Category Archives: New South Wales politics

Sydney north shore residents face third day without water after main bursts

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Sydney Water apologises to residents of Lane Cove and surrounding suburbs for water supply and traffic issues

A burst water main has left residents in parts of Sydney’s lower north shore without water for three days and caused chaos on roads and public transport.

Water continued to gush on to Epping Road in Lane Cove on Monday, three days after what Sydney Water called a “complex” water main burst.

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NSW Coalition down but not out as poll shows hung parliament a strong possibility

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Drop in popularity for Coalition and Labor suggests tight race in NSW election – and that independents could still play key role

Nearly six months out from the next New South Wales election, a new poll shows there is little separating the major parties, with a hung parliament a distinct possibility.

The latest Guardian Essential poll of 661 voters showed 36.4% would put the Coalition first on their ballot if an election were held in the state tomorrow, while 32% would choose Labor.

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Sydney train strikes: NSW government and rail unions to seek conciliation next week

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The union is seeking a 3.5% annual wage rise, with an additional cost-of-living supplement

The New South Wales government and rail unions will seek to resolve a long-running dispute by conciliation before the Fair Work Commission next week.

The commission’s deputy president, Bryce Cross, had initially rejected a bid by Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink applying to enter conciliation during a hearing on Friday.

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Guardian Essential poll: 64% of young voters would consider backing independents in NSW and Victorian elections

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After success of federal ‘teals’, about half of all respondents are thinking about a shift away from major parties

About half of voters – and more than two-thirds of young people – are considering backing independents at the upcoming Victorian and New South Wales state elections, in a trend described as the “Uberisation” of politics.

The latest Guardian Essential poll shows 48% of 1,100 respondents in Victoria and NSW are considering voting for an independent if one were to run in their electorate.

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‘Controversial’ proposal would see young NSW men banned from driving until they turn 21

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Road safety experts say more needs to be done to reduce fatalities by focusing on young men

Men would be banned from getting a driver’s licence until they are 21 under a “controversial” proposal being made to the New South Wales government.

The proposal is one of several being made by road safety experts, who say more needs to be done to reduce road fatalities by focusing on young drivers – and particularly young men.

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Labor to relax work tests for pensioners following jobs and skills summit – as it happened

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the policy change will cost around $55m, and the government will do further costs. This blog is now closed

Tasmanian Tafe needs to be fit for purpose before additional places can make a difference, Lambie says

The government yesterday kicked off the jobs and skills summit with the announcement of 180,000 more free Tafe places.

We certainly would like to do more, but some of these issues, of course, are within the budget constraints, which are there … we have inherited $1tn of debt. Yes, it is a worthy idea and worthy of consideration.

No, that’s not on the agenda. But it is a good thing that people are able to put forward ideas.

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Federal government seeks to change law that has become central to Sydney train strike dispute

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NSW government had threatened to terminate existing enterprise agreement with rail workers over ongoing industrial action

The federal government has put the Fair Work Commission on notice that it plans to restrict the power of employers to terminate enterprise agreements, something the state Coalition in New South Wales this week threatened to do in its ongoing dispute with rail workers.

After months of bargaining and Sydney train strikes, the NSW government announced on Thursday it would seek to terminate its existing agreement covering thousands of rail workers in the state if the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) failed to cease industrial action.

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Close of business: NSW government gives rail union deadline to end industrial action

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Government to seek termination of enterprise agreement unless further action is ruled out before weekend

The New South Wales government will seek to terminate the enterprise agreement of thousands of rail workers and scrap a deal to modify a multi-billion dollar fleet of trains unless the union agrees to end all industrial action by 5pm Friday.

In a dramatic step that could set the stage for a prolonged court battle, the government wrote to the head of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), Alex Claassens, and threatened to file an application with the Fair Work Commission to terminate the agreement.

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Concern ‘culture of fear’ will remain within NSW Health after new watchdog ruled out

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Creation of new ombudsman was recommended by damning inquiry into regional health services

Experts worry that a “culture of fear” within the New South Wales health system will not be stamped out and patients will be at risk, after the state government ruled out the creation of a new independent watchdog as recommended by a recent inquiry.

Handing down its response to the damning parliamentary inquiry into regional health on Thursday, the government said it supported in part, or in full, 41 of 44 recommendations, and “noted” the remaining three.

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Sydney train strikes: Dominic Perrottet bets the house on a public relations war

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The NSW government is hoping that frustrations over disruptions will turn sentiment against the rail union

Dominic Perrottet’s 11th-hour decision to press the nuclear button in the long-running dispute with rail workers is a high-risk gambit. The New South Wales premier has bet the house on his ability to win a public relations war against the union.

For months, the state government has insisted that rail strikes that have crippled Sydney’s transport network are “politically motivated”.

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Sydney train strike: NSW premier says ‘this ends today’ as he threatens to tear up industrial agreement

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Dominic Perrottet says he will meet the rail union in court if workers reject government’s final offer

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has issued a sensational ultimatum to the state’s rail workers, vowing to tear up their industrial agreement and meet the union in court unless they accept his government’s final pay offer.

Amid the latest round of chaos on the state’s rail lines on Wednesday, a visibly angry Perrottet said that after 58 meetings he would no longer bargain with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) over a new enterprise agreement.

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Sydney braces for train and bus strike tomorrow as unions meet with NSW transport minister

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Combined rail unions say industrial action would be halted until end of September if government agrees to pay rise

As Sydneysiders brace for yet another day of disruptions on the train network on Wednesday, the heads of the state’s rail unions will be locked away with the New South Wales transport minister, David Elliott, in a bid to finally end a months-long industrial standoff.

The meeting – held amid another round of industrial action by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) – marks the latest flashpoint in a protracted battle between a government beset by industrial strife and a union movement increasingly determined to flex its muscle.

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Free degrees for Victorian nurses could cause workforce shortages elsewhere, unions warn

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Australian nursing and midwifery groups say Victoria’s scheme could see aspiring nurses leave their home states

Free university degrees for budding nurses in Victoria could exacerbate nationwide workforce shortages and pit states against each other, unions and peak bodies have warned.

The Victorian government on Sunday announced plans to pay the entire HECS debt of more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery graduates. Under the $270m scheme, all new domestic students enrolling in undergraduate nursing and midwifery courses in 2023 and 2024 will receive up to $16,500.

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Recycled water for drinking should be considered for Sydney, new strategy finds

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NSW government should also consider having additional desalination plants and plan for new ‘rainfall-independent’ water sources, report says

A new water strategy for the Sydney basin says the New South Wales government needs to look urgently at investing in alternative sources of water, including more desalination plants and large-scale recycling of wastewater.

But the state’s minister for water, Kevin Anderson, skirted around the most contentious part of the report: the consideration of large-scale recycling into the drinking-water system.

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NSW introduces seven-star energy standards for new homes

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Renovations valued at more than $50,000 will be subject to the new NSW government planning policy

Tougher energy standards for new homes will be introduced in New South Wales, but small residential blocks and shopping centres won’t have to adhere to them because of developers’ concerns about added complexity and costs.

Under a new policy announced on Monday, new houses and high-rise towers will need to have a seven-star energy rating, while large office buildings must show the ability to become all-electric-powered.

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Perrottet government faces challenge from new wave of teals in NSW’s 2023 state election

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Community-based groups are looking for candidates but they may find it harder to gain traction than federal independents

The Perrottet government will face a wave of community-based independent candidates at the next state election running on platforms of integrity in NSW politics, sustainability and local development issues.

Community-based groups, some of which include people who worked on federal campaigns for “teal” candidates, are being set up along the north shore of Sydney and in the east.

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Fight over CFMEU’s ability to preselect candidates threatens to split NSW Labor left

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Attempt to stop union from voting has prompted the soft left to threaten to divide the faction

An ugly preselection brawl within the New South Wales Labor left has threatened to split the faction ahead of the next state election, amid accusations of “rorts”, legal threats and ongoing criminal charges over allegations of union officials accepting bribes.

At the centre of the intra-factional fight is a bid by the hard left to block the powerful CFMEU and its allies from installing the prominent barrister Cameron Murphy into a winnable spot on the party’s upper house ticket ahead of the March election.

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Radioactive rock at Randwick Girls High ‘no cause for alarm’, NSW inquiry told

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Education minister Sarah Mitchell tells budget estimates that ‘no harm was posed’ by the 17 August find at Sydney school

A radioactive rock that was found at a Sydney high school did not pose a danger to students or staff, the New South Wales education minister, Sarah Mitchell, has told a budget estimates hearing.

Mitchell was questioned on Tuesday about the radioactive substance that was found at Randwick Girls High in Sydney’s east on 17 August.

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NSW police strip-searched more than 100 children as young as 13 in two-year period

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Exclusive: More than 4,400 strip searches were carried out in total between July 2020 and May 2022

The New South Wales police have been accused of misunderstanding their own strip-search powers after data showed officers continued to use the controversial practice on thousands of people, including children as young as 13, during the height of Covid.

Data reveals police in NSW carried out more than 4,400 strip-searches between July 2020 and May 2022, which includes a Delta-wave lockdown that lasted more than 100 days.

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Demolition job: the Liberal party war surrounding NSW building commissioner’s exit

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David Chandler’s job brought him into close proximity with developers. In NSW, that means politics is never far away either

David Chandler, a tough-talking 40-year veteran of the New South Wales construction industry, had reached the end of his tether when he resigned abruptly as the state’s building commissioner in July.

The man responsible for getting developers to fix unsafe buildings felt he had endured attacks on his character, a smear campaign swirling through the corridors of state parliament, lobbying by former ministers and a deteriorating relationship with his own minister.

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