Category Archives: New South Wales

Australian Ethical offloads Lendlease shares over development threat to koala population

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The fund believes itself to be ‘one of the first’ in Australia to divest from a company over a concern for an endangered species

One of Australia’s leading ethical investment managers says it has sold its shares in Lendlease over concerns a planned housing development in south-west Sydney threatens the survival of Sydney’s largest healthy koala population.

Australian Ethical has divested $11m in shareholdings in the property developer’s listed assets, saying Lendlease had failed to provide “critical information” about the width of planned koala corridors at stage two of its Gilead housing development.

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Perrottet’s future fund for children risks increasing poverty divide, social advocates say

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Benefit will depend on how much parents can afford to contribute, with wealthier families getting ‘an extra leg up’, critics say

The New South Wales government’s cornerstone election policy, which aims to help the next generation pay for housing and education, has been criticised by social advocates who claim the scheme will further entrench inequality.

The Kids Future Fund would see all children 10 and under handed an account with $400 in it, with the government to match parents’ future contributions of up to $400 every year until the age of 18.

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Dominic Perrottet announces ‘future fund’ for NSW children at Liberal election campaign launch

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Premier pledges up to $400 annually for children to be used on education or housing once turning 18

Every child under 10 in New South Wales will be set up with an account containing $400 as part of an election promise the premier, Dominic Perrottet, said was the “most significant financial security investment” in the state’s history.

Perrottet announced the government’s $850m “signature election policy” at the Liberal campaign launch in Sydney’s west on Sunday, flanked by dozens of children on stage.

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Naked ambition: Sydney swimmers bare all but fail to reach world record

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More than a thousand nude swimmers stripped off and plunged into Sydney Harbour for the annual event held for the first time since 2019

More than 1,000 Aussies have bared all in the annual nude swim, which has returned after a three-year hiatus.

The hundreds of nude swimmers plunged into the water off Cobblers Beach for the Sydney Skinny in the city’s north on Sunday.

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Australian Catholic order accused of waiting for paedophile to die and using death to shield it from abuse claims

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Marist Brothers approach in seeking to halt a survivor’s case over a clergy member’s death would be ‘absolutely perverse’, court hears

A Catholic order allegedly sat on its hands for almost two years waiting for a notorious paedophile clergy member to die and is now using his death to claim it could no longer receive a fair trial against one of his victims, an approach described in court as “absolutely perverse”.

The Marist Brothers order is currently seeking to permanently halt a survivor’s case alleging abuse by the late Brother Francis “Romuald” Cable, arguing his death renders it unable to fairly defend itself because it can no longer call him as a witness.

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What will it take to win the 2023 NSW election – and what happens if neither side wins a majority?

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Labor needs to pick up nine seats, but if neither major party can get to 47 seats the crossbench will determine the next premier

After three terms in power, the Liberal-National coalition government in New South Wales appears to be on shaky ground, falling behind in the polls and currently operating without a parliamentary majority.

With two weeks to go until the election, there’s still a chance of the Coalition or Labor forming majority or minority government – although a Coalition majority appears least likely.

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‘We are so far behind’: Lynda Edwards says Indigenous voice could spur action on NSW treaty

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Comments from NSW premier’s woman of the year come as government minister rules out progress on treaty if re-elected

The New South Wales premier’s woman of the year says the state is “so far behind everyone else” on a treaty with First Nations people, suggesting a federal voice could lead to action despite a declaration by a Coalition minister that it is not on the agenda.

Lynda Edwards received the title on Thursday, when she was also named the NSW Aboriginal woman of the year by Dominic Perrottet for her work advocating for the financial rights of First Nations people and working to reform the financial sector to better serve them.

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Liberal candidate in Kiama refuses to rule out preference deal with Gareth Ward

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Melanie Gibbons faces awkward exchange with journalists a day after stunning Liberal insiders with preselection

The newly preselected Liberal candidate in Kiama, Melanie Gibbons, has refused to rule out striking a preference deal with the sitting MP Gareth Ward in the forthcoming New South Wales election, saying it is “up to the party”.

Gibbons, who is the outgoing MP in the southern Sydney seat of Holsworthy, endured an awkward exchange with journalists on Thursday after stunning Liberal insiders by lodging an 11th-hour nomination to run in Kiama.

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Australian Catholic order argues paedophile’s death shields it from abuse claims

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Marist Brothers are accused of concealing Francis Cable’s crimes for decades but say they cannot receive a fair trial because they are unable obtain a witness statement from him

A Catholic order will argue on Friday it should be shielded from abuse claims relating to one of the worst paedophiles in the New South Wales Catholic school system because he is dead, despite allegedly concealing his crimes from authorities for decades.

The Marist Brothers allegedly knew of child abuse complaints about Brother Francis “Romuald” Cable from at least 1967, but did nothing to either eject him from the order or inform police, court documents obtained by the Guardian show.

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‘It is ginormous’: bushfire in NSW’s central west puts rural communities on edge

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Rural Fire Service says blaze north of Hill End could burn for weeks as locals struggle to save properties

An out-of-control bushfire in New South Wales’s central west has blazed through properties and scorched bushland, with the NSW Rural Fire Service warning it could be “burning for weeks”.

Dozens of fires have been burning across NSW since Sunday as gusty winds and vegetation growth from last year’s high rainfall make it easier for flames to catch, according to Dean Narramore, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology.

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‘Not good enough’: Perrottet vows to increase number of women preselected for Liberals in lower house

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Just a third of candidates are women and NSW premier says he is open to all ideas, including quotas

Women account for just a third of the lower house candidates preselected by the Liberal party ahead of the 25 March state election – putting them behind Labor’s 45%, the Greens’ even split and their own target of 40%.

The premier, Dominic Perrottet, conceded his party was falling short and it was not good enough, saying he wanted half of all candidates pursued at the next election to be women, and insisting he was open to all ideas, including quotas.

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NSW Coalition accused of racism and paternalism after pledge to stop controversial development

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Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council proposed to build 450 homes at Sydney’s Lizard Rock

The New South Wales Coalition has been accused of racist, paternalistic and politically expedient decision-making after it vowed to spike a proposal to build 450 homes in bushland on Sydney’s northern beaches by its Indigenous proponents.

The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council’s chief executive, Nathan Moran, said the decision by the government to block its plan for the 71 hectare Lizard Rock site was an attempt to save three seats at risk from teal independents at the 25 March election.

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Hot, windy conditions drive up NSW fire danger again before Wednesday’s cool change

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Heatwave continues along the coast and extreme fire danger forecast inland as windy weather picks up

Hot and windy conditions were expected to drive up the fire danger in New South Wales on Tuesday, as the autumnal heatwave continues in parts of the state and more than 30 fires burn.

Extreme fire danger is forecast in the central ranges and greater Hunter areas, where total fire bans are in place.

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NSW Labor vows to fix ‘broken’ environmental offsets system if elected

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Spokesperson Penny Sharpe says current system has ‘no red lines’ and party will deliver changes within first 18 months of government

New South Wales Labor has promised to fix the state’s “broken” environmental offsets system if it wins government in March, saying current policies are causing decline of endangered ecosystems instead of avoiding more damage.

“I think there’s a role for offsetting but the current system is skewed the wrong way,” the party’s environment spokesperson, Penny Sharpe, said.

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Armed man shot dead by police in Sydney’s south-west

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Officers responding to alleged domestic violence attack were threatened by man with two knives, police say

An armed man has been shot dead by police at the scene of an alleged domestic violence attack in Sydney’s south-west.

A critical incident investigation is under way after the 29-year-old was fatally shot in the chest in William Street at Yagoona shortly before 9am on Sunday.

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‘Plagued by scandal’: Albanese blasts Perrottet’s government as NSW Labor launches election campaign

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Prime minister received hero’s welcome as state opposition pledged $93m to hire 1,000 apprentices and trainees in the public sector

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has launched a scathing attack on the New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet’s government, saying it is “plagued by scandal” and slamming its “deficit of character”.

Despite a series of public appearances with Perrottet in recent months in which he has been complimentary of the Coalition premier, Albanese used the official launch of the NSW Labor campaign on Sunday to issue a searing broadside on the government three weeks out from the state election.

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PM says Labor has ‘balance right’ on super tax concessions – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Adam Bandt says Greens could support key Labor climate policy if fossil fuels developments paused

The Greens say they could support the Albanese government’s changes to the safeguard mechanism – a key climate policy – if it agreed to pause new fossil fuel developments until the parliament has dealt with planned changes to national environment laws.

Under Labor - no more privatisation. We’ll build the tunnel but we won’t sell it.

Any revenue from tolls goes straight back into public hands to build for the future.

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High temperatures and sunny weather headed for NSW, with parts reaching 40C

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Mercury forecast to top 30C in Sydney over the weekend, before rising to 35C on Monday

New South Wales is expected to swelter through high temperatures in the coming days, with some parts of the state forecast to nudge over 40C.

The mercury expected to top 30C across Sydney over the weekend, before rising again on Monday.

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NSW government slams brakes on high-speed rail plans after spending $100m on studies

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Exclusive: Perrottet government backs away from building Sydney-Newcastle fast rail link by itself

The Perrottet government has quietly abandoned its vision to build its own dedicated fast rail line between Sydney and Newcastle despite four years and roughly $100m spent on feasibility studies, abruptly halting work on a final business case just as geotechnical drilling was being planned.

Confidential documents seen by Guardian Australia reveal that the New South Wales transport department now considers further planning and construction of a dedicated fast rail line to Newcastle to be a task for the commonwealth and its yet-to-be-operational High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) – which will itself re-start feasibility studies when it is formed.

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Spears stolen by Captain Cook from Kamay/Botany Bay in 1770 to be returned to traditional owners

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Held by Cambridge University for more than 250 years, the spears mark ‘first point in shared history’

Four spears stolen from Kamay, now known as Botany Bay in Sydney, by Captain James Cook, a then Lieutenant, and his crew, are to be returned to their traditional owners after more than 250 years.

The Kamay spears were among 40 recorded as being taken on to the HMB Endeavour in 1770, at the time of first contact between those aboard the ship and the local Gweagal people.

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