsory training on electric vehicles amid a boom in their sales and a spate of lithium battery fires across the state.
The state recorded four lithium battery fires in a single day on Friday, with emergency services responding to blazes in Bankstown, Silverwater, Lake Macquarie and Berkeley. The deaths of two people in a house fire in Lake Macquarie in February were believed to be the first fatalities caused by a lithium battery fire.
Continue reading...Firefighters responded to blazes set off by an ebike, an EV charging station, a garden hedger and a loose battery in a garbage truck
Lithium-ion batteries sparked four fires in just one day in New South Wales this week, amid growing concern over the rise in battery-related blazes.
One man was taken to hospital and a 10-storey apartment block was evacuated after an ebike battery exploded in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west on Thursday, while firefighters also responded to blazes set off by an electric vehicle charging station in Berkeley, a garden hedger in Lake Macquarie, and a loose battery in a garbage truck passing through Silverwater.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Barwon MP and former police staffer Roy Butler says it’s wrong to assume offenders view longer sentences as a deterrent
An influential independent New South Wales MP has spoken out against new laws from the Minns government that would make it harder for young people to get bail.
The Barwon MP, Roy Butler, a former police administrator, said it was wrong to assume that young offenders would always view extended sentences as a punishment and a deterrent to antisocial behaviour.
Continue reading...Planned overhaul of Environment Protection Authority’s powers to be biggest since it began in 1991, government says
Penalties for the most serious environmental crimes would double and the New South Wales environmental watchdog would have powers to recall potentially contaminated products from consumers under major changes to environmental protection laws proposed by the Minns government.
The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government was proposing the largest set of amendments to the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA’s) powers since the regulator was established in 1991.
Continue reading...An Australian shepherd named Viking won best in show at Crufts, and the ‘extremely smart’ breed is increasingly popular for its temperament and beauty
On a property out of Tamworth in country New South Wales, the uncle of the Australian shepherd Viking – winner of the most prestigious title at the 2024 Crufts dog competition in the UK – is a champion in his own right.
Bradley, who was born in Russia to the same litter as Viking’s mother, is nine years old and a semi-retired multi-champion of dog shows overseas and in Australia.
Continue reading...William ‘Little Pebble’ Kamm and Sandra Costellia expected to be charged following six-month NSW police investigation
Cult leader William Kamm and his partner have been arrested in Sydney over allegations they groomed a 19-year-old woman for sex from the age of six.
Kamm, 73, who refers to himself as “Little Pebble”, allegedly sent the girl letters and homemade gifts and called her on the phone.
Continue reading...Extreme heat forecast to continue across Victoria, Tasmania, SA and NSW for several days, as record temperatures cause cancellation of long weekend events
Hobart residents sweated through the city’s hottest night in 112 years as a severe heatwave continues to affect large parts of south-east Australia.
Extreme heat is forecast to continue across South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales for several days, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday after record temperatures caused the cancellation of long weekend events.
Continue reading...Proceeds from sale – which is believed to be below $5 million – will be used to pay back some of the money stolen from investors
Conwoman Melissa Caddick’s luxury Sydney penthouse is finally off the market and the proceeds will be used to pay back some of the money stolen from dozens of investors, many of whom were her close friends and family.
The apartment atop the Eastpoint Tower at Edgecliff in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was listed for auction on 10 October for an estimated $5.5m.
Continue reading...Pitch music and arts festival attenders urged to delay arrival, with those already on site advised to head home
Festivalgoers at a music festival in Victoria’s Grampians have been advised to leave amid the extreme heat and fire danger, while Melbourne’s iconic Moomba Parade has been cancelled due to soaring temperatures.
Residents across four states have been experiencing stifling conditions, with high temperatures forecast over the long weekend in many parts of the country.
Continue reading...The 39-year-old has also been charged with improperly interfering with a corpse or human remains
A man has been charged with murder after the body of a 60-year-old woman was discovered in the boot of a car in northern New South Wales.
The woman’s body was found by emergency services on Friday morning after they were called to a unit in Evans Head.
Continue reading...North Melbourne’s Alastair Clarkson free to coach in round one after avoiding suspension for outburst in weekend’s trial match. This blog is now closed
Scooter rider dies in crash in Sydney
A scooter rider has died following a crash at North Ryde in Sydney this morning.
We are yet to see her beautiful eyes open, however, she has shown some really positive signs that she may be hearing her loved ones.
Continue reading...Minns government fulfils $13m election commitment following long-running community campaign to protect the area
Almost five hectares of parklands has been added to the Wolli Creek regional national park – “a patch of green ribbon” which runs through dense suburbs in Sydney’s south – in the past year.
The Minns government added the additional 4.7 hectares after a $13m election commitment to complete the park, which borders Wolli Creek and was first promised by the Carr government in 1998.
Continue reading...Exclusive: firm points to risk of asbestos contamination from other sources as it seeks to have prevention order thrown out
The landscaping materials company at the centre of the New South Wales asbestos crisis will point to the risks of contamination outside its facilities and the “unjustified impact” on its business when it argues to have an order preventing it making mulch products quashed.
Greenlife and the NSW Environment Protection Authority are expected to appear before the state’s land and environment court for a directions hearing on Friday.
Continue reading...Follow the day’s news live
NSW government urged to double social housing by 2050
Homelessness NSW is urging the state government to spend $1bn each year for a decade to double the supply of social housing by 2050.
NSW has failed to invest in social housing for decades. Last year, just one-fifth of people seeking help from homelessness services could find long-term accommodation.
Right now, many of the 57,000 households on the social housing waitlist are forced to wait up to a decade for a safe and stable place to call home.
Underfunded frontline providers are being flooded with calls for help and forced to turn away one in every two people who need accommodation. Services will be unable to keep staff on or their doors open without more funding.
Even for people who get through the door, help is limited. Half of those who need temporary or crisis accommodation cannot access it. That means women and children are forced to return to violent partners, seek shelter in a vehicle, on a couch or the street.
But there has been no improvement in closing the gap on life expectancy, with Indigenous Australian males and females expected to live 8.8 and 8.1 years respectively, less than other Australians.
The target to reduce the number of children in out of home care is not on track, while the target to reduce adult imprisonment is not on track and worsening.
Continue reading...Family members pay emotional tribute to Ricky Hampson Jr, ‘Dougie’, who died less than 24 hours after leaving Dubbo Base hospital
Family members have described an Aboriginal man who died after an incorrect diagnosis at Dubbo hospital as the “favourite” child and the “light of every celebration”.
Ricky Hampson Jr, known and referred to as “Dougie” throughout the inquest, died on 16 August 2021, less than 24 hours after leaving Dubbo Base hospital, after being “erroneously” diagnosed with a drug-related illness.
Continue reading...Sally Dowling announced audit of all sexual assault cases after judicial concern over ‘secret policies’
The New South Wales premier has backed the state’s top prosecutor after she said it was “preposterous” to suggest sexual assault cases were being run that were doomed to fail.
The director of public prosecutions (DPP), Sally Dowling SC, on Wednesday revealed all sexual assault matters currently committed for trial would be audited by senior prosecutors.
Continue reading...