Category Archives: New South Wales

NSW premier casts doubt on key Metro West line in Sydney, saying he won’t let it ‘destroy the budget’

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Chris Minns stands firm in refusing to commit to rail project as Labor claims costs will blow out by $17bn

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has continued to cast doubt over the future of a key metro line connecting Sydney’s western suburbs with the east, as he insists he won’t let the project’s ballooning bill “destroy the budget”.

On Wednesday morning, Minns stood firm in his resistance to committing to the Metro West project as he awaits the findings of a review into the line which he claims has seen costs overrun by $17bn to a total of $25bn.

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Sydney deputy school principal jailed for sexual chats with ‘teenage girl’

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Damian Wanstell was arrested after sending explicit texts to undercover police posing as 14-year-old

A former deputy principal has been jailed after sending protracted sexually explicit chats to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

In sentencing Damian Scott Wanstall on Wednesday, judge Andrew Colefax asked how, as a father, he could discuss sexual acts and arrange to meet up with someone so young for that purpose.

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High-profile lawyer Mahmoud Abbas shot outside Sydney home in ‘targeted’ attack

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Emergency services found criminal defence lawyer with gunshot wounds after a shooting in Greenacre

A high-profile Sydney lawyer has been shot outside a home in what police believe is a targeted attack.

Emergency services were called to a home on Narelle Crescent in the south-west Sydney suburb of Greenacre at about 10.25am on Wednesday after reports of shots being fired.

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‘Get it back on track’: NSW minister calls for voice yes campaign reset while praising Matt Kean’s support

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Exclusive: David Harris says ‘cheap politics’ has skewered the debate but expects support to rise before the vote

The campaign for the Indigenous voice to parliament needs a reset in New South Wales, according to the state’s Aboriginal affairs minister David Harris, as polling shows support in the state is slipping.

But Harris praised the efforts of former treasurer and senior Liberal MP Matt Kean for his support for the yes campaign.

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Brittany Higgins, her fiance and dog under ‘serious threat’ from online harassment, police allege

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David Wonnocott charged with using carriage service to menace and threaten to kill

A man accused of menacing Brittany Higgins, her fiance and their dog online posed a “serious threat” to their wellbeing, court documents allege.

David William Wonnocott, 49, is charged with using a carriage service to menace and threaten to kill in separate incidents relating to Higgins and the New South Wales politician Alex Greenwich.

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Former Liberal MP denounces radio station after being named as complainant behind harassment allegations

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Lucy Wicks has asked for privacy after Sydney radio station 2GB named her as the person who made a complaint against NSW MP Taylor Martin

Former federal MP Lucy Wicks has criticised Sydney radio station 2GB for naming her as the Liberal figure behind a formal complaint against a state MP that included allegations of harassment through “demeaning, degrading, and abusive texts”.

Wicks released a statement on her social media on Monday asking for privacy, saying she had been left “distressed” after learning the host of the station’s breakfast program, Ben Fordham, had named her as the person behind the complaint against Taylor Martin made last week.

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Fire ants breach Queensland containment zones six times as authorities try to stop march to NSW border

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Experts say pest eradication program is underfunded and it is a ‘matter of time’ before ants move beyond Queensland

Fire ants have breached containment zones in south-east Queensland six times in the past six weeks, triggering the expansion of biosecurity controls at the New South Wales border.

The imported red fire ants – considered one of the world’s worst invasive species – were detected at a site at Tallebudgera last week, about 5.5km from the NSW border. The find was the farthest south the pest has been detected in Queensland.

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‘Tragic accident’: tech entrepreneur presumed dead after boat incident off Sydney Harbour

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Body of art dealer Tim Klingender, 59, found amid debris from fishing boat at base of The Gap but Andrew Findlay, 51, still missing

Police will continue the search for a second man lost overboard in a fishing boat accident off Sydney Harbour on Thursday, but say they do not believe he could have survived.

The body of the art dealer Tim Klingender, 59, was found on Thursday, after his borrowed fishing boat was discovered overturned and broken up on the rocks at the base of The Gap off South Head, near the entrance to Sydney Harbour.

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Search continues for entrepreneur after Sydney boat crash – as it happened

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Police extend search for Andrew Findlay after body of art dealer Tim Klingender was found. This blog is now closed

A man and woman will face court today in Melbourne accused of murder after the body of a man in his 40s was found in a city street, AAP reports.

Police say the charges follow an alleged incident at a home near Glen Waverley train line in Binalong Avenue, Chadstone on Tuesday, where a man in his 40s was fatally assaulted.

It can be a sensitive and confronting topic for many people so it is important that any future legislation is done through intensive and thorough consultation with all Territorians.

This is an imperative step forward for the Territory and I am honoured to play my part in this important consultation process.

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NSW at ‘extreme risk’ of fire ant invasion after nest discovered 5.5km from border

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Federal agriculture minister says ‘additional effort’ needed after new infestation found on the Gold Coast

The discovery of a nest of red fire ants just 5.5km from New South Wales’ northern border has prompted calls for urgent action to stop the spread of the destructive invasive insect.

The nest, found at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast, is the farthest south the pest has been detected, prompting accusations that governments have been dragging their feet on properly funding eradication programs.

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‘Teal-style’ search: NSW Liberals look beyond membership in bid to unseat Zali Steggall

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Party members in Warringah encouraged to nominate possible candidates via expressions of interest form

The Liberal party has launched a “teal-style” search beyond their own membership in a bid to find someone who could oust independent MP Zali Steggall from the former blue-ribbon seat of Warringah.

More than a year before an election could possibly be called, branch members were this week sent an email from the local federal electorate convention (FEC), asking for nominations from within the community – no matter their party status. This comes after federal leader Peter Dutton urged branches to begin their preselection processes.

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Dramatic police chase through Sydney suburbs ends in crash

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A 39-year-old male driver and 37-year-old female passenger were arrested after the lengthy chase ended near Parramatta

A US-style police pursuit of a car allegedly speeding through the suburbs of Sydney has ended with the arrests of a man and a woman after they crashed in the city’s south-west.

The chase was sparked on Thursday when New South Wales police officers detected a suspected stolen vehicle travelling on the Hume Highway in Prestons, south-west of Liverpool, about 9.30am.

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PwC-backed mental health platform was scrapped after $33m government trial launched without open tender

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Experts call for transparency over Project Synergy grant awarded to Innowell, whose platform is no longer used by the federal health department

A PwC-backed startup received tens of millions of taxpayer dollars through a closed, non-competitive grant to develop a digital mental health platform, which was almost scrapped due to health workers finding it an administrative burden.

Policy experts and transparency watchdogs have raised alarm about the grant and called on the federal government to explain why the money was not allocated through an open and competitive process to ensure value for money.

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NSW police lose court bid to exclude Scott Johnson killing from gay hate inquiry

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Force had argued Johnson’s death was outside terms of reference because case was solved with man sentenced for manslaughter earlier this year

A bid by New South Wales police to exclude a high-profile killing from a gay hate inquiry has been rejected.

The death of US mathematician Scott Johnson is one of dozens of cases under the spotlight at a special commission of inquiry into suspected gay hate crimes in Sydney between 1970 and 2010.

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‘Birthplace of the nation’ to close as cash-strapped NSW council can’t afford heritage-listed museum

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Exclusive: Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts – home of the 1889 Tenterfield oration – to close in a fortnight

The first museum included on the National Trust register will close its doors at the end of the month, leaving its century-old artefacts of federation locked behind glass until further notice.

The Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts is the site of the five-time premier’s famous Tenterfield oration in 1889, regarded as the first direct appeal to the public for an Australian nation-state to unite the colonies.

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Sydney’s unseasonably warm weather set to stay as BoM continues ‘El Niño’ watch

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The Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast expects more warm weather for the east coast, with Sydney hitting a top of 23C on Saturday

Sydney is expected to hit 23C on Saturday, with the unseasonably warm weather forecast to continue for the rest of the winter.

Hugh McDowell, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the bureau’s long-range forecast showed Sydney could expect more unseasonable temperatures.

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Rooty Hill death: Dusan Rakic charged with murder after ex-wife’s body found in Sydney

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Police allege former husband also breached his bail and an AVO, after Christine Formosa Rakic’s body was found in Western Sydney home

A Sydney man allegedly breached his bail before killing his ex-wife, leaving her family in tremendous pain and disbelief.

Christine Formosa Rakic was found dead in a Rooty Hill home on Tuesday night in the latest of a spate of alleged domestic violence-related deaths across Sydney in recent weeks.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service can be contacted on 1800 737 732

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Head of NSW cashless gambling panel wants trial extended to thousands more pokie machines

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Michael Foggo says more venues would provide better data and that he hoped to report back that the scheme reduces harm

The head of a panel to oversee a New South Wales trial of cashless gambling on 500 poker machines would like to see it expanded to include at least 2,500 more to enable “proper research analysis” of the scheme.

Michael Foggo, a former liquor, gaming and racing commissioner, said he also hopes to report to the state government next year that “cashless gaming works”.

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Ex-girlfriend of Australian boxer Harry Garside charged with common assault

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Ashley Ruscoe arrested on Wednesday after investigation into alleged domestic violence incident at a Sydney home on 1 March

The ex-girlfriend of Australian boxer Harry Garside has been charged with assaulting him after charges of domestic violence were dropped against the Olympian.

Ashley Ruscoe, 35, was arrested and taken to Waverley police station on Wednesday, when she was charged with domestic violence-related offences.

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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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NSW appoints former gaming commissioner to lead panel into cashless gambling trial

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Michael Foggo to help oversee the delayed pilot program, now expected to begin before November

Former New South Wales Liquor, Gaming and Racing commissioner Michael Foggo will lead a panel of 16 to design and oversee the state’s government’s delayed cashless gambling trial, which is now expected to begin before November.

The appointments will be made today by the premier, Chris Minns, who will also announce a departmental review of the ClubGrants scheme that critics have argued is used by some clubs to funnel money back towards themselves with little transparency or oversight.

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