Category Archives: New South Wales politics

Vacant property taxes, levies and caps on the table as NSW Labor reviews Airbnbs and short-term rentals

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Exclusive: Minns government to place every aspect of housing ‘under the microscope’ as it confronts rental crisis

Vacant property taxes, levies and annual caps will be considered when the New South Wales government reviews regulation of short-term rentals including Airbnbs over the next six months.

The housing minister, Rose Jackson, who will lead the review, hoped to find ways to move some holiday rentals and unoccupied properties on to the longer-term rental market as the Minns government confronts the state’s chronic housing crisis.

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Peter V’Landys accuses politicians of ‘outright lies’ as plan to extend Racing NSW chair Russell Balding’s tenure fails

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Racing body will need to scramble to replace chair after Coalition and crossbench team up to try to strengthen oversight

The Racing NSW chief executive, Peter V’Landys, has accused politicians of spreading “outright lies” and “mainly wrong diatribes” during the parliamentary debate that ultimately resulted in the loss of his chairman.

One of the most powerful men in Australian sport, V’Landys is overseen by the Racing NSW board. He has held the position of chief executive for nearly 20 years, 12 of those with Russell Balding as chair.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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‘De facto wages cap by stealth’: NSW Greens seek to change Labor’s workplace bill

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New law would restore sweeping powers to the Industrial Relations Commission, including giving it the ability to act like a court

The New South Wales government has been accused of imposing a “de facto wages cap by stealth” as it seeks to rush through industrial relations legislation during parliament’s final sitting week of the year.

Labor’s plan would restore sweeping powers to the Industrial Relations Commission, including the ability to act like a court, which the former Coalition government removed in 2011.

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What’s Dutton’s strategy for picking the NSW Senate spot winner? Back both frontrunners

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Leading moderate Andrew Constance is up against rightwinger Zed Seselja to fill the Liberals’ seat – but a dark horse could spoil the party

The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, wants to back a winner. Even if it means endorsing two candidates in the New South Wales Senate race.

Dutton has backed the former ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja for the spot that was opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation, with Seselja the hope of the party’s hard right.

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NSW premier defends police conduct after dozens arrested at pro-Palestine rally in Sydney

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Chris Minns says police acted ‘responsibly’ despite condemnation from civil liberties groups

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has rejected accusations police were heavy-handed when they arrested people at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Tuesday night.

NSW police arrested and charged 23 people who attended the protest at Port Botany directed at the unloading of a ship owned by Israeli company ZIM, which has supported the Israeli government in its fight with Hamas in Gaza.

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‘Grave concerns’: backlash over NSW government’s controversial push to extend racing boss’s tenure

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Minns government faces legal and political fight as it attempts to pass laws to give Racing NSW chair unprecedented 14-year term

New South Wales crossbench MPs are fighting to amend controversial legislation that would extend the tenure of Racing NSW’s chairman for a third time and grant him an unprecedented 14-year term.

The Minns government is trying to rush through legislation in the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of the year to grant Russell Balding another two-year term at the helm of the powerful racing regulator’s board before his position expires on 18 December.

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BoM provides El Niño update – as it happened

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Birmingham says China ‘doesn’t appear to be acknowledging the facts’

Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham is speaking with ABC RN and is asked about sonar pulses from a Chinese warship that left one Australian naval diver injured.

The Australian navy and Australian defence force operates always with professionalism, and I’m confident that Australia’s version of events is a credible.

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Rift widens between NSW and federal Labor as Chris Minns demands state’s ‘fair share’

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Ahead of national cabinet, NSW premier waits for answers from Albanese government on protest policing and infrastructure funding

Tensions between the New South Wales and federal Labor governments are rising ahead of the final planned national cabinet of the year, with the state’s premier, Chris Minns, insisting he was not “whingeing” as he demanded more funding for police and infrastructure.

Minns said the federal government had so far failed to respond to his request for help paying the bill for policing the frequent protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, or for the “disappointing” infrastructure cuts unveiled last week.

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Australia news live: school strike for climate protests draw huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney; Albanese says Apec leaders ‘very interested’ in Tuvalu deal

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‘A ceasefire is where we need to get to,’ Zoe Daniel says

Asked by RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas if she supports calls for a ceasefire, Zoe Daniel says:

If you call for a ceasefire, you’re letting down the Jewish community, if you don’t you’re allowing death and destruction to happen in Gaza.

At the end of the day, if I say to you right now, yes, I support ceasefire, that will make zero difference to what is happening in in Gaza.

I’m a former foreign correspondent. I know the logistics of this, of course, a ceasefire is where we need to get to, but you have a terrorist organisation in the middle of this. If there’s just a ceasefire, and there’s no capacity there to try to dismantle Hamas, does that allow Hamas to regroup? What does that actually lead to? That said, I’ve said to you before, very clearly, and I still stick to the position that the Israeli government has to adhere to international law and the rules of war, and I think, in some ways, has not been.

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‘We deserve our fair share’: state Labor leaders clash with federal government over infrastructure plan

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Albanese government move to make states pay at least 50% of new infrastructure project bills receives pushback from premiers

State Labor leaders are at odds with the Albanese government over its plan to split the cost of building nationally significant infrastructure.

On Tuesday, the federal minister for infrastructure and transport, Catherine King, announced it would no longer be “the default” for the federal government to pick up the bulk of the tab for new roads, rail and other major projects.

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NSW government seeks third extension of racing boss’s term as sector faces ‘challenging’ times

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Animal Justice party to fight state government’s ‘absurd’ move to extend Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding’s term

The New South Wales government will seek a third extension of Russell Balding’s term as chairman of Racing NSW despite Treasury recommending two-term limits for directors of state-owned firms.

The extension will require legislation to be passed before the end of the year, with Balding’s position ending on 18 December, alongside that of the deputy chair, Saranne Cooke, who the government also wants to retain.

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NSW Aboriginal affairs minister says it was his ‘aspiration’ to legislate treaty this term

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David Harris insists Labor has not backflipped despite government delaying action until after next election

The New South Wales Aboriginal affairs minister, David Harris, says it had been his “aspiration” to legislate a treaty process with Indigenous people within the current term of parliament before Chris Minns announced it would be delayed.

Harris nevertheless insisted Labor had not backflipped on its reconciliation plans and remained committed to holding a consultation process that would inform a possible treaty.

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NSW police must speak with mental health experts rather than shoot our loved ones, stepfather says

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Exclusive: New figures show on average 10 people in mental health distress die each year during interactions with state police

The stepfather of a man shot and killed by New South Wales police while suffering from psychosis says the current system is “as useless as udders on a bull” as the Guardian reveals officers aren’t allowed to talk with mental health workers during high-risk callouts – even on the phone.

Neil Wilkins, whose stepson Todd McKenzie was shot at his Taree home in 2019, has written to the state’s mental health minister, Rose Jackson, urging Labor to scrap the ban on mental health workers assisting police when weapons are involved.

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NSW police watchdog routinely denied access to internal officer interviews, report finds

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Law Enforcement Conduct Commission says it has been refused access during ‘every critical incident investigation to date’

The New South Wales police watchdog is routinely refused access to interview rooms when officers are being questioned after critical incidents, in a practice the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) has described as “consistent and state-wide”.

Despite the LECC Act providing power for investigators to be present as observers when officers are interviewed by superiors over such incidents, the oversight body said the power “appears to be … illusory” in its annual report handed down on Monday afternoon.

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Controversial US dog trainer Dog Daddy says he cancelled Australian tour due to backlash

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YouTube star Augusto Deoliveira – who also cancelled trips to the UK and Italy – stands by his tough approach to training canines

The controversial US-based dog trainer known as the Dog Daddy says he cancelled his planned visit to Australia after a backlash from animal rights activists and is now taking a break from global touring.

But YouTube star Augusto Deoliveira insisted he would not be abandoning his tough approach to training. He said his techniques have worked for thousands of fans who wanted to curtail aggressive behaviour in their dogs.

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NSW to review treaty consultation plan after voice referendum defeat

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Exclusive: With Indigenous leaders ‘shell-shocked’, sources say there are a ‘lot of conversations’ in the Minns government about next step

The New South Wales government will review part of its state treaty consultation plan, a key election promise, in the wake of the crushing federal referendum defeat on the voice to parliament.

The government isn’t confirming the appointment of three commissioners to oversee the process as planned – and previously outlined by the Aboriginal affairs and treaty minister, David Harris, in April. Sources say the consultation process and timeline will now be reviewed.

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Australians told ‘do not travel’ to Lebanon – as it happened

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No move on paying super to people on paid parental leave

But so far, the government has not moved on paying superannuation to parents (mostly women) on paid parental leave.

Super, of course, is really important and it’s something we would very much like to look to in the future when the budget can afford it. But this is a very big step forward, the current arrangements, but we’ll continue to look around superannuation into the future and consider it in each budget context.

I think with the reserved period as well, we’re going to see an increase in shared care, both parents taking some time out, which is really, really important if we want to get a more equal burden of, you know, of that share of care.

So that is really important as well.

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NSW police strip-searches of Indigenous people rose 35% in past 12 months and included 11 children, data reveals

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Freedom of information figures also show 25 girls were strip-searched in the past financial year compared to just seven in 2021-22

The number of Indigenous people strip-searched by New South Wales police jumped 35% over the past 12 months with 11 of those searched aged under 18, including a 12-year-old.

NSW police data released under the state’s Gipa laws revealed 340 First Nations Australians were strip-searched in the 2022-23 financial year, up from 253 the year before.

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NSW government axes dozens of environmental roles in ‘backward step’

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Exclusive: Coalition accuses Labor of hypocrisy and says delay in rewarding farmers to protect nature is a ‘disgrace’

The New South Wales government has quietly cut dozens of environmental roles, including Indigenous officers, and delayed a plan to reward farmers to protect nature – moves described by critics as “hypocritical” and a “significant backward step”.

The cuts were revealed in a “change management plan”, obtained by Guardian Australia, and affect about 28 existing staff and 38 roles in total. They follow last month’s budget, the first by the Minns Labor government since its election in March.

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