Daily Telegraph News & Politics

AUSTRALIA will stamp out bullying, abuse and misconduct in all levels of sport with world-class safety and integrity measures ready to support the next generation of athletes “from the playground to the podium”.  TAXI drivers who flout the law by refusing to use their meters and demand fixed prices from customers will be in the sights of the industry watchdog in an unprecedented New Year’s Eve blitz.  NOVAK Djokovic says he holds no grudges but “can’t forget” the vaccination saga which saw him deported just days before the start of this year’s Australian Open.  AUSSIES could be nursing a new year hangover from frenetic Christmas spending. For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former NSW minister has warned the state’s communities still on their knees from the Black Summer bushfires are living in a “blast furnace” ready to explode and green tape is preventing landowners from protecting themselves.  Two cousins were killed when an inflatable they were riding struck a submerged stump while they were being towed by their grandfather in a boat in country NSW.  An Instagram friendship turned into a nightmare for a 21-year-old woman after she was allegedly raped three times over two days by a 20-year-old man from Blacktown.  Rafael Nadal says he is still getting used to his schedule as a first time father.  For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Year’s Eve revellers will be able to enjoy the city’s iconic fireworks celebration for free from sought-after harbourside locations currently charging up to $70 per person if Labor is elected to government next year.   Two teenagers have been charged with the murder of a former Sydney mother and the stabbing of her husband during a home invasion at their new house in Brisbane.  Kevin Rudd will be double-dipping on the taxpayers’ dime in his new role as Australia’s US ambassador, putting his income almost on par with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.  The best tennis players in the world have descended on Sydney ahead of the inaugural United Cup, a precursor to the Australian Open.  For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flood victims are calling for urgent help after many spent Christmas sleeping in their cars or under their houses while emergency housing pods built specifically for them... stand empty on the side of the road.  As an emotional sea of zinc-covered faces and floppy hats engulfed the MCG in honour of Shane Warne, the legend’s son Jackson had a message for others who have lost a loved one.  A Sydney woman who was bashed, stalked and abused for months after meeting a man on a dating app is calling for more to be done to prevent him from accessing his next victim.  Sydney plans to party like it’s 2019 with this new year’s eve being the first without Covid restrictions in three years. For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BOXING Day bargain hunters will spend a record amount across Australia this year, with NSW leading the ­retail resurgence.KEY Liberal candidates for the March election may not be preselected until well into January after the party erupted over a botched deal to get gender parity in the upper house — despite Premier Dominic Perrottet insisting he wants more women in the party.GANGSTERS have become so sophisticated at hiding weapons in vehicles that NSW police are having to use X-ray equipment to detect firearms in hidden compartments.AUSTRALIA’S  Tim Tszyu will have to wait even longer for his shot at world title glory after opponent Jermell Charlo suffered a broken hand in training, forcing the postponement of their January 28 bout in Las Vegas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THREE senior Liberal men will be dumped at the next election in favour of women, as the party takes desperate measures to quell accusations of sexism within its ranks.ST George Illawarra Dragons young gun Junior Amone spent last night behind bars, bail refused, over his alleged involvement in a shocking hammer attack which left a tradie with serious injuries.DANGEROUS dating apps will be under the spotlight as the state and federal governments unite for a summit on “urgent action” to reform the platforms’ lax security measures after another woman lost her life.FORMER NRL star Sam Burgess has denied taking any illicit drugs after he was arrested over allegedly failing a roadside drug test in Sydney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

VIOLENT criminals could be banned from accessing dating apps as a condition of their court orders and the app giants will be questioned over their repeated failures to protect women as both sides of politics unite in the wake of another woman losing her life to violence. WHEN Angela Hardy swiped right on Tinder, there was no way for her to know that her date was a crazed serial stalker with nine apprehended violence orders against him involving four terrified women.LABOR leader Chris Minns’ plan to bring energy supply back into state government hands would cost every household more than $10,000, according to government analysis.THE Dragons are exploring the possibility of dropping the Illawarra moniker from their name as the club gives serious consideration to returning as the St George Dragons.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two of NSW’s most senior cops – still mourning the loss of two murdered colleagues – have called for state and the federal governments to work together to draw up uniform national gun laws.Brittany Higgins has stepped out for her university graduation ceremony, saying she “couldn’t be more proud” of the occasion.The former governor of Lithgow jail and five of his guards have been charged with criminal offences after the state’s corruption watchdog found prison officers bashed an inmate and tried to cover it up.When freak floods destroyed Lismore in February they were the worst NSW had seen in modern history — but for the men and women of the NSW SES it was just the start of 12 months of natural disasters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A junior staffer who was harassed by then chief-of-staff Chris Smith at her Channel 9 leaving do has spoken out for the first time about the 1998 incident that left her shocked and disgusted. Local general-duties police officers formed a heavily armed “extraction team” to rescue their fallen colleagues, driving on to the Train family’s western Darling Downs property in the vehicle of the trio’s murdered neighbour while under fire. More than 140 children under the age of four have been exposed to potentially toxic vape poisoning in the past 12 months and, shockingly, 17 of those were under 12 months of age.  And firefighting hero Shane Fitzsimmons believes his job at Resilience NSW was doomed the moment the first flood arrived this year as an ill-prepared State government looked for someone to blame. For updates and breaking news throughout the day, take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE company behind the Narrabri Gas Project has warned that the Albanese government’s energy price legislation represents a form of “Soviet-style … nationalisation” that threatens to make Australia as difficult for energy companies to do business in as “Argentina, Venezuela or Nigeria”. FOR years Budget Direct was happy to take Lisa Madden’s money for home and contents insurance that included flood protection – until it suspected she might actually use the cover. THE murderous Train family hid themselves in bushes and lay in wait for police to arrive at their rural home before opening fire on the offices with rifles from 40m away in what is being investigated as a premeditated plot. MITCHELL Starc has revealed his sadness that he never got to break bread with Shane Warne and reconcile the relentless criticism he copped from the spin king.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

POLICE are investigating whether conspiracy theorist Gareth Train and former school principal Nathaniel and teacher Stacey Train used cameras hidden around their property to track officers ­before gunning two of them down. TEENAGER Alex Ioane was beaten to death in a violent Sydney postcode brawl — now a lawyer representing one of the thugs who attacked him has warned joining a street gang is a one-way ticket to prison and tragedy. NSW’s independent private schools have dominated in this year’s HSC, with their students making up more than half of those who topped individual subjects. THE parents of five eastern suburbs boys have vowed to fight their ­expulsions from an exclusive private school, claiming the allegations of hazing against their sons were ­grossly exaggerated.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AS the four young police officers pulled up to the isolated yellow-sided weatherboard home about 4.40pm on Monday, they had no idea that inside was a cache of ammunition and weaponry controlled by survivalist and conspiracy theorist Gareth Train, his wife Stacey and Gareth’s mentally-unstable brother Nathaniel.A NEW personalised vaccine against melanoma has almost halved the rate of recurrence and death in a major turning point described as cancer’s “penicillin moment”.A CRANBROOK old boy accused of raping and choking a young woman has argued in court that his “mental fragility” makes it too hard to report to police.BROADCASTER Chris Smith has been fired from his TV and radio jobs following an investigation into his conduct after a Christmas party last weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AN average weekly supermarket trolley costs at least $20 more to fill than it did only six months ago, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph reveals.CRICKET Australia has offered Candice Warner and her family a security escort at matches for the rest of the Test summer, after she was abused by fans in Adelaide.REAL estate agents will be banned from asking renters to bid higher than a property’s listing price from this Saturday, with the government scrambling to provide relief to homeseekers before Christmas.The NSW Government will rush through urgent regulation changes to ban “solicited rent bidding,” applying to all new listings from December 17, following a Daily Telegraph investigation revealing more than 80 per cent of agents were directly or indirectly encouraging applicants to up their offers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MORE than 80 per cent of real estate agents are encouraging “rent bidding’’ as Sydney faces a rental crisis that is leaving desperate would-be tenants with­out a home, a Daily Telegraph investigation has found.NSW clubs have declared war on anti-gaming politicians as the heavyweight industry enters the state election fray with a campaign to oust one MP for her support of gambling reforms.TELEVISION and radio presenter Chris Smith has been suspended from  his roles following allegations of inappropriate behaviour after a formal Christmas gathering over the weekend.A GROUP of students banned from attending their Year 10 formal night for indiscretions such as  wearing the incorrect socks to school, has  outraged their parents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SIX Waverley College students have been expelled over the violent hazing of a group of Year 7 boys amid claims from parents they were beaten with belts, locked in fire hydrant cupboards and made to bark like dogs and lick the shoes of other students.THE NSW government has vowed to support an indigenous Voice in Australian parliament — putting Nationals ministers at odds with their federal counterparts.PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to “complain and explain” over six episodes of their highly anticipated Netflix series, in defiance of the royal family’s unofficial motto of dignified silence.The red carpet for the AACTA Awards included Olivia De Jonge wore Gucci, Catherine Martin was in Romance Was Born, Elsa Pataky in J’Aton, Leah Purcell in Paul McCann. and Brooke Satchwell in Farage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A SENIOR student at Waverley College has spoken out about an anti-Semitic culture at the school that has seen abuse hurled at passing members of the Jewish community, Nazi salutes made in corridors and teachers abused for their heritage.The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold is calling for a public inquiry into the conduct of police during the investigation of Brittany Higgins’ rape claim in a bombshell letter that alleges “interference in the criminal justice process” as asks police not to contact her.DAVID Warner’s manager has made bombshell allegations Australian players were given the green light to ball tamper in Testcricket.KING Charles and Prince William were set to hold crisis meetings after the release of Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex vowed they were only just “beginning”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A BOLD vision for a single Sydney supremo dedicated to sweeping away red tape and the “advancement and wellbeing of Australia’s greatest city” has received backing from both sides of politics and business.LABOR Leader Chris Minns has opened up a major election battlefront by pledging to sell off “surplus” public land to build more affordable housing alongside Sydney’s public transport hubs.A CLIQUE at elite Cranbrook School has been described as a “viper’s pit” amid claims of bullying and massive payments to female staff driven out by a “boys’ club”.NETWORK Ten has axed its underperforming breakfast news bulletin and moved low-rating chat program Studio 10 to a new timeslot in a major shake-up to its on-air line-up, following one of its worst annual ratings performances in decades.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal a Labor government would seek to increase housing targets in wealthier suburbs with good transport links by building affordable housing projects, so essential workers can live closer to the CBD. A RECORD number of Australians took out a new home loan after RBA Governor Philip Lowe’s first proclamation that rates wouldn’t rise for three years, a figure only surpassed when he said it again four months later. MASSIVE crowds lining up from 4pm, wild parties and a spot of attempted looting. Sydneysiders are farewelling iconic nightspot Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice in true freak flag style. THE Socceroos risk losing Graham Arnold to a rival nation as Football Australia starts a lengthy review into Australia’s World Cup campaign rather than re-sign the  head coach.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Real estate agents will be investigated over driving up rental prices with bidding frenzies, as NSW prepares to bring in new laws. An urgent investigation into Transport NSW’s planning day launched following inquiries from The Daily Telegraph. Shane Warne and distance runner Ron Clarke to be officially recognised as Legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Breakout tv star Chloe Hayden still can’t quite believe she now counts her biggest Aussie idols among her peers.For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An SAS soldier serving in the Middle East is recovering in Germany after being stabbed in a fight at a brothel in  Iraq. Outback wrangler star Matt Wright flew in the same helicopter with his family, just days before the accident that killed his mate. Nine licensed venues have been named and shamed for serving booze to teens. Byron Bay tops the NSW list for the highest incidence of melanoma.For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.