Category Archives: New South Wales

Woman who allegedly attacked Sydney hospital patient with hammer claims he stole her brother’s ashes, court hears

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Woman, 46, charged with grievous bodily harm after she allegedly struck 63-year-old RPA patient in head, NSW police say

A man is fighting for his life after being allegedly attacked with a hammer at a Sydney hospital by a woman he knew who claimed he had stolen her brother’s ashes, a court has heard.

Viki Graham, 46, was refused bail and will spend at least two months in jail after she was charged with wounding the 63-year-old man while he lay in a bed at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital.

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Children to get free flu vaccine via nasal spray in NSW, with minister spruiking ‘needle-free alternative’

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NSW follows Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia in offering free treatments for kids four and under, saving up to $70

Hundreds of thousands of children will be able to access a painless, needle-free flu vaccination for free as governments attempt to curb falling vaccine rates.

New South Wales has become the latest state to offer a nasal spray flu vaccine to children for free, following Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

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Sydney councils fear new datacentres could cause blackouts, block housing and affect locals’ health

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Datacentres ‘directly competing’ with possible residential builds near public transport, one council tells NSW inquiry, amid growing concerns

Datacentre developments are crowding out opportunities for housing and job-rich industries across Sydney, a New South Wales inquiry has heard, with one local council reporting a rise in blackouts linked to the industry’s expansion.

Several Sydney councils, all facing an influx of datacentre developments, have raised concerns about the health, environmental and amenity impacts on their local communities in submissions to the state’s datacentre inquiry.

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Two NSW teenagers charged over violent extremist material allegedly linked to terror

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Police say they found a ballistic-style vest, several notebooks and literature they allege contained extremist references

Two New South Wales teenagers have been charged with allegedly possessing violent extremist material after police searched one of their homes and found a ballistic-style vest, several notebooks and literature they allege contained extremist references.

The Australian federal police and NSW police released a statement on Friday morning confirming the boys, aged 15 and 16 and both from Moree in northern NSW, had been charged with possession of alleged extremist material after a joint counterterrorism investigation.

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Alleged Bondi terrorist Naveed Akram denied suppression order over identities of family members

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Lawyers for accused had argued names of family members should be suppressed due to fears for their mental and physical safety

The alleged Bondi attacker has been denied a suppression order over his family member’s names and home and work addresses after a collective of media organisations won a challenge against the bid.

In the Downing Centre local court on Thursday, judge Hugh Donnelly decided to deny the request for a 40-year suppression order, ending an interim suppression order that was granted for Naveed Akram’s mother, brother and sister in early March which banned the publication of their names and addresses.

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Wild autumn weather delivers snow, dangerous swells and power cuts to eastern Australia

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East coast slammed on Thursday night with wind and rain, while Friday brings freezing temperatures and marine warnings

A dangerous swell has forced the suspension of some ferries across Sydney harbour, the latest in a spate of wild weather that has brought snowfall, power outages and storms to the country’s south-east.

Surf Life Saving NSW is warning the highest waves may surge close to 15 metres during the next 24 to 48 hours, which could be the biggest in 100 years, as dangerous swells and strong winds create deadly conditions.

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Lawyers criticise ‘extreme’ arrest of Isaac Herzog protester after NSW police release video

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The 42-year-old is the 26th person charged after February rally against Israeli president that led to violent clashes between police and protesters

Lawyers have raised concerns that New South Wales police used heavy-handed tactics when arresting an anti-Isaac Herzog protester this week, after eight tactical officers were sent to their home at 5am and “smashed the door open”.

The 42-year-old was the 26th person to be charged after the protest at Sydney town hall in February against the visiting Israeli president. The police response on the night of the protest is being investigated amid allegations of police brutality.

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‘We consider every mile we drive’: how fuel shortages are affecting readers worldwide

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From a shop owner in India to a community worker in New South Wales, rising fuel prices are forcing people to ration oil usage

Alagesan, 35, needs liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to run his roadside drink and snack shop in Coimbatore, India, but with the fuel shortage since the US-Israel attacks on Iran, he worries his business could fold.

“I am far away from the Middle East, but my life is affected,” he said. “The gas cylinder is not available because of the war. I don’t know what to do.”

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Naveed Akram’s family members could be killed if their identities aren’t suppressed, court told

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Lawyer acting for alleged Bondi beach terror attack shooter says 24-year-old’s mother and siblings have received death threats since December antisemitic shootings

Lawyers for alleged Bondi beach gunman Naveed Akram have argued the names of his family members should be suppressed due to fears “one or more of them may be killed” after they received death threats.

But legal counsel for media organisations, who are challenging the suppression order request, argued there was no evidence before the court of an imminent risk.

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Nine-year-old Australian boy allegedly caught driving car at 1.30am on major highway

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NSW police allege child was sitting on lap of 45-year-old man who was experiencing ‘significant fatigue’ but was operating pedals while boy steered

A nine-year-old boy has allegedly been caught steering a car after 1am on a major highway in New South Wales.

NSW police alleged that a 45-year-old driver was experiencing “significant fatigue” and “operating the pedals” while the boy steered on his lap.

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NSW to crack down on property underquoting, forcing sellers to publish price guides on all listings

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Underquoting and ‘dummy bidding’ will attract fines of $110,000 in bid to create a ‘fair property market’

The New South Wales government will introduce new laws this week to force property sellers to publish a price guide on all advertising, and impose a fivefold increase to fines for underquoting real estate agents.

The government says the draft laws, first flagged last year, are aimed at cracking down on agents providing misleading price estimates on property listings, a practice often used to inflate interest.

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Alleged Bondi terror attack gunman Naveed Akram seeks order suppressing identities of family members

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Lawyer for 24-year-old asks for identifying details of mother and siblings to be kept secret for their ‘mental and physical safety’

Family members of the alleged Bondi attacker have been granted an interim order suppressing their names and home and work addresses to protect their mental and physical safety.

The public defender Richard Wilson SC made the application for a permanent suppression order for Naveed Akram’s mother, brother and sister at Downing Centre local court on Monday.

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Ex-Liberal MP Rory Amon found not guilty of most charges after being accused of raping 13-year-old boy in Sydney

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Amon had testified he held an honest and reasonable belief that the teen was over the age of 16

A former state Liberal MP may face a second child abuse trial after a jury cleared him of some but not all charges related to a 13-year-old boy.

Rory Amon was found not guilty of four counts of child rape, two counts of attempted child rape and two counts of indecent assault of a child on Monday after three days of deliberations.

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Jackie O says she ‘did not quit or resign’ from hit radio show after on-air bust with Kyle Sandilands

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Statement by breakfast co-host about ‘speculation and misinformation’ appears to contradict comments made by the network

Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has broken her silence to say she did “not quit or resign” from the Kyle and Jackie O Show, and she is “deeply saddened” the hit breakfast radio show may come to an end.

“I am deeply saddened by the events of the past week and the possibility of the show ending,” she said. “This has come as a shock to me, as it has to everyone else.”

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NSW police admit to making ‘very unfortunate’ wrong claim after officer shot man dead

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Inquest into fatal shooting of Steve Pampalian told statement by assistant commissioner he was ‘known to police’ was incorrect

A man shot dead by a NSW police officer after he ran at him with two knives was not known to police, a coroner says, despite a “very unfortunate” claim to the contrary made by the assistant commissioner of the force immediately after the incident.

Steve Pampalian, 41, was shot three times by a police officer in the driveway of his home on a quiet suburban street in Sydney’s North Willoughby on 25 May 2023 after he had a psychotic episode.

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NSW’s top prosecutor scores legal win in bias claim against senior judge

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Recusal application against district court judge Penelope Wass yet to be determined amid row with DPP

New South Wales’ top prosecutor has been given the green light to continue her fight to get a senior judge removed from a historical sexual offences trial on the grounds of apprehended bias.

The ruling from the NSW supreme court is the latest development in a long-running row between the director of public prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, and district court judge Penelope Wass. The dispute went before the NSW court of appeal last week.

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Wild-born birds recruited to teach critically endangered regent honeyeaters their lost songs

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Researchers hope restoring the original song will improve breeding prospects for birds released into the wild

Scientists have rescued the lost song of the critically endangered regent honeyeater – one of Australia’s rarest birds.

Regent honeyeaters were once seen in vast flocks across south-eastern Australia, with a distribution that ranged from Queensland to Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

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Officer ‘didn’t have time’ to turn on body-worn camera before shooting Sydney man having psychotic episode, inquest hears

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Steve Pampalian fatally shot in 2023 after moving towards police while holding kitchen knives, coronial inquest told

A police officer has told a coronial inquest he didn’t have enough time to turn on his body-worn camera before he fatally shot a Sydney man who ran at him with two kitchen knives, amid conflicting statements on what unfolded in the critical moments before the man was killed.

Steve Pampalian, 41, was shot three times by a police officer in the driveway of his home on a quiet suburban street in Sydney’s North Willoughby on 25 May 2023 after he had a psychotic episode.

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Last of the summer rain puts southern states on flood watch and Sydney on alert for bull sharks

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SA premier Peter Malinauskas warns residents to prepare for heavy falls and possible flash floods

Late summer rain is causing havoc across Australia, with South Australia on flood watch, Victoria cleaning up after a downpour, and Sydney issuing a shark warning after heavy falls.

Almost all of South Australia, much of western Victoria and parts of western NSW were on flood watch as a slow-moving pressure system from central Australia moved east. Queensland had also seen severe rainfall.

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Former NSW MP Rory Amon tells court 13-year-old boy said he was 17 before alleged sexual abuse

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Former state Liberal MP begins his evidence after pleading not guilty to 10 charges for various sexual acts

A former state Liberal MP accused of having sex with a 13-year-old boy in a car park toilet has claimed in court the boy told him he was 17 .

Rory Amon, 36, began his evidence in his New South Wales supreme court trial after pleading not guilty to 10 charges for various sexual acts against the young teen in 2017.

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