Category Archives: New South Wales

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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Catholic church uses paedophile priest’s death to try to block NSW survivor’s lawsuit

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Case is latest in series where church seeks to capitalise on landmark ruling that a priest’s death meant church could not receive a fair trial

The Catholic church is attempting to use the death of a paedophile, who had been jailed for the abuse of 17 children, to shield itself from further civil claims from his survivors.

In recent months, the church has adopted an increasingly aggressive approach to survivors in cases where paedophile clergy have died. It has sought to capitalise on a recent decision in New South Wales’s highest court that ruled a priest’s death meant the church could not receive a fair trial in a claim brought by a woman known as GLJ.

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Daughter of Sydney developer released on bail after being charged with fraud offences

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Court hears allegations against Ashlyn Nassif, 27, relate to Skyview development in Castle Hill

Ashlyn Nassif, the daughter of Jean Nassif, a Sydney property developer has been released on bail after she was arrested by the New South Wales organised crime squad as part of a major fraud investigation into a controversial multimillion development in the city’s north-west.

Nassif, 27, appeared in the Downing Centre local court on Wednesday to apply for bail after spending the night in prison after a series of raids across Sydney.

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NSW ‘effectively abandoned’ strategy to have less Indigenous children in care, ombudsman finds

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Report says Aboriginal kids now account for 43.8% of children in out-of home care, up from 38.4%

The New South Wales government has been lashed for effectively abandoning its own strategy to reduce the representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and failing its own targets.

The state ombudsman, Paul Miller, handed down a scathing report into the five-year Aboriginal Outcomes Strategy (AOS), noting that since its 2017 launch the Department of Communities and Justice appears to have abandoned it without explanation.

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Vast national park to be created and native animals protected after NSW government land purchase

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Dominic Perrottet lauds tourism benefits of buying 440,000 hectare site Thurloo Downs in state’s north-west

Habitat for more than 50 threatened species will be preserved as part of a new land acquisition by the New South Wales government that will become the state’s third-largest national park.

The 437,394 hectare site, which is called Thurloo Downs and is about 250 kilometres from Bourke in the state’s north-west, contains globally significant arid zone wetlands, as well as salt lakes, playas and other geological formations that are unprotected elsewhere in NSW.

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Rezone more land to get more housing, NSW government says – but that can be a recipe for disaster

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Fast-tracking development in the Macarthur region will give Sydney a massive new infrastructure challenge

It’s a simple and seductive solution: rezone more land on the fringes of Sydney for housing and real estate prices will fall, thanks to greater supply.

But the reality is more complex.

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NSW Labor promises disaster warning systems as Coalition pledges more stamp duty changes

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Chris Minns says, if elected, Labor will spend $3.3m upgrading early warning systems for floods and fires

New South Wales Labor has pledged to invest in world-leading natural disaster detection technology if it can win the state election as the government announces a major plan to expand its overhaul of stamp duty.

“Sadly, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe in our state,” the NSW Labor leader, Chris Minns, said on Sunday.

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Corruption watchdog warned NSW government of risks around plan to fast-track rezoning of land for housing

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Independent Commission Against Corruption warned ‘a favourable rezoning’ of large swathes on Sydney’s fringes could deliver windfall to developers

The New South Wales corruption watchdog advised the state’s department of planning that its decision to fast-track large areas of land for rezoning for new housing carried with it a number of risks, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption warned that “a favourable rezoning” under the plan to rezone large swathes of land on Sydney’s fringes “could deliver a significant windfall to an applicant” and that this could prompt applicants to attempt “various lobbying techniques”, including “direct approaches to the minister”, and “using or cultivating personal contacts” within the department.

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