NSW delays decision about future of country’s biggest power station until after energy security review

Owner Origin Energy say ‘nothing has changed’ on plan to shut the coal-fired Eraring plant no sooner than August 2025

The New South Wales government says it will hold off any decision about the future of the country’s largest power station until at least next month, after it receives a “health check” on the state’s energy security.

Origin Energy, owner of the 2880MW Eraring plant near Lake Macquarie, also said on Friday that “nothing had changed” on the plan to shut the coal-fired power station no sooner than August 2025.

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Head of NSW cashless gambling panel wants trial extended to thousands more pokie machines

Michael Foggo says more venues would provide better data and that he hoped to report back that the scheme reduces harm

The head of a panel to oversee a New South Wales trial of cashless gambling on 500 poker machines would like to see it expanded to include at least 2,500 more to enable “proper research analysis” of the scheme.

Michael Foggo, a former liquor, gaming and racing commissioner, said he also hopes to report to the state government next year that “cashless gaming works”.

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NSW appoints former gaming commissioner to lead panel into cashless gambling trial

Michael Foggo to help oversee the delayed pilot program, now expected to begin before November

Former New South Wales Liquor, Gaming and Racing commissioner Michael Foggo will lead a panel of 16 to design and oversee the state’s government’s delayed cashless gambling trial, which is now expected to begin before November.

The appointments will be made today by the premier, Chris Minns, who will also announce a departmental review of the ClubGrants scheme that critics have argued is used by some clubs to funnel money back towards themselves with little transparency or oversight.

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Clare Nowland: family sues NSW government after 95-year-old allegedly Tasered in nursing home

Exclusive: civil proceedings against the state were initially filed while aged care resident was still fighting for her life in hospital

The family of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who died in May after being allegedly Tasered by police in an aged care home, is suing the New South Wales government.

The civil case against the state was listed to appear for the first time before a court in Bega in south-east NSW on Tuesday morning.

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Senator ‘working on’ settlement referral – as it happened

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Some more detail here on the new national anti-corruption watchdog from AAP.

The integrity commission’s job is to stamp out corrupt conduct by commonwealth officials – including ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, public servants, and government contractors.

The thing I would be really careful about it would be weaponising things before elections.

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Daryl Maguire’s lawyers accuse media of stalking, unsafe U-turns and spooking horses

Oddly worded statement attacks unnamed outlets for alleged behaviour after Icac findings against former MP and his former partner Gladys Berejiklian

Lawyers for Daryl Maguire have attacked journalists for their alleged behaviour since damning corruption findings were made against the former Wagga Wagga MP last week, issuing a strangely worded statement accusing unnamed “media” of “unsafe u turns”, spooking “valuable horses” and trespassing on government-owned rail corridors, among other things.

Maguire’s lawyers also praise their client’s efforts to secure money for Wagga, including his pursuit of grants and hospital funding that were at the centre of Icac’s corruption investigation.

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Australian teens ‘inundated’ with gambling ads with YouTube most common platform, report states

At-risk children between 12 and 17 reported seeing promotions from a wide range of sources including their homes, school and social media

Young people are being “inundated” with gambling ads in their everyday lives, particularly sports betting ads and social casino games, amid unprecedented levels of exposure for at-risk adolescents.

Children between 12 and 17 who are at risk of becoming problem gamblers reported a wide range of sources that promote gambling, including in their home, school, social, digital and media environments.

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Federal budget on track to smash surplus forecasts as cash balance hits $19bn – as it happened

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Melbourne hit by magnitude 4.6 earthquake

Melburnians were shaken by a magnitude 4.6 earthquake at 1.32am.

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Icac found Gladys Berejiklian engaged in corrupt conduct. So why won’t she be prosecuted?

Her former boyfriend Daryl Maguire may face charges, but proving criminal activity by the former premier would be difficult

On Thursday, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption dealt a blow to the legacy of former premier Gladys Berejiklian in ruling she engaged in serious corrupt conduct while in office.

Icac’s Operation Keppel also found her ex-boyfriend and former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, as well as two other individuals, engaged in corrupt conduct and is seeking advice on whether any prosecution should be commenced against the three.

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Gladys Berejiklian Icac report live updates: Chris Minns says findings took ‘way too long’ as Matt Kean criticises ‘ridiculous display’ – latest news

Icac finds former premier and Daryl Maguire engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’, but says it does not want the DPP to consider prosecuting Berejiklian. Follow live updates

We are waiting on the publication of the Icac report. But it appears the Icac website has crashed under the load.

Stay with us. We will bring you the findings as soon as we possibly can.

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Australia news live: Tanya Plibersek announces audit of 1,000 environmental offset sites to check if they are delivering on promises

Treasurer Jim Chalmers wants to maintain strong budget position while rolling out existing policies; federal government cancels satellite program. Follow the day’s news live

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, denies Australia’s first budget surplus in more than a decade comes at the expense of under-pressure households as the cost of living rises, AAP reports.

Chalmers has confirmed there will be a larger surplus for the 2022/23 financial year than predicted in last month’s federal budget.

By getting the budget in much better nick by finding savings ... it actually makes it possible from that much stronger foundation to provide the $15bn of cost-of-living relief that we had in the budget.

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Icac finds former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and Daryl Maguire engaged in serious corrupt conduct

Berejiklian stood down in 2021 after it was revealed she was in a ‘close personal relationship’ with Maguire, who was also found to be corrupt by Icac’s Operation Keppel

Former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has been found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct by the state’s corruption watchdog.

However the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) has not recommended charges be pursued against Berejiklian.

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Prison inmates to be charged 24c a minute for phone calls as NSW scraps cheaper providers

Decision could make inmates’ contact with family and friends unaffordable, despite studies showing it reduces recidivism

For two years Lisa Maloney has paid about $40 every four months so her son can call her every day from a prison in New South Wales. Now she will be paying about $300 after the state’s correctional services banned affordable phone call options run by third-party services.

“I’ll keep paying but I’m worried about others who won’t be able to afford to contact their loved ones as much,” said Maloney, who lives on a pension in north-west Victoria and can’t afford to visit her son in Lithgow.

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NSW cashless gambling trial to focus on data security after hack of smaller pilot program

A major Newcastle venue had to be shut down after it was targeted by a ransomware attack

Cybersecurity will be a key focus for the yet-to-be-appointed independent panel to oversee the New South Wales government’s cashless gambling trial, after a smaller pilot program was hit by hackers.

The state’s gaming minister, David Harris, made the assurances after a trial at a major Newcastle venue had to be shut down after it was targeted by a ransomware attack.

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Australia news live: NSW premier refutes cover-up allegations over police Tasering of 95-year-old woman

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PwC should not be banned from government work but should face ‘significant sanction’, Dutton says

Following the damning interim Senate report into PwC, Dutton says he does not believe the consultancy firm should be cut from all government work, but says a penalty needs to be incurred for the breach of trust:

I think where people have breached a contract, they’ve breached trust, there’s a penalty and the price that should be paid. I don’t know whether that’s the company or whether there’s a solution that the government can provide to it but there’s there’s a significant sanction that’s that’s required – no doubt the government will be looking into that right now.

All of the pollsters at the moment, and credible commentators, believe that it’s either going to fail in October or, best case scenario for the yes case, that gets up 51-49. And in that scenario, our nation is split down the middle.

I think there’s an opportunity to unite our country here instead of divide, and that is that we should proceed with constitutional recognition.

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Sydney public high schools to go co-ed in Labor shake-up as parents face tough choices

Inner west and south-west suburbs are first priority under state plans but change will come too late for some

Families in some parts of Sydney where all the local high schools are single-sex will have the option of a co-educational school from 2025, the state government has announced, while others will have to wait until 2027.

Parents have been lobbying for change for years, and in the lead-up to this year’s state election, Chris Minns pledged parents would have guaranteed access to co-educational public schools within Labor’s first term of government.

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Legalise Cannabis makes united push for personal marijuana use in three Australian states

The party’s bill allowing adults to possess and grow small quantities of the drug at home will be introduced across Victoria, NSW and WA

Legalise Cannabis MPs are launching a coordinated push to make marijuana legal for personal use in three states and overhaul what the party says is outdated legislation that unnecessarily criminalises people.

The party’s drug reform bill will be introduced on Tuesday in state parliaments in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia – the jurisdictions where it has representation in the state’s upper houses.

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NSW to allow taller, denser property developments while curtailing power of councils

Projects worth at least $75m and have 15% of units set aside as affordable housing could be fast-tracked under changes

The New South Wales government will allow developers to build taller and denser buildings – and have approvals fast-tracked – under sweeping changes to planning rules that will also curtail the power of councils to decide on major housing projects.

The proposed will see housing developments, valued over $75m and of which at least 15% is to be used for affordable housing, given access to a “state significant development” pathway that would fast-track approvals.

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NSW government temporarily bans all PwC work on tax projects

Inquiry into state local health districts’ use of consultants to begin after firm revealed to have misuse of confidential information

The New South Wales government will suspend the embattled consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers from working on tax projects as it emerged that the state’s health districts spent at least $124m on consultants since 2011.

The temporary ban will be announced on Thursday, when a state parliamentary inquiry into the public sector’s use of consultants will begin, and follows revelations that PwC misused confidential federal government information for commercial gain.

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Australia politics live: Labor blocks Zoe Daniel’s push to ban gambling ads but promises ‘comprehensive’ response to issue

Tony Burke says Labor committed to strong consumer protections regarding online gambling and does not oppose principle behind independent’s bill

‘A sackable offence’

Here is how that “conversation” played out.

What we want understand now is whether this Labor minister was in fact complicit in politicising this event. That is unforgivable.

Not only that, misleading parliament is a serious offence, a sackable offence and standing by this minister, if she has misled parliament, has consequences.

You were in the Senate yesterday when Katy went through what happened and what I’d like to understand from you is how is it the two years after this event you are trying to make this somehow the problem of the current government when we were not even in government, not four years after this event occurred.

The real issue is the fact that a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in our workplace and I would really like to focus on that is the main issue here because that is the main issue here, because that is the subject that matters.

What we are finding out now is what the minister knew and why her testimony to the Senate as different from that. There’s a lot of considerations here, I know people are talking about how this information came into the media and certainly the media has a lot of considerations to make.

There has to be respect for the parliament and the court and the law but that information is now out there and journalists need to make decisions about whether it is in the public interest.

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