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Sydney commuters urged to begin travel hours earlier as delays expected to worsen
Elias Visontay
Sydneysiders who have critical travel over the rest of the day have been told to begin their journeys now, with the transport department warning train delays are expected to get worse this evening and that the evening peak period will be unreliable.
The transport department secretary, Josh Murray, speaking just now after the delay or cancellation of more than 80% of train services in the morning due to rail union industrial action, urged commuters who have essential travel to begin their trips hours earlier.
As we look towards the afternoon and evening, the scenario is going to get worse in terms of train and crew availability, and we also see some inclement weather on the horizon, which may make afternoon travel even more difficult.
We are saying to vulnerable travellers, we are saying to emergency workers or those that have critical travel this afternoon, to leave now, to make those arrangements and not rely on afternoon peak services.
Key events
Adeshola Ore
Further Mornington Peninsula landslide fears with 11 houses now uninhabitable
Victoria’s emergency services are bracing for further movement in a landslide on the state’s Mornington Peninsula ahead of expected storms, after a house collapsed on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, a $2.3m house on the Mornington Peninsula collapsed down a cliff in a landslide. A council worker was injured in the incident was transported to hospital in a stable condition.
A VicEmergency alert issued on Wednesday morning for the McCrae area said site assessments would continue, along with monitoring for further impact caused by forecast storms.
You can read the full story here:
Man dies after trying to save children from rip at WA beach
Western Australian police have confirmed a man has died after he and three others went to help two children experiencing trouble in the water at Native Dog beach in Bremer Bay.
They believe the children and those who tried to help them were all caught in a rip.
Police say the man, believed to be in his 40s, became unresponsive and was carried to shore, where members of the public provided him emergency first aid.
In a statement, police say:
St John WA transported the man to the Bremer Bay Nursing Post, however he could not be revived.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
All other persons in the water were able to get back to shore safely.
Commuters waiting for trains from Central station
Industrial action has led to the cancellation of almost 400 Sydney train services today.
Here are some photos from Central station in Sydney:
Natasha May
Following from our last post:
Questions at the press conference then turned to the actual numbers of how many psychiatrists will be left in the workforce when resignations take effect.
Jackson says there are 443 full-time psychiatrist positions in NSW, of which there is already a 30% pre-exiting vacancy rate.
On top of that, they have received 205 resignations.
Natasha May
NSW government to meet psychiatrist representative bodies
The NSW government will meet tomorrow with representative bodies of psychiatrists as half the workforce intends to resign next week.
In a press conference held this afternoon, the minister for mental health, Rose Jackson, said she would meet tomorrow with the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation as well as the peak body for psychiatrists, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.
Jackson says:
I’m hopeful the meeting is … an opportunity for discussion, an opportunity for a path forward.
We get there are things we need to discuss and the system is under pressure.
… Walking away and not participating is not a solution.
‘Vicious’ storm lashes Wagga Wagga
The Nationals MP Michael McCormack is already seeing some of the severe weather in Wagga Wagga.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast thunderstorms across Australia’s south-east today, including in Wagga and Orange in NSW.
Coles to stop stocking kitchen knives after alleged stabbing attack in store
Emily Wind
Supermarket giant Coles has announced it will no longer stock kitchen knives amid increasing rates of aggression in its stores.
A spokesperson said in a statement that Smeg kitchen knives would be available to redeem at its service desks until 21 January.
Coles complies with all legislation regarding the sale of kitchen knives, and this withdrawal is being taken out of an abundance of caution as we conduct a review. The safety of our team members and customers is our number one priority across all aspects of our business.
The news comes as a 13-year-old has been charged with attempted murder, accused of stabbing a Coles worker on Monday evening.
As Ben Smee reported yesterday, police alleged the boy attacked the woman with a knife at the Yamanto shopping centre in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane.
The injured woman, 63, remained in a critical condition in hospital.
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll be handing over to Krishani Dhanji for the rest of the afternoon. Take care.
Sydney commuters urged to begin travel hours earlier as delays expected to worsen
Elias Visontay
Sydneysiders who have critical travel over the rest of the day have been told to begin their journeys now, with the transport department warning train delays are expected to get worse this evening and that the evening peak period will be unreliable.
The transport department secretary, Josh Murray, speaking just now after the delay or cancellation of more than 80% of train services in the morning due to rail union industrial action, urged commuters who have essential travel to begin their trips hours earlier.
As we look towards the afternoon and evening, the scenario is going to get worse in terms of train and crew availability, and we also see some inclement weather on the horizon, which may make afternoon travel even more difficult.
We are saying to vulnerable travellers, we are saying to emergency workers or those that have critical travel this afternoon, to leave now, to make those arrangements and not rely on afternoon peak services.
Elias Visontay
NSW government exploring legal action to quash rail workers’ industrial action
The New South Wales government is exploring if it can take legal action to stop rail workers from continuing industrial action that has led to the cancellation of almost 400 train services on Wednesday and crippled the broader Sydney network.
The acting premier, Penny Sharpe, said the work bans in force today had led to “serious impacts” across Sydney for commuters and businesses and that “we’re currently looking at all of our legal options to make sure that these conditions can be rolled back and that we can get the trains back running on time”.
The transport minister, Jo Haylen, said that almost 400 train services had been cancelled by 1.30pm, with more than 1,000 services expected to be cancelled by the end of the day.
Beyond the cancellations, trains were becoming stuck at platforms for up to 30 minutes, with not enough crew to staff the services.
Audit shows Queensland hospitals in crisis
A new audit has revealed Queensland’s health system is in need of urgent reform, AAP reports, after years of systemic breakdowns across infrastructure, cybersecurity and patient care.
The Queensland audit office’s latest report highlights a sector facing critical challenges with mounting costs, worsening wait times and underwhelming performance on preventable hospital admissions.
The backlog of hospital maintenance has blown out to $2bn, a 40% increase in just one year. The report warns this figure is likely underestimated.
The high level of deferred maintenance means it is likely the condition of health facilities is worsening.
Cybersecurity risks have also doubled, with 13 control deficiencies identified, compared to seven the previous year. Among them are inadequate passwords controls and delayed removal of access for terminated staff.
The report describes these weaknesses as particularly concerning as the health sector has been identified as one of the most vulnerable to cyber-attacks in Australia.
Waiting times for specialist outpatient services is the worst in nine years, with Queensland also ranking seventh out of eight states for preventable hospital admissions.
BoM forecasts severe storms for Wagga Wagga and Orange
More on the thunderstorms forecast across Australia’s south-east today: the Bureau of Meteorology said severe storms are likely for Wagga and Orange in NSW.
Damaging winds, heavy rain leading to flash flooding and large hail are all possible.
Telstra teams with Accenture to supercharge AI plans
Telstra is partnering with global consulting giant Accenture to accelerate its operations by using artificial intelligence, AAP reports.
The seven-year joint venture would comprise of specialists from Telstra and Accenture’s data and AI teams who would work to modernise Telstra’s systems and reinvent business processes through the use of AI agents.
Telstra said its core data and AI workforce, based in Australia and India, would receive an offer to join the venture.
Telstra plans to consolidate vendor support from 18 data and AI providers down to just two joint ventures, one with Woolworths-owned data science firm Quantium and the new partnership with Accenture.
Telstra’s chief executive, Vicki Brady, said the telecommunications company had hundreds of AI use-cases across the business, including tools built in-house such as one that delivers a concise summary of a customer’s recent interactions with Telstra.
But our data and AI ambition goes well beyond introducing AI tools. It goes to the heart of what we do – connecting Australia, and Australians, to the world.
The joint venture will be 60% owned by Accenture and 40% owned by Telstra.
Severe storms likely across south-east Australia today
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather update, with severe storms likely around the south-east of the country today:
Joe Hinchliffe
Queensland premier pledges further youth crime crackdown as incarceration rates rise
Queensland premier David Crisafulli has promised a further “wave of changes” to the state’s youth crime laws this year following the legislation of his new government’s signature “adult time” laws that puts children as young as 10 in detention on adult sentences.
Speaking to press in Cairns this morning, Crisafulli was asked if it was a “mistake” or “loophole” that the charge of attempted murder did not fall under the “tough new laws”, which include mandatory life sentences for youth offenders convicted of murder.
It follows one of the first high-profile youth crime incidents in Queensland this year, in which a 13-year-old boy was charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a 63-year-old female Coles employee.
The premier responded by saying that charge and many others would be reviewed by an expert panel to recommend further crackdowns on a “generation of hardcore repeat untouchables”.
I want Queenslanders to know: there will be more changes. And the second tranche of the ‘making Queensland safer’ laws is certainly not going to be the last. There will be further reform in 2025, in fact there will be legislative change in 2025 – and it can’t come soon enough.
The number of children under 14 in adult watch houses in Queensland has risen 50% in 12 month. Asked if he was concerned that youth crime crackdown would not act as a deterrent but only lead to higher incarceration rates, the premier replied that his focus was on having fewer victims of crime.