Category Archives: New South Wales politics

NSW Liberals expel senior members, refer themselves to election watchdog after branch-stacking inquiry

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‘Elaborate and complex’ operation allegedly included more than 100 members and involved people being signed up and given fake email addresses

The New South Wales branch of the Liberal party has referred itself to the state’s election watchdog and is expelling about a half a dozen senior party members following an internal investigation into an allegedly “elaborate and complex” branch-stacking system.

The alleged branch-stacking operation is understood to have included more than 100 members, and involved people being signed up to the party and given fake email addresses in a process that may have been used to influence key votes on policy and preselections.

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Teal-style independent Helen Conway to run for North Shore in NSW election

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Former corporate lawyer is backed by same group that supported Kylea Tink’s successful federal campaign

A former corporate lawyer who spent years at the helm of the federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency will challenge Liberal MP Felicity Wilson in the seat of North Shore at the New South Wales election in March.

Helen Conway will on Tuesday be announced as an independent candidate in the blue ribbon seat, with the backing of a “teal” community group – North Sydney’s Independent – that launched Kylea Tink’s successful federal campaign.

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At least a dozen climate activists face jail time under NSW laws used to lock up Violet Coco

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Exclusive: A string of protesters linked to Blockade Australia have been charged under the legislation

More than a dozen climate activists are facing possible jail time over protests in Sydney’s CBD this year after being charged under the same controversial laws that led to Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco being handed a 15-month prison sentence.

Court documents seen by the Guardian show a string of activists linked to climate group Blockade Australia have been charged under the laws, which introduced a two-year jail sentence for protests that block major roads, bridges or tunnels in New South Wales.

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HSC fail: NSW investigates how Higher School Certificate results published early

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NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell blames ‘IT issue’ and says she asked Education Standards Authority for an explanation

An investigation is underway into how students’ Higher School Certificate results were published early.

New South Wales HSC graduates were able to see their “preliminary” results on Saturday morning. The results will not be officially released until Thursday.

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Documents reveal ‘scramble’ to rubber-stamp NSW bill targeting climate protests

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Emails show how NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s advisers, along with several other ministers, sought to fast-track bill after media furore

The bill that led to climate activist Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco being jailed for 15 months had not even made it through the New South Wales parliament in April when the offices of multiple ministers were pushing to have it rubber-stamped by the state’s governor.

Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal how the governor, Margaret Beazley, agreed to return to her office about 11pm after a function in April to sign off on the laws after a senior public servant complained he was “copping it from absolutely every direction”.

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Albanese confident Queensland and NSW premiers will back plan to cut power prices

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PM tells business leaders his government is ‘working around the clock to deliver a solution’ and flags collaboration with states

Anthony Albanese has told business leaders he is “confident” the Queensland and New South Wales premiers will assist his government with a plan to reduce power prices for households and businesses.

The prime minister used a speech to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide an assurance that the government was “working around the clock to deliver a solution” and to flag collaboration with the states.

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Voters will reject Liberals if they don’t have enough female candidates, Matt Kean says

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NSW treasurer savaged his party’s preselection processes and warned that the community expects more diversity in its parliaments

The New South Wales treasurer, Matt Kean, has savaged his own party’s preselection processes and membership, warning the Liberals risk losing voters at the March election if they fail to put up enough female candidates.

Kean, the party’s deputy leader, said he had been “devastated” that the state’s most senior Liberal woman, Natalie Ward, was not preselected in the ultra-safe seat of Davidson and had been beaten by a former staffer, despite having the premier’s support.

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NSW government under pressure to scrap further 29,000 Covid fines after court ruling

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State forced to cancel 33,000 fines so far but Revenue NSW argues ‘technical’ supreme court decision ‘does not mean offences were not committed’

New South Wales residents wrongly penalised for Covid breaches say it is “crazy” it took a protracted and costly court case to force the state government to back down and withdraw 33,000 invalid fines.

The NSW government was forced on Tuesday to cancel 33,000 fines, worth an estimated $30m, for breaches of Covid-era public health orders after conceding they were too vague.

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Albanese government may need states to help with energy price cut amid ‘complex’ situation

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It is expected Labor will adopt a suite of reforms to address an anticipated 56% increase in electricity prices

The Albanese government could struggle to provide comprehensive energy price relief, unless the governments of New South Wales and Queensland cooperate with a plan to temporarily cap the wholesale price of coal.

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, updated cabinet on Monday on the components of Labor’s long-telegraphed regulatory intervention in the energy sector.

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NSW government announces deal with rail union in bid to end industrial dispute

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Dominic Perrottet says the two sides agreed to a Fair Work Commission process to resolve long-running fight

The New South Wales government says it has carved out a deal with the state’s rail union to modify a fleet of trains and halt industrial action, after months of bitter negotiation.

The parties had been at odds over whether or not to make safety modifications to a multibillion-dollar Korean-built fleet of intercity trains, which have been in storage since 2019.

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Dominic Perrottet’s adviser to be quizzed about controversial trade appointment

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Labor attempting to link saga to NSW premier, who was treasurer at the time of Stephen Cartwright’s appointment to senior trade job

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s chief of staff will be questioned about what role he played in the appointment of the former NSW business chamber president, Stephen Cartwright, to a lucrative UK trade job.

Bran Black, Perrottet’s chief adviser, will appear before the long-running inquiry into the government’s controversial senior trade jobs, which was launched after former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to the New York position in June.

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The cost of losing the politics of pokies in the gaming machine capital of Australia

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Despite moves to reform the system by the NSW premier, two MPs doubt that much will change

During his final fortnight in New South Wales parliament, the outgoing minister Rob Stokes did his best to beat the drum for poker machine reform in his state.

In two blistering speeches, Stokes attacked the power of the clubs sector, saying it had become “distorted and disfigured” by its reliance on the $3.8bn in yearly pokies revenue and calling for the introduction of a cashless gambling card.

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Proposed NSW disaster authority would have ‘virtually unfettered’ land-clearing powers, Greens say

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Conservation groups have also condemned the legislation, with National Parks Association ‘extremely alarmed’

A proposed new natural disaster authority in New South Wales would have “virtually unfettered” powers to overturn environmental protections and could result in the clearing of national parks, crossbench MPs and environment groups have warned.

The state’s planning minister, Anthony Roberts, introduced a bill to parliament on Monday to create a “Reconstruction Authority” dedicated to disaster preparedness, recovery and reconstruction.

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After 41 years, controversial Christian crusader Fred Nile prepares to leave NSW parliament

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Some say the former head of the Christian Democrats may have ‘mellowed’ over time – but the 88-year-old says he hasn’t changed his views

One of the final acts in the long, divisive career of the Rev Fred Nile may have been thwarted by an administrative error.

In the New South Wales upper house last week, Nile had been due to begin the debate on a bill he co-authored with the progressive MP Alex Greenwich to reform the protection of Indigenous culture and heritage.

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‘A cop out’: staff condemn NSW parliament’s statement on cultural problems

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Exclusive: ‘Statement of acknowledgment’ fails to recognise Indigenous, culturally diverse or LGBTQIA+ perspectives, say critics

A “statement of acknowledgment” of widespread cultural problems within the New South Wales parliament currently fails to recognise the experiences of Indigenous, culturally diverse and LGBTQIA+ staffers, with one calling it “a cop out”.

A draft form of the acknowledgment, made in response to workplace issues identified by the damning Broderick report, has been circulated ahead of the final to version being delivered in parliament on Tuesday.

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New child removal protections passed but NSW minister says more can be done to end Indigenous ‘over representation’

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Exclusive: Further changes to new legislation requiring social workers to prove they have made ‘active efforts’ to keep families together will be considered in a year

The minister responsible for child services in New South Wales says she wants to do more to address the “over representation” of Aboriginal children removed from their families, acknowledging the community’s frustration at the slow pace of reform.

On Thursday, the government passed a new bill that requires social workers to prove they have made “active efforts” to keep families together before courts can approve the removal of children from their parents.

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NSW eyes voluntary gambling cards as minister blasts pokies venues as ‘bloated concrete bunkers’

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Retiring planning minister Rob Stokes says poker machine gambling has turned clubs into ‘brutal, unwelcoming junk spaces’ and ‘enslaved’ people

A significantly expanded voluntary trial of cashless gambling cards is firming as the most likely response to a scathing New South Wales Crime Commission report, which found only a mandatory scheme would be effective in combating money laundering in the state’s pubs and clubs.

As pressure mounts on the government to tackle gambling reform in the lead-up to the March election, a senior government minister, Rob Stokes, upped the ante with a blistering speech on Wednesday night, saying the state’s clubs have been “distorted and disfigured” by their reliance on poker machine revenue. He called for a ban on “gambling advertising that programs young people to a lifetime of addiction”.

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Renters in NSW would be able to transfer bond between properties under Labor election proposal

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State opposition leader Chris Minns also pushes for tighter rules around evicting tenants without reasonable grounds

Almost a million renters in New South Wales would be able to transfer their bond from one property to the next and couldn’t be kicked out of their homes without reasonable grounds given, under a plan proposed by state Labor.

The pledge ahead of the 2023 election comes amid soaring rents in Sydney and rising accommodation costs in regional areas, with NSW’s median rent increasing from $386 to $420 a week between 2016 and 2021.

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NSW plastic straw ban: how will it work and what will be gained from it?

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Single-use plastic straws, cutlery and cotton buds will be among items banned from Tuesday

Single-use plastic straws and other items will be banned in New South Wales on Tuesday. The decision follows similar action to ban single-use plastic bags earlier this year.

We take a look at what this means for customers and businesses, and how it will be enforced.

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Lismore residents can take their homes with them under $800m buyback program

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If residents choose not to move their home or if it is not possible, they will be sold or stripped for materials

In the nine months since floods gutted Harper Dalton’s South Lismore home, he has been waiting for two things: a land buyback and the ability to pick up the redwood home and move it to higher ground.

On Friday it emerged that northern rivers residents eligible for buybacks under a new joint federal and state $800m housing scheme will be allowed to do just that.

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