Category Archives: New South Wales politics

Michael Lavarch to review NSW Labor after ‘shocking’ allegations at Icac

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese and Jodi McKay announce the appointment of the Keating government attorney general

The former attorney general Michael Lavarch will lead a review into New South Wales Labor after the suspension of the general secretary Kaila Murnain over claims the party accepted $100,000 in banned developer donations from Huang Xiangmo.

The New South Wales Labor leader, Jodi McKay, and the federal leader, Anthony Albanese, announced the appointment on Sunday, promising to create structures to prevent a repeat of what McKay called “shocking and appalling” allegations at the anti-corruption watchdog.

Continue reading...

NSW hidden donations: opposition declares ‘crisis of confidence’ in planning system

Posted on by

New South Wales Labor calls for more planning reforms after Guardian revelations about undisclosed political donations

The New South Wales opposition has warned of a “crisis of confidence” in the state’s planning system following revelations that 13 corporations hid their donations from the state’s planning authorities.

A Guardian investigation on Monday found some of Australia’s biggest companies – including Woolworths, Caltex, Origin Energy and AMP – had failed to declare sizeable donations to planning authorities while seeking to develop or approve property in the state.

Continue reading...

Barnaby Joyce and Tony Abbott decry ‘infanticide on demand’ at abortion rally

Posted on by

Former PM and deputy PM deploy incendiary language to describe decriminalisation bill being considered by NSW parliament

The former prime minister and deputy prime minister of Australia have claimed at an anti-abortion rally in Sydney that a proposed decriminalisation bill has nothing to do with decriminalisation.

Tony Abbott described the bill as “infanticide on demand”, while Barnaby Joyce described it as “the slavery debate of our time” while also perpetuating a false claim about pro-choice protesters on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Former boss visited Icac witness’s home on day he was summonsed to deliver ‘festive greetings’

Posted on by

Steve Tong says his name was falsely put on donation records by his superiors at Wu International

A key witness to an anti-corruption probe received a night-time home visit from his former boss to deliver “festive greetings” the same day he was summonsed to give evidence, despite the Chinese festival taking place two months earlier, an inquiry has heard.

Steve Tong, an engineer who says he has no interest in politics, has given evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption that his name was falsely put on donation records by his superiors at a property development firm, Wu International, which has links to the former state Labor MP Ernest Wong.

Continue reading...

NSW Liberal MPs threaten to move to crossbench over abortion bill

Posted on by

If followed through, the move would push the Liberal party into minority government just months after the election

Two New South Wales Liberal party MPs have reportedly threatened to move to the crossbench if the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, refuses to cave to their demands for amendments on a bill to decriminalise abortion.

The conservative Liberal MPs Tanya Davies and Kevin Conolly have reportedly told Berejiklian they will no longer sit in the party room if amendments to the bill are not passed.

Continue reading...

Albanese says NSW Labor in ‘diabolical situation’ after Icac donation revelations

Posted on by

‘I knew nothing about this,’ opposition leader says as he pledges a comprehensive review of the party’s structures

The federal opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, says Labor in New South Wales is in a “diabolical situation” as he braces for further revelations from the state’s corruption hearings and pledges a “comprehensive” review of the party’s structures.

Saying the work of Icac needed to proceed “unencumbered” over the next six weeks, Albanese said the party would overhaul its procedures in NSW to ensure the “damaging” alleged conduct could not be repeated.

Continue reading...

Sydney lord mayor calls snap Pyrmont planning review an ‘astounding betrayal of trust’

Posted on by

Clover Moore warns NSW planning rules at stake after Berejiklian says suburb is ‘open for business and ready to be taken to the next level’

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has warned that “the entire credibility of the planning system” in New South Wales is at stake after the premier intervened to order a speedy review of planning controls in Pyrmont, where her own planning department has blocked the development of a 62-storey tower on top of Star casino.

The rejection of the Star proposal for the 237 metre tower, in the historic area zoned for eight storeys to the west of the CBD, has bitterly divided the state government and led to a ferocious campaign by Star, aided by the Daily Telegraph and radio talkback host Alan Jones.

Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian urged to rule out logging in Murray Valley national park

Posted on by

Labor says deputy premier John Barilaro’s plan is outrageous while the Greens label it ‘criminal’

New South Wales Labor has demanded Gladys Berejiklian rule out Liberal party support for a Nationals bill that would open up the Murray Valley national park to logging.

The premier refused to comment on Thursday after the deputy premier, John Barilaro, vowed to de-gazette the park in the state’s Riverina region or reduce its size.

Continue reading...

Jodi McKay: new NSW Labor leader says she’s ‘more than a match’ for Gladys Berejiklian

Posted on by

McKay says she can beat Gladys Berejiklian and education will be a ‘critical issue’ under her leadership

Newly elected New South Wales Labor leader Jodi McKay says she is “more than a match” for the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, and she is not going to be pretend the two women are anything alike.

McKay’s election on Saturday was a landmark moment in NSW politics, making it the first time the premier and opposition leader have both been women.

Continue reading...

Jodi McKay elected New South Wales Labor leader after tense meeting

Posted on by

McKay defeats Chris Minns, winning 63% of the vote of of 11,000 rank-and-file members

More than three months after New South Wales Labor’s bruising state election defeat, the party has regrouped to appoint Jodi McKay its new opposition leader.

State Labor MPs cast their secret votes for the contenders Chris Minns and Jodi McKay, both from the party’s right faction, at a tense meeting on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Recommendations from Opal Tower debacle not acted on

Posted on by

Engineers say changes are years overdue and obvious before Opal or Mascot Towers evacuations

Australia’s engineers say the recommendations from Opal Tower have still not been acted on, as the Mascot Towers apartment buildings in Sydney continued to sink further into the ground this week.

An emergency report into the cracked Opal Tower was completed in February by prominent university deans of architecture after the brand-new building was dramatically evacuated in December.

Continue reading...

Lobbyist firm Barton Deakin says it ‘strongly supports’ introduction of watchdog

Posted on by

Barton Deakin voices support for reforms designed to bolster transparency and integrity

One of Australia’s biggest lobbyist firms has said it “strongly supports” the introduction of an independent commissioner to investigate and oversee the sector.

The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption is currently probing the weaknesses in the regime governing NSW lobbyists, and its chief commissioner, Peter Hall, has warned reforms are now “overdue”.

Continue reading...

Blue Mountains wilderness would be ‘permanently’ changed by raising dam wall, leak reveals

Posted on by

Draft report says Warragamba dam changes would affect Aboriginal historical sites

A leaked draft report has predicted world heritage areas of the Blue Mountains would be “permanently” changed by a controversial New South Wales government plan to raise a dam wall.

The state government is proposing to raise the walls of the Warragamba Dam by 14 metres to mitigate the impact of floods – a move that environmental activists say would flood Unesco-protected bushland, and endanger 50 historic Indigenous sites.

Continue reading...

NSW government to pay $576m extra to Sydney light rail subcontractors

Posted on by

Legal settlement reached after Acciona alleged it was misled over the complexity of the project and demanded $1.1bn

The consortium building Sydney’s eastern suburbs light rail project will receive up to $576m extra from the New South Wales government under a settlement deal which takes the total cost to $2.7bn.

The light rail linking the CBD to Randwick and Kingsford was originally meant to cost taxpayers $1.6bn.

Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian’s new cabinet lineup gives renewed focus to NSW regions

Posted on by

Nationals MPs are given prominent roles in areas that hurt the Coalition at the election

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, and her deputy, John Barilaro, have unveiled the new cabinet lineup, giving a renewed focus to the regions after the countryside swung away from the coalition at the state election.

But critics have been quick to point out there are fewer women with portfolios than there were before the reshuffle.

Continue reading...

NSW election: Gladys Berejiklian confident Coalition will win a majority

Posted on by

Government clings to power despite big gains from minor parties and independents

Gladys Berejiklian has said she is confident the Coalition will return to government in New South Wales with a razor-thin majority as counting continues after Saturday’s state election.

The premier, who is the daughter of Armenian migrants, reiterated her objection to comments by the Labor leader, Michael Daley, about young Sydneysiders leaving the city and being replaced by “Asians”, which surfaced in the final week of the campaign, suggesting her background had helped her connect with voters.

Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian leads Coalition to third term in government in NSW

Posted on by

Premier says she will work closely with minor parties as prospect of minority government remains

Gladys Berejiklian has led the Coalition to a third term in government in New South Wales despite a rising tide of minor parties and independents, and has become the first woman elected premier of the state at a general election.

Many seats were still too close to call on Saturday evening but one thing was certain – the night had been a huge disappointment for Labor, with no chance of forming government and no major improvement in their statewide primary vote compared with the election four years earlier.

Continue reading...

Bangers and ballots: everything you need to know about the NSW election

Posted on by

There’s a good chance Saturday’s poll will produce a hung parliament. Here’s how to make your vote count – and where to buy your democracy sausage

Almost 5.3 million people are enrolled to vote at more than 8,000 voting stations in Saturday’s state election. New South Wales has fixed terms, with elections held on the fourth Saturday in March every four years since 1995. About a quarter of voters cast their ballot before election day in 2015, and this is expected to rise in 2019. Almost 850,000 people had voted by Thursday morning.

Continue reading...

Michael Daley claims Asian workers taking young people’s jobs in Sydney

Posted on by

NSW Labor leader says ‘no offence’ meant after video surfaces of him saying ‘our kids are moving out and foreigners are moving in’

The New South Wales opposition leader, Michael Daley is under sustained pressure over his comments in a 2018 video in which he said young Sydneysiders were leaving and being replaced by workers from Asia.

Despite repeatedly apologising “if anyone took offence” Daley insisted his comments were not racist or dogwhistling and were about housing affordability in Sydney.

Continue reading...

‘Farmers feel let down’: rural NSW seats suddenly up for grabs

Posted on by

Gabrielle Chan finds bush electorates that were once locked in for the National party are now under siege from a variety of challengers

The state seat of Barwon is about as rusted-on as you can get.

About the same size as Germany, its south-western end is the Labor-dominated town of Broken Hill. Most of the rest is committed National party country and has been that way since 1950.

Continue reading...