State premiers united in pushing for Medicare overhaul, Dominic Perrottet says

NSW leader says counterparts will back moves to fix national health system, after raising issues with access to bulk-billing GPs

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, believes all state and territory leaders will be united in pressuring the federal government to overhaul Medicare and healthcare services through national cabinet.

Dominic Perrottet and his Victorian counterpart, Daniel Andrews, came out in agreement this week on calling for better integration between primary care and public health systems across the country.

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NSW forests could become net carbon emitters in coming decades, report finds

Declining soil organic carbon could undermine state’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050

Forests in New South Wales could become net carbon emitters in coming decades, undermining state government efforts to reach net zero emissions, according to a report by one of its own agencies.

The Natural Resources Commission has warned the Perrottet government the carbon benefits the state’s forests provide are degrading and will continue to degrade without “major intervention”.

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Secret report urges high-speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle but NSW government refuses to release it

Report, which also recommends linking Sydney to Wollongong and ranks Canberra route as a lower priority, cost taxpayers $390,000

A secret review of high-speed rail options for New South Wales is understood to prioritise lines to Newcastle and Wollongong at speeds of up to 250km/h, but ranks the much-vaunted Sydney to Canberra route as a lower priority.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the findings today but said it had not seen the report.

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Australia news live: flood peaks expected in parts of SA, private hospital nurses to strike in NSW for first time in decades

South Australian SES revises dates for expected peak flows with Renmark and Berri expected to peak today; nurses at two major private hospitals in Sydney to walk off the job at 1pm

Private hospitals nurses to walk off the job for first time in decades

Staying in NSW, nurses at two major private Sydney hospitals will walk off the job later today.

The Australian market regulator and the cap price that people pay for electricity will make their announcement in February about what bills people will pay for next year. And we expect that the move will feed directly through to that and see downward pressure of up to $243 on electricity bills of what it was previously going to be.

How much of a philosophical jump was it for you as a Liberal, to intervene in the market in this way and cap the prices?

Well, it wasn’t a jump at all to stand by people following the illegal war in Ukraine, which is pushing up electricity bills. The government is there to protect the people – not the other way around.

And that’s exactly what we did. We looked at a range of measures to support people to deal with these high electricity prices. And this is the one that the commonwealth government asked us to do and, obviously, our No 1 priority is standing by the people of New South Wales using our balance sheet to support families and businesses. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

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Labor candidate calls for minister’s sacking during NSW inquiry into council’s actions

Canterbury Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour tells committee he’s had a ‘target on my back’ since the pandemic

A New South Wales Labor candidate has accused a parliamentary committee of wasting taxpayers’ money by investigating him for impropriety and called for a government minister to be sacked.

The Canterbury Bankstown mayor, Khal Asfour, has been called as a witness by the upper house committee, which is looking into allegations of impropriety at Canterbury Bankstown council.

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Victoria police to prosecute pitch invaders; more contaminated spinach cases in Queensland – as it happened

Sport governing body says ‘such behaviour has no place in Australian football’. This blog is now closed

‘We will look at the facts’

James Johnson is asked whether Melbourne Victory has any outstanding sanctions for past incidents. He says he is not aware of any but past events may be considered as an “aggravating factor” as an investigation into the incident unfolds:

There is no other suspended disciplinary action that I’m aware of, but what I will say is that we will be working through that today. We have already started working on the show cause process as of late last night, and we will be moving forward as quickly and swiftly as possible to finalise it, because it is important we get ahead of this issue as a sport.

What I can say is that we will look at the facts, we’ll look at it objectively and we will take a decision that we believe is in the overall best interest of the game but I prefer not to comment on the specifics of the outcome because we have to go through that process first.

What happened during the game last night and what happens with the result;

A “show cause letter” to Melbourne Victory;

An attempt to identify individuals involved in the pitch invasion.

This is an element that … infiltrates our game and tries to ruin it for the people who love us was in. We’ll be looking to weed out those people from the sport.

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NSW moves to raise taxes on casino poker machines amid push for gambling reform

Government proposal comes after clubs lobby criticised the lower rate imposed on casino operators

Poker machine earnings at New South Wales casinos will be taxed at the same rate as those in clubs and pubs under proposed changes by the state government, amid growing a push for broader gambling reforms.

If in place by next July, the proposed tax-rate changes could inject an extra $364m into the state’s coffers over three years, according to government modelling.

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

‘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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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