Category Archives: New South Wales

War crime accused seeks bail change to fly across Australia

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Oliver Jordan Schulz, who is accused of murder over the shooting of a young Afghan, applied for his bail conditions to be loosened

A former SAS soldier and accused war criminal requires assessment by police checking in on him while on bail because his military training presents a physical danger, a court has heard.

Oliver Jordan Schulz, 42, is expected to be able to fly to Perth to visit his lawyers after a bail variation hearing at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Monday.

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NSW watchdog failed to act on contamination risk despite ‘damning’ asbestos findings

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Exclusive: environmental regulator has known for more than a decade that contaminated soil fill might have been used in childcare centres, schools and parks

The New South Wales environmental regulator has known for more than a decade that producers of soil fill made from construction and demolition waste were failing to comply with rules to limit the spread of contaminants such as lead and asbestos into the community.

Internal documents from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), obtained by Guardian Australia, warned widespread breaches by industry meant potentially contaminated product might have been applied to land across the state, including at childcare centres, residential areas, schools and parks.

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Billionaire Sydney property developer and philanthropist Lang Walker dies aged 78

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Family pays tribute to ‘visionary’ who ‘changed the lives of so many people’ through his building projects and donations

Billionaire Sydney property developer Lang Walker AO has died, aged 78.

In a statement released on Sunday, his family hailed Walker as a “devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather” and “visionary” who shaped postwar Australia with his expansive builds.

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NSW premier warns ‘pathetic’ neo-Nazis they will be exposed after attempted rally in Sydney park

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Gathering of at least 20 black-clad, masked men at Artarmon Reserve follows confrontation with police resulting in six arrests on Friday

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has doubled down on his push to tighten anti-vilification laws after a group of neo-Nazis attempted to hold another rally in a public park on Sunday morning.

Police responded to the gathering of at least 20 black-clad, masked men who gathered at Artarmon Reserve at 9am on Sunday.

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Menindee fish kills: inconsistent pesticide levels sparks calls for review of water testing methods

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Experts call for review after two sets of water samples from the Darling-Baaka River reported by the state’s top scientific bodies contained different results

Experts are calling for more sensitive water quality testing in the Darling-Baaka River amid concerns that pesticides could be contributing to poor conditions, blue-green algae blooms and fish deaths.

It follows two of the state’s top scientific bodies publishing test results from water samples taken near Menindee in far western New South Wales which contained inconsistent results.

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Albanese condemns actions of balaclava-clad neo-Nazis arrested by police after swarming Sydney train

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Six members of the neo-Nazi group were arrested after dozens of men wearing black hoods and brandishing Australian flags were stopped at North Sydney station

Anthony Albanese has condemned the actions of a group of neo-Nazis, who wore black balaclavas while brandishing Australian flags when they swarmed a Sydney train on Friday, as “shocking” and having “no role in Australia”

The group of about 60 hooded men were seen at Artarmon station just before midday on Friday.

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Thousands rally in solidarity on Invasion Day in Melbourne, Sydney; AFL clubs call for 26 January date change – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Australian and Aboriginal flags raised during Canberra ceremony

Following the welcome to country, the flag-raising ceremony has begun, with six flags raised including two Australian flags, two Aboriginal flags and two Torres Strait Islander flags.

Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, 65,000 years of uninterrupted heritage, demonstrated by the unique archeological evidence found in the very ground that you may are sitting on, found in the rocks and stones of this very place. That makes this continent unique in the whole world.

Ngunnawal’s view of heritage transcends time, it is our way of being with nature, best expressed in the Ngunnawal language through the concepts of respect and deep honour, coming together in the wellbeing for all.

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Penrith council closes park over concern mulch could contain asbestsos

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Asbestos-like fragments found at newly-opened Regatta Park in Emu Plains sent for urgent testing, Penrith city council says

Penrith council has closed part of a park in western Sydney over fears it could contain asbestos-contaminated garden mulch from the same company that supplied the product used at Rozelle parklands.

Penrith city council says the newly opened Regatta Park at Emu Plains in the city’s west was partly closed after a review to determine if any mulch used by the council was provided by Greenlife Resource Recovery.

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Teenage girl dies after two boats collide at Sydney’s Grays Point

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Boating crash comes as at least 12 people are rescued from rips across beaches in three separate incidents on the NSW south coast

A teenage girl has died in hospital after being pulled from the water following a boating accident in southern Sydney.

The 16-year-old was rushed to St George Hospital after two boats collided at Grays Point in a horror start to the 26 January long weekend.

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Amelia the most popular girls’ baby name in Victoria as Oliver tops boys’ list for tenth year in a row

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Traditional options standing the test of time in top 20 popular baby names for 2023

Names that have stood the test of time have prevailed again in the ranks of the most popular baby names in Victoria, with Amelia rising to be the most popular name for girls in 2023, and Oliver retaining the crown for boys for the tenth year in a row.

The name Amelia knocked Charlotte to second most popular after it held the title in recent years. It was followed by Olivia, Mia, and Isla, while new entrants to the top 20 most popular girls’ names were Harper, Evelyn and Sienna.

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Australian of the Year 2024: pioneering melanoma researchers Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer named as winners

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The scientists are credited with saving thousands of lives with their work on skin cancer and called on advertising to stop ‘glamourising’ tanning

One of the pioneering melanoma researchers named Australian of the Year gave has given an emotionally charged speech about his own devastating cancer diagnosis and told the audience “I don’t want to die”.

Prof Richard Scolyer and his research partner Prof Georgina Long – who were presented with the Australian of the Year 2024 in Canberra on Thursday night – are credited with saving the lives of thousands of Australians whose diagnoses of skin cancer would once have proven fatal but are now largely curable.

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NSW government funds investigations into possible clandestine burials at three Stolen Generations sites

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Search widens beyond Kinchela boys’ home to include Cootamundra girls’ home and Bomaderry infants’ home

The New South Wales government is funding investigations into possible clandestine burials at three Stolen Generations institutions, confirming that the search has widened beyond the notorious Kinchela boys’ home, where multiple sites of possible clandestine burials were discovered last year.

In September, Guardian Australia revealed there are at least nine “suspicious” sites of possible graves on the grounds of Kinchela Aboriginal Boys’ Training Home, one of the most violent and abusive institutions of the Stolen Generations era.

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Asbestos found in mulch at new sites across Sydney following earlier Rozelle parklands discovery

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Hazardous material found in mulch at railway substations in Dulwich Hill, Canterbury and Campsie and alongside Prospect Highway, authorities say

Asbestos has been found in garden mulch at new locations in Sydney’s inner-west and west after the discovery of contamination at the Rozelle parklands earlier this month prompted wider testing.

The Transport for NSW (TfNSW) secretary, Josh Murray, confirmed on Wednesday that asbestos had been detected in recycled mulch used at three railway electricity substations as well as in landscaping works along a highway.

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‘Disturbing’ findings of NSW evacuation centre violence and sexual assaults triggers safety protocols review

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University of Newcastle research has found some women in emergency shelters during the devastating Lismore floods reported sexual assaults and violence

Safety protocols at mass evacuation centres will be investigated after researchers found women had been subjected to violence and sexual assaults in the immediate aftermath of the devastating northern rivers floods of 2022.

The review by the Department of Communities and Justice and the New South Wales police is slated to begin later this year and will consider the role of police officers and triaging, as recommended by University of Newcastle researchers.

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Kurtley Beale trial: jury to be shown CCTV footage of Wallabies star allegedly groping woman

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Rugby union player pleads not guilty and denies groping and sexually assaulting the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at Bondi Beach venue in 2022

Footage showing the Wallabies star Kurtley Beale allegedly groping a woman at a pub before sexually assaulting her in a bathroom will be played to a jury as he fights the accusations.

More than an hour of recorded CCTV from the Beach Road Hotel near Bondi beach is expected to be played to the New South Wales district court jury hearing the case on Tuesday.

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Disgraced NSW detective Roger ‘The Dodger’ Rogerson dies in jail aged 83

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Former police officer was serving a life sentence for the 2014 murder of Sydney drug dealer Jamie Gao

Disgraced former New South Wales police officer Roger Rogerson has died in hospital aged 83.

Known as “The Dodger”, the controversial and charismatic tough cop turned killer was moved from Long Bay prison to Sydney’s Prince of Wales hospital last Thursday where he was receiving end-of-life care.

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Police hunt for attacker after taxi driver and food delivery driver stabbed in Sydney suburb

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According to a police spokesperson the same man was involved in both the attacks in Redfern

A 38-year-old taxi driver and a 25-year-old food delivery driver were stabbed in two separate incidents in a Sydney suburb, with police now appealing to the public for information.

Emergency services were called to the intersection of Walker and James streets in Redfern before 11pm, where they found a 38-year-old taxi driver with injuries to his chest and hand.

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‘We’ll do better’: NSW transport boss apologises for missed email on Rozelle parklands asbestos

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‘It was unfortunate this discovery was over a holiday period,’ Howard Collins says while warning of further traffic delays at Rozelle interchange

The head of Transport for New South Wales has admitted it wasn’t good enough that it took a week for the department to respond to reports of potential asbestos in mulch at the Rozelle parklands.

The TfNSW coordinator general, Howard Collins, said the department was “so grateful” to the member of the public who alerted the agency to the asbestos contamination on 2 January.

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Former Sydney teacher didn’t begin relationship with student until after she left school, court told

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Maths teacher claims student made ‘constant calls’ to family home and says they tried to ‘put a stop to it’

A former elite Sydney high school teacher accused of unlawful sexual activity with a student didn’t start a relationship with her until the girl actively pursued the teacher after she left the school, a court has heard.

The mathematics teacher, who cannot legally be named, is on trial at Downing centre court for allegedly forming a sexual relationship with a minor after she became their pupil in 1984. The teacher has pleaded not guilty to one charge of carnal knowledge.

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Concerns a Sydney apartment complex is at risk of collapse downplayed by NSW watchdog and planning minister

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Building commissioner says he is confident defects at 900-apartment complex in Macquarie Park ‘will be rectified’, while minister says faults don’t pose a risk

The New South Wales building watchdog and the state’s planning minister have downplayed concerns over 900 apartments in Sydney’s north that were at risk of collapse after defects were discovered in the basements of the buildings.

The building commissioner, David Chandler, on Thursday said he was distressed that people who lived in the Macquarie Park building had been stressed by the news and he moved to assure the public there was “no risk to this building”.

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