Tag: New South Wales

Australia scraps 33,000 Covid fines

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia’s most populous state scrapped 33,000 fines issued for breaking Covid-19 rules Tuesday, after a top court ruled they were invalid. New South Wales authorities were forced to retract more than half their pandemic-era fines, which were found to be too vague in describing the offence. Revenue NSW said that because of the “technical” breach it would withdraw “fail to comply” penalties believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars. “Fail […]

Fresh deluge worsens ‘one in 100 year’ Australia floods

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) Torrential rain lashed Australia’s south east again Monday, worsening once-in-a-century flooding that has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and shuttered hundreds of schools. The days-long deluge has inundated coastal areas of New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, with parts of Sydney experiencing what officials predicted would be the biggest flood in decades. On Monday, eight million residents were told to avoid unnecessary travel and work from […]

Climate change ‘clearly’ fuelled Australia bushfires: inquest

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s devastating 2019-2020 bushfires were “clearly” fuelled by climate change, a government inquiry reported Tuesday following some of the largest forest fires ever recorded worldwide. With this year’s fire season already underway, authorities recommended urgent action to limit the impact of extreme blazes, expected “to become more frequent” in future. The deadly bushfires raged for nine months to March and were most severe in New South Wales […]

Surfer severely mauled by shark in Australia

sA surfer was severely mauled by a shark off Australia’s east coast, officials said Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks in recent months. The 36-year-old was surfing near Scotts Head Beach some 490 kilometres (300 miles) north of Sydney in the morning when he was bitten, New South Wales state police said. “The man suffered a severe leg injury below his knee on his right leg,” a NSW Ambulance spokesman told AFP. “He […]

Australia offers cash assistance to farmers as worst drought in 400 years cripples land

  (Eagle News) — The Australian Government is implementing strategies to assist farmers, as a crippling drought — said to be the worst in the last 400 years  — has taken over vast areas of pastoral heartlands affecting thousands of farmers who heavily rely on their farms to sustain their households. The Federal Government has announced that they will be providing cash payments of up to Aus$12,000 to assist farmers and drought stricken communities. The […]

Cycling: Former Australian Olympic track star dies aged 39

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s track cycling community mourned the sudden death of former Olympic and world champion Stephen Wooldridge, aged just 39, on Tuesday. The star from New South Wales state, won gold for Australia in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was a four-time world champion in the discipline, and a champion in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. “Stephen was an exceptional cyclist and Olympic Champion who will forever be remembered,” said Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates in […]

Emergency crew kept busy as wild weather continues in New South Wales

https://youtu.be/BFspJNleCOQ   By Ana Divina Watson EBC Australia Bureau NEW South Wales, Australia  (Eagle News) – New South Wales  continued to be battered by wild weather. The rain that started on Sunday persisted during the week, varying in intensity. By Wednesday, the water increased in the northern part of the state. A number of people had to be rescued after driving through flood waters. In the Illawarra and the south coast of NSW, residents woke […]

East Australian coast lashed by freak storm

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The east coast of Australia, including Sydney, was battered by a freak storm on Sunday with trees uprooted and thousands left without power. The wild storm struck New South Wales after wreaking havoc in Queensland state on Saturday, with an intense low-pressure system bringing heavy rains, gales and rough seas. Hundreds of people were evacuated from homes across NSW and motorists trapped on roads had to be rescued as floodwaters rose, […]