Category Archives: New South Wales

Transurban hits back at claim it is ‘hiding in the shadows’ amid commuter anger over Sydney’s $3.9bn Rozelle interchange

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Exclusive: Private tolling giant defends itself against Inner West mayor’s accusation it is ‘staying stubbornly silent’ as road users vent frustration

Private tolling behemoth Transurban has spoken out amid community anger over the bungled opening of Sydney’s $3.9bn Rozelle interchange as it finds itself in a stoush with the Inner West council mayor over who should fix the mess.

Transurban used its first public comments since the “spaghetti junction” opened on 19 November to defend its conduct in the wake of widespread commuter frustration, particularly among people who live on the Balmain peninsula.

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Inquiry reviews convictions of ‘Croatian Six’ over 1979 Sydney bomb plot

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Judicial inquiry reviewing convictions of group jailed in 1981 over alleged terror plot to blow up Sydney targets

The testimony of a key witness and actions of a corrupt New South Wales police officer will be probed during an inquiry into the 1981 terror plot convictions of a group known as the ‘Croatian Six’.

The judicial inquiry, which began on Monday, will examine the possibility that Crown witness Vico Virkez may have been working for Yugoslavian intelligence services.

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William Tyrrell’s foster father argues ‘lawful’ force used on another child as punishment, NSW court hears

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Foster parents of missing William Tyrrell facing court on assault and intimidation charges of another child who was in their care

William Tyrrell’s foster father rejects claims he grabbed a child by the neck as his lawyers argue he applied medium force to push the youngster down as they tried to get out of a timeout.

The 56-year-old foster father and 58-year-old foster mother returned to Parramatta local court on Monday.

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Vacant property taxes, levies and caps on the table as NSW Labor reviews Airbnbs and short-term rentals

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Exclusive: Minns government to place every aspect of housing ‘under the microscope’ as it confronts rental crisis

Vacant property taxes, levies and annual caps will be considered when the New South Wales government reviews regulation of short-term rentals including Airbnbs over the next six months.

The housing minister, Rose Jackson, who will lead the review, hoped to find ways to move some holiday rentals and unoccupied properties on to the longer-term rental market as the Minns government confronts the state’s chronic housing crisis.

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‘A tsunami of traffic chaos’: the new Sydney motorway prompting calls for a royal commission

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Top expert says bungled opening of Rozelle interchange is bad enough to warrant a formal inquiry into the $20bn WestConnex project

Sydneysiders had been promised “nirvana” would be delivered by the $20bn WestConnex motorway so they are rightly bemused – if not bitter – about how they seem to have ended up in the other place.

The bungled opening of the final stage of WestConnex, the Rozelle interchange, is bad enough that veteran transport experts such as Michelle Zeibots at the University of Technology Sydney say only a royal commission can open the lid on how such debacles can happen.

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Peter V’Landys accuses politicians of ‘outright lies’ as plan to extend Racing NSW chair Russell Balding’s tenure fails

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Racing body will need to scramble to replace chair after Coalition and crossbench team up to try to strengthen oversight

The Racing NSW chief executive, Peter V’Landys, has accused politicians of spreading “outright lies” and “mainly wrong diatribes” during the parliamentary debate that ultimately resulted in the loss of his chairman.

One of the most powerful men in Australian sport, V’Landys is overseen by the Racing NSW board. He has held the position of chief executive for nearly 20 years, 12 of those with Russell Balding as chair.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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East coast weather: rain, thunderstorm and flood warnings for NSW, Queensland and Victoria

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Flood rescues launched in NSW as Bureau of Meteorology warns of thunderstorm risk for ‘most of the east coast’ on Wednesday

Multiple people have been rescued from flood waters in New South Wales as rain falls across large parts of Australia, with thunderstorms expected along most of the east coast on Wednesday.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) conducted two flood rescues on Wednesday morning, rescuing two people from their car at South Nowra and another group from a home at St Georges Basin, near Jervis Bay.

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Clare Nowland: charges upgraded to manslaughter for NSW police officer accused of Tasering 95-year-old

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Sr Const Kristian White, 33, was previously charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and common assault

The New South Wales police officer accused of Tasering 95-year-old Clare Nowland who later died has been charged with manslaughter after advice from the state’s director of public prosecutions.

Police announced the upgraded charges for Sr Const Kristian White on Wednesday morning.

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Contaminated saline products recalled over hospital bacterial outbreak linked to Queensland death

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Source of Ralstonia outbreak under investigation with 43 suspected cases across Australia

A bacterial outbreak in hospitals around the nation has been linked to more than 40 people, including an elderly patient who died in Queensland.

Australia’s medical watchdog has issued a quarantine notice for saline products which appear to be contaminated with Ralstonia – a form of bacteria normally found in soil and water.

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‘De facto wages cap by stealth’: NSW Greens seek to change Labor’s workplace bill

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New law would restore sweeping powers to the Industrial Relations Commission, including giving it the ability to act like a court

The New South Wales government has been accused of imposing a “de facto wages cap by stealth” as it seeks to rush through industrial relations legislation during parliament’s final sitting week of the year.

Labor’s plan would restore sweeping powers to the Industrial Relations Commission, including the ability to act like a court, which the former Coalition government removed in 2011.

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Newcastle port: more than 80 arrested after climate protesters continue blockade past agreed deadline

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Groups of protesters took turns paddling out into Port of Newcastle’s shipping lane to maintain a 30-hour blockage

New South Wales police have made more than 80 arrests in Newcastle after protesters blocked a major coal port beyond an agreed deadline.

In a statement Sunday, NSW police said they would allege in court that protesters had entered the harbour channel at the Port of Newcastle after the 30-hour blockage was due to finish “despite appropriate warnings and directions”.

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Climate protesters arrested at Port of Newcastle blockade – as it happened

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‘The biggest transformation in our country’s history’

Chris Bowen has been talking about Labor’s plans for reducing emissions, but he’s pressed on the fact that the government has been approving new coalmines and gas projects, which add to global emissions.

The way I see this, David, you can enter into a discussion with your international counterparts which we are doing which is us saying to them, “We will continue to be a reliable energy supplier but we want to work with you on your decarbonisation because we have advantages that you don’t have. We can provide renewable energy.” That is an important conversation to have.

Frankly the approach of others is more a slogan than a policy. We are making the biggest transformation in our country’s history and that involves both domestic policies and strong international engagements, as I will be doing over the next couple of weeks and we have been doing all the way through.

It will be treated in the budget statement of risks and liabilities in the normal fashion. But this is the right policy for the right times to ensure emissions come down and reliability goes up.

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Moderate Dave Sharma wins NSW Liberal Senate spot after beating both Peter Dutton-endorsed candidates

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Liberal leader Peter Dutton had endorsed Andrew Constance and Zed Seselja for the seat opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation

Former Wentworth Liberal MP Dave Sharma is returning to parliament after emerging victorious in the NSW Liberal Senate race in what was largely a conservative field.

Sharma beat fellow moderate Andrew Constance, who was billed as the front runner, and hard-line conservative and former junior minister in the Morrison government, Zed Seselja, to take the seat opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation.

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‘Urgent’ calls for biosecurity funding after fire ants cross Queensland border into NSW

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Authorities working to chemically eradicate three nests after ‘one of world’s worst super pests’ found in South Murwillumbah

Authorities are rushing to contain the spread of fire ants after the invasive species crossed the Queensland border into New South Wales for the first time since the infestation began in 2001.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries confirmed on Saturday that three red imported fire ant nests had been found in South Murwillumbah, 13km from the Queensland border in the state’s north-east.

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NSW police accused of ‘killing’ music festivals by charging excessive fees

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Greens MP and Australian Festival Association say NSW force charging much more than other states to patrol equivalent events

New South Wales police have been accused of “price gouging” and operating a “rort” that threatens the viability of music festivals, by charging tens of thousands of dollars more than their counterparts in other states to patrol the events.

The Greens MP Cate Faehrmann told NSW parliament this week that a recent festival that played across three states paid $107,852 for policing for 16,000 people in NSW, but just $45,000 for 14,000 people in both Victoria and Queensland.

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Judge suggests Revenue NSW ‘not following the law’ on homeless woman Covid fine

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Exclusive: State government has admitted 33,000 Covid fines were invalid but questions remain about additional 29,000 fines issued during pandemic

A New South Wales supreme court judge considering a challenge to a $3,000 Covid fine imposed on a homeless woman has suggested the state’s fines body was “not following the law” as declared in a previous ruling that saw more than 33,000 Covid penalties scrapped.

A year ago, a decision by justice Dina Yehia prompted the state government to withdraw tens of thousands of fines after they were found to have been issued unlawfully because they did not provide enough detail about the offence.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann back in the witness box as defamation case kicks off third day

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Former Liberal staffer’s defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson continues in the federal court. Follow the day’s news live

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has said the government is yet to decide how to best consult with First Nations people after the loss of the Indigenous voice referendum.

Burney was on RN Breakfast earlier and said today’s Closing the Gap meeting, the first since the referendum, would focus on the silver linings from the loss.

What we have seen is a group of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people get involved in the political process.

We had 6 million Australians say yes. And the thing that really excited me about the outcome in places like the Tiwi Islands, where … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanted this change. And those votes are really important.

Education is the most powerful cause for good in this world, that is where you learn.

If you want to protest, do it on the weekend. School is on, we expect them to be there.

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What’s Dutton’s strategy for picking the NSW Senate spot winner? Back both frontrunners

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Leading moderate Andrew Constance is up against rightwinger Zed Seselja to fill the Liberals’ seat – but a dark horse could spoil the party

The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, wants to back a winner. Even if it means endorsing two candidates in the New South Wales Senate race.

Dutton has backed the former ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja for the spot that was opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation, with Seselja the hope of the party’s hard right.

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Friendlyjordies: NSW police hunt for crime gang after fire at YouTuber’s home

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Jordan Shanks-Markovina is being provided with police protection due to suspected gang links to fire attacks

A YouTube personality whose home was targeted in a suspected arson case is being given police protection as detectives hunt the organised criminals believed to be behind the attack.

Investigators hope CCTV footage, released on Wednesday, could spark a breakthrough as they try to find those responsible for the fire at the Bondi house of Jordan Shanks-Markovina, known online as Friendlyjordies.

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