NSW SES warns heavy rain may cause flash flooding with storms forecast across three states from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day
Residents of Australia’s eastern states have been warned to prepare for severe storms forecast over the Christmas weekend.
Thunderstorms are expected between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day across a broad region, including much of New South Wales and south-east Queensland and spreading down into Victoria.
Continue reading...Further testing should be done to reduce the risk of local tank water being contaminated by mercury, expert says
An independent study of rainwater tanks near the Cadia goldmine in central west New South Wales has detected unsafe levels of mercury in some residents’ drinking water, nine months after widespread water testing conducted by NSW Health found no unsafe results.
The results come from an independent testing program conducted by Dr Ian Wright through the Cadia Community Sustainability Network (CCSN), which took water samples from kitchen taps and the top and bottom of rainwater tanks at 42 properties near the mine, between August and November 2023.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...Officer, who cannot be identified, was charged in November with driving under the influence and high-range drink driving
A senior New South Wales police officer charged with allegedly crashing a work car in Sydney’s NorthConnex tunnel after getting drunk at a work function earlier this year has pleaded not guilty.
The high-ranking detective, whose identity is being kept secret under a court order, was charged in November with driving under influence of alcohol and high-range drink-driving, nearly six months after the May incident.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Just circling back to QFES assistant commissioner Kevin Walsh, who mentioned the state of the roads and reminded people in the area to be very careful when driving around.
Walsh said:
Monday afternoon was the first opportunity that we had to send in rotary aircraft, so we got rotary-wing aircraft in large numbers up in Far North Queensland at the moment through private contractors and also Australian Defence Force. So they’re very busy in the air and relocating people.
And I think the other message also is to have a look at those roads and the damage that they have sustained. There are many roads still under water where you can not see that damage. So it’s really important for the local people to realise that it’s still very, very dangerous to be driving through flooded waters because you can’t see the damage of the roads underneath it. That’s one of our key messages we’d like the local communities to heed.
So far we’ve only been able to assess about 60 properties. I think throughout today though, we’ll get a better sense of how many properties are affected, and then we’ll be looking for further packages of disaster assistance that will put together or put together with the commonwealth.
But just judging from the other emergencies that I’ve been a part of, we’re talking billions not millions [of dollars].
Continue reading...Follow the latest updates live
Communities urged to exercise caution amid ‘huge volumes of water’
QFES commissioner Steve Smith has also made some comments on the flood situation up in Queensland.
There’s still huge volumes of water moving down through the systems, so at different points on the water, in the water catchments, they’re going to have rises. So we need people to stay informed, and they’ve done a great job in doing that. So we want that to continue with the support from community.
No. So we have commenced a search and rescue investigation into that. Degarra was one of the communities we couldn’t get into yesterday, but we have been speaking to a local man where there were a number of rescues completed yesterday in Degarra. So we have dispatched the water police vessel this morning, which left in the early hours of this morning and is on the way to that location. And in addition to that, we’ve now got rescue helicopters going that way as well.
Continue reading...Duck Creek fire in the Pilliga forest burning out of control 20km south of Narrabri, while more bushfires hit Sydney and Hunter regions
Firefighters are tackling more than 60 blazes across New South Wales, including a giant out-of-control bushfire in the Pilliga forest in the state’s north-west that has been fuelling dangerous fire-generated thunderstorms.
The blaze at Duck Creek in the Pilliga forest was burning about 20km south of the town of Narrabri – home to more than 12,000 people – and a similar distance from Boggabri to the east on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading...Peak motoring body demands end to governments’ data secrecy as road death toll reaches 1,253
This year was the deadliest on Australia’s roads in five and a half years, with the road death toll reaching 1,253 – the highest since 1,270 people were killed in the 12 months to March 2018, according to the nation’s peak motoring body.
Upon releasing the data, the Australian Automobile Association accused governments of kicking road safety “down the road” after federal, state and territory transport ministers met a fortnight ago to discuss their next five-year partnership on road infrastructure projects but failed to make progress on data transparency when it comes to road deaths.
Continue reading...Change of heart on ceasefire shows ‘collective action is working’, Sydney protest speaker says
Speakers at Sydney’s pro-Palestine rally have said public outcry against the war in Gaza has pushed the Albanese government to shift its position and back calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, while criticising Labor for not calling for a permanent end to the conflict.
On Wednesday Australia joined 152 other nations in voting in favour of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in an emergency session of the United Nations general assembly. The move followed Australia’s decision in late October to abstain from casting a vote on a similar motion.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs prevented from reaching Australia
Australian federal police and international law enforcement partners have prevented up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs from reaching Australia throughout the past financial year.
The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 29 tonnes of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement.
On average, close to 12,000 Australians are hospitalised from methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin use every 12 months.
Continue reading...A public hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in Wagga Wagga this week heard calls to overhaul pregnancy and maternal healthcare services
When Samantha gave birth to her daughter in 2022, she was told by medical staff that being in “excruciating pain” was normal.
They were discharged two days after the birth. It wasn’t until a community midwife told her the severe bruising on her buttocks was not normal that Samantha, who asked that her full name not be used, presented to the hospital again. Examinations and an ultrasound revealed she had suffered a haematoma and a third-degree perineal tear that had been improperly repaired. For months afterwards she struggled with symptoms resulting from her injuries, forcing her to spend thousands of dollars with private specialists.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...NSW Ambulance expects 10% uptick in calls and Bureau of Meteorology warns of the chance of destructive afternoon storms
Large parts of New South Wales and southern Queensland are experiencing a heatwave, with extreme risk of fires around Sydney, health warnings for the effects of prolonged heat and the chance of destructive storms.
Temperatures in Sydney are forecast to hit 34C on Saturday, but further west it will be hotter still, with Penrith set for 36C and Richmond 36C, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Continue reading...Program to start in 2024 with nine times more pokies than initially planned by Labor
Almost 4,500 poker machines across 24 local government areas will be included in the New South Wales government’s cashless gambling trial to begin early next year.
The expanded trial will take place across 28 clubs of varying sizes, with advocates hoping it leads to universal cashless gaming in NSW, after both major parties put forward gambling reform plans at the March election.
Continue reading...Folbigg to seek NSW government compensation payout ‘bigger than any substantial payment’ ever made, lawyer says
Kathleen Folbigg should receive the biggest compensation payout in Australian history after being acquitted of killing her four children, according to legal experts who say no other wrongful conviction has caused as much harm.
Folbigg’s legal team confirmed they would seek a payout from the New South Wales government after the state’s court of criminal appeal on Thursday ruled her convictions should be overturned.
Continue reading...Students across the state take to social media to share reactions to top marks while premier says results are ‘just a step on your journey’
When Charlie Ashton and his mates plugged his HSC marks into an Atar calculator, he assumed it was broken. There was no way he’d scored a near-perfect 99.90.
But there’d been no mistake. “I was pretty surprised,” said the student from Sydney private school Shore.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Freedom of information documents reveal which cab companies have received most complaints, with one getting more than 300 in six months
More than 520 taxi drivers in New South Wales have been disciplined for refusing to use their meters or overcharging, with authorities progressing more than 300 cases against just one operator in six months.
As the NSW taxi watchdog warns of an expected uptick in rogue behaviour from new taxi drivers entering the workforce, Guardian Australia can reveal the new taxi fare hotline has been flooded with hundreds of complaints in its first six months.
Continue reading...BoM tracker map shows forecast path of category 2 cyclone will hit north of Cairns and Port Douglas on the Queensland coast at about 1pm with heavy rain, 140km/h winds and storm surge predicted. Follow the latest Australia news and weather updates today
Ceasefire ‘can’t be one-sided’
Emergency management minister Murray Watt is also speaking to ABC RN this morning, and was asked about the PM’s joint letter with his New Zealand and Canadian counterparts urging a ceasefire.
[It] shows that we want to work with like-minded countries towards what would be a just and enduring peace. I think the whole world has been pleased to see the release of hostages and the pause in hostilities that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, but what we need to do is move towards a sustainable ceasefire …
I think everyone who watches this conflict unfolds on their television screens, is really disturbed about the loss of life that we’re seeing go on at the moment.
I think that’s the value that a country like Australia can play here by really taking that even-handed approach that does call out the abhorrent behaviour by Hamas, but also as a friend of Israel, calls on them to respect international humanitarian law.
We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.
Continue reading...The NSW premier has paid tribute to a firefighter who was killed after the house he was in collapsed
A firefighter has died after he collapsed while responding to a house engulfed in flames in Sydney’s north-west.
The 51-year-old man was among the first crews to arrive at the house at Grose Vale, west of Richmond, just before 8am on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Jones strongly denies allegations as NSW police confirm there is no current investigation into Jones but say sex crimes squad will try to contact complainant this week
New South Wales police say they will this week try to speak to a person who made a complaint about Alan Jones to officers in 2017, after the police commissioner, Karen Webb, said last week that no complaints had been made about the broadcaster.
She made the comments during a press conference on Friday after allegations of indecent assault were published in the Sydney Morning Herald the day before. Jones has strongly denied the allegations and has threatened legal action.
Continue reading...Officers interviewed people who wished to remain silent despite court judgments finding practice was improper, law enforcement commission says
New South Wales police officers have been interviewing young people in custody in a way that compromises their right to silence, with a report by the state’s law enforcement watchdog finding it is a “systemic problem”.
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) found that NSW police had also failed to act with any urgency to prevent officers interviewing vulnerable people, including Aboriginal people and young people, after they had received legal advice and said that they did not wish to be interviewed.
Continue reading...Southerly buster sweeps up the NSW coast bringing thunderstorms and dropping temperatures by up to 10C
Parts of South Australia have received more than two months of rainfall in under 24 hours, as a record-breaking heatwave begins to ease across most of New South Wales.
SA’s state emergency service has warned of potential localised flooding with the heaviest rainfall expected on the Eyre Peninsula, the west coast, and the north-west pastoral districts.
Continue reading...