Category Archives: New South Wales

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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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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