Category Archives: New South Wales

Threat of another cyclone looms for Queensland as heavy rain continues across Australia’s north

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Damaging weather and heavy rain pummels Darwin as BoM forecasts another cyclone could cross Queensland’s east coast from Tuesday

Queensland residents face the threat of another cyclone reaching their shores within days as intense rain continues across Australia’s north.

A tropical low building in the Coral Sea is expected to turn towards the coast from Sunday, with the system most likely becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday.

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Maths teacher allegedly groomed teenage student at elite Sydney high school before having sex with her, jury told

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Court told teacher formed close relationship with student’s mother and took student out for dinner

A mathematics teacher at an elite Sydney high school started grooming a teenage girl almost immediately after meeting the student, a jury has heard.

The teacher, who cannot be legally identified, is on trial in the Downing Centre district court for alleged unlawful sexual activity with the student who turned 17 years old in 1984. The teacher has pleaded not guilty to one charge of carnal knowledge.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

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Explanation for asbestos in mulch at Sydney’s Rozelle parklands will ‘come out in due course’, supplier says

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Exclusive: Greenlife Resource Recovery co-director says company is cooperating with environmental watchdog’s garden mulch investigation

The construction boss who runs the company that supplied garden mulch containing asbestos to Sydney’s Rozelle parklands says an explanation for the contamination will “come out in due course” as the environmental watchdog continues its investigation.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) was on Monday analysing samples from in and around Rozelle parklands after testing found bonded asbestos in 14 locations in mulch provided by Greenlife Resource Recovery.

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Elderly man released on bail after alleged assault on 87-year-old woman in Sydney aged care home

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William John Newbold, 80, was arrested on Friday and charged with aggravated sexual assault

An 80-year-old man charged with sexually assaulting an 87-year-old woman in a Sydney aged care home has been released on bail.

William John Newbold was arrested on Friday and initially refused bail.

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Seven rescued from capsized boat near Lady Elliot Island as monsoon brings flooding to north Queensland

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Boat occupants on a surfing trip found clinging to the hull as more than 110mm of rain falls over the outskirts of Cairns in 24 hours

Seven seafarers are lucky to be alive after their boat capsized in rough seas as monsoonal weather brought flooding to rivers across Queensland.

Heavy rain persisted across the state’s drenched far north on Sunday as towns near the Victorian-New South Wales border faced their own flooding concerns.

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‘I was livid’: Sydney single mother pressured by landlord to leave rental just nine months into lease

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Fiona was told that the landlord needed to move into the flat, which was then relisted for $300 more a week when Fiona moved out

A Sydney landlord put pressure on a single mother to leave her rental home after just nine months, eventually relisting the property at $300 more a week when the tenant’s lease expired.

Fiona*, who has two children, last year rented a two-bedroom apartment in Arncliffe for $690 a week through agency Century 21.

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NSW police fail to deliver mental health crisis review amid scrutiny over latest shooting death

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Exclusive: Review ordered by police commissioner Karen Webb after string of fatalities last year is more than two months overdue

New South Wales police have failed to hand a promised review of the way they respond to mental health crises to the government, as pressure again mounts on the force to enact reforms after the fatal shooting of a mentally unwell man.

Alexander Stuart Pinnock died on Wednesday after being shot at by multiple officers outside a medical clinic in Nowra on the south coast following an almost two-hour standoff that began when the 34-year-old pulled out a gun, police said.

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Elderly man charged with sexual assault of 87-year-old woman at Sydney aged care home

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The accused, 80, has been refused bail and will appear in Parramatta local court

An elderly man will face court accused of sexually assaulting an 87-year-old woman at a Sydney aged care home.

Police were called to the facility in the city’s north-west on Friday after reports a resident had been attacked.

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News live: NSW issues Covid warning with cases at 12-month high; PM has ‘imperfect’ advice that no Australians caught in PNG violence

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Anthony Albanese says no requests for aid or reports of any Australians there caught up in Port Moreseby unrest. Follow the day’s news live

Government fences off Rozelle Parklands after asbestos discovery

As Catie McLeod reported yesterday, the finding of some asbestos in playground mulch in new parklands in Sydney’s Rozelle triggered a closure of those areas just a couple of weeks after they had been opened:

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Man may face prosecution for allegedly spearfishing three blue groper on NSW south coast

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The fish deaths on Plantation Point near Jervis Bay come less than a week after another man was caught spearing a blue groper at Cronulla

A man is under investigation by New South Wales state officials after he was allegedly caught illegally spearfishing three blue groper in an incident that has prompted calls for tougher penalties.

The man had been interviewed and was being assessed for prosecution by senior fisheries compliance officials after he allegedly killed two female groper and one male groper on Plantation Point near Jervis Bay on the south coast on 5 January.

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Mulch containing asbestos found at Rozelle parklands may have been used at other Sydney sites

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Testing reveals ‘low-risk’ contamination in samples taken from mulch near Rozelle playground, Transport for NSW says

An expansive park built above Rozelle’s multibillion-dollar spaghetti junction interchange has been closed after asbestos was found in garden mulch around a children’s playground – with the contractor involved confirming the mulch was also used elsewhere in Sydney.

An urgent audit was under way to determine what other sites could be affected by what the premier, Chris Minns, described as “a toxic substance”.

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Australian police renew search for wanted man in Greece before statute of limitations runs out

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James Dalamangas was allegedly involved in the death of George Giannopoulos in a Sydney nightclub in 1999

Australian police are issuing a global plea to locate one of the country’s most wanted men who they say fled to Greece after allegedly stabbing a man to death in a Sydney nightclub 25 years ago.

James Dalamangas is wanted over his alleged involvement in the murder of George Giannopoulos in Belmore, in Sydney’s south-west, in April 1999.

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Labor ‘not giving up’ on republic push – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Liberal senate leader and shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham says a reported bomb threat against a person flying the Palestinian flag in Botany “has no place in our nation”.

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

Australia is a democratic nation of free speech. Whether driven by disagreement, intolerance or Islamophobia this act has no place in our nation.

Whatever anyone’s views about flying the Palestinian flag at this time, this is illegal and reprehensible behaviour to be condemned.

ENOUGH! TAKE DOWN FLAG! ONE CHANCE!!!

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Victoria weather: warnings of further rain amid evacuations and dozens of flood rescues

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Parts of Seymour and Yea subject to evacuation orders as BoM forecasts more intense rain and wild weather

Residents in north-eastern Victoria are bracing for further flooding in the coming days, after heavy rainfall inundated the state and forced two towns to evacuate.

An evacuation order was issued for parts of the Goulburn Valley town of Seymour, in central Victoria, shortly before noon on Monday, before similar orders were put in place for sections of nearby Yea.

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Homemade bomb planted on car at Sydney home flying Palestinian flag

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Explosive device made of jerry can, rags, disposable lighter and large bolts found on bonnet of vehicle in suburb of Botany

Bomb squad officers have been called to a south Sydney home after an improvised explosive device was planted on the car of its pro-Palestinian residents.

The homemade device that appeared to be made of a jerry can with rags stuffed into it, a disposable lighter and large bolts was found on the vehicle’s bonnet in Botany on Friday afternoon.

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Hundreds call for help in Victoria and SA amid heavy rain and severe storms

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‘The amount of moisture across Victoria at the moment is incredible,’ the Bureau of Meteorology says

Hundreds of people across Victoria and South Australia have called for help after heavy rain and severe storms lashed the two states.

Residents in Victoria’s north and north-east were warned to expect rainfall totals up to 200mm when thunderstorms sweep across the state on Sunday and Monday.

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Unit owners in Sydney’s Mascot Towers offered chance to wipe debts years after defects found

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Deal suggested by NSW building commissioner comes after residents were forced to evacuate in 2019

Owners of apartments in Sydney’s Mascot Towers may reach a potential settlement to clear massive debts for the first time since being forced to evacuate their units due to defects.

The New South Wales building commissioner, David Chandler, has offered a lifeline to residents of the buildings, in the city’s inner-south, who have been faced with significant repair bills since cracks were discovered in the basement in 2019.

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Sleeper services may return on Sydney-Melbourne route after new trains arrive, as night patronage booms

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Exclusive: NSW government says it is open to all options even though new rolling stock, now due in 2026, will have reclining seats only

The permanent withdrawal of sleeper carriages on Sydney-Melbourne trains may be averted after new rolling stock enters service, thanks to the increasing popularity of intercity rail.

New Spanish-built trains ordered by the previous Coalition government were initially meant to enter service in January 2023, but are now not expected to be running before April 2026. As yet, there is no firm arrival date.

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Man charged over alleged New Year’s Eve sexual assault of NSW aged care resident

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Woman in 70s taken to hospital after kicking accused in groin and scratching his face during attack in Coffs Harbour nursing home, police say

A man has been charged with breaking into an aged care home and allegedly assaulting an elderly woman on New Year’s Eve on the New South Wales north coast.

Emergency services were called to an aged care home in Coffs Harbour at about 2.30am on Monday after reports a woman aged in her 70s had been sexually assaulted, NSW police said on Friday.

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Authorities investigate cause of fire at Sydney e-bike workshop

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Blaze broke out at Croydon building Friday morning, with firefighters highlighting risks from lithium batteries

An e-bike workshop has been destroyed in an early morning fire in Sydney’s inner west, causing road closures along the suburb’s shopping strip.

Residents were woken just before 5am on Friday after the fire broke out at the building on Elizabeth Street in Croydon.

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