Category Archives: New South Wales politics

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

Posted on by

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”.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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?

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Bad men problem: Gareth Ward and Mark Latham leave NSW parliament in unchartered territory

Posted on by

The two MPs’ cases are vastly different but the issue is the same: parliament’s rules to enforce standards of behaviour are hopelessly outdated and ineffectual

The New South Wales parliament has a problem with men behaving badly. But more to the point, it seems to have an inability to deal with it.

On Tuesday, the parliament will try to deal with two very different cases that share a common consequence: damage to its reputation as an institution.

Continue reading...

Decision delayed for pro-Palestine protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge as police warn of possible crowd crush

Posted on by

Group’s lawyers say demonstration ‘cannot be stopped’ as Christian-led group protesting antisemitism plans rally for same day

Pro-Palestine protesters will have to wait until Saturday to find out if they can legally march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge this weekend, but organisers are vowing to go ahead regardless of the court decision.

However, the court heard the protest organisers are willing to postpone the march if police agree to work with them.

Continue reading...

Pro-Palestine protest group says ‘we will see them in court’ after police block Sydney Harbour Bridge march

Posted on by

Sydney-based group say weekend demonstration ‘must go ahead’ despite police knocking back application

Organisers of a pro-Palestine protest have vowed to fight the New South Wales police in court after police decided to not facilitate a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge this weekend.

On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy police commissioner, Peter McKenna, said police had rejected an application from the organisers proposing a route across the bridge to the US consulate, citing safety risks as the reason. But he said police were open to negotiating alternative routes.

Continue reading...

Sydney mayor Clover Moore says pro-Palestine march across Harbour Bridge would be ‘powerful symbol’

Posted on by

NSW Labor MP Anthony D’Adam rejects premier’s claim march would cause chaos and says it should take place in ‘two to three weeks’

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has said a pro-Palestine protest involving a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge would be a “powerful symbol” and should go ahead at some point “if the community sentiment is significant enough”.

A New South Wales Labor MP has also rejected the premier’s claim a march across the bridge would cause chaos and urged police to facilitate the demonstration “within two to three weeks”.

Continue reading...

Union says insurers ‘bleeding the system dry’ in backlash to NSW bid to limit workers compensation claims

Posted on by

One insurer spent $85,000 of public money to fight $5,000 knee surgery claim, says Unions NSW

The Minns Labor government is facing strong pushback against workers compensation changes designed to curb claims for psychological injury, with educators and the peak union group criticising the bill’s failure to address underlying issues.

The government wants to limit the ability of New South Wales’s 4.5 million workers to claim compensation by raising the psychological injury threshold required for compensation and making it harder to receive lifetime payments.

Continue reading...

Mark Latham’s alleged behaviour in parliament is a sign of a toxic political culture for women – and that’s a much bigger problem to fix

Posted on by

Chris Minns and his opposition counterpart are the only ones who can drive broader change and improve workplace culture

Over the past few years, political leaders around Australia have been called out for tolerating poor behaviour – mostly by male politicians and staff directed at their female colleagues.

This time, the focus is on New South Wales MP Mark Latham.

Continue reading...

Lawyers investigate whether Hannah Thomas could sue police over alleged excessive use of force at Sydney protest

Posted on by

Critical incident investigation declared into arrest of former Greens candidate who says she could lose sight in right eye

Lawyers are investigating whether protesters could sue New South Wales police over alleged excessive use of force during a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney, after which the former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas said she could lose sight in her right eye.

Thomas, 35, who ran against the prime minister at the federal election, was arrested at the Belmore protest which was attended by about 60 people on Friday. She was subsequently taken to hospital and underwent surgery.

Continue reading...

NSW political staffers could be arrested after failing to appear at Dural caravan inquiry

Posted on by

Committee seeking warrants for staff from premier and police minister’s offices, but they insist they had ‘reasonable excuse or just cause’ not to attend

A parliamentary committee is seeking warrants for the arrest of five New South Wales government staffers who failed to appear and give evidence to an inquiry examining the Sydney caravan “fake terrorism plot”.

The staffers – three from the office of the premier, Chris Minns, and two who work for the police minister, Yasmin Catley – were summoned to appear before the inquiry on Friday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Former NSW MP Daryl Maguire found guilty of misleading corruption inquiry

Posted on by

Ex-partner of former premier Gladys Berejiklian misled Icac probe over $48m property development, magistrate finds

Ex-Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has been found guilty of misleading a corruption probe about benefits expected from a $48m property development sale.

The former member for Wagga Wagga, whose clandestine relationship with ex-NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian led to her political downfall, appeared at Sydney’s Downing Centre Court for the verdict on Friday.

Continue reading...

Chris Minns to reveal NSW plans to bolster housing construction

Posted on by

‘You can’t build new homes without roads, parks and schools to match, and the community shouldn’t have to wait for them,’ premier says

Developers in New South Wales will be able to choose between paying a levy of $12,000 per lot, or building infrastructure such as roads and parks themselves as an “in kind payment” in a further push to speed up the construction of new housing in the state.

The changes will be revealed on Thursday by the premier, Chris Minns, before next week’s state budget.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

NSW government failing to measure or reduce gambling harm, damning audit finds

Posted on by

Gambling losses and calls to helplines both up but Minns government has no benchmarks or measures to assess its harm minimisation strategy, report says

The New South Wales government has not set targets to reduce the harm caused by about 90,000 poker machines in the state and does not know if it is protecting people, according to a damning audit.

The state’s auditor general has also said the NSW government is doing “relatively little” to assess whether pubs and clubs are identifying and preventing gambling harm at their venues.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...