![\"Jordyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760480049_827_Jordyn_Beazley,_L.png\")
Jordyn Beazley<\/p>\nHighest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die in custody in NSWJordyn Beazley<\/p>\n
A record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody in New South Wales<\/a> so far in 2025, with more than two months still left in the year.<\/p>\n The NSW state coroner, Teresa O\u2019Sullivan, took the rare step of releasing a statement about the \u201cprofoundly distressing milestone\u201d of reaching a record 12 deaths in custody this year:<\/p>\n These are not mere statistics. Each of these deaths represents a person whose life mattered and whose loss is felt deeply by families, loved ones and communities across the state. They are individuals whose deaths demand independent and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability.<\/p>\n She said the surging prison population showed \u201cunderscores the scale of the issue\u201d:<\/p>\n Over the past five years, the number of Aboriginal people in custody has increased by 18.9 per cent, while the non-Aboriginal prison population has declined by 12.5 per cent. Nearly half of Aboriginal adults in custody (45.6 per cent) were on remand or refused bail awaiting further court outcomes. The number of Aboriginal people on remand has surged by 63 per cent over the same five-year period.<\/p>\n These figures reflect the entrenched over-representation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system \u2013 a systemic issue that compounds the risks and vulnerabilities contributing to the rising number of deaths in custody.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.45 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n SA premier says \u2018perception\u2019 of algal bloom now doing as much damage as \u2018the bloom itself\u2019<\/p>\n The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, spoke to RN Breakfast this morning about the state\u2019s new, $102m effort<\/a> to protect coastlines and support coastal communities amid the ongoing algal bloom.<\/p>\n He said the state had established a communication system to track beach safety during the bloom, but stressed for many regions swimming was safe:<\/p>\n First and foremost, we\u2019re seeking to provide the community, both South Australian but also visitors from abroad, that by and large it is safe to swim in our beaches unless there\u2019s reason not to \u2026 you know, the overall majority of our coastlines are unaffected.<\/p>\n I think we\u2019re at a point now in South Australia where the perception of the algal bloom is probably doing as much damage as the bloom itself. That\u2019s not to downplay the bloom. It\u2019s real and having an impact and continues to in the marine environment. But it\u2019s also true that the perception of it in some quarters is exaggerated.<\/p>\n Peter Malinauskas. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi\/AAP<\/p>\n Malinauskas was asked when residents and travellers should expect the bloom to end. He said:<\/p>\n We just don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen. The trend is heading in the right direction, it\u2019s impossible to account for what happens.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.05 EDT<\/p>\n Head of Aboriginal Legal Service says NSW government should be \u2018ashamed\u2019 by deaths in custody figures<\/p>\n Karly Warner, the chief executive of the Aboriginal Legal Service, just spoke to ABC News about the record deaths in custody. She said:<\/p>\n The New South Wales Government should be absolutely ashamed of this record, but they also can\u2019t say that they didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n We warned them and have continued to warn them that as a result of the New South Wales government driving increases in incarceration of Aboriginal women and children and men through punitive laws and policing practices, that it would lead to tragic consequences and we are seeing those tragic consequences.<\/p>\n Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Karly Warner. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.12 EDT<\/p>\n Aboriginal Legal Service says figure a \u2018crisis and a preventable tragedy\u2019<\/p>\n The Aboriginal Legal Service has responded to the news that a record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody in New South Wales<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n The service\u2019s chief executive, Karly Warner, said:<\/p>\n We call on the Government to stop passing laws which contradict its obligations to reduce Aboriginal over-representation in police cells, courts and prisons, and instead work in partnership with Aboriginal communities to implement evidence-based, community-led solutions to reduce imprisonment.<\/p>\n This is a crisis and a preventable tragedy that should deeply alarm everyone in NSW. A prison sentence should not be a death sentence.<\/p>\n Despite committing to reduce the mass incarceration of Aboriginal people under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the NSW Government continues to double down on laws and policing which guarantee increased imprisonment \u2013 instead of preventing people from entering prison in the first place by meeting their needs and investing in vital community-based supports.<\/p>\n Protesters are seen during an Indigenous deaths in Custody protest in Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.07 EDT<\/p>\n Highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die in custody in NSW A record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody in New South Wales<\/a> so far in 2025, with more than two months still left in the year.<\/p>\n The NSW state coroner, Teresa O\u2019Sullivan, took the rare step of releasing a statement about the \u201cprofoundly distressing milestone\u201d of reaching a record 12 deaths in custody this year:<\/p>\n These are not mere statistics. Each of these deaths represents a person whose life mattered and whose loss is felt deeply by families, loved ones and communities across the state. They are individuals whose deaths demand independent and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability.<\/p>\n She said the surging prison population showed \u201cunderscores the scale of the issue\u201d:<\/p>\n Over the past five years, the number of Aboriginal people in custody has increased by 18.9 per cent, while the non-Aboriginal prison population has declined by 12.5 per cent. Nearly half of Aboriginal adults in custody (45.6 per cent) were on remand or refused bail awaiting further court outcomes. The number of Aboriginal people on remand has surged by 63 per cent over the same five-year period.<\/p>\n These figures reflect the entrenched over-representation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system \u2013 a systemic issue that compounds the risks and vulnerabilities contributing to the rising number of deaths in custody.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.45 EDT<\/p>\n Employers prefer candidates from \u2018elite\u2019 universities, survey reveals<\/p>\n More than half of human resources and diversity practitioners say their employers prefer candidates from \u201celite\u201d universities, a survey reveals.<\/p>\n Diversity Council Australia\u2019s latest study of class inclusion at work, released today, found 58% of HR and diversity practitioners surveyed said their organisation favours candidates from elite universities, with some saying they use this to filter out applications during recruitment.<\/p>\n The council\u2019s research also found \u201cclass marginalised workers\u201d \u2013 those in the lowest 20% of household incomes \u2013 were less likely to experience inclusion at work.<\/p>\n DCA\u2019s chief executive, Catherine Hunter, said these findings challenge the notion that Australia is a class-free society:<\/p>\n Your social class shouldn\u2019t determine your career opportunities, yet our research shows class bias still impacts who gets ahead and who is left behind.<\/p>\n The findings are drawn from survey responses of about 1,400 Australian workers and diversity practitioners and a nationally representative sample of 3,000 Australian workers.<\/p>\n The campus of the University of Melbourne. Photograph: Con Chronis\/AAPShare<\/a> More on the opposition\u2019s proposed amendments to NSW housing reforms<\/p>\n Under the opposition\u2019s proposed amendments, the Housing Delivery Authority \u2013 a body that decides what major projects should be deemed state significant and decided by the planning department \u2013 will be subject to a full statutory review.<\/p>\n District and regional planning panels would also remain despite the government having proposed to abolish them.<\/p>\n This was a particular concern of the Nationals.<\/p>\n The new targeted assessment pathway would not apply to major non-residential developments such as mines, waste incinerators, transmission lines, windfarms and solar farms.<\/p>\n Environmental groups have warned<\/a> that as the bill is now worded, the targeted assessment pathway would effectively lead to a lack of environmental scrutiny of other major projects including mines and power stations.<\/p>\n The NSW planning minister, Paul Scully. Photograph: Dean Lewins\/AAP<\/p>\n The minister for planning and public spaces, Paul Scully, rejected this view. He said that targeted assessment would apply to a class of development where assessment and community consultation has already occurred upfront, not major proposals that have significant potential impacts.<\/p>\n However the bill may require amendments to achieve this aim.<\/p>\n Green groups have also raised concerns about the corruption risks in this and other changes, because they concentrate decision-making with the minister and the department, instead of independent panels.<\/p>\n The minister rejected these assertions.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.01 EDT<\/p>\n Planning reforms set to pass NSW parliament Measures to further stimulate housing development in NSW by streamlining the planning system look set to pass the NSW parliament after the opposition said it would support the bill \u2013 with amendments.<\/p>\n The Minns Labor government has proposed substantial changes to speed up housing approvals,<\/a> both for major projects such as high rise apartment blocks and for residential renovations and individual housing projects.<\/p>\n The opposition said last night it would support the bill provided changes were made to ensure development in the regions is sustainable, more accountability is introduced and the proposed fast-track changes did not impact scrutiny of other types of projects, such as mines and solar and windfarms.<\/p>\n Houses under construction. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts\/AAP<\/p>\n \u201cPlanning law reform can\u2019t be about politics or spin in the middle of a crisis,\u201d the opposition leader, Mark Speakman said. \u201cOur amendments are practical, responsible and aimed at cutting red tape while keeping government accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n The NSW Greens had hoped to send these major changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny. But this appears doomed to fail.<\/p>\n But the opposition said it believed a bipartisan approach could work.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.51 EDT<\/p>\n NSW to use $70m in dormant Opal card funds to invest in active transport<\/p>\n The NSW government plans to use about $70m in unused balances on long-dormant, unregistered Opal cards to invest in active transport options such as bike lockers and a better system for shared e-bikes.<\/p>\n The government said it will introduce a new bill that will allow it to, for the first time, make use of such funds that have been dormant for five years or more. There are about 17m Opal cards with positive balances that have\u2019t been used in that time, many thought to be linked to interstate or international visitors who bought one-off cards and never registered them.<\/p>\n The average balance on those cards is $4.<\/p>\n The bill will also propose amending rules to allow Transport for NSW to recover unused balances under a new scheme.<\/p>\n A person taps an Opal card. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.30 EDT<\/p>\n IMF warns of slow Australian economy and AI bubble risk The International Monetary Fund has confirmed its predictions of slower Australian economic growth as the global economy battles trade tensions and faces risks of an AI bubble.<\/p>\n The Australian economy<\/a> will grow at a pace of about 1.8% on average through 2025 and then 2.1% through 2026, according to the IMF\u2019s latest projections, released today.<\/p>\n The IMF in August predicted growth of 2.2% in 2026, so today\u2019s call is a downgrade. However, the IMF is now expecting stable unemployment and slightly lower inflation in 2026 than it had predicted back in April amid Donald Trump\u2019s tariff announcements, now making similar forecasts to those made by Australia\u2019s Reserve Bank in August.<\/p>\n Photograph: Jono Searle\/AAP<\/p>\n The world economy is now expected to grow at 3.1% in 2025 in 2026, still a little slower than the IMF\u2019s predictions a year ago. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, chief economist of the IMF, said the global economy was still unstable<\/a>, writing in a note:<\/p>\n The outlook remains fragile, and risks remain tilted to the downside. The main risk is that tariffs may increase further from renewed and unresolved trade tensions.<\/p>\n Gourinchas also warned surging AI investment could pop like the dot-com bubble<\/a> of the late 1990s and political pressure on central banks could destabilise financial markets \u2013 a reference to sustained demands the US Fed cut interest rates<\/a> from Trump.<\/p>\n The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will meet his overseas counterparts later this week and said he planned to discuss the global economy\u2019s volatility and \u201cfragile state\u201d highlighted by the IMF.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Good morning, Nick Visser here to take things over. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Education ministers to consider new national standards to combat bullying Federal, state and territory education ministers will consider a proposal for a new national standard on anti-bullying when they meet on Friday.<\/p>\n The communications minister and eSafety commissioner are also set to brief the ministers ahead of the social media ban taking effect on 10 December.<\/p>\n The government announced the anti-bullying rapid review in February, with co-chairs Dr Charlotte Keating and Professor Jo Robinson to present their findings and recommendations to the meeting.<\/p>\n The education minister, Jason Clare, says the review shows the prominence of bullying in and out of school hours.<\/p>\n Complaints about online bullying to the eSafety commissioner have increased by 450% in the last five years …<\/p>\n The review reminds us bullying doesn\u2019t stop when the school bell rings any more. Today it can follow you all the way home after school. The internet means that you can be bullied now at any time, day or night, and anyone can see it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Murray Watt to spruik proposed rewrite of nature laws to WA miners<\/p>\n Faster environmental approvals could save proponents hundreds of millions of dollars, according to analysis the federal environment minister will use to sell his planned rewrite of nature laws to Western Australian miners.<\/p>\n Murray Watt wants to speed up assessment times for projects as part of changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC), which he plans to introduce to federal parliament in November.<\/p>\n A combination of measures to \u201cstreamline\u201d approvals \u2013 including the introduction of special \u201cgo\u201d zones to accelerate green energy projects \u2013 are designed to reduce the timeframe for decisions by at least 20 days.<\/p>\n New departmental analysis released by Watt\u2019s office found that would save applicants about $440m.<\/p>\n Watt will promote the analysis in a speech to Western Australian business leaders, hoping to secure their support after their fierce resistance to the Albanese government\u2019s first attempt to overhaul the EPBC Act.<\/p>\n The minister will tell the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia:<\/p>\n Having modern, fit-for-purpose environmental laws in place will protect Australia\u2019s precious natural environment, while also supporting speeding up assessments and approvals for national priorities like more homes, jobs, renewable energy, critical minerals and the economic prosperity Australia needs in the future.<\/p>\n We know that time is money \u2013 our new streamlined assessment process, as well as other reforms and initiatives, will deliver substantial cost savings for businesses and bring forward important economic development.<\/p>\n While in Perth, the environment minister plans to meet with the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, who personally lobbied Anthony Albanese to shelve Labor\u2019s nature laws in the last term of parliament.<\/p>\n Minister for the environment, Murray Watt. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a> \u2018Our solemn task is to get ourselves in a state where we are capable of governing again\u2019: Paterson<\/p>\n The Liberals have been locked in an extended period of public blood-letting and infighting after suffering the worst election defeat in its 80-year history at the May poll, with sackings and resignations from shadow cabinet, damaging leaks and frequent outbreaks of disunity all testing Sussan Ley\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n In the speech, the shadow finance minister said a period of \u201creflection and self-examination\u201d was necessary after the election loss, particularly given MPs\u2019 regret with how robust internal debate was sacrificed for unity under Peter Dutton\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n But Paterson said it cannot \u201cdrag on for ever\u201d.<\/p>\n An ongoing mass public therapy session doesn\u2019t exactly scream \u2018ready for government\u2019.<\/p>\n Paterson acknowledged the Liberal party \u2013 unlike Labor \u2013 granted backbench MPs freedom to speak their mind on policies, reflecting on how he had threatened to cross the floor to oppose the Turnbull government\u2019s proposed extradition treaty with China<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n But, without naming any rogue MPs on his side, he said that \u201cfreedom must be exercised judiciously\u201d.<\/p>\n The Liberal party is not a thinktank. Or an activist group. Or a debating society. We are a political party designed to win and hold government. Those of us who remain in parliament have a special obligation to our party and our country. And our solemn task is to get ourselves in a state where we are capable of governing again. The consequences if we fail are dire.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>James Paterson says Liberals must end post-election \u2018apology tour\u2019 A senior Liberal frontbencher has called for an end to the naval-gazing that has plagued his party since its disastrous federal election defeat, warning a prolonged \u201cmass public therapy session\u201d makes the opposition appear unfit for government.<\/p>\n The Victorian senator James Paterson said the party must stop the post-election \u201capology tour\u201d and urgently shift its focus to holding Labor accountable and devising a policy agenda that applies traditional Liberal-conservative values to modern Australia.<\/p>\n In a speech laying out his vision for the party\u2019s future, the Victorian senator said the Liberals must reject the \u201cfalse choice\u201d that it must turn into either a \u201cfree market version of the teals\u201d \u2013 in doing so rejecting culture wars \u2013 or adopt Nigel Farage-style populism.<\/p>\n Delivering the Tom Hughes Oration last night, a speech in honour of the former Liberal attorney general, Paterson said:<\/p>\n The alternative to these false choices is to maintain the classical liberal-conservative fusion that Menzies built and make it relevant for the modern world.<\/p>\nJordyn Beazley<\/p>\nJordyn Beazley<\/p>\n![\"Adeshola](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Adeshola_Ore.png\")
Adeshola Ore<\/p>\n![\"Anne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Anne_Davies,_L.png\")
Anne Davies<\/p>\nAnne Davies<\/p>\n![\"Luca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Luca_Ittimani.png\")
Luca Ittimani<\/p>\n![\"Krishani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760480050_864_Krishani_Dhanji.png\")
Krishani Dhanji<\/p>\n![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760480050_251_Dan_Jarvis-Bardy.png\")
Dan Jervis-Bardy<\/p>\nDan Jervis-Bardy<\/p>\nDan Jervis-Bardy<\/p>\n