Category Archives: New South Wales politics

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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ClubsNSW suggests use of facial recognition could go beyond identifying problem gamblers

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Exclusive: Lobby group links technology to identification of people barred from venues for disorderly behaviour

People kicked out of New South Wales pubs for being too drunk could be tracked via facial recognition technology if new laws introduced to parliament last week are not changed, with the powerful gambling lobby refusing to rule out expanding the use of the controversial tool.

A week after ClubsNSW announced it would roll out facial recognition technology to pubs and clubs across the state as a harm minimisation tool that could “only be used to enforce self exclusion” by gamblers, it now concedes its use will be more widespread.

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Billions in ‘dirty’ money going into NSW pokies should be addressed by cashless gaming card, crime commission says

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Review finds measure is needed to break ‘link between organised crime and gaming machines’

New South Wales should introduce a cashless gambling card to address the billions of dollars in “dirty” money being gambled in pubs and clubs in the state every year, the state’s crime commission has found.

On Wednesday a joint law enforcement agency inquiry into money laundering in NSW issued a damning final report that found “large sums” of the proceeds of crime are gambled by criminals in pubs and clubs across the state, “rewarding and perpetuating crime in the community”.

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NSW Liberal MPs face potential preselection battles amid a frontbench exodus

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Possible challengers from within the party are emerging in Holsworthy and Camden ahead of March election

The New South Wales government faces the possibility of losing two sitting Liberal MPs in bitter preselection contests as it deals with an ever-growing list of senior ministers departing at the next election.

Melanie Gibbons and Peter Sidgreaves, the MPs for Holsworthy and Camden, are each facing potential challengers from within the Liberal party ahead of the March poll, and could be set to join the growing list of government MPs heading for the exit doors.

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NSW health minister Brad Hazzard to retire from politics at state election

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71-year-old member for Wakehurst on Sydney’s northern beaches says it’s time for a ‘new beginning’

Long-serving New South Wales Liberal MP and Covid-era health minister Brad Hazzard has announced he will retire from politics at the state election, saying it is time for a “new beginning”.

The 71-year-old is best known for his role in trying to manage the Covid-19 crisis, fronting the media frequently to inform about the virus and urge adherence to recommended health measures.

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Business racing to use facial recognition technology, raising concerns the law is too slow to catch up

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Clubs NSW says the scheme will be used to combat problem gambling, but experts warn of a lack of safeguards and regulation

The rollout of facial recognition technology in all New South Wales pubs and clubs shows how business is forging ahead collecting biometric information before the law has had a chance to catch up, experts warn.

The NSW government this week introduced new laws allowing the use of facial recognition throughout pubs and clubs, despite not yet developing rules to guide the rollout.

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Labor candidate overlooked for Kristina Keneally touted for NSW state seat

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Tu Le says she supports ‘rank-and-file’ vote but doesn’t control decisions made by party bosses

The candidate controversially overlooked by Labor for Kristina Keneally in Fowler at the last federal election has denied being involved in a “stitch up” for a state seat in western Sydney, saying she “doesn’t control” what head office decides.

The Guardian understands senior Labor figures have been testing local support for Tu Le, the Vietnamese-Australian lawyer who was controversially pushed aside to allow Keneally to run in Fowler in May, to run in either Cabramatta or Fairfield at the New South Wales election in March.

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