Category Archives: New South Wales

‘Silent epidemic’: almost two-thirds of Sydney’s gambling losses occur in city’s west

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Cost-of-living pressures, disadvantage and ‘oversaturation’ of machines in the region leading to higher levels of gambling-related harm, researchers say

Almost two-thirds of Sydney’s gambling losses come from western Sydney, with advocates concerned the cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating problem gambling in the region.

A research paper from Western Sydney University, which has called gambling-related harm a “silent epidemic”, also says three LGAs in western Sydney account for a third of Sydney’s total gambling losses.

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Kylie, Ultra Violet, Kim Petras: WorldPride festival has ‘something for everyone’, CEO says

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Sydney is gearing up for a massive, global party — but it’s also an important reminder of the work still to be done on LGBTQ+ rights

Sydney’s WorldPride will have something for everyone, organisers say, as the city gears up for 17 days of festivities surrounding the 45th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The festival – which will include more than 300 events – kicks off on Friday, and will end with an expected 50,000 people walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday 5 March.

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NSW Labor pledges to improve ageing regional trains after ‘botched’ rollout of new fleet

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Opposition says it will step into vacuum left by NSW government’s lack of interim solutions to improve experience for passengers

Labor has promised to improve the ageing trains that run from Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane if it wins the New South Wales election, as the Coalition’s delayed replacement fleet leaves passengers in carriages without phone reception for most of this decade.

The pledge follows revelations from an advisory report that the NSW government’s contract for new regional trains is set to blow out by more than $1bn, with the first of the rolling stock that was meant to enter service this January now delayed to as late as December 2025.

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Dominic Perrottet defends appointment of Liberal donor brother of Angus Taylor to NSW body

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Exclusive: Party treasurer Charlie Taylor has attended fundraisers hosted by the minister who appointed him

Dominic Perrottet has defended his government’s appointment of a senior Liberal official – who made thousands of dollars in political donations to the party – as the chair of a New South Wales productivity council set up to provide independent advice on innovation.

In January the state’s innovation minister, Alistair Henskens, appointed Charlie Taylor to chair the state’s Innovation and Productivity Council (IPC).

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Man and woman drown on NSW Central Coast beach

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Emergency services were called to Frazer Beach on Wednesday afternoon, but neither could be revived

A man and a woman have died after being pulled from the water unconscious on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

Just before 4.20pm on Wednesday, emergency services were called to Frazer Beach, around 50km south of Newcastle, after reports two people had been pulled from the water unresponsive.

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Labor must meet ‘fundamental test’ of character on poker machine reform, Andrew Wilkie says

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Party is under pressure on gambling measures after NSW Coalition announced cashless gaming scheme

The federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie has declared gambling reform as a “fundamental test” of character for Labor as pressure mounts on the party at the state and federal level to follow the New South Wales Coalition in committing to action on poker machines.

This came after the Perrottet government unveiled a $344m plan to switch the state to cashless poker machines over the next five years – a move that has been resisted by the state’s Labor leader, Chris Minns, who has only committed to a limited trial.

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Greens vow action as huge rent hikes see adults forced to move back in with parents

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Exclusive: Party seeking rent freezes, new body to set controls on prices and end to no-grounds evictions

Jeremy Bryant wasn’t expecting to be moving back in with his parents just a few weeks after turning 30.

But that’s where the successful musician and university student now finds himself, along with his little brother, after the rent on their Redfern home was raised by $110 a week.

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‘Pretty damn good’: Tim Costello backs Perrottet government plan for cashless poker machine card

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Gamblers will be able to set their own loss limits, which will only be able to be changed once a week

New South Wales pubs and clubs will be given five years to introduce cashless gaming systems across all poker machines, with gamblers able to set their own loss limits, under a $344m plan developed by the state government.

The state’s premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced the package on Monday after months of public debate and major pushback from some of his Coalition colleagues.

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NSW Liberals promise households $250 in electricity bill support if re-elected

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Dominic Perrottet says homes will be able to receive the rebate if they compare energy providers

New South Wales residents will receive a $250 rebate for comparing energy providers and plans, in the latest Coalition election promise ahead of next month’s state election.

The premier, Dominic Perrottet, said households would be able to access the one-off cost-of-living payment by comparing energy plans using a tool on the Service NSW website.

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The John Barilaro factor: former NSW deputy premier becomes focal point in state campaign

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New auditor general report highlights Barilaro’s office created rules for a grants program that saw Labor electorates miss out entirely

For a couple of days this week, Dominic Perrottet was riding high.

The ClubsNSW boss, Josh Landis, whose campaign against the premier’s proposed cashless gaming scheme was fuelling division within the coalition, was sacked, creating some clear air for Perrottet amid a volatile state election campaign.

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Teals and other NSW independents seek to kill controversial Pep-11 gas permit

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Exclusive: Candidates hoping to hold the balance of power to push for state-level development bans

The “kingmaker” Sydney MP, Alex Greenwich, and a coalition of independent political hopefuls will attempt to kill the controversial Pep-11 gas exploration licence by banning development of the area through a change in New South Wales law.

The six independents, who could hold the balance of power in under two months, will on Saturday unveil a bill that would amend the State Planning Act to ban certain types of development on land and at sea, negating possible future federal approval.

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John Barilaro: NSW government hands report into office’s intervention in bushfire grants to Icac

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Auditor general’s scathing findings provided to watchdog ‘for their information’ after Labor threat

The New South Wales government has handed a scathing auditor general’s report into the $100m black summer bushfire recovery grants to the state’s corruption watchdog, amid calls for John Barilaro to explain his office’s involvement in the scheme.

A spokesperson for the premier, Dominic Perrottet, said the report had been passed to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) “for their information” after the opposition leader, Chris Minns, issued an ultimatum for Barilaro to offer an explanation.

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Coles and Woolworths ordered to dump more than 5,200 tonnes of recycled soft plastic in landfill

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NSW environment officials alert Fire and Rescue over concerns plastic is being stored dangerously following suspension of the REDcycle scheme

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have been ordered to dump more than 5,200 tonnes of soft plastic – currently being stored at warehouses across New South Wales – into landfill.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority is concerned that huge amounts of soft plastic are being dangerously stored at 15 locations due to the suspension of botched recycling initiative REDcycle.

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John Barilaro’s assault charge dismissed by NSW magistrate on mental health grounds

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Former deputy premier had pleaded not guilty to assaulting a camera operator in Manly last July

A magistrate has dismissed an assault charge against former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro on mental health grounds.

Barilaro pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting a camera operator and damaging their property outside a Manly restaurant in July 2022.

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Coles and Woolworths ordered to dump more than 5,200 tonnes of soft plastic into landfill – as it happened

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The government has been accused of deliberately withholding detail on its push to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution for political reasons.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton and shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser were briefed by the referendum working group after calling for more information on the proposed voice’s make-up and function.

Like all Australians, we want to see a better outcome for the Indigenous people of our country.

We are willing to look at any measure to do that. There are lots of questions around the voice and lots of detail that hasn’t yet been provided.

It’s not the airlines that do the turn backs that you should be worried about. It’s the airlines that keep on going to the destination and don’t make that turn back.

This is what happens with aviation across the world. And it’s an important part of the safety management system. I would rather there be not, but again I encourage our pilots to do this. I applaud them when they do it.

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NSW irrigator hit with $350,000 fine for water theft offences

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Moree Plains company found guilty of knowingly taking water with faulty metering equipment for crops such as cotton

A Moree Plains irrigator has been ordered to pay a record $350,000 in fines after pleading guilty to knowingly taking water, using an under-recording meter system and constructing an unlawful dam.

It is the first time a “tier one” offence has been successfully prosecuted by the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).

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Australia news live: voice working group says Dutton committed to ‘further talks’; Alice Springs report may not be made public until next week

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Australian batter Usman Khawaja has been cleared to join his teammates in India after his visa issues were sorted, AAP reports.

Pakistan-born Khawaja will fly out of Melbourne today, more than a day later than planned, after an anxious wait for his visa to be approved.

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Summer pause: cold weather forecast for south-east Australia to bring snow across Alps

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Sharp temperature drops expected in SA, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania on Friday while north-east faces heatwave conditions

Break out the winter woolies. Temperatures across Australia’s south-east are set to plummet with some areas expected to experience their coldest February days in two decades on Friday.

A strong cold front is pushing up from southern Australia and is forecast to sweep across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania on Friday.

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NSW teachers should have a 25% pay bump in coming years, research suggests

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Exclusive: University of Sydney report says pay has gone ‘from bad to worse’ as cost-of-living pressures rise

Wages for New South Wales school teachers should be up to 25% higher before the end of the decade to counter long-term wage suppression and inflation, according to researchers from the University of Sydney who found educators were among the worst-paid professions.

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Czech pair defend Australian Open doubles title; millions of RATs to expire in coming months – as it happened

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There are reports of delayed and diverted flights at Sydney airport after an air control tower was evacuated.

Airservices Australia has told Nine that the incident was sparked by fumes emitting through the air conditioning system, resulting in two international flights being diverted.

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