Australia news live: NSW premier refutes cover-up allegations over police Tasering of 95-year-old woman

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PwC should not be banned from government work but should face ‘significant sanction’, Dutton says

Following the damning interim Senate report into PwC, Dutton says he does not believe the consultancy firm should be cut from all government work, but says a penalty needs to be incurred for the breach of trust:

I think where people have breached a contract, they’ve breached trust, there’s a penalty and the price that should be paid. I don’t know whether that’s the company or whether there’s a solution that the government can provide to it but there’s there’s a significant sanction that’s that’s required – no doubt the government will be looking into that right now.

All of the pollsters at the moment, and credible commentators, believe that it’s either going to fail in October or, best case scenario for the yes case, that gets up 51-49. And in that scenario, our nation is split down the middle.

I think there’s an opportunity to unite our country here instead of divide, and that is that we should proceed with constitutional recognition.

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Sydney public high schools to go co-ed in Labor shake-up as parents face tough choices

Inner west and south-west suburbs are first priority under state plans but change will come too late for some

Families in some parts of Sydney where all the local high schools are single-sex will have the option of a co-educational school from 2025, the state government has announced, while others will have to wait until 2027.

Parents have been lobbying for change for years, and in the lead-up to this year’s state election, Chris Minns pledged parents would have guaranteed access to co-educational public schools within Labor’s first term of government.

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Cecília Haddad’s ex-partner sentenced to 27 years’ jail in Brazil after confessing to 2018 murder in Sydney

Mário Marcelo Santoro confessed to killing his former girlfriend in Australia only after extensive evidence was produced against him, judge says

A Brazillian federal court has sentenced engineer Mário Marcelo Santoro to 27 years in prison, after he confessed to the 2018 murder of former girlfriend Cecília Haddad in Australia.

Santoro, today in his mid-40s, was convicted of aggravated homicide, asphyxiation, femicide and concealment of a corpse.

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NSW police removed mention of Taser and knife from first statement about Clare Nowland

The 95-year-old died after she was Tasered during a confrontation with police at a nursing home in Cooma in May

Documents show New South Wales police removed mention of paramedics, a knife and a Taser in their first statement about the Tasering of a 95-year-old grandmother.

Clare Nowland was Tasered during a confrontation with police while walking with a frame and holding a steak knife at the Yallambee Lodge in Cooma on 17 May, according to subsequent police statements.

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Legalise Cannabis makes united push for personal marijuana use in three Australian states

The party’s bill allowing adults to possess and grow small quantities of the drug at home will be introduced across Victoria, NSW and WA

Legalise Cannabis MPs are launching a coordinated push to make marijuana legal for personal use in three states and overhaul what the party says is outdated legislation that unnecessarily criminalises people.

The party’s drug reform bill will be introduced on Tuesday in state parliaments in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia – the jurisdictions where it has representation in the state’s upper houses.

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Hunter Valley bus crash: parents of groom call for stronger seatbelt laws

John Gaffney, whose son Mitchell married Madeleine Edsell last Sunday, calls for mandatory rule on all buses

The parents of the groom whose Hunter Valley wedding ended in tragedy when 10 guests died in a bus crash when leaving the event have called for stronger seatbelt laws.

John Gaffney, whose son Mitchell married Madeleine Edsell in wine country on Sunday 11 June, has called for seat belts to be mandatory on all buses – something which is not currently the law in New South Wales.

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Climate protesters block coal shipments in three states as Minns warns against ‘dangerous’ situations

Blockade Australia’s coordinated action targets ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne

Climate protesters have disrupted coal shipments and motorway traffic at ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne.

A climate protester has suspended herself from a rail bridge at the Newcastle coal ports, blocking trains, as coordinated protests were mounted at ports in Melbourne and Brisbane. The woman was livestreaming her solitary protest online and police were on site.

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AFL and NRL teams pay tribute to Hunter Valley bus crash victims as nine people remain in hospital

Sporting teams, friends and family used weekend to mourn the victims as fundraising effort tops $600,000

Nine passengers remain in hospital almost a week after the horror bus crash in the Hunter Valley as the fundraising effort to support victims and their families tops $600,000.

Sporting teams, friends and family used the weekend to mourn and pay tribute to the victims up and down eastern Australia.

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No pets allowed: NSW pushed to act on ‘urgent’ need to make rentals more animal-friendly

Animal Justice party will put forward an amendment to the government’s bill that further strengthens laws allowing renters to own pets

The New South Wales government is being pushed to make rentals animal-friendly sooner as pet owners find it increasingly hard to find a home and pounds see an influx of renters giving up their pets.

Labor promised in the lead-up to the election that it would make it easier for renters to own pets, with plans to give landlords 21 days to respond to a renter’s request to own a pet. If the landlord refuses within the timeframe, they must put their reason to the yet to be established rental commissioner for a final decision.

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Police and crime researchers fear social media’s affect on crime in NSW and Victoria

Data released in both states suggest online posts may have contributed to a rise in certain types of crime

Social media platforms allowing teenagers to brag about crimes might be contributing to an increase in youth offending in Australia’s most populous states, Victorian police and New South Wales’ crime statistics agency say.

In Victoria, data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) released on Thursday reported that home burglaries committed by 10-to-14-year-olds increased by almost 87% in the 12 months to 31 March, compared with the prior year. This is despite youth offending being down by almost half, compared with a decade ago.

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NSW to allow taller, denser property developments while curtailing power of councils

Projects worth at least $75m and have 15% of units set aside as affordable housing could be fast-tracked under changes

The New South Wales government will allow developers to build taller and denser buildings – and have approvals fast-tracked – under sweeping changes to planning rules that will also curtail the power of councils to decide on major housing projects.

The proposed will see housing developments, valued over $75m and of which at least 15% is to be used for affordable housing, given access to a “state significant development” pathway that would fast-track approvals.

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NSW government temporarily bans all PwC work on tax projects

Inquiry into state local health districts’ use of consultants to begin after firm revealed to have misuse of confidential information

The New South Wales government will suspend the embattled consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers from working on tax projects as it emerged that the state’s health districts spent at least $124m on consultants since 2011.

The temporary ban will be announced on Thursday, when a state parliamentary inquiry into the public sector’s use of consultants will begin, and follows revelations that PwC misused confidential federal government information for commercial gain.

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Australia politics live: Labor blocks Zoe Daniel’s push to ban gambling ads but promises ‘comprehensive’ response to issue

Tony Burke says Labor committed to strong consumer protections regarding online gambling and does not oppose principle behind independent’s bill

‘A sackable offence’

Here is how that “conversation” played out.

What we want understand now is whether this Labor minister was in fact complicit in politicising this event. That is unforgivable.

Not only that, misleading parliament is a serious offence, a sackable offence and standing by this minister, if she has misled parliament, has consequences.

You were in the Senate yesterday when Katy went through what happened and what I’d like to understand from you is how is it the two years after this event you are trying to make this somehow the problem of the current government when we were not even in government, not four years after this event occurred.

The real issue is the fact that a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in our workplace and I would really like to focus on that is the main issue here because that is the main issue here, because that is the subject that matters.

What we are finding out now is what the minister knew and why her testimony to the Senate as different from that. There’s a lot of considerations here, I know people are talking about how this information came into the media and certainly the media has a lot of considerations to make.

There has to be respect for the parliament and the court and the law but that information is now out there and journalists need to make decisions about whether it is in the public interest.

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Australia politics live: Morrison addresses Higgins discrepancy; PM says bus crash a ‘tragedy beyond comprehension’

Katy Gallagher hits back at Coalition attacks, saying she conducted herself with ‘highest levels of integrity’ over Higgins allegations. Follow live

First Nations people call on government to sign nuclear weapons prohibition

A group of people are on their way to Canberra to call on the prime minister to sign the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons and speak to MPs about their experience surviving the British nuclear testing program in Western Australia and South Australia in the 1950s.

Our mob were not informed of those tests that were about to take place on our traditional lands.

Consent was never given by Anangu for the Emu Field tests. The government did not come and ask Anangu if it was okay to test on our traditional lands.

Everyone knows the commonwealth doesn’t have the power to cap rents. There’s eight different states and territories across the country all doing different things. Some of them have ruled it out.

We have data and evidence it doesn’t work and it puts downward pressure on supply. What we need to do is add to supply. That’s what we’re doing, not just with our housing Australia future fund and our other investments. We have homes under construction today because we made that money available.

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Hunter Valley bus crash: driver due to face court; community mourns as it awaits official news of the dead

A 58-year-old man from Maitland is due to appear in court in Cessnock charged with 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Follow the day’s news live

After Sunday night’s tragic wedding bus crash in the Hunter Valley, stunned locals are still anxiously waiting for details of how the accident occurred and official confirmation of who was among the victims.

The driver of the bus, a 58-year-old man from Maitland, will appear in court in Cessnock this morning charged with 10 counts of causing death by dangerous driving. The Guardian will be in court and will have the details as they emerge.

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Hunter Valley bus crash: 10 killed after wedding party coach rolls, NSW premier confirms 21 in hospital – latest updates

Chris Minns acknowledges ‘unimaginable despair’ after bus rolled on Wine Country Drive near Hunter Expressway offramp. Follow the latest updates

We are hearing reports that NSW Police are planning to hold a press conference in the next couple of hours to provide an update on the crash.

Plibersek sends condolences

A day of celebration ending in tragedy. Just terrible.

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Hunter Valley: driver arrested after wedding bus crash near Greta, NSW, kills 10 people in Australia

Police say 25 others were taken to hospital by helicopter and road after the coach rolled on Wine Country Drive just after 11.30pm on Sunday

Ten people returning from a “fairytale” wedding in Australia’s Hunter Valley wine region in New South Wales have been killed in a devastating bus crash. More than 20 others have been taken to hospital with various injuries after the bus overturned late on Sunday night.

The 58-year-old driver has been arrested and charges are pending, while a crime scene has been declared at the site of the crash.

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‘The modern day gay icon’: Jennifer Coolidge delivers camp and delight to fans at Sydney’s Vivid festival

The White Lotus star and showrunner Mike White sat down to discuss her career renaissance at 61 and why she’s in a constant state of ‘pure denial’

When Garth Saville heard that Jennifer Coolidge was coming to Sydney: “I think all of our camp little juices sort of overflowed. It was very exciting.”

Saville, along with his fellow Coolidge drag queens and lookalikes in blond wigs and pink sparkles, were among the sold-out crowd of 9,000 at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre stadium Saturday night.

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Yamba shooting: man found dead with son, 15, had firearms licence reinstated

NSW police minister hopes coronial investigation sheds light on ‘terrible’ circumstances that led to the deaths of Wayne Smith and son Noah

A firearms licence was reinstated to a man just months before he shot dead his teenage son and himself, in another horrific domestic violence incident that has left a small community in New South Wales reeling.

The bodies of 58-year-old Wayne Smith and 15-year-old Noah were found at their home in Yamba in the northern rivers on Thursday, in an apparent murder-suicide.

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Kathleen Folbigg says her freedom is ‘a victory for science and especially truth’

Former prisoner says she is eternally grateful to her friends and will always think of, grieve for and love her children

Kathleen Folbigg says she will always grieve for her children and has called her pardon and release from prison after 20 years, a victory for science and truth, as questions turn to the legal lessons to be learned and reforms enacted in its wake.

In a video from the home near Grafton of her longtime friend and advocate, Tracy Chapman, Folbigg said she was extremely humbled and grateful.

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