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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Ceremony held in Menindee to release offspring of native fish rescued from 2019 Darling-Baaka mass kill

Silver perch fingerlings released in ceremony designed to address community’s collective trauma over ecological disaster that left millions of dead fish in river

Native fish bred from those rescued from the Darling-Baaka River during the 2019 fish kills were released back into the system at Menindee on Friday in a ceremony designed to address the collective trauma of the ecological disaster.

An estimated 1 million native fish died in the 2019 fish kills, including large numbers of endangered Murray cod. The Narrandera fisheries centre, run by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, helped rescue many fish stranded in the dwindling water supply and toxic blue green algae blooms. Twenty Murray cod, 24 silver perch and 17 golden perch were relocated from Menindee to Narrandera for breeding to help restock fish in the Darling-Baaka River.

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Kathleen Folbigg pardoned and released after 20 years in jail over deaths of her four children

Release comes after inquiry heard that Folbigg and her two daughters had rare genetic variation and her son may have died from an underlying neurogenetic disorder

Kathleen Folbigg has been pardoned and released after two decades in prison over the deaths of her four children, following a decision of the New South Wales attorney general, Michael Daley.

Folbigg, who has always maintained her innocence, had served 20 years of a 25-year sentence since being convicted in 2003 of murdering three of her children, and the manslaughter of one child.

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Can your suburb help fix Australia’s housing crisis? It all comes down to density

Despite adding millions of people and dwellings over the past decade, our cities are well behind globally in terms of population density

Skyrocketing rents and a projected home shortage have sparked fierce debate on the most effective ways to address Australia’s housing crisis.

Experts say one of the most effective fixes is to increase the supply of housing, specifically infilling urban areas to increase the density of areas where people actually want to live.

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Mother dies as father and two children hospitalised after house fire tragedy in Orange

Firefighters were able to rescue the two young boys but the woman was unable to be revived at the scene

The regional city of Orange will “wrap its arms” around a family after a house fire that took the life of a mother and led to the hospitalisation of a father and two young boys, the local mayor says.

Early Saturday morning, emergency services were called to the home in Orange, in the central tablelands region, and found it engulfed in flames.

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‘Partial privatisation’: Waterloo South public housing tenants say NSW Labor misled residents

Having promised to end sell-offs before the election, Chris Minns’ government forced to defend development plans

After the Minns government won the New South Wales election, Norrie May-Welby finally invested in a mod con to her home that would seem humdrum to most: she bought new fly screens.

This, she thought, was the end of seven years spent waiting for the day she would be relocated from her home at Waterloo South public housing estate.

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Father charged with the murder of his three-year-old son in Sydney

The boy was found dead in a unit in Riverwood with his father, Nathan Vikatos, who was arrested in hospital after life-saving surgery on injuries

A father has been charged with murder over the death of his three-year-old son in Sydney’s south-west.

The toddler was found dead alongside his father, 45-year-old Nathan Vikatos, who had serious injuries, inside their Riverwood apartment on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

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March of the fire ants could reach Sydney’s outskirts by 2035, costing economy up to $1.2bn a year

Exclusive: Study finds pests could damage crops, and households would incur costs for pesticides, veterinary bills and electrical faults

Failure to stop the spread of an outbreak of invasive fire ants in south-east Queensland could cost the Australian economy more than $1bn a year, including damage to high-value crops, infrastructure and homes.

A previously unreleased cost-benefit analysis, commissioned by a steering committee managing the outbreak of red fire ants and obtained by Guardian Australia, says that eradication of the species provides “much higher returns” than suppression measures that simply limit its spread.

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Land for 10,000 northern rivers homes flagged in NSW plan to ease housing crisis

Exclusive: Homes for 7,800 residents in areas worst hit by 2022 floods proposed in near term, with more development later

Land that could hold more than 10,000 homes across 22 sites in the northern rivers has been identified as part of a New South Wales government strategy to deal with the region’s housing crisis.

The draft northern rivers resilient lands strategy will be released on Friday, more than a year after floods devastated the region and saw thousands of people displaced. Many are still unable to return home.

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