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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Australia news live: review into Stuart Ayres over Barilaro hiring finds no breach of ministerial conduct

Ayres stepped aside as deputy NSW Liberal leader and trade minister after a separate report into the controversial trade posting of John Barilaro. Follow all the day’s news live

Australia’s high commissioner to the UK meets with King Charles

Australia’s acting high commissioner to the UK Lynette Wood has had an audience with King Charles III.

Really what matters is we have the best possible person for the job, who can advance Australia’s interests in the best possible way, and that certainly needs a thorough and robust process to choose that person.

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Sydney north shore residents face third day without water after main bursts

Sydney Water apologises to residents of Lane Cove and surrounding suburbs for water supply and traffic issues

A burst water main has left residents in parts of Sydney’s lower north shore without water for three days and caused chaos on roads and public transport.

Water continued to gush on to Epping Road in Lane Cove on Monday, three days after what Sydney Water called a “complex” water main burst.

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NSW Coalition down but not out as poll shows hung parliament a strong possibility

Drop in popularity for Coalition and Labor suggests tight race in NSW election – and that independents could still play key role

Nearly six months out from the next New South Wales election, a new poll shows there is little separating the major parties, with a hung parliament a distinct possibility.

The latest Guardian Essential poll of 661 voters showed 36.4% would put the Coalition first on their ballot if an election were held in the state tomorrow, while 32% would choose Labor.

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Governor general proclaims King Charles III as Australia’s head of state – As it happened

Anthony Albanese has set 22 September as National Memorial Service Day for Queen Elizabeth II. This blog is now closed

Howard says the popularity of the Queen was the key reason behind the republican movement failing, but that the monarchy offers stability.

I think there’s also a keener appreciation of the value of the institution and its strength. People look around the world at the moment and the alternative governance systems on offer, everyone in democracies, don’t look all that flash on occasions. I think the strength and durability and flexibility of the constitutional monarchy is something that more people appreciate than is imagined.

That is fair enough. It’s a democracy. People can argue for change. My observation is the strength of the monarchy in Australia was immeasurably increased by the personal popularity of the Queen.

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Guardian Essential poll: 64% of young voters would consider backing independents in NSW and Victorian elections

After success of federal ‘teals’, about half of all respondents are thinking about a shift away from major parties

About half of voters – and more than two-thirds of young people – are considering backing independents at the upcoming Victorian and New South Wales state elections, in a trend described as the “Uberisation” of politics.

The latest Guardian Essential poll shows 48% of 1,100 respondents in Victoria and NSW are considering voting for an independent if one were to run in their electorate.

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‘Controversial’ proposal would see young NSW men banned from driving until they turn 21

Road safety experts say more needs to be done to reduce fatalities by focusing on young men

Men would be banned from getting a driver’s licence until they are 21 under a “controversial” proposal being made to the New South Wales government.

The proposal is one of several being made by road safety experts, who say more needs to be done to reduce road fatalities by focusing on young drivers – and particularly young men.

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