Category Archives: New South Wales

New NSW fire chief flags mental health focus and financial stability after recent turmoil

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Jeremy Fewtrell says upcoming bushfire season will include ‘periods of really intense activity’ as he takes up commissioner role

New South Wales’s incoming fire commissioner, Jeremy Fewtrell, has promised to focus on financial stability and the mental health of the state’s firefighters as he faces the further challenges of an extreme bushfire season and climate change.

Fewtrell, who takes up the role after his predecessor was sacked amid financial turmoil at Fire and Rescue NSW, also warned the upcoming bushfire season would be challenging, with some “periods of really intense activity”.

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NSW minister urges public to call out ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards women after school coach’s death

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Exclusive: State’s domestic violence prevention minister says it’s ‘up to every single one of us’ to help prevent harm against women

Preventing violence against women is up to individuals and government money to fight the scourge will be “wasted” without community change, according to the New South Wales domestic violence prevention minister, Jodie Harrison.

The minister wants everyone to call out disrespect towards women in the wake of the killing of 21-year-old Lilie James at an elite private school in Sydney last week that left Harrison “physically sick”.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

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Family of Sydney man shot dead during psychotic episode demand police retract claim he was ‘known’ to them

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Call by family of Steve Pampalian comes as Greens accuse police of curating the narrative around other people fatally Tasered or shot

The family of Steve Pampalian who was shot dead by New South Wales police in Sydney while suffering a psychotic episode is calling on the force to retract its suggestion he was “known to police” or provide evidence to support the claim.

The demand comes as the NSW Greens accused police of curating the narrative around other people fatally Tasered or shot in recent months, including Clare Nowland and Krista Kach.

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Residents evacuated in middle of the night from three fast-moving Queensland bushfires

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Firefighters continue to battle major blazes near Tara, where more than 30 homes have already been lost

Residents in Queensland’s Western Downs and Gladstone regions were ordered to evacuate in the middle of the night, as dozens of fires continue burning around the state.

Just before 1am on Saturday multiple emergency warnings were issued for the communities of Tara, Wieambilla and The Gums in the Western Downs region, west of Brisbane.

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Man charged as search continues for pet pythons allegedly dumped in Sydney street

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Snakes Bagel and Mango are used to a much warmer climate than found in Coogee and owner is ‘scared for their safety’

New South Wales police have charged a man after two pet pythons were allegedly dumped on to the street in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last week.

The 2.5-metre snakes, named Bagel and Mango, have been missing since last Saturday, with the pet’s owner posting on a Facebook group that they were dumped in an alleged fit of anger by her former partner during their break-up.

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Sydney turns over a new leaf and says goodbye to much-maligned plane trees

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Trees once described as ‘about as much use to our wildlife as concrete posts’ to gradually be phased out in favour of more drought-tolerant plants

The City of Sydney has said it will gradually phase out the use of plane trees across the streets of the city.

Plane trees, which account for almost 10% of the street and park trees across the whole City of Sydney but are the dominant species in some areas, have had their fair share of critics over the years.

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Australia news live: devastation revealed in Queensland bushfire aftermath

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There is ‘a lot of anxiety’ in the Western Downs where at least 16 houses have been destroyed, the mayor says. Follow the day’s news live

Civilians in the blockaded Gaza Strip will receive an extra $15m in humanitarian aid from the Australian government.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement at a joint press conference with US president Joe Biden.

The plaintiff served years in prison that he otherwise would not have. At no stage did Victoria Police take positive steps to remedy its wrongdoing by expeditiously informing the plaintiff of Gobbo’s conduct in order to quash his conviction. Victoria Police has not apologised to the plaintiff.

Starting this court case is a significant moment for me. I am anxious about the future but also cautiously optimistic about finally holding police to account for what they did to me.

In the pursuit of justice, vindication came first, and now I see compensation as a measure of accountability.

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NSW Aboriginal affairs minister says it was his ‘aspiration’ to legislate treaty this term

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David Harris insists Labor has not backflipped despite government delaying action until after next election

The New South Wales Aboriginal affairs minister, David Harris, says it had been his “aspiration” to legislate a treaty process with Indigenous people within the current term of parliament before Chris Minns announced it would be delayed.

Harris nevertheless insisted Labor had not backflipped on its reconciliation plans and remained committed to holding a consultation process that would inform a possible treaty.

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Woman found dead at St Andrew’s school in Sydney identified as water polo coach Lilie James

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Police describe ‘confronting crime scene’ as officers search for another school employee to assist with the investigation

A young woman has been found dead at a school in central Sydney in what police have described as a “confronting scene” as they search for one of her male colleagues.

Police found the woman’s body in the gym bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral school on Bathurst and Kent streets just before midnight on Wednesday.

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Hundreds flee deadly bushfire in Queensland to evacuation centres as NSW grass fires continue to burn

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Police confirm a body was found near a dam in Tara, where fire remained at emergency level on Wednesday

Queensland firefighters are hoping a shift in wind direction on Thursday will help push a deadly, out-of-control bushfire that has destroyed 11,000 hectares of bushland away from the town of Tara.

About 350 people had fled the Tara fire to evacuation centres by Wednesday afternoon. By 6.45pm, authorities had told some residents in the region to leave immediately as their lives could be in danger.

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Renewed push for NSW to raise age of criminal responsibility to 14

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Exclusive: With children as young as 10 ‘regularly’ before the courts, NSW must consider raising the age of criminal responsibility, says broad group of child advocates

More than a dozen organisations have formed a coalition to push the New South Wales government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, arguing the status quo is harming young people and entrenching social issues.

The group includes key agencies including First Nations organisations, legal and human rights groups, peak bodies and unions, each with different perspectives on why the change is overdue and how it can be done.

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NSW police must speak with mental health experts rather than shoot our loved ones, stepfather says

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Exclusive: New figures show on average 10 people in mental health distress die each year during interactions with state police

The stepfather of a man shot and killed by New South Wales police while suffering from psychosis says the current system is “as useless as udders on a bull” as the Guardian reveals officers aren’t allowed to talk with mental health workers during high-risk callouts – even on the phone.

Neil Wilkins, whose stepson Todd McKenzie was shot at his Taree home in 2019, has written to the state’s mental health minister, Rose Jackson, urging Labor to scrap the ban on mental health workers assisting police when weapons are involved.

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Australia news live: properties lost in Queensland fires; Victorian hospital reopens Covid-19 ward

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NSW police have meanwhile appealed for public assistance as they investigate the cause of several bushfires along the state’s mid-north coast. Follow the day’s news live

Queenslanders in fire zones urged to pay attention to warnings

Turning to Queensland now, where the state’s Fire and Emergency Service chief, Tony Johnston, has spoken to ABC News Breakfast with an update on the bushfires across the state.

There’s been a number of structures that have been impacted but as you can appreciate, until the fire is actually contained, we won’t have a good picture of what’s actually been lost … When the crews can actually get in and ascertain the damage, we’ll have a full report.

Fires are spotting 200 metres in front of the fires themselves.

We’re asking residents to pay attention to the messaging. The messaging is important to enact your plan and what you’re going to do. Today is not a day to go sightseeing to see what’s happening in a fire area.

A lot of them are not easily contained. Some of those fires have been burning for quite some time. There’s a number of challenging fronts that we’ve got and obviously, worsening weather tomorrow that will cause a lot of problems with these fires and potentially new ones.

I know investigators are looking into a number of those fires and working with [police]. We have to wait for these fires to get under control before we can get in and assess the damage and carry out these investigations.

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Dozens of homes to be eligible for free insulation to dull western Sydney airport sound

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Government draft environmental impact statement reveals thousands will be impacted by noise as loud as washing machine five or more times a day

Noise from the new western Sydney airport won’t force the acquisition of nearby properties, but dozens will be eligible for free home insulation to dull sound.

Only about 100 properties will be eligible for free insulation to dull the noise of 480 weekly flights out of western Sydney airport under a preliminary plan.

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NSW police watchdog routinely denied access to internal officer interviews, report finds

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Law Enforcement Conduct Commission says it has been refused access during ‘every critical incident investigation to date’

The New South Wales police watchdog is routinely refused access to interview rooms when officers are being questioned after critical incidents, in a practice the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) has described as “consistent and state-wide”.

Despite the LECC Act providing power for investigators to be present as observers when officers are interviewed by superiors over such incidents, the oversight body said the power “appears to be … illusory” in its annual report handed down on Monday afternoon.

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Chris Minns rules out repurposing more golf courses for green space after Moore Park move

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NSW premier defends decision to cut course in half as ‘unique case’ driven by site’s ‘proximity to middle of Sydney’

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has said he will not slash golf courses across Sydney as golfers reel from the “unique” decision to repurpose half of Moore Park golf course for a major new inner city park.

When asked if the New South Wales government could give a solid commitment about not changing the use of existing golf courses on public land, Minns told reporters on Monday: “Sure … we don’t have plans for that.”

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Ed Husic calls for government to ‘push for de-escalation’ in Middle East – as it happened

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The Albanese government says it has reached an agreement with China on tariffs placed on Australian wine.

In a statement on Sunday, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese welcomed the progress ahead of his meeting with China’s president, Xi Jinping, in early November, saying the government is “confident of a successful outcome”.

The agreement means China will undertake an expedited five-month review of the duties it places on Australian wine producers. Australia and China have paused the World Trade Organization dispute until the review is finished.

Australia will resume the WTO dispute if the duties aren’t dropped after the review period.

Albanese will visit Beijing between 4 and 7 November to meet Xi and the premier, Li Qiang, and attend the China International Import Expo.

The leaders are expected to discuss economic links, climate change and links between their people.

Albanese said:

I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship … I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. Strong trade benefits both countries.

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Controversial US dog trainer Dog Daddy says he cancelled Australian tour due to backlash

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YouTube star Augusto Deoliveira – who also cancelled trips to the UK and Italy – stands by his tough approach to training canines

The controversial US-based dog trainer known as the Dog Daddy says he cancelled his planned visit to Australia after a backlash from animal rights activists and is now taking a break from global touring.

But YouTube star Augusto Deoliveira insisted he would not be abandoning his tough approach to training. He said his techniques have worked for thousands of fans who wanted to curtail aggressive behaviour in their dogs.

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NSW to review treaty consultation plan after voice referendum defeat

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Exclusive: With Indigenous leaders ‘shell-shocked’, sources say there are a ‘lot of conversations’ in the Minns government about next step

The New South Wales government will review part of its state treaty consultation plan, a key election promise, in the wake of the crushing federal referendum defeat on the voice to parliament.

The government isn’t confirming the appointment of three commissioners to oversee the process as planned – and previously outlined by the Aboriginal affairs and treaty minister, David Harris, in April. Sources say the consultation process and timeline will now be reviewed.

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Australians told ‘do not travel’ to Lebanon – as it happened

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No move on paying super to people on paid parental leave

But so far, the government has not moved on paying superannuation to parents (mostly women) on paid parental leave.

Super, of course, is really important and it’s something we would very much like to look to in the future when the budget can afford it. But this is a very big step forward, the current arrangements, but we’ll continue to look around superannuation into the future and consider it in each budget context.

I think with the reserved period as well, we’re going to see an increase in shared care, both parents taking some time out, which is really, really important if we want to get a more equal burden of, you know, of that share of care.

So that is really important as well.

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