Category Archives: New South Wales politics

NSW’s top prosecutor scores legal win in bias claim against senior judge

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Recusal application against district court judge Penelope Wass yet to be determined amid row with DPP

New South Wales’ top prosecutor has been given the green light to continue her fight to get a senior judge removed from a historical sexual offences trial on the grounds of apprehended bias.

The ruling from the NSW supreme court is the latest development in a long-running row between the director of public prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, and district court judge Penelope Wass. The dispute went before the NSW court of appeal last week.

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NSW government denies ‘covering up’ deadly fungal outbreak at major hospital

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Health minister says cluster of infections at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital was not publicised to avoid ‘unnecessarily scaring people’

The New South Wales health minister has denied “covering up” a deadly fungal outbreak at one of Australia’s largest hospitals, saying it was not publicised to avoid “unnecessarily scaring people”.

The cluster of infections caused by aspergillus, a common mould, killed two patients and left four others unwell in the Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) hospital’s transplant unit in late 2025.

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More than 670 NSW pokies venues to be stripped of ability to stay open after 4am

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Exclusive: Government to end exemptions to mandated closing times for pubs and clubs, including those that allow 24/7 gambling

More than 670 poker machine venues across New South Wales will lose their “outdated exemptions” to operate after 4am as the state government responds to pressure to address “a public health catastrophe”.

The decision, announced by the state’s gaming minister David Harris, will ensure gaming rooms are closed at the mandated 4am deadline. Some venues are allowing them to be played 24/7.

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Kellie Sloane appointed NSW Liberal leader following ouster of Mark Speakman

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The former journalist and first-term MP had Speakman’s endorsement and support across the factions

Kellie Sloane has become the third woman to lead the NSW Liberal Party after a party room meeting agreed on Friday morning to make her leader of the opposition.

The right’s Alister Henskens, the shadow attorney-general, did not stand.

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Kellie Sloane is tipped to replace Mark Speakman as NSW Liberal leader. That should make life tougher for Chris Minns

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Sloane, an ex-journalist, is good at delivering lines. But if the state Coalition tears itself apart over net zero, she could be left talking up a fractured opposition

Compared with their federal colleagues, the New South Wales Coalition has been a relatively collegial conservative political grouping. But no more.

Over the next fortnight, the NSW Liberals could well dump their leader, Mark Speakman, and face the almost impossible task of reconciling divergent positions on net zero emissions with junior coalition partner the Nationals. There is a real prospect that the state opposition could fracture.

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Strap in for a feral lead-up into Christmas in the NSW parliament

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The Minns government has two major pieces of legislation it desperately wants to pass – but to do so it needs to woo some crossbenchers

As the New South Wales parliament draws to a close at the end of November, expect it to be dominated by feral horses, feral pigs and feral politics.

The Minns Labor government has two major pieces of legislation it desperately wants to pass before parliament rises. But it faces obstacles in the upper house where a clutch of minor parties hold the balance of power.

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Name of suspect in Cheryl Grimmer cold case revealed in parliament by NSW MP

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Girl’s family had told the man, known by pseudonym ‘Mercury’, to meet with them by Wednesday midnight or they would make his identity public

A New South Wales MP has used parliamentary privilege to reveal the identity of a man who was previously charged by police over the alleged abduction and murder of a UK-born toddler, Cheryl Grimmer, 55 years ago.

Cheryl vanished from outside a shower block while with her mother and three older brothers at Fairy Meadow beach in the Illawarra region of NSW on 12 January 1970.

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NSW government rejected expert advice before failed koala reintroduction that left more than half dead

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Exclusive: Documents reveal state environment department had ‘reckless indifference’ to fate of individual koalas, Greens spokesperson Sue Higginson says

The New South Wales government rejected advice from an expert scientific panel before it attempted a failed reintroduction of koalas to a forest in the state’s south that resulted in the death of more than half the animals.

Internal documents show most members of a panel advising the state environment department on plans to relocate endangered koalas as part of a conservation strategy recommended against moving marsupials from forest near Wollongong to the South East Forest national park near Bega, a five-hour drive away.

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‘We want our stories to be told’: NSW Labor pledges $3.2m to support writing and literature amid AI onslaught

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Stories Matter strategy responds to urgent pressures such as declining reading rates and growing impact of digital media on publishing, minister says

It is a sector that delivers $1.3bn annually to the New South Wales economy and supports up to 22,000 jobs, yet the average writer earns just $18,200 a year from their creative practice.

To counter this stark disparity, the NSW government is launching the state’s first ever writing and literature strategy, and has committed $3.2m to support and expand the sector.

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From protest laws to deaths in custody, Minns’ rush to claim the conservative high ground is clumsy and costly

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At almost every opportunity, the NSW premier chooses a conservative path: get the cops on side and let nobody fault Labor’s toughness on crime. It’s not working

There is a lesson for Chris Minns in the NSW supreme court’s declaration that police powers to deal with protesters near places of worship are invalid: laws curtailing civil liberties should never be rushed.

They should certainly not be pushed through in an atmosphere of panic and incomplete facts such as existed in the fevered days after the now notorious Dural caravan incident.

Anne Davies is Guardian Australia’s NSW state correspondent

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NSW urged to stop strip-searches of young people after court ruling spotlights police conduct

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Supreme court rules police suspicion that a person is in possession of a prohibited drug ‘is not sufficient to conduct a strip-search’

Advocates are calling on the New South Wales government to scrap strip-searches of young people altogether, saying a landmark court ruling found “systemic” issues with the way police have been using their powers.

Justice Dina Yehia handed down her findings in the NSW supreme court on Tuesday in a class action brought by Slater and Gordon Lawyers and the Redfern Legal Centre against the state of NSW.

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Ausgrid slashes safety inspectors after report finds cheaper to pay permanent disability injury compensation

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Secret report from CutlerMerz finds yearly cost of inspections – $520,219 – is more than cost of paying compensation – $28,375 a year

Ausgrid cut safety inspector numbers by more than half after receiving a secret report that said it was cheaper for the company to pay compensation for a permanent disability injury than to continue paying for the inspections.

The secret report, conducted by consultancy CutlerMerz and seen by Guardian Australia, recommended Ausgrid slash the inspections it was doing by as much as 55%, saying the cost – $520,219 per year – was “grossly disproportionate to the cost of the consequence being managed”.

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The question for the NSW Liberals after the Kiama drubbing is: can anyone do better than Mark Speakman?

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Kellie Sloane has ruled out moving a spill and James Griffin isn’t eager. Alister Henskens is thought to lack the numbers. So, for now, the leader might be safe

Byelections are usually a referendum on the government. But Saturday’s Kiama byelection – and the poor performance of the New South Wales Liberals – has deepened angst within the opposition party regarding Mark Speakman’s leadership.

In Kiama, Labor increased its primary vote – a feat in itself in a byelection – and looks set to achieve an impressive swing on a two-party-preferred basis. Labor’s Katelin McInerney is on track for a thumping 60% to 40% 2PP victory over the Liberal candidate Serena Copley.

Anne Davies is Guardian Australia’s NSW state correspondent

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Proposed ‘nation-leading’ NSW childcare reforms to include $500,000 fines

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Greens welcome Minns government’s ‘bare-minimum’ changes but say more work is needed to restore faith in the sector

Large childcare providers found in breach of safety directives will face $500,000 fines – a 900% increase – under new laws to be introduced by New South Wales parliament on Wednesday.

The proposed legislation will grant greater powers to the early childhood regulator to suspend educators and revoke quality ratings in a suite of measures addressing grave concerns about safety in the sector.

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Minns’s $140m great koala national park will ‘obliterate’ regional towns, Coalition claims

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Labor’s koala strategy doesn’t go far enough, Coalition says, but environmentalists hail park a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ decision

The long-awaited great koala national park in the north of New South Wales, celebrated by wildlife groups, has drawn a mixed reaction from the state’s Coalition.

The opposition leader, Mark Speakman has hedged his party’s support, saying while he “supports the ambition of protecting koalas”, he was concerned about job losses and the cost of the park.

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NSW locks in great koala national park and brings in immediate ban on logging

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Minns government to create one of the largest national parks in the state as forest advocates welcome ‘historic’ victory

The Minns government has confirmed its long-awaited great koala national park, announcing it will add 176,000 hectares of forest to existing reserves in mid-north New South Wales to create one of the largest national parks in the state and protect more than 12,000 koalas.

The premier, Chris Minns, and environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government would put an immediate moratorium on logging within the park’s boundaries and roll out a jobkeeper style support package for workers at affected timber mills in the region.

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Lobbying rules in NSW are woefully inadequate but Icac’s calls for reform keep getting ignored

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The state’s corruption watchdog is up against the age-old dynamic of cosy relationships: no one on the inside of politics wants to change

Australia’s parliaments aren’t just filled with MPs, staff and media – but also armies of lobbyists seeking an audience or a coffee with the people who can affect their interests with the stroke of a pen.

Millions of dollars are at stake. Will the government rezone land? Tweak a law that makes an activity legal? Exempt an activity from tax or grant an environmental approval?

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Northern Beaches hospital agrees settlement after claims newborn left with lifelong disabilities

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Exclusive: Child was born via emergency caesarean at 25 weeks after mother says hospital initially failed to diagnose her appendicitis, court documents show

Sydney’s Northern Beaches hospital has settled outside court with a family after claims their baby was born by emergency caesarean at 25 weeks and left with lifelong disabilities.

Court documents seen by Guardian Australia reveal the baby’s mother presented to the hospital’s birthing unit in 2022, complaining of lower abdominal pain on her right side. The woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – says she was sent home without being given an ultrasound or undergoing any further investigation.

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Climate wars are simmering among the NSW Liberals – and they could pose a problem for Mark Speakman

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Energy policy had been an area of mostly bipartisan agreement for the NSW opposition – until now

The never-ending war within the Coalition over energy policy and climate targets appears to have infected the New South Wales Liberals as they struggle to restore the administration of their branch and get traction with voters.

It’s bad news for the NSW opposition leader, Mark Speakman, whose hold on the leadership is being increasingly questioned.

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Sea of people march across Sydney Harbour Bridge calling for an end to killing in Gaza

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NSW police estimate 90,000 walked despite force and premier opposing rally, while Palestine Action Group claims up to 300,000 peacefully protested

At least 100,000 pro-Palestine marchers, including Julian Assange, the former foreign minister Bob Carr and the government MP Ed Husic, have marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge in the rain to protest against Israel’s conduct in Gaza and to speak out about the children starving there.

The world-famous landmark was closed to traffic at 11.30am on Sunday, with protesters gathering in Lang Park in the city centre before enduring heavy rain as they walked across the bridge.

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