NSW premier defends police conduct after dozens arrested at pro-Palestine rally in Sydney

Chris Minns says police acted ‘responsibly’ despite condemnation from civil liberties groups

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has rejected accusations police were heavy-handed when they arrested people at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Tuesday night.

NSW police arrested and charged 23 people who attended the protest at Port Botany directed at the unloading of a ship owned by Israeli company ZIM, which has supported the Israeli government in its fight with Hamas in Gaza.

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‘Grave concerns’: backlash over NSW government’s controversial push to extend racing boss’s tenure

Minns government faces legal and political fight as it attempts to pass laws to give Racing NSW chair unprecedented 14-year term

New South Wales crossbench MPs are fighting to amend controversial legislation that would extend the tenure of Racing NSW’s chairman for a third time and grant him an unprecedented 14-year term.

The Minns government is trying to rush through legislation in the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of the year to grant Russell Balding another two-year term at the helm of the powerful racing regulator’s board before his position expires on 18 December.

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BoM provides El Niño update – as it happened

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Birmingham says China ‘doesn’t appear to be acknowledging the facts’

Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham is speaking with ABC RN and is asked about sonar pulses from a Chinese warship that left one Australian naval diver injured.

The Australian navy and Australian defence force operates always with professionalism, and I’m confident that Australia’s version of events is a credible.

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Rift widens between NSW and federal Labor as Chris Minns demands state’s ‘fair share’

Ahead of national cabinet, NSW premier waits for answers from Albanese government on protest policing and infrastructure funding

Tensions between the New South Wales and federal Labor governments are rising ahead of the final planned national cabinet of the year, with the state’s premier, Chris Minns, insisting he was not “whingeing” as he demanded more funding for police and infrastructure.

Minns said the federal government had so far failed to respond to his request for help paying the bill for policing the frequent protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, or for the “disappointing” infrastructure cuts unveiled last week.

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‘Straight out of Utopia’: healthcare workers denounce $558m expansion of Albury base hospital

NSW and Victoria government documents show support for push by doctors to combine the Albury and Wodonga hospitals into one new facility – but that’s not what was announced

A $558m redevelopment of Albury Base hospital jointly proposed by the New South Wales and Victorian state governments has outraged healthcare workers and community groups, who claim both governments misled them during a years-long consultation.

“If I was going to design a system to hide the dismal plans they’ve provided us, I’d design it exactly the way they’ve done it,” says Michelle Cowan from local community group Better Border Health. “These are the oldest tricks in the book. It’s the most cynical exercise so they can say they’ve ticked the consultation box.”

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Australia news live: school strike for climate protests draw huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney; Albanese says Apec leaders ‘very interested’ in Tuvalu deal

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‘A ceasefire is where we need to get to,’ Zoe Daniel says

Asked by RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas if she supports calls for a ceasefire, Zoe Daniel says:

If you call for a ceasefire, you’re letting down the Jewish community, if you don’t you’re allowing death and destruction to happen in Gaza.

At the end of the day, if I say to you right now, yes, I support ceasefire, that will make zero difference to what is happening in in Gaza.

I’m a former foreign correspondent. I know the logistics of this, of course, a ceasefire is where we need to get to, but you have a terrorist organisation in the middle of this. If there’s just a ceasefire, and there’s no capacity there to try to dismantle Hamas, does that allow Hamas to regroup? What does that actually lead to? That said, I’ve said to you before, very clearly, and I still stick to the position that the Israeli government has to adhere to international law and the rules of war, and I think, in some ways, has not been.

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NSW Catholic school sparks four-day week debate with ‘learn from home’ Mondays for senior students

Opportunity to learn from home will ‘set students up for success’, principal of Chevalier College says

Parents at a regional Catholic college in New South Wales are welcoming a proposed change to the school week that would mean seniors spend Mondays at home.

Chevalier College, based in the southern highlands, has announced a proposal that would see students in years 10 to 12 learn and work from home on Mondays, a move the principal says would “set students up for success”.

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NSW police say they have busted ‘biggest criminal network in Australia’ with links to Lebanon

Strike Force Tromperie targeted syndicate allegedly linked to movement of $1bn through firearm, drug, tobacco and money laundering offences

Australian police say they have disrupted if not eliminated what they allege is “the biggest criminal network or enterprise in Australia” following 43 raids that resulted in 28 arrests.

A year-long investigation involving New South Wales police, the NSW Crime Commission and Australian Border Force targeted the activities of the syndicate hailing from Lebanon.

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NSW government seeks third extension of racing boss’s term as sector faces ‘challenging’ times

Animal Justice party to fight state government’s ‘absurd’ move to extend Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding’s term

The New South Wales government will seek a third extension of Russell Balding’s term as chairman of Racing NSW despite Treasury recommending two-term limits for directors of state-owned firms.

The extension will require legislation to be passed before the end of the year, with Balding’s position ending on 18 December, alongside that of the deputy chair, Saranne Cooke, who the government also wants to retain.

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Regional roads in dire state as Australian councils made to waste money on grants tribute signs: report

Grattan Institute says Australia’s regional roads are a ‘dangerous disgrace’ due to paltry federal funding

Regional Australian roads have become a “dangerous disgrace”, according to a new report that warns they will get worse due to paltry funding that favours cities and forces poorer regional councils to waste repair money erecting signs in tribute to government grants.

In a new report, the Grattan Institute has found that roads across the country have become riddled with potholes and other hazards because inadequate federal and state government funding has left councils under-resourced and without sufficient knowledge or data to maintain the roads they are responsible for.

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A dirt jumping accident left 17-year-old Fletcher Crowley a paraplegic. He’s determined to ‘prove everyone wrong’

Just nine weeks after breaking his back during a horror bike accident, this Sydney teen is ready to show the world what he can do

Fletcher Crowley is in many ways like any other 17-year-old boy growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches.

He loves hanging out with his mates, cracking jokes, riding bikes and being outdoors. He’s just started year 12. He’s close with his mum and dad, who he says are “so chill” – although he was still nervous about them finding out he had a tattoo.

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NSW shooting: two men arrested after shots allegedly fired from ute at cars on Pacific Highway

Arrests came after black Mercedes ute found abandoned in Port Macquarie and following extensive manhunt

Two men have been arrested following a large-scale manhunt after shots were fired at multiple cars travelling on a major New South Wales highway.

NSW police on Thursday had been searching for the driver and passenger of a black Mercedes dual-cab ute from which they alleged shots were fired at cars on the Pacific Highway on the state’s mid-north coast earlier in the morning.

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NSW police sniffer dogs incorrectly detect drugs on patrons despite costing taxpayers $46m over past decade

Exclusive: Between 1 January 2013 and 30 June this year, 94,535 general and strip-searches were prompted by the dogs but nearly 75% of these searches yielded no illicit drugs

New South Wales police are spending millions of dollars a year on sniffer dogs that often incorrectly detect illicit drugs on patrons as part of a program which has cost the taxpayer more than $46m over the past decade.

In addition to the overall cost of running the dog unit, the police force must pay for at least six to 10 officers to accompany every dog and dog-handler deployed to a music festival.

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Dozens of ‘kill cars’ seized in police crackdown on Sydney’s gang wars

NSW police say the 27 seized cars worth $2m were destined to be used in organised crime network homicides or firearm violence

Dozens of “kill cars” allegedly stolen to carry out violent crimes across Sydney have been seized in the latest crackdown on the city’s gang wars.

From Porsches to Ford Rangers, a total of 27 cars worth more than $2m are now in police custody.

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Wet weather relief for NSW and Queensland firefighters while blazes encroach south of Perth

Rainfall is expected to fall on Saturday either side of the border after a torrid week of fires claimed more than 60 homes

Communities across Australia’s east coast are hoping a wet weekend will bring a reprieve to firefighters as rainfall starts to set in across New South Wales and Queensland.

But the bushfire threat has arisen in the west as parts of Western Australia experience extreme fire risk with threats to properties south of Perth.

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WA town stops using Wiggles song to deter homeless people; Paul Keating lauds Bill Hayden at state funeral – as it happened

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Husic was on the show to discuss the results of the AI Safety Summit held in the UK this week, where Australia and 27 other countries signed a major artificial intelligence agreement.

The Bletchley Declaration affirms that AI should be developed, designed and deployed in a human-centric and safe manner.

It has been very clear from a number of countries, not the least of which the US, which brought in a big executive order this week to improve AI safety and security, that there will be more safety testing and also evaluating those AI models, and holding companies much more accountable for the way that they do that development work.

There will be safety institutes set up in the US and the UK to help with that testing and it will involve researchers in that work and a state of the science report that will look at the developments particularly around what they call frontier AI, generative AI and Australia will have a voice there with the CSIRO’s chief scientist, Dr Bronwyn Fox, who will represent our country in the development of that research work to give governments and regulators a heads up on how the technology is evolving too.

I have been concerned for weeks about where things would head. I was concerned that innocent Palestinian families would bear the brunt and the heaviest burden, in terms of the type of action that was being foreshadowed.

I think the world, the international community, is watching very closely. I have said previously there has to be a much more strategic, precise way to hold Hamas to account. Israel’s actions do matter, in terms of the way in which they conduct these military operations, and I think a lot of us are deeply concerned about the impact, not only on innocent Palestinians but particularly kids.

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Two people fined $500 over damaging posters of Israeli hostages at Bondi beach memorial

NSW police have issued criminal infringement notices after footage emerged of men attempting to take down posters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas

Two men have been issued fines for offensive behaviour over the vandalism of a memorial at Bondi Beach for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.

The installation of 230 beach towels and pairs of thongs beside posters of those kidnapped on 7 October had run more than 100 metres along the concourse.

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Wiggles ‘deeply disappointed’ over use of Hot Potato to deter homeless people – as it happened

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Watts has gone on to confirm that there are still 65 Australians stuck in Gaza that the government is “supporting” and are being provided consular assistance.

Watts says Dfat is working to get those individuals to the Rafah crossing and out of Gaza “as soon as possible”.

We know this is an incredibly distressing time for Australians in Gaza and their families and we are providing all possible support we can, communicating through all available channels the best information and options we have about their safety in a very difficult situation.

The circumstances on the ground are incredibly challenging and they are changing on a day to day basis. This is a conflict zone. It is a very difficult operating environment so we do the best job we can in the circumstances.

Crossings like this are the result of an enormous effort from Australian consular officials and diplomats in the region. So many conversations at the ministerial level, foreign minister Wong spoke with her counterparts in the region and we’re grateful that this initial cohort has made the crossing from Gaza to Egypt.

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Reform of NSW police response to mental health episodes under way, minister says after string of fatalities

Rose Jackson says the way authorities respond needs to change, acknowledging system ‘has failed’ in some instances

The New South Wales mental health minister, Rose Jackson, has flagged significant reforms to the way police respond to people in acute distress as she conceded there were instances in which the current system “has failed”.

Jackson said the government and police were doing “a big piece of work about what comes next” and that she wanted mental health consumers and advocates to assist with designing the new system next year.

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Sydney boy, 10, dies after being trapped under lift at school for children with disability

Police have established a crime scene at St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga on the city’s upper north shore

A 10-year-old boy has died at a school for children with disability on Sydney’s upper north shore after becoming trapped under a lift.

New South Wales police said emergency services were called to St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga about 2pm on Wednesday after reports a child was trapped.

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