Category Archives: New South Wales

Australia news live: Natasha Fyles resigns as Northern Territory chief minister; PM to visit north Queensland flood zones on Thursday

Posted on by

Follow the latest updates live

Communities urged to exercise caution amid ‘huge volumes of water’

QFES commissioner Steve Smith has also made some comments on the flood situation up in Queensland.

There’s still huge volumes of water moving down through the systems, so at different points on the water, in the water catchments, they’re going to have rises. So we need people to stay informed, and they’ve done a great job in doing that. So we want that to continue with the support from community.

No. So we have commenced a search and rescue investigation into that. Degarra was one of the communities we couldn’t get into yesterday, but we have been speaking to a local man where there were a number of rescues completed yesterday in Degarra. So we have dispatched the water police vessel this morning, which left in the early hours of this morning and is on the way to that location. And in addition to that, we’ve now got rescue helicopters going that way as well.

Continue reading...

NSW bushfires: more than 60 blazes burning including out-of-control fire in Pilliga

Posted on by

Duck Creek fire in the Pilliga forest burning out of control 20km south of Narrabri, while more bushfires hit Sydney and Hunter regions

Firefighters are tackling more than 60 blazes across New South Wales, including a giant out-of-control bushfire in the Pilliga forest in the state’s north-west that has been fuelling dangerous fire-generated thunderstorms.

The blaze at Duck Creek in the Pilliga forest was burning about 20km south of the town of Narrabri – home to more than 12,000 people – and a similar distance from Boggabri to the east on Tuesday morning.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

2023 the deadliest year on Australia’s roads in more than half a decade, data shows

Posted on by

Peak motoring body demands end to governments’ data secrecy as road death toll reaches 1,253

This year was the deadliest on Australia’s roads in five and a half years, with the road death toll reaching 1,253 – the highest since 1,270 people were killed in the 12 months to March 2018, according to the nation’s peak motoring body.

Upon releasing the data, the Australian Automobile Association accused governments of kicking road safety “down the road” after federal, state and territory transport ministers met a fortnight ago to discuss their next five-year partnership on road infrastructure projects but failed to make progress on data transparency when it comes to road deaths.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Pro-Palestine rally leaders credit public ‘pressure’ with Labor’s shift on Gaza

Posted on by

Change of heart on ceasefire shows ‘collective action is working’, Sydney protest speaker says

Speakers at Sydney’s pro-Palestine rally have said public outcry against the war in Gaza has pushed the Albanese government to shift its position and back calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, while criticising Labor for not calling for a permanent end to the conflict.

On Wednesday Australia joined 152 other nations in voting in favour of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in an emergency session of the United Nations general assembly. The move followed Australia’s decision in late October to abstain from casting a vote on a similar motion.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea, Farrell says – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs prevented from reaching Australia

Australian federal police and international law enforcement partners have prevented up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs from reaching Australia throughout the past financial year.

The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 29 tonnes of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement.

On average, close to 12,000 Australians are hospitalised from methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin use every 12 months.

Continue reading...

Pain, trauma and ‘moral injury’: the push to improve birthing care in NSW hospitals

Posted on by

A public hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in Wagga Wagga this week heard calls to overhaul pregnancy and maternal healthcare services

When Samantha gave birth to her daughter in 2022, she was told by medical staff that being in “excruciating pain” was normal.

They were discharged two days after the birth. It wasn’t until a community midwife told her the severe bruising on her buttocks was not normal that Samantha, who asked that her full name not be used, presented to the hospital again. Examinations and an ultrasound revealed she had suffered a haematoma and a third-degree perineal tear that had been improperly repaired. For months afterwards she struggled with symptoms resulting from her injuries, forcing her to spend thousands of dollars with private specialists.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

Sydney to hit 34C as heatwave blankets eastern NSW and southern Queensland

Posted on by

NSW Ambulance expects 10% uptick in calls and Bureau of Meteorology warns of the chance of destructive afternoon storms

Large parts of New South Wales and southern Queensland are experiencing a heatwave, with extreme risk of fires around Sydney, health warnings for the effects of prolonged heat and the chance of destructive storms.

Temperatures in Sydney are forecast to hit 34C on Saturday, but further west it will be hotter still, with Penrith set for 36C and Richmond 36C, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW’s cashless gambling trial expands to include nearly 4,500 poker machines

Posted on by

Program to start in 2024 with nine times more pokies than initially planned by Labor

Almost 4,500 poker machines across 24 local government areas will be included in the New South Wales government’s cashless gambling trial to begin early next year.

The expanded trial will take place across 28 clubs of varying sizes, with advocates hoping it leads to universal cashless gaming in NSW, after both major parties put forward gambling reform plans at the March election.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Kathleen Folbigg should receive biggest compensation payout in Australian history, legal experts say

Posted on by

Folbigg to seek NSW government compensation payout ‘bigger than any substantial payment’ ever made, lawyer says

Kathleen Folbigg should receive the biggest compensation payout in Australian history after being acquitted of killing her four children, according to legal experts who say no other wrongful conviction has caused as much harm.

Folbigg’s legal team confirmed they would seek a payout from the New South Wales government after the state’s court of criminal appeal on Thursday ruled her convictions should be overturned.

Continue reading...

‘I never expected to do this well’: top performing NSW students celebrate high-flying Atars

Posted on by

Students across the state take to social media to share reactions to top marks while premier says results are ‘just a step on your journey’

When Charlie Ashton and his mates plugged his HSC marks into an Atar calculator, he assumed it was broken. There was no way he’d scored a near-perfect 99.90.

But there’d been no mistake. “I was pretty surprised,” said the student from Sydney private school Shore.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

More than 520 NSW taxi drivers disciplined in six months for overcharging or refusing to use their meter

Posted on by

Exclusive: Freedom of information documents reveal which cab companies have received most complaints, with one getting more than 300 in six months

More than 520 taxi drivers in New South Wales have been disciplined for refusing to use their meters or overcharging, with authorities progressing more than 300 cases against just one operator in six months.

As the NSW taxi watchdog warns of an expected uptick in rogue behaviour from new taxi drivers entering the workforce, Guardian Australia can reveal the new taxi fare hotline has been flooded with hundreds of complaints in its first six months.

Continue reading...

Tropical Cyclone Jasper live update tracker: category 2 storm hits North Qld, more than 14,000 homes lose power, BoM radar track map – latest

Posted on by

BoM tracker map shows forecast path of category 2 cyclone will hit north of Cairns and Port Douglas on the Queensland coast at about 1pm with heavy rain, 140km/h winds and storm surge predicted. Follow the latest Australia news and weather updates today

Ceasefire ‘can’t be one-sided’

Emergency management minister Murray Watt is also speaking to ABC RN this morning, and was asked about the PM’s joint letter with his New Zealand and Canadian counterparts urging a ceasefire.

[It] shows that we want to work with like-minded countries towards what would be a just and enduring peace. I think the whole world has been pleased to see the release of hostages and the pause in hostilities that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, but what we need to do is move towards a sustainable ceasefire …

I think everyone who watches this conflict unfolds on their television screens, is really disturbed about the loss of life that we’re seeing go on at the moment.

I think that’s the value that a country like Australia can play here by really taking that even-handed approach that does call out the abhorrent behaviour by Hamas, but also as a friend of Israel, calls on them to respect international humanitarian law.

We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.

Continue reading...

Firefighter dies while responding to Grose Vale house fire in Sydney’s north-west

Posted on by

The NSW premier has paid tribute to a firefighter who was killed after the house he was in collapsed

A firefighter has died after he collapsed while responding to a house engulfed in flames in Sydney’s north-west.

The 51-year-old man was among the first crews to arrive at the house at Grose Vale, west of Richmond, just before 8am on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Sex crimes squad informed of 2017 complaint against Alan Jones

Posted on by

Jones strongly denies allegations as NSW police confirm there is no current investigation into Jones but say sex crimes squad will try to contact complainant this week

New South Wales police say they will this week try to speak to a person who made a complaint about Alan Jones to officers in 2017, after the police commissioner, Karen Webb, said last week that no complaints had been made about the broadcaster.

She made the comments during a press conference on Friday after allegations of indecent assault were published in the Sydney Morning Herald the day before. Jones has strongly denied the allegations and has threatened legal action.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Protocols protecting young people’s right to silence ‘forgotten’ by NSW police, watchdog finds

Posted on by

Officers interviewed people who wished to remain silent despite court judgments finding practice was improper, law enforcement commission says

New South Wales police officers have been interviewing young people in custody in a way that compromises their right to silence, with a report by the state’s law enforcement watchdog finding it is a “systemic problem”.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) found that NSW police had also failed to act with any urgency to prevent officers interviewing vulnerable people, including Aboriginal people and young people, after they had received legal advice and said that they did not wish to be interviewed.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Record-breaking heatwave eases as two months’ worth of rain soaks parts of South Australia

Posted on by

Southerly buster sweeps up the NSW coast bringing thunderstorms and dropping temperatures by up to 10C

Parts of South Australia have received more than two months of rainfall in under 24 hours, as a record-breaking heatwave begins to ease across most of New South Wales.

SA’s state emergency service has warned of potential localised flooding with the heaviest rainfall expected on the Eyre Peninsula, the west coast, and the north-west pastoral districts.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Foreign investors who snap up Australian homes to face higher taxes

Posted on by

Fees for foreign investors who leave properties vacant will double and taxes will triple for those who buy existing houses

Foreign investors in Australia will face higher fees and steeper penalties for buying existing homes and leaving them empty as the government aims to address housing affordability.

The federal government on Sunday announced new rules tripling taxes for foreigners who buy existing houses in Australia and a doubling in fees for those who leave dwellings vacant.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Heatwave, fire, flood and cyclone: Sydney temperatures peak at 43C amid wild weather across Australia

Posted on by

As NSW sweltered in heatwave conditions, Cyclone Jasper bore down on Queensland and Adelaide expected close to 50mm of rain

Temperatures in New South Wales soared above 43C on Saturday and bushfires burned across the state, as Cyclone Jasper loomed off the coast of Queensland.

The temperature at Sydney airport and Badgerys Creek reached 43C at 1pm, while the mercury at Sydney Olympic Park peaked at 42.5C at 3pm and Penrith was sitting on 42.9C at 4pm.

Continue reading...

Two people charged after abducting two-year-old boy from Coffs Harbour

Posted on by

Toddler later found almost 300km away in Tenterfield after police issued an amber alert

Two people, a woman and a man, have been charged with the alleged abduction of a toddler on the far north coast of New South Wales.

An amber alert was issued late on Friday after a 61-year-old woman was allegedly injured outside an office in Coffs Harbour, and the two-year-old boy taken away by the man.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sydney bakes in 43C temperatures and heatwave conditions; southerly change expected from 6pm – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

‘Climate change a threat to people’s health as well as to our environment,’ Albanese says amid heatwave

Speaking at a press conference in Sydney, prime minister Anthony Albanese said the current heatwave is “a reminder that there just might be something in this climate change stuff”.

We have experienced 2023 as the hottest year on record. We continue to break these records, and that’s why my government’s determined to act on climate change.

Today, with the high heat levels, I do say that it’s a time to ensure that we look after each other and stay safe.

We need to have our migration levels brought to a sustainable level and we will be releasing details of that this week.

Continue reading...