Category Archives: New South Wales

Vales Point coal-fired power station in NSW could be polluting in breach of clean air laws

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Environment groups question whether ageing station’s exemptions from some pollution standards are valid

Environment groups say an ageing coal-fired power station in New South Wales that sold for hundreds of millions of dollars may be operating in breach of the state’s clean air laws.

This week Delta Electricity announced it sold the 1,320-megawatt Vales Point power station, located in the state’s Hunter region, to Sev.en Global Investments, owned by Czech billionaire Pavel Tykač.

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Greens urge Labor to redirect fossil fuel subsidies to renewables in budget – as it happened

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Victorian government commits $1bn to emergency departments in Melbourne’s north

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has vowed to expand two of the state’s busiest emergency departments in Melbourne’s north, in a pre-election $1bn health pledge.

We know there is pressure in the system.

This means more emergency department space, more emergency department patients being treated and a stronger and better health system for millions more.

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‘Bigger and better than ever’: Australia’s rural shows bounce back after tough years

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Sponsorship and community engagement are surging after two years of pandemic cancellations

Australia’s rural agricultural shows are making a comeback, with sponsorship and community engagement surging after two years of pandemic cancellations.

According to Agricultural Shows Australia (ASA) executive officer, Katie Stanley, of the more than 580 shows nationwide, 430 were cancelled due to Covid in 2020, and 273 in 2021.

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Australia news live: former senator Rex Patrick demands explanation for freedom of information delays

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Patrick will use the federal court to demand the information commissioner explain the lawfulness of her office’s delays in reviewing freedom of information decisions. Follow the day’s news live

The NSW government and the transport union will be meeting this afternoon behind closed doors after the union announced yesterday they’ll be withdrawing their plans to shut down the Opal card system.

Last week the union announced their plans to shut down the Opal card system indefinitely as part of their ongoing dispute with the state government.

[W]e know that higher interest rates will tend to depress residential and commercial property prices but there is considerable uncertainty about the magnitude and even the timing.

Not only can declining property prices have implications for economic activity, but also for financial stability as we outlined in the April financial stability review.

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Farmers prepare to be cut off by flooding in north-west NSW

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Homes in Gunnedah inundated and residents in Wee Waa region warned to move livestock and machinery to high ground

Farmers in north-west New South Wales are preparing to be cut off after the Namoi River broke its banks, inundating rural towns and sparking several flood rescues.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for the river, including major flooding at Wee Waa and Gunnedah after the river peaked early on Sunday.

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Public servant Amy Brown sacked over hiring process that led to John Barilaro’s New York trade role

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Former head of Investment NSW set to receive 12 months’ salary after being terminated from high-profile job

The department secretary responsible for handing John Barilaro a lucrative $500,000 New York trade job has been sacked.

After weeks of speculation about Amy Brown’s future amid a long-running controversy over the now-abandoned appointment, the state’s senior public servant Michael Coutts-Trotter confirmed on Monday that Brown’s employment had been terminated.

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Beachfront homeowners push to extend Collaroy seawall to protect property from erosion

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Northern Beaches council considers plan to add 80 metres of controversial concrete wall as massive swells batter coastal properties in Sydney

What some consider the ugliest wall in Australia could soon be bigger, with residents pushing to extend the Collaroy seawall on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Northern Beaches council has received a new application by five local property owners to build two new sections of the wall in front of their properties to protect the homes from coastal erosion and massive swells.

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Australia live news update: Albanese meets King and UK PM ahead of Queen’s funeral; Grace Brown wins silver at Wollongong cycling worlds

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Downing Street frames conversation between Australian PM and the British leader as chat rather than formal bilateral talks. This blog is now closed

China is watching world’s response to Ukraine crisis, Marles says

Marles is asked about what the situation in Ukraine and the relationship between China and Russia may mean for the situation regarding Taiwan. Specifically, Marles is asked what will happen if China moved to reunify Taiwan with the mainland using military force.

The way in which the world has reacted to Russia … has been very impressive, but so, too, has the incredible resistance of the Ukrainian people. People fight for the homeland. It has been remarkable and more than expected.

China will be watching this, as I guess we all are.

I think it says something about where the whole conflict is at. There is a degree of humiliation for Russia in relation to this.

I didn’t imagine when the invasion first occurred that Ukraine would be able to provide the resistance that it has.

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NSW heads to court to try and block union plan to deactivate Opal readers at train stations

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Application lodged in Fair Work Commission to have action to turn off or short circuit the machines declared unprotected

The New South Wales government is headed to court in a bid to block union plans to deactivate Opal readers at train stations as part of an ongoing industrial stoush.

A section 418 application has been lodged in the Fair Work Commission to have the “destructive action” to turn off or short circuit the machines from Wednesday declared unprotected, the state’s transport minister, David Elliott, said.

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Flood warnings in NSW and northern Victoria as more wild weather expected

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Flood warnings issued for parts of Upper Murray and the Peel, Macquarie and Lachlan rivers in NSW, and Victorian communities along Murray River

Thousands of New South Wales residents were under flood watch as the Bureau of Meteorology issued major warnings across the state on Saturday.

Emergency personnel performed 11 rescues from floodwaters overnight, with more wild weather forecast for the weekend.

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‘All high value’: video of raid on Melissa Caddick’s Sydney home shows extensive jewellery collection

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Inquest into disappearance and presumed death of alleged fraudster shown footage of 12-hour raid at Dover Heights mansion in November 2020

As the corporate watchdog and federal police turned Melissa Caddick’s Sydney mansion upside down searching for evidence of her alleged multimillion-dollar fraud, the businesswoman took an afternoon nap.

Earlier on that mid-November 2020 morning, Caddick had shown Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) and federal police officers rows of earrings, bracelets, cufflinks and necklaces from luxury brands including Dior and Stefano Canturi. They were all seized from a safe, her inquest was told.

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Parts of Australia’s south-east brace for wet, cold and windy weather

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More than a dozen people rescued from flood waters in NSW while severe weather warning issued in western Victoria

South-eastern Australia is bracing for a wet and windy weekend with temperatures expected to drop in most major centres.

A deep low-pressure system is expected to fuel a number of cold fronts, with rain now likely to last into next week.

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Labor MP claims rate decisions based on ‘outdated and outmoded data’ – as it happened

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NSW roads impacted by rainfall

Man falls to his death while hiking near Gold Coast waterfall

Emergency services were initially called to Tanninaba Falls around 12.15pm following reports a man falling several metres down a cliff face.

Crews located the man at the bottom of the cliff and was declared deceased a short time later.

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‘Localise everything’: After floods, Northern Rivers residents join forces to build disaster resilience

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In areas where some felt let down by emergency responses, community groups share skills such as how to clear landslips, operate chainsaws and preserve food

Northern Rivers residents are learning to use chainsaws, sandbag their homes and clear landslips safely as communities band together to ensure they are prepared for future natural disasters after this year’s devastating floods.

Their efforts have a new sense of urgency after the Bureau of Meteorology declared a La Niña event is under way – a weather pattern that typically elevates flood risks.

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BoM forecasts wetter-than-average summer for eastern states – as it happened

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Hearing that house prices are going down but looking around and seeing they are still astronomical?

Grogs explains why – yup, house prices are falling, but they are coming from eye-watering heights.

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Indigenous protest planned on national day of mourning – as it happened

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New Covid variant is probably inevitable in northern winter, says Monique Ryan

The independent MP for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan, says we need to “rejig” how we are dealing with Covid.

I think we need greater transparency about the federal and state government’s approach to Covid and their plans for what is probably an inevitable new variant emerging over the northern winter.

I think workplaces and schools and aged care childcare facilities lack clarity about what the plan is for the inevitable next outbreaks of Covid and there’s a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the fact that the government seems to have been winding back the mitigation strategies, whether we’re talking about mask-wearing, social isolation, quarantine, without really a plan for how this is going to affect people going forward.

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New South Wales government ‘ready and willing’ to discuss bringing rebel LIV golf tour to Australia

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Exclusive: State’s sports minister says NSW is ‘the perfect place’ for major tournaments, with Greg Norman believed to be scouting Sydney courses

The New South Wales government is “ready and willing” to have discussions with Greg Norman in a bid to bring the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour to Sydney, the state’s sports minister has said.

Amid increasing speculation Norman is seeking to bring the controversial breakaway tournament to Australia, the minister, Alister Henskens, confirmed he was open to hosting the multi-million dollar rebel series.

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Coalmine wastewater spill south of Sydney turns Royal national park creek to black sludge

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NSW EPA investigating third coal pollution incident this year involving Peabody Energy’s Metropolitan mine

A creek running through the Royal national park, south of Sydney, has been hit by a coal wastewater spill that turned its water into thick, black sludge.

It is the third coal pollution incident investigated by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority this year involving Peabody Energy’s Metropolitan mine at Helensburg.

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Mixed reaction on potential delay to integrity commission bill – as it happened

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And the London police have responded to the viral video of a police officer talking to a protester at Parliament Square – with a statement that reads like it is reminding officers people have the right to peaceful protests.

If you haven’t read the UK Guardian’s editorial today, you may enjoy it

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Cleared of wrongdoing, the political fate of former NSW minister Stuart Ayres remains uncertain

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Whether Ayres returns to cabinet or retires to the backbench, Dominic Perrottet faces further headaches

For Stuart Ayres, the release on Monday of a report clearing him of breaching the New South Wales ministerial code of conduct was vindication.

Bruce McClintock SC was unequivocal in finding the former deputy Liberal leader and trade minister had not acted improperly in John Barilaro’s appointment to a lucrative New York trade job.

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