Victims' group against judge-only trials
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS THE Crown prosecutor should be able to veto a defendant's wish to be tried by a lone judge because victims expect a jury to decide questions of guilt and innocence, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Safe heaters soon for 101 schools, the other 2100 will just have to wait
Louise Hall The first 101 schools to have their unflued gas heaters removed will be announced today. The state government promises to fit flues or install reverse-cycle airconditioning before next winter.
Public sector unions watch rail vote for wages guide
Paul Bibby and Louise Hall REPRESENTATIVES of the state's rail workers will vote today to either end their bitter industrial dispute with the state government or fight on with a possible strike on the eve of the federal...
Churches push gay adoption ban
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS THE MAIN adoption agency for infants in Sydney, Anglicare, has written to state MPs urging them to vote against a bill that would allow same-sex couples to adopt when it is debated in Parliament...
Health revamp triggers $1.2b in funding
Louise Hall and Julie Robotham Local health networks will replace centralised bureaucracies, triggering an extra $1.2 billion in federal funding under the national health and hospitals agreement, the state government said...
Risky school heaters removed
Ben Cubby and Louise Hall THE NSW government will spend an estimated $400 million replacing all unflued gas heaters in public schools, despite insisting for years that the heaters were safe, after a report it commissioned...
Cash injection fails to cut wait for operations
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS HOSPITALS in NSW have performed 2304 fewer elective operations than last year despite an injection of $122 million over four years in federal funds to cut waiting lists, a leaked report shows.
Nile unveils bill to ban people hiding their faces
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS THE Reverend Fred Nile has again called for a ban on the burqa, the head and body veil worn by some Muslim women, saying it oppresses women and could be used as a disguise by terrorists.
Steely Keneally heads south, where Labor is less on the nose
Louise Hall and Nicole Hasham THE Premier and her cabinet retreated to the relatively safe Labor territory of Wollongong yesterday as pre-poll and postal votes increased the swing against the party in the Penrith byelection to 25.
Ayres vows to fight for the people
Louise Hall THE new MP for Penrith, Stuart Ayres, has pledged to be an an advocate and a ''fighter'' for the people of western Sydney, where he will be the sole Liberal member in a traditional Labor heartland.
Labor's map of misery
Sean Nicholls, Phillip Coorey and Louise Hall WESTERN Sydney voters have sent an angry warning to Labor only months before federal and state elections, delivering a record swing against Kristina Keneally's government in the Penrith byelection...
O'Farrell pledges clean campaign for the election
Sean Nicholls and Louise Hall BARRY O'FARRELL has moved to seize the moral high ground before the Penrith byelection today, promising a campaign free of smear and personal attacks through to next year's poll after his candidate,...
A double whammy that keeps filling jails
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS PRISONERS who have a mental illness and a drug or alcohol problem have a 67 per cent chance of reoffending and ending up back in jail.
Revolving door costs taxpayers millions
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS THREE premiers, a constant reshuffle of ministers and a change of opposition leader have cost NSW taxpayers $5.9 million in staff severance payments, says the Auditor-General, Peter Achterstraat.
Auditor warns of scope for fraud in state agencies
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS THE rationalisation of the public service in NSW into so-called ''super departments'' has increased the risk of fraud, including rorting of expenses and theft, the Auditor-General, Peter...
Abuse 'still part of brigades mentality'
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS INITIATION rites continue to be carried out within the NSW Fire Brigades, and bullying and intimidation affect all areas of the organisation, an investigation has found.
Louise Hall
Lawyers consulted on sacking NSW government, says Governor
Louise Hall and Brian Robins The NSW Governor, Marie Bashir, has for the first time admitted she has sought the advice of constitutional lawyers on her power to sack the state government.
Primo told porkies on bacon packaging
Bellinda Kontominas and Louise Hall IT BEGAN with an anonymous tip-off and ended with Australia's largest producer of smallgoods being issued with a record fine for labelling foreign bacon as ''Product of Australia''.
Firth aims to clear air with $15m for heaters
Louise Hall STATE POLITICS THE state government says the decision to remove unflued gas heaters from about 100 schools in the state's coldest areas is not an admission the heaters cause respiratory problems in children.
Record boost for social services
LOUISE HALL THE government will spend $5.6 billion on support services for the state's disadvantaged communities in 2010-11 as it implements its overhaul of the welfare system and the disability and ageing...
