Category Archives: New South Wales politics

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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Rushed consultation for NSW coercive control laws could result in flawed legislation, experts say

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Domestic violence advocates warn drafted laws could be discriminatory if pushed through by government

Domestic violence and legal experts say the New South Wales government’s attempt to push through new coercive control laws before the end of the year could result in flawed legislation that unwittingly discriminates against migrant and First Nations communities.

The state’s attorney general, Mark Speakman, released a draft of the new laws on Wednesday with consultation open for six weeks.

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Former advisor tells inquiry John Barilaro expedited change to New York trade job

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Joseph Brayford tells inquiry former NSW deputy premier wanted to turn trade roles into ministerial appointments ‘ASAP’

Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro fast-tracked a cabinet submission to turn the senior trade jobs now at the centre of a political scandal into ministerial appointments, instructing a staff member to get it done “ASAP”, an inquiry has heard.

A transcript of evidence given by former advisor Joseph Brayford to the parliamentary inquiry probing Barilaro’s appointment to a $500,000-a-year New York trade posting also suggests Barilaro planned to discuss the change with his ministerial colleagues in the NSW government.

On Thursday the committee running the probe released a transcript of evidence given by Brayford in a secret hearing held earlier this week.

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Former NSW ministers Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly charged with misconduct after Icac inquiry

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Charges flow from 2014 corruption investigation into infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings

Former New South Wales Labor ministers Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly are facing criminal charges flowing from an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into a controversial water infrastructure company.

The trio will face court charged with criminal offences after a 2014 NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry into infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings.

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NSW flood plain harvesting rules won’t protect environment, government advisers warn

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Officials raised concerns water level targets would not ensure river health or meet needs of downstream communities, documents show

The Perrottet government has been warned by its own advisers that proposed flood plain harvesting rules will not adequately protect the environment or the needs of downstream communities in the Murray Darling Basin.

Documents obtained through parliament by independent MLC Justin Field show the government received advice that proposed targets meant to ensure river health were too low.

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Labor backbenchers call for pandemic supports to continue as PM announces snap national cabinet meeting

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Exclusive: Federal Labor MPs join NSW Labor leader Chris Minns in calling for Albanese government to rethink decision on Covid policies

Labor backbenchers are calling on the government to restore Covid pandemic leave payments, saying the measure is needed for people struggling with the cost of living to help slow the spread of the virus.

It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has agreed to hold a snap national cabinet meeting on Monday morning with state and territory leaders, after Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk requested an update on the health advice and Covid situation from the chief medical officer.

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Home buybacks in flood-prone NSW ‘cheaper’ than plan to raise Warragamba Dam wall, experts say

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Infrastructure NSW says buybacks on Sydney’s fringe could cost $5.2bn but expert argues price would be ‘nowhere near’ that

A large-scale property buyback scheme in flood-affected parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley would cost more than $5bn, according to the New South Wales government’s own estimates.

But experts have questioned the price tag, saying more targeted buybacks would be cheaper than the Coalition government’s plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.

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Liberal minister signed off on alternative candidate to NY trade job later given to John Barilaro, documents reveal

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Briefing shows Stuart Ayres signed off on the appointment of businesswoman Jenny West to New York trade commissioner role in August 2021

The deputy Liberal party leader Stuart Ayres signed off on the appointment of public servant and businesswoman Jenny West to a New York trade commissioner job which was later given to the former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro.

New documents released through parliament show that in August last year Ayres, the minister for jobs, investment, tourism and western Sydney, was sent a brief from Investment NSW, the department responsible for the appointments, confirming that “a full recruitment process” had decided on West as the “successful candidate”.

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