Category Archives: New South Wales politics

Clive Palmer ordered to pay part of Mark McGowan’s legal costs; 87 more Covid deaths – As it happened

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Federal court orders Palmer to pay undetermined sum in half of defamation proceedings between the pair; Senator Jim Molan calls for National Press Club not to host Chinese government officials. This blog is now closed

ACT warns of scam health texts

ACT Health says it has been made aware of scam text messages claiming to be services such as HealthDirect or Medicare.

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The looming questions for John Barilaro ahead of his reappearance before a NSW inquiry

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Former deputy premier is set to reappear on Friday before an inquiry into his appointment to trade role

After a turbulent break that saw the New South Wales government engulfed in a saga over trade appointments, the return of parliament from its winter recess failed to ease the pressure on the premier, Dominic Perrottet.

The government faces two competing controversies. While the appointment to trade postings remains a focus, a new scandal involving the state’s outgoing building commissioner, a sacked minister and a property developer has raised a fresh set of questions for the government.

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NSW agent general to UK approved ad attacking Labor tax policy before 2019 election

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Exclusive: In former role leading NSW Business Chamber, Stephen Cartwright approved campaign targeting a business policy in three key seats

The man appointed by the New South Wales government to a senior London trade role approved negative television ads that targeted a Labor business tax policy at the last state election in his previous job as head of the NSW Business Chamber.

Separately, a NSW parliamentary inquiry heard testimony this week that the NSW agent general to the UK, Stephen Cartwright, went over the head of his manager, Investment NSW chief Amy Brown, and messaged Liberal trade minister Stuart Ayres directly in a dispute about a cost of living allowance.

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NSW building commissioner’s resignation letter sent to Icac, Dominic Perrottet says

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Letter has been the subject of intense speculation, amid reports it refers to a stop-work order

The resignation letter sent by former New South Wales building commissioner David Chandler when he abruptly quit last month has been sent to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog.

On Wednesday the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, revealed the letter, which he had previously said he had not read, had been forwarded to the Independent Commission Against Corruption “out of an abundance of caution”.

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John Barilaro-linked developer met with then NSW minister Eleni Petinos weeks before work ban lifted

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Barilaro was not present at 2 June meeting and Petinos says she ‘did not take any action in relation to the matters’ raised by company

Sacked New South Wales minister Eleni Petinos held two meetings with a property developer linked to the former deputy premier John Barilaro weeks prior to the lifting of a stop-work order at a $500m development in Sydney’s west.

New ministerial diaries published on Tuesday show Petinos held two meetings with Coronation Property in June relating to “fair trading building related matters”.

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Flood inquiry finds serious failures by agencies and calls for Resilience NSW to be scrapped

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NSW upper house inquiry identifies problems with the SES and says grant processes were ‘confusing’

A scathing report into the devastating 2022 New South Wales floods has found government agencies including the SES “failed” in the “greatest time of need” and has recommended the lead recovery agency, Resilience NSW, be abolished.

The upper house inquiry into the deadly flooding events made 21 findings and 37 recommendations, including a call for the state government to finalise long-term housing plans for flood-affected residents in places like Lismore.

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SES and Resilience NSW ‘failed’ to lead flood response, inquiry finds – as it happened

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New threatened species listings include south-eastern glossy black-cockatoo

Two Australian species that were badly affected by the 2019-20 black summer bushfires have been officially listed as threatened.

The damage caused by the black summer bushfires is still being felt today and can be seen reflected in these listings today.

The fires had an immense impact on our environment, from a small reptile found in the mountains to a bird that is at home on the coast. There is still a lot of work to do.

It seems as though these positions are being offered around almost like lolly bags to senior members of the New South Wales government rather than what they’re intended to be, which is senior positions funded by the taxpayer. We shouldn’t operate like that in New South Wales. We’re slowly but surely finding out the contours of what is an absolute scandal.

There’s many questions to be asked. At the end of the day we’re expected to believe of the 8 million people who live in New South Wales, John Barilaro was independently chosen to represent our interests. I think that ... stretches credibility.

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Bushfire recovery groups blindsided by reports Resilience NSW might be axed

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Community organisations in Cobargo say the agency, which has faced criticism, has done some good in protecting against fires

Community groups from a bushfire-ravaged village in the hinterland of the New South Wales south coast fear they will be abandoned amid reports the new government agency established to coordinate disaster recovery might be axed.

But critics of the organisation, created in response to the Black Summer bushfires in May 2020, say Resilience NSW is an ineffectual layer of bureaucracy whose funds would be better spent on frontline services.

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‘Shitshow’ over John Barilaro’s NYC appointment keeps sucking the NSW government in

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Analysis: Former deputy premier’s appearance at inquiry was always going to generate plenty of headlines

About 55m light years from Earth, a colossal black hole about 1,000 times larger than the sun known as M87 is slowly consuming the universe.

In New South Wales, there is John Barilaro, whose appointment to a New York trade role appears to be getting the job done much faster.

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Australia news live: no colleagues raised concerns about job application, John Barilaro tells inquiry

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The former NSW deputy premier is appearing this morning at a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment to a US trade job

Queensland commits $22m for livestock biosecurity taskforce

Queensland will set up a taskforce to help protect the state’s livestock from “unprecedented biosecurity risks” amid the threat of foot and mouth disease on Australia’s doorstep, AAP reports.

David Elliott was never promised a job outside of politics. That is deeply offensive and wrong. People will always say from time to time, discussions will be had in relation to when someone retires what they would like to do, that is normal.

From time to time, members of parliament – when they’re seeking to leave politics – will talk to colleagues in relation to what they might want to do next.

At that time, minister Elliott did not want to recontest the next election, but was interested in being part of the team going forward.

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NSW premier denies promising David Elliott a job outside politics

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Dominic Perrottet said he did discuss other potential roles with the NSW transport minister, but there was nothing guaranteed

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has told a Sydney radio station he and David Elliott talked about potential jobs the transport minister could do after retiring from politics, but denies any promises were made.

It is the first time the under-pressure premier has directly responded to weekend reports he offered to create an overseas trade job for Elliott or make him the agent-general in London.

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NSW Liberals pass preselection reforms to prevent repeat of election fiasco

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Senator Andrew Bragg praises party for ‘modernising its mechanics’ after the state branch adopted his motion

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Senator Andrew Bragg has heralded the passage of reforms by the New South Wales Liberal party as important to avoid a repeat of its preselection fiasco before the 2022 election.

The state party’s annual general meeting on Saturday adopted the NSW senator’s proposed reforms requiring the party to publish and follow a timetable for preselections within 12 months of an election.

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John Tingle, journalist and founder of NSW Shooters party, dies at 90

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Daughter and ABC presenter Laura Tingle pays tribute to her father who she says was her ‘greatest urger-on, fan and critic’

John Tingle, a journalist, broadcaster and founder of the Shooters party, has died aged 90.

Tingle’s daughter and ABC journalist Laura Tingle posted the news of his death on Saturday morning and paid tribute to her father.

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Community leaders call on new western Sydney minister to invest in local people, talent and diversity

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Stuart Ayres’ replacement, David Elliott, urged to broaden scope of his portfolio beyond ‘roads and sports’

Western Sydney community leaders are calling on the new state minister for western Sydney, David Elliott, to broaden the scope of his portfolio beyond “roads and sports”.

Elliott, who also holds the transport and veterans affairs portfolios, will be sworn into his new role on Friday, after his predecessor, Stuart Ayres, stepped down on Tuesday.

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Australia politics live: leaders trade question time barbs over climate and power prices; CMO ‘confident’ Covid wave has peaked as 85 deaths recorded

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The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.

It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.

The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.

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London trade rep said he would ‘go to’ Dominic Perrottet over contract negotiations, NSW inquiry hears

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Inquiry also hears Amy Brown reveal Stuart Ayres’ praise for John Barilaro before New York appointment

The New South Wales government’s senior trade commissioner in London was recruited after being “added to the process late” and believed he had an “elevated status” that saw him threaten to “go to” the premier, Dominic Perrottet, during contract negotiations, an inquiry has heard.

In a day of explosive evidence to the inquiry investigating John Barilaro’s controversial appointment to a New York trade commissioner job, the chief executive of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, also revealed newly resigned deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, told her the former deputy premier’s appointment was “good to go” after a meeting of senior ministers.

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The John Barilaro affair has stripped the shine off NSW’s hardman premier Dominic Perrottet | Anne Davies

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His handling of this crisis, which led to the resignation of his deputy Stuart Ayres, has colleagues questioning whether he has the right stuff under pressure

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, looked stressed as he fronted the media on Wednesday to announce that his deputy Liberal leader and trade minister, Stuart Ayres had agreed to resign from the ministry.

The scandal over the appointment of the former Nationals leader, John Barilaro, to a $500,000-per-year trade job in New York (that he created before leaving parliament) has festered for six weeks and stripped the shine off a premier who is yet to celebrate 12 months in office.

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NSW public servants waited on ‘ministerial feedback’ on New York trade role later given to John Barilaro

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Newly released documents raise new questions about ministerial involvement in recruitment process

Officials inside Investment New South Wales were waiting for “ministerial feedback” on the lucrative New York trade job – which eventually went to former deputy premier John Barilaro – in late April, documents show.

On the same day the deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, held a media conference in Mumbai denying he influenced the decision to hire Barilaro, a trove of files released under a parliamentary order raised new questions about the government’s insistence that the recruitment process had been handled at arm’s length from ministers.

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Key documents relating to John Barilaro’s appointment to a New York trade role to be released

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The opposition had successfully moved to recall the upper house over the delayed release of documents

Key documents relating to the appointment of former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro to a New York trade role will be released as the government scrambles to head off a recalling of parliament.

The opposition moved to recall the upper house for a Friday sitting over the delayed release of documents requested by an inquiry into the appointment, before the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade agreed to hand some over on Monday afternoon.

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NSW trade rep had US office shuttered after announcement of New York role later given to John Barilaro

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EXCLUSIVE: State government’s trade commissioner forced to work from a room in his San Fransisco home

A New South Wales trade commissioner based in San Francisco was forced to work out of the front room of his home after the government closed its office on the west coast of the US in favour of a new base in New York.

Guardian Australia can reveal that until September 2019 the NSW government was paying about $584,000-a-year for its San Fransisco trade operations, before shifting its focus to New York as part of the Global NSW strategy announced while John Barilaro was the minister for trade.

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