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Tag: New South Wales

  • Australia will enforce a social media ban for children under 16 despite a court challenge

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    MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government said young children will be banned from social media next month as scheduled despite a rights advocacy group on Wednesday challenging the world-first legislation in court.

    The Sydney-based Digital Freedom Project said it had filed a constitutional challenge in the High Court on Wednesday to a law due to take effect on Dec. 10 banning Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on specified platforms.

    Communications Minister Anika Wells referred to the challenge when she later told Parliament her government remained committed to the ban taking effect on schedule.

    “We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by Big Tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we stand firm,” Wells told Parliament.

    Digital Freedom Project president John Ruddick is a New South Wales state lawmaker for the minor Libertarian Party.

    “Parental supervision of online activity is today the paramount parental responsibility. We do not want to outsource that responsibility to government and unelected bureaucrats,” Ruddick said in a statement.

    “This ban is a direct assault on young people’s right to freedom of political communication,” he added.

    The case is being brought by Sydney law firm Pryor, Tzannes and Wallis Solicitors on behalf of two 15-year-old children.

    Digital Freedom Project spokesperson Sam Palmer could not say whether an application would be made for a court injunction to prevent the age restriction taking effect on Dec. 10 before the case is heard.

    Technology giant Meta last week began sending thousands of Australian children suspected to be younger than 16 a warning to downland their digital histories and delete their accounts from Facebook, Instagram and Threads before the ban takes effect.

    The government has said the three Meta platforms plus Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube must take reasonable steps to exclude Australian account holders younger than 16 or face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($32 million).

    Malaysia has also announced plans to ban social media accounts for children under 16 starting in 2026.

    Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said this week his Cabinet approved the move as part of a broader effort to shield young people from online harm like cyberbullying, scams and sexual exploitation. He said his government was studying approaches taken by Australia and other countries, and the potential use of electronic checks with identity cards or passports to verify users’ ages.

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  • Kiwi Ferns unveil four debutants; Jillaroos squad stacked with talent — Pac Champs Teams

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    The Kiwi Ferns, Samoa and the Cook Islands have all name their teams for the first week of action in the Pacific Championships, while Australia has selected a star-studded squad ahead of their opening game next week.

    Watch every game of the 2025 Pacific Championships LIVE on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

    The Australian Jillaroos side is stacked with talent led by recent premiership winning captain Ali Brigginshaw and veteran Jillaroo, Kezie Apps. The team is backed by five debutantes including Dally M halfback of the year, Jesse Southwell.

    The Australian side has seen a few recent surprises though after Emma Verran withdrew from the squad alongside Sienna Lofipo who choose to instead play for Samoa, representing the side in a number of previous Test series.

    This led to the inclusion of Eels fullback Abbi Church and Cowboys prop Mackenzie Weale.

    Church represented Australia in the PM’s XIII last year and Weale is set to make her first Test debut after playing six Origin games for Queensland.

    Coach Ricky Henry’s Kiwi Ferns side is set to be a strong contender for the Jillaroos, complete with 21 players with NRLW experience.

    The 17-person side is led by the Dragon’s Raecene McGregor and the Titan’s Georgia Hale.

    Having both competed since the game’s inaugural season in 2018 and alongside fellow Test veteran Apii Nicholls, the trio have a combined 20 campaigns in the Black jersey, making the side well prepared for a deep run in this competition.

    ‘Competition for spots makes us better’ | 01:45

    The New Zealand team will also include four debutants including Tysha Ikenasio, Ivana Lauitiiti, Patricia Maliepo and Shakira Baker.

    The Fetu Samoa side, led by coach Jamie Soward, will contest New Zealand and Australia in the Pacific Cup.

    Soward has named a strong team with Brisbane’s Annetta-Claudia Nu’uausala set to lead the team while Sienna Lofipo’s decision to turn down a Jillaroos debut to instead represent her home nation will play an inspiring role for the side.

    The side will also feature Dally M Rookie of the Year Shalom Sauaso and veterans Destiny Brill and Niall Williams-Guthrie.

    Set to play in the second-tier Pacific Bowl is coach Ronald Griffiths’ Cook Islands side which includes four players who worked under his guidance at the Warriors in Lydia Turua-Quedley, Lavinia Kitai, Ashlee Matapo and Kaiyah Atai.

    Sharks playmaker Chantay Kiria-Ratu was a lock for the side after a stellar season which saw nine try assists and five line break assists.

    She will also be joined by her sister Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu, who debuted in Round 4 this season, making a clear impact on the Sharks preliminary finals run.

    The Cook Islands side will take on PNG and Tonga.

    WOMEN’S PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

    SATURDAY OCTOBER 18

    PNG Orchids vs Cook Islands Moana at Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 2.00pm AEDT

    PNG team: 1. Fleur Ginn 2. Mala Mark 3. Tia Molo 4. Marie Biyama 5. Naomi Kelly 6. India Seeto 7. Caitlin Tanner 8. Elsie Albert 9. Therese Aiton 10. Emmogen Taumafai 11. Sareka Mooka 12. Leila Kerowa 13. Jessikah Reeves 14. Emily Veivers 15. Essay Banu 16. Gloria Kaupa 17. Mya Muller 18. Delailah Ahose 19. Belinda Gwasamun 20. Ruth Gende

    Cook Islands team: 1. Kiana Takairangi 2. Paulina Morris-Ponga 3. Kiarah Siauane 4. Deleni Paitai 5. Hannah Makira 6. Lydia Turua-Quedley 7. Chantay Kiria-Ratu 8. Lavinia Kitai 9. Pearl Tuitama 15. Ashlee Matapo 11. Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu 19. Kaiyah Atai 13. Jazmon Tupou-Witchman 10. April Ngatupuna 14. Kerehitina Matua 16. Ngatokotoru Arakua 17. Memory Paitai 18. Porche John 12. Jodeci Joseph 20. Keira Rangi

    SUNDAY OCTOBER 19

    Kiwi Ferns vs Fetu Samoa at Go Media Stadium, Auckland, 1.35pm AEDT

    Ferns team: 1. Apii Nicholls 2. Shanice Parker 3. Abigail Roache 4. Mele Hufanga 5. Tysha Ikenasio 6. Patricia Maliepo 7. Raecene McGregor 8. Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa 9. Brooke Anderson 10. Brianna Clark 11. Annessa Biddle 12. Shakira Baker 13. Georgia Hale 14. Ashleigh Quinlan 15. Otesa Pule 16. Alexis Tauaneai 17. Ivana Lauitiiti 18. Tiana Davison 19. Leianne Tufuga 20. Tyla King 21. Shaniece Monschau

    Samoa team: 1. Jetaya Faifua 2. Jessica Patea 3. Lindsay Tui 4. Sarina Masaga 5. Destiny Mino-Sinapati 6. Taliah Fuimaono 7. Destiny Brill 8. Annetta-Claudia Nu’uausala 9. Destiny Brill 10. Eliza Lopamaua 11. Niall Williams-Guthrie 12. Ryvrr-Lee Alo 13. Sienna Lofipo 14. Pihuka Berryman-Duff 15. Laikha Clarke 16. Tavarna Papalii 17. Shalom Sauaso 18. Simone Karpani 19. Mercedez Taulelei-Siala 20. Ella-Jaye Harrison-Leaunoa 21. Estanoa Faitala-Mariner

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  • Australian state orders public servants to stop remote working after a newspaper campaign against it

    Australian state orders public servants to stop remote working after a newspaper campaign against it

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    WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The government of Australia’s most populous state ordered all public employees to work from their offices by default beginning Tuesday and urged stricter limits on remote work, after news outlets provoked a fraught debate about work-from-home habits established during the pandemic.

    Chris Minns, the New South Wales premier, said in a notice to agencies Monday that jobs could be made flexible by means other than remote working, such as part-time positions and role sharing, and that “building and replenishing public institutions” required “being physically present.” His remarks were welcomed by business and real estate groups in the state’s largest city, Sydney, who have decried falling office occupancy rates since 2020, but denounced by unions, who pledged to challenge the initiative if it was invoked unnecessarily.

    The instruction made the state’s government, Australia’s largest employer with more than 400,000 staff, the latest among a growing number of firms and institutions worldwide to attempt a reversal of remote working arrangements introduced as the coronavirus spread. But it defied an embrace of remote work by the governments of some other Australian states, said some analysts, who suggested lobbying by a major newspaper prompted the change.

    “It seems that the Rupert Murdoch-owned Daily Telegraph in Sydney has been trying to get the New South Wales government to mandate essentially that workers go back to the office,” said Chris F. Wright, an associate professor in the discipline of work at the University of Sydney. The newspaper cited prospective economic boons for struggling businesses.

    The newspaper wrote Tuesday that the premier’s decision “ending the work from home era” followed its urging, although Minns did not name it as a factor.

    But the union representing public servants said there was scant evidence for the change and warned the state government could struggle to fill positions.

    “Throughout the New South Wales public sector, they’re trying to retain people,” said Stewart Little, the General Secretary of the Public Service Association. “In some critical agencies like child protection we’re looking at 20% vacancy rates, you’re talking about hundreds of jobs.”

    Little added that government offices have shrunk since 2020 and agencies would be unable to physically accommodate every employee on site. Minns said the state would lease more space, according to the Daily Telegraph.

    The change is a “game-changer” for languishing central city businesses, said Katie Stevenson, Executive Director of the Australian Property Council’s NSW branch. “More workers mean more life, more investment, and more business for our cities.”

    Individual agencies could devise their own policies, the order added, but should ensure employees “spread attendance across all days of the working week.” Requests to work from home on some occasions should be formally approved for a limited period only and reasons for the request should be supplied, the directive said.

    Minns said workplace culture and opportunities for mentorship would improve, in remarks echoing other business leaders worldwide who have questioned the productivity of remote workers. Most public workers, such as teachers and nurses, could not work from home anyway, he added.

    The order set New South Wales apart from other Australian states, one of which sought to capitalize on the move Tuesday. A spokesperson for Jacinta Allan, the premier of neighboring Victoria, told reporters the state’s remote work allowances would remain undisturbed and disgruntled NSW public servants should consider moving there.

    Wright said the change not only overturned increased flexibility during the pandemic but also erased a decade of moves by Australia’s federal government encouraging remote working to reduce barriers to workforce participation, lower carbon emissions and reduce traffic jams.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been broadly supportive of remote working. His government will enact a “right to disconnect” law later this month that will allow employees to refuse work communications outside their agreed hours.

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  • King Charles III to visit Australia and Samoa as he recovers from cancer

    King Charles III to visit Australia and Samoa as he recovers from cancer

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    LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is preparing to visit Australia and Samoa in October, an itinerary that will span 12 time zones and test the monarch’s stamina as he recovers from cancer treatment.

    The trip, announced on Sunday by Buckingham Palace, marks a watershed moment for the 75-year-old king, who has been slowly returning to public duties after taking a break following his cancer diagnosis in early February. The decision to undertake such a long journey will be seen as a sign of Charles’ recovery, even though the program in Australia will be “limited.”

    The visit to Australia will be a critical moment for the king as he tries to shore up support for the monarchy at home and abroad. The trip will mark the first time since he ascended the throne that Charles will visit one of the 14 countries outside the United Kingdom where the British monarch remains head of state, a link that is a source of pride for some but an unwelcome reminder of Britain’s colonial dominance for others.

    While he will undoubtedly be welcomed by fans waving the flag and singing “God Save the King,” Charles is also likely to hear anti-monarchy voices in a country where 45% of voters in a 1999 referendum supported creating an Australian republic. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party supports ditching the monarchy, but the government says it isn’t a priority and there is no timeline for another referendum.

    “It’s clear that there’s a real reevaluation going on there as to whether the Commonwealth, and certainly the realms, want to retain their connection to the British monarchy or not,” Ed Owens, a historian and author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?” told The Associated Press in an interview before the trip was announced. “So, you know, there are troubled waters ahead.”

    Albanese said he and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, the monarch’s representative in Australia, would welcome Charles and Queen Camilla. Albanese noted Charles had already made 15 official visits to Australia, the most recent in 2018. The monarch had also spent several months in an Australian bordering school as a teen in 1966.

    “The King has a deep regard for our great nation, and has always spoken warmly of the time he has spent here and the astounding beauty of our extraordinary continent,” Albanese said in a statement.

    The palace provided few details of the tour. Charles and Camilla will visit the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales as well as making a more formal state visit to Samoa, where the king will appear at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the palace said.

    The capital territory is home to Canberra, Australia’s national capital. Sydney, Australia’s largest city, is in New South Wales.

    Charles holds the symbolic title of head of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent nations, most of which have historic ties to Britain. The annual heads of government meeting will be held Oct. 21-25.

    However, the trip will not include a stop in New Zealand.

    “The King’s doctors have advised that a further extension to Their Majesties’ trip should be avoided at this time, to prioritize His Majesty’s continued recovery,” the palace said in a statement.

    Albanese said planning for the visit was still underway and more information would be made public in due course.

    Isaac Jeffrey, national director and CEO of the Australian Republic Movement, the peak body advocating for an Australian republic with an Australian head of state, called for a meeting with Charles and questioned why Australia should pay for the royal visit.

    “This visit is a great opportunity for all Australians to ask themselves whether the British Royals really represent a modern Aussie democracy,” Jeffrey said in a statement.

    The trip comes at a time when the health problems of Charles and Kate, the Princess of Wales, have highlighted the challenges faced by a slimmed-down royal family as the king pledges to cut costs.

    With fewer working royals available to carry out the endless round of ribbon cuttings, awards ceremonies and state events that make up the life of a modern royal, the remaining family members have been forced to take on more events.

    Charles’ cancer diagnosis occurred at the same time that the Princess of Wales — one of the most popular royals — underwent abdominal surgery and later announced she, too, had cancer. Prince William took time off to support his wife and their young family.

    That left Camilla, the king’s sister, Princess Anne, and his youngest brother, Prince Edward, to shoulder the load. Princess Anne was briefly hospitalized last month after an accident thought to involve a horse left her with a concussion.

    ____

    Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.

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  • Chaos in the Sydney CBD as massive police operation blocks off street: Man smashes up hotel room, sets off fire alarm and causes the whole floor to fl… – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Chaos in the Sydney CBD as massive police operation blocks off street: Man smashes up hotel room, sets off fire alarm and causes the whole floor to fl… – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    By Ashley Nickel For Daily Mail Australia

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    A man who allegedly hit a hotel worker after breaking a window and setting off a fire alarm has been arrested.

    New South Wales Police were called to the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park hotel on Elizabeth Street, in Sydney‘s CBD, shortly before 8am on Friday following reports of a disturbance.

    ‘Police have been told a 35-year-old man, who was a guest at the hotel, allegedly smashed the hotel window and set off the fire alarm in his room, causing his floor to flood,’ police said in a statement.

    ‘Staff from the hotel went to check on the man’s welfare, before allegedly being hit by the man.’

    The man was arrested at the scene and taken to St Vincent’s Hospital for assessment.

    A 35-year-old man was arrested at Sydney’s Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park (above) on Friday after allegedly damaging his room and hitting a staff member

    Sydney Fire and Rescue told Daily Mail Australia the man had allegedly damaged the sprinkler head in his room and was throwing items out of the broken window.

    Prices for one night at the five-star hotel start at $350. 

    Elizabeth St was closed in both directions while police investigated but was reopened at 9.40am.

    ‘Elizabeth St is now clear in both directions however police remain in the northbound bus lane….

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  • $500 million entertainment centre touted for Sydney’s CBD – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    $500 million entertainment centre touted for Sydney’s CBD – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    The Sydney CBD desperately needs a new indoor entertainment arena and the NSW Government has been urged to conduct a feasibility study to identify public land where it can be built.

    Developers believe up to $500 million of private capital could be invested at no cost to the taxpayer if public land were released with the covered stadium returning to public control once a long lease had expired.

    Plans are already being drawn up for a 10,000 seat indoor stadium at the Entertainment Quarter but are reliant on the current 23-year lease being extended to make the investment worthwhile.

    Tony Shepherd, chairman of the Entertainment Quarter, said discussions with the NSW government were ongoing to extend the lease and clear the way for $2 billion of investment in the old Easter Show site.

    “Part of that development includes a new multipurpose, fully enclosed arena which we think is something Sydney really needs close to the city centre,” he said.

    The $500 million arena would be able to accommodate professional basketball matches, boxing contests and mid-sized concert performances.

    Sydney only has Qudos Bank Arena at Homebush and nothing to rival Melbourne Arena and Rod Laver Arena in the centre of Melbourne. Potential sites for a new arena include the Bays Precinct and land seized from the Moore Park golf course.

    Tom Forrest, chief executive of the Urban Taskforce, said private investors could be encouraged to build an arena on government land and called for the NSW Government to…

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  • Sydney Marathon runners hospitalized as Australia swelters in unusual spring heat wave | CNN

    Sydney Marathon runners hospitalized as Australia swelters in unusual spring heat wave | CNN

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    Reuters
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    A sweltering heat wave in Australia took its toll on runners in the Sydney Marathon on Sunday, with 26 people taken to the hospital and about 40 treated for heat exhaustion by emergency services.

    Large parts of Australia’s southeast, including Sydney, are experiencing a spring heat wave, the national weather bureau said, with temperatures Monday expected to peak at up to 16 degrees Celsius (60 Fahrenheit) above the September average.

    The rising heat wave has been building in the country’s outback interior over the weekend and is likely to last until Wednesday across the states of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

    The Bureau of Meteorology said it expected several early spring records to be broken over the next few days, calling the heat “very uncommon for September.”

    “A reprieve from the heat is not expected until Wednesday onwards, as a stronger cold front crosses the southeastern states,” the weather bureau said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

    Temperatures in Sydney’s west are expected to hit 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) on Monday before dropping to about 22 degrees Celsius (71 Fahrenheit) on Thursday, the weather bureau forecasts showed.

    The heat wave has also elevated the risks of fires, with several regions given “high” fire danger ratings, and authorities urging residents to prepare for bushfires. About 50 grass or bushfires are burning across New South Wales but all have been brought under control.

    Australia is bracing for a hotter southern hemisphere spring and summer this year after the possibility of an El Niño strengthened, and the weather forecaster said the weather event could likely develop between September and November.

    El Niño can prompt extreme weather events from wildfires to cyclones and droughts in Australia, with authorities already warning of heightened bushfire risks this summer.

    A thick smoke haze shrouded Sydney for several days last week as firefighters carried out hazard reduction burns to prepare for the looming bushfire season.

    Australia’s hot spring follows a winter with temperatures well above average. Scientists warn that extreme weather events like heat waves are only going to become more common and more intense unless the world stops burning planet-heating fossil fuels.

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  • Two teenagers released after suspicious factory fire in Melbourne’s CBD – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Two teenagers released after suspicious factory fire in Melbourne’s CBD – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    Two teenage boys will face arson charges following a massive blaze in Melbourne’s CBD.

    Emergency services rushed to the fire at an abandoned warehouse on Clarendon St between Crown Casino and the CityLink in Southbank about 4pm Thursday.

    No one was inside the premises at the time, but a thick plume of smoke was seen for kilometres, and the building sustained “extensive damage”.

    Firefighters arrived to find one building engulfed in flames before it quickly spread to a neighbouring factory.

    Two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, were arrested at Southern Cross Station on Friday afternoon, with police at the time saying they were not looking for anyone else at the time.

    On Saturday, Victoria Police revealed the two boys had been released pending further enquiries, and are expected to be charged with arson.

    “Police also expect to charge the teens with a series of thefts, robberies, and an attempted armed robbery in Melbourne’s CBD in recent weeks,” a spokesperson said.

    Video of the incident shows the factory’s roof engulfed in flames at the most intense point of the blaze.

    A group of 35 firefighters battled the blaze for about 50 minutes, with some crews donning breathing apparatus to begin an “internal attack” on the fire.

    It’s unclear how the fire started, but it was immediately being treated as suspicious by Victoria Police.

    The fire caused traffic chaos as Clarendon St was closed in both directions, as well as the Line 12 tram that runs through South Melbourne….

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  • 16 abused children freed in Philippines after man’s arrest in Sydney | CNN

    16 abused children freed in Philippines after man’s arrest in Sydney | CNN

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    CNN
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    Sixteen children allegedly abused in the Philippines have been rescued after Australian police found sexually explicit material on the phone of a man arrested in Sydney.

    The children were found last month when the Philippine National Police (PNP) executed multiple warrants at four locations in the Metro Manila area and a province in Northern Philippines, according to a joint statement released Wednesday by Australian Federal Police.

    The investigation began in January when the Australian Border Force intercepted a Queensland man, 56, as he returned to Sydney from the Philippines, the statement said.

    After searching his phone, the ABF found child abuse material and messages detailing his intent to pay a facilitator who would enable him to sexually abuse children in the Philippines.

    The man was charged with three offenses including grooming and possession of child abuse material, which carry a potential maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

    However, the suspect failed to attend a scheduled court appearance on May 30 and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

    “This case highlights how vital it is for law enforcement agencies to share intelligence and resources globally, because predators are not confined by borders,” said the AFP’s senior officer in Manila, Detective Superintendent Andrew Perkins.

    “However, these children’s lives have been irrecoverably damaged and we know there are too many other children still at risk,” he added.

    The children have been placed into the care of the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development and investigators are still trying to find other suspected victims.

    Police Colonel Portia Manalad, chief of the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center, said the PNP could not tackle this crime alone.

    “We must collaborate with our international partners, such as the AFP, to arrest offenders and rescue child victims,” she said.

    As of June 29, 611 victims have been rescued from child abuse and 127 facilitators arrested since the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC), a joint effort between the Philippines, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, was established in 2019.

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  • Garbage truck strike: Bins in Sydney CBD, Randwick, Erskine Park, Canberra not collected by drivers – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Garbage truck strike: Bins in Sydney CBD, Randwick, Erskine Park, Canberra not collected by drivers – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    Garbo strike hits: The cities where bins aren’t going to be collected as rubbish starts piling up on the side of the street

    • Garbage truck drivers protest pay and work hours
    • Thousands of bins will not be collected on Tuesday
    • Sydney CBD, Randwick, Erskine Park, Canberra affected 

    By Maureen Dettre For Australian Associated Press

    Published: | Updated:

    Garbage truck drivers have walked off the job, leaving rubbish uncollected in parts of Sydney and Canberra as Cleanaway workers strike for 24 hours as part of a campaign against longer shifts and a cut in overtime rates.

    Thousands of residential and commercial bins won’t be collected in the City of Sydney, Randwick, Erskine Park and Silverwater, and Canberra on Tuesday.

    It marks he fifth time workers have taken action this year over company plans to reduce penalty rates for weekend work.

    The union wants the current enterprise agreement to be rolled over, with the same hours of work and conditions to ensure job security for waste workers.

    ‘They’re trying to introduce a B-grade group of people coming in here on lesser terms and conditions, more varied conditions, which will ensure that overtime is diminished for our members,’ Transport Workers’ Union NSW/Queensland secretary Richard Olsen said.

    Garbage truck drivers have gone on strike, leaving uncollected…

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  • Cruise ship with 800 Covid-positive passengers docks in Sydney | CNN

    Cruise ship with 800 Covid-positive passengers docks in Sydney | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A cruise ship with hundreds of Covid-positive passengers docked in Sydney, Australia, after being hit by a wave of infections.

    The Majestic Princess cruise ship was about halfway through a 12-day voyage when an outbreak of cases was noticed, Carnival Australia president Marguerite Fitzgerald told reporters in a media briefing on Saturday.

    The ship had 4,600 passengers and crew on board at the time, according to CNN affiliate Nine News.

    After mass testing 3,300 passengers, around 800 tested positive for Covid-19, as did a small number of crew, Fitzgerald said.

    “All positive cases were mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic, and those guests isolated in their staterooms and then separated from non-impacted guests,” parent company Princess Cruises representative Briana Latter told CNN.

    Cruise operators separately escorted those infected off the ship and advised them to complete a five-day isolation period, CNN affiliate Nine News reported.

    Those who tested negative were permitted to leave the ship, a New South Wales Health statement read.

    “Carnival has advised NSW Health that they are assisting passengers with Covid-19 to make safe onward travel arrangements,” the statement added.

    Latter said the outbreak aboard the Majestic Princess was “reflective of an increase in community transmission in Australia.”

    Australia has seen an uptick in Covid cases recently, leading to more caution from within the government.

    The New South Wales Ministry of Health has recorded 19,800 new cases of Covid-19 and 22 deaths in the past week.

    The Majestic Princess cruise ship has since departed Sydney on her next voyage to Melbourne and Tasmania.

    In a later statement, Fitzgerald said Carnival Australia have made over 50 international and domestic voyages “with a vast majority of more than 100,000 guests unimpacted by Covid.”
    “However, the emergence of Covid in the community has meant we have seen a rise in positive cases on the last three voyages,” she said.

    Fitzgerald said the company has been implementing “the most rigorous and strict measures which go well above current guidelines”, including requiring 95% of guests over the age of 12 to be vaccinated and testing staff and passengers for Covid before they board.

    “We take our responsibility to keep everyone safe very seriously. This extends to not only caring for our guests, but also for the wider community in which we operate and visit,” Fitzgerald said.

    The Majestic Princess isn’t the first Carnival cruise to be hit by a Covid outbreak.

    At least three other ships within the company’s Princess fleet – the Ruby Princess, Diamond Princess, and Grand Princess – experienced outbreaks earlier in the pandemic.

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  • 17 Australian women, children return from Syrian camp

    17 Australian women, children return from Syrian camp

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    CANBERRA, Australia — Four women and their 13 children who were held in a Syrian camp since the Islamic State group fell in 2019 have become only the second group of Australians to be repatriated from the war-torn country, Australia’s government said on Saturday as political opponents warned the families pose a domestic security risk.

    In confirming the latest group’s arrival in Sydney, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said the newcomers could face “law enforcement action” if a counterterrorism investigation team of police and security officers found evidence of any offense.

    The mothers, who were partners of Islamic State supporters, could face ongoing controls including ankle monitors and curfews or could be charged with entering the former Islamic State stronghold of al-Raqqa in Syria.

    “Informed by national security advice, the government has carefully considered the range of security, community and welfare factors in making the decision to repatriate,” O’Neil said in a statement.

    Australian officials had assessed the group as the most vulnerable among 60 Australian women and children held in the al-Roj camp in northeast Syria.

    Eight offspring of two slain Australian Islamic State fighters are the only other group to have been repatriated by Australia from the Syrian camps. The fighters’ children and grandchildren were returned by the previous Australian government in 2019.

    Opposition home affairs spokesperson Karen Andrews called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to explain what steps had been taken to ensure the wider Australian community would be safe from the potentially radicalized arrivals.

    “It is inexcusable the actions that have been taken by the Albanese government in putting Australian lives at risk to extract women and children from the camps in Syria — the risk that is now in our Australian communities here,” Andrews said.

    Albanese said he would follow all security advice on what risk the women and children posed, but did not divulge what the advice was.

    “Our first and only priority is to keep Australians safe,” Albanese said.

    Sydney resident Kamalle Dabboussy, who had lobbied the government for years to return his daughter Mariam with her three children, said their reunion in a Sydney hotel room had been emotional.

    “It’s been an overwhelming day, a joyous day,” Dabboussy told reporters.

    “There were hugs and tears. It was a very emotional moment,” he added.

    Dabboussy said what happened next to the mothers and children was up to authorities, who are currently interviewing the women.

    The United States, Germany, France, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada have already repatriated citizens from Syrian camps.

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  • Flood warnings as southeast Australia lashed by heavy rain

    Flood warnings as southeast Australia lashed by heavy rain

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    CANBERRA, Australia — Flood warnings were issued, hundreds of homes were evacuated, thousands more lost power and a man was missing as heavy rain lashed southeast Australia on Thursday.

    Rivers across Australia’s most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, and the island state of Tasmania were rising dangerously with catchments soaked by months of above-average rainfall.

    Around 250 homes in the New South Wales city of Forbes, west of Sydney, were ordered to be evacuated by Thursday night ahead of major flooding.

    The State Emergency Service issued an order for 17 streets including the central downtown precinct to be evacuated by 8 p.m., (0900 GMT) with the Lachlan River expected to reach a major flood peak of 10.6 meters (34 feet, 9 inches) by Friday.

    Police said a 63-year-old man was last seen on Tuesday on a rural property on the Lachlan River near the New South Wales town of Hillston, west of Sydney. He was reported missing hours later but emergency crews have failed to find any sign of him.

    Police on Tuesday found the body of a 46-year-old man in his submerged car in floodwater near the city of Bathurst, west of Sydney.

    To the south in Victoria, emergency crews rescued at least 23 people driving through floodwaters in rural areas after heavy overnight rain, officials said.

    Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews urged people not to drive or walk into floodwaters.

    “It’s very dangerous for you, and it’s also very dangerous for the person who has to come to rescue you,” Andrews said.

    State Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the heavy rain would reach metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria’s capital and Australia’s most populous city after Sydney, late Thursday.

    Officials have been door-knocking along the Maribyrnong River in inner-Melbourne to ensure residents were ready to evacuate if necessary.

    “We will see significant rainfall across the metropolitan area and … see potential for flash flooding,” Crisp said.

    Sarah-Jane Gill, a manager at the Rochester Riverside Holiday Park in the town of Rochester, north of Melbourne, said she had evacuated guests on Thursday as the Campaspe River rose.

    “It is scary. You laugh in the face of it all, but we’re very nervous,” Gill said.

    The Bureau of Meteorology has issued major flood warnings for the Campaspe and another four Victorian waterways.

    The Campaspe’s peak at Rochester on Friday could exceed a record 9.12 meters (29 feet, 11 inches) set in 2011. That could flood 250 Rochester homes above the floorboards and isolate another 700 homes, the State Emergency Service said.

    Nearly 10,000 homes in Victoria were without power overnight, with hundreds yet to be restored, said the State Control Center, which manages Victoria’s emergencies, and electricity distributor Powercor.

    In the northern Tasmanian town of Railton, 90 homes were threatened by floodwaters after overnight rain.

    The State Emergency Service issued an emergency warning for Railton, urging residents to prepare to evacuate.

    The state’s northern half was on high alert for flash flooding, with heavy rain forecast to continue into Friday morning.

    State Emergency Service director Leon Smith said flood peaks in northern Tasmania might reach levels last experienced in 2016 when three people drowned.

    “It is a very dynamic situation that we’re monitoring, but inevitably we will see flooding that will have significant consequences,” Smith said.

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  • History Made Over Sydney’s Magnificent Harbour

    History Made Over Sydney’s Magnificent Harbour

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    Paramount+ Illuminates Sydney Harbour With The Southern Hemisphere’s Largest Ever Drone Light Show at Vivid Sydney

    Press Release
    –

    May 29, 2022


    SYDNEY, May 29, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    With 600 drones, history was made last night (AEST) over Sydney’s magnificent Harbour.

    For one night only, Paramount+ partnered with Vivid Sydney 2022 to dazzle audiences with the largest drone and light show ever seen in the Southern Hemisphere. Vivid Sydney is the annual festival of Light, Music and Ideas that will transform Sydney into a fusion of creativity, innovation and technology from Friday 27 May to Saturday 18 June.

    With the help of SKYMAGIC, Paramount+ transformed the wintery evening sky into a sprawling canvas, as a fleet of 600 perfectly choreographed LED-equipped drones shape shifted and synchronised into enormous 3D images and sequences, illustrating some of the premier streaming service’s most iconic stars and scenes.

    Illuminating the Sydney skyline, the drones painted quintessential scenes and objects including a Mission Impossible countdown clock, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ U.S.S Enterprise, SpongeBob SquarePants himself, HALO‘s Master Chief and Cortana’s voiceover, PAW Patrol‘s Chase, Top Gun‘s fighter jet, South Park‘s orange-clad Kenny, and the brand-new logo for the highly anticipated, crime-fighting local production, NCIS: Sydney.

    Wondering what it takes to create the biggest drone show in the Southern Hemisphere? Keep an eye out on our Paramount+ social media channels to find out.

    For more information and to purchase tickets to Vivid Sydney events go to www.vividsydney.com  

    Join the conversation:  

    www.ParamountPlus.com.au

    @ParamountPlusAU 

    www.vividsydney.com

    @vividsydney #vividsydney

    Media contacts:

    Karina Jurisic –  Senior Publicist

    kjurisic@networkten.com.au

    M: +61 421 576 794

    Wayne Mitcham – Destination NSW

    wayne@amio.nz 

    M: +64 21 499 550

    Source: Vivid Sydney

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  • Destination NSW Counting Down to Vivid Sydney 2022: 100 Days to Go

    Destination NSW Counting Down to Vivid Sydney 2022: 100 Days to Go

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    SYDNEY, February 16, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    In 100 days from today — on Friday 27 May — Vivid Sydney will return, transforming Sydney city with an exhilarating fusion of creativity, innovation and technology.

    Staged over 23 nights, the 2022 festival will deliver mesmerising art displays, 3D light projections, uplifting live music performances and deep-dive discussions from the world’s brightest minds. Plus, in a festival first, the renowned Light Walk will stretch continuously for 8km, linking the Sydney Opera House to Central Train Station with 47 installations and projections.

    Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade, Minister for Tourism and Sport and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said Vivid Sydney will deliver joy and discovery to the Central Business District (CBD), spearheaded by the launch of two Countdown Clocks, to count down the 100 days until the festival’s Lights On moment.

    “After a two-year hiatus, I am delighted to launch the 100-day countdown for Vivid Sydney 2022, which will be a fantastic celebration of a return to life,” Ayres said. 

    “The 2022 program will be the biggest and brightest yet, with many festival-firsts, providing even more reasons for visitors from all over the world to immerse themselves in our city at its creative best. 

    “Vivid Sydney makes a vital social and economic contribution during winter. From our creative industries to entertainment and hospitality venues, accommodation and retailers, it supports the entire ecosystem of the New South Wales visitor economy.”

    Designed by renowned Sydney artist Elliott Routledge, who is also featured in the 2022 festival program, the Countdown Clocks will be located outside Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building at Town Hall and Gateway Plaza, Circular Quay. Sydney visitors can check out these Insta-worthy timepieces, capture a picture and share on social media using #vividsydney. A virtual version will also feature on vividsydney.com.

    Festival Director Gill Minervini, who will direct her first Vivid Sydney in 2022, said this year’s program captures the essence of Sydney’s soul, and what makes the city so authentically unique.

    “Vivid Sydney tells the compelling story of Sydney’s creativity and innovation, shared with a distinctive narrative that resonates around the world. We are innately drawn to Sydney’s urban landscape as a unique canvas, bringing us together to celebrate, reflect and immerse ourselves in this charismatic, surprising and intriguing city,” said Minervini.

    “This year, Vivid Sydney will deliver fresh experiences for festival-goers. We are proud to have such an impressive collection of Sydney’s most prolific and world-renowned artists involved in the 2022 program. This includes the unmistakable work of Ken Done, delivering the Customs House projection with For Sydney With Love, and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran’s multi-limbed avatar Earth Deities, enthralling audiences with animated fire and electricity.”

    Vivid Sydney’s 2022 Light Program promises to captivate with several firsts for the event. This includes the longest continuous Light Walk, which will activate new areas of Sydney’s CBD including the Goods Line and Central Station, as well as a way-finding installation to guide festival-goers along the Light Walk, plus the festival’s largest-ever laser installation. 

    Not-to-Miss Vivid Sydney 2022 Light Installations

    For Sydney With Love, Customs House, Circular Quay

    In collaboration with Sydney-based projection specialists Spinifex Group, Sydney artist Ken Done captures the joy of Sydney like no other, inspired by his 80-year love story with the city. For Sydney with Love is a celebration of Sydney, its icons and natural environment — on the foreshore and the Harbour, under the sea, in the sky and through the artist’s imagination. 

    Earth Deities, Hickson Road Reserve, The Rocks

    One of Australia’s hottest artists, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, who grew up in Western Sydney, specialises in large-scale sculptural forms fabricated from compacted earth, steel and paint. His multi-limbed avatar generates spectacle, ritual and gathering, and will enthral audiences with animated fire and electricity. 

    Convergence, The Goods Line, Central Station

    Produced by Sydney’s own Mandylights, Convergence is a fully immersive journey of light and sound that will transform the disused Goods Line railway tunnel for the first time ever. Presenting the largest scale laser installation at Vivid Sydney, this is a never-to-be-forgotten experience. 

    Future Natives, Various Locations

    For the first time in the festival’s history, the Light Walk will run continuously for 8km from Sydney Opera House to Central Station, with visitors guided along the Light Walk by Future Natives, a sculptural way-finding installation featuring a flock of 200 Sydney bird species created by Sydney artist Chris Daniel. 

    Vivid Sydney 2022 will activate and energise the Sydney CBD, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Goods Line and Central Station, as well as iconic city structures such as Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, MCA and Customs House.

    The full Vivid Sydney program will be announced in mid-March. Go to vividsydney.com for more information. Vivid Sydney is proudly owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.

    MEDIA CONTACT:
    Wayne Mitcham, Amio Limited, +64 21 499 550, wayne@amio.nz 

    NOTE TO EDITORS: Download media assets including a VNR with grabs from Minister Ayres and Gill Minervini, 100 Days sizzle, Countdown Clock and Light installation assets from the Vivid Sydney News Room: www.vividsydney.com/news-room. 

    About Vivid Sydney:  

    Vivid Sydney is an annual celebration of creativity, innovation and technology, which transforms Sydney for 23 days and nights. Staged for its 12th year in 2022, Vivid Sydney fuses mesmerising art displays and 3D light projections with exhilarating live music performances and deep-dive discussions from some of the world’s brightest minds, as well as the Sydney Opera House Lighting of the Sails. Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency. 

    Source: Destination NSW

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