Two injured after tree blown over in Sydney – as it happened​on January 17, 2025 at 7:12 am

This is where we’ll leave you for today, thanks for joining us on the blog! Here’s a recap of the main stories:

• A Sydney home once owned by Alex Ryvchin – the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry – was vandalised in an antisemitic attack. The NSW premier, Chris Minns, labelled it a “disgusting and dangerous act of violence” and flagged law changes to combat antisemitism.

• Wild weather continued to lash parts of the country, with the NSW SES recording 1,476 incidents today, including damage to homes, cars and streets.

• The NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, said the government would continue with its legal action to end a long-running pay dispute with the unions.

• Many have paid tribute to David Lynch, the maverick American director who has died at the age of 78. Lynch was best known for his works Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive.

Take care and enjoy the weekend!

The federal government has formally rejected the controversial Pep-11 proposal for petroleum exploration off the coast of NSW.

It follows years of community opposition to the project between Newcastle and Sydney.

The industry and science minister, Ed Husic,said in a statement that the Commonwealth-New South Wales Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority rejected the two applications from the Pep-11 joint venture operator Asset Energy after considering all relevant materials:

The Joint Authority refused the applications for reasons of public interest, concerns about the applicants’ estimate of the cost of works and their ability to raise the necessary capital to fund the proposed works.

Concerned coastal communities and environment groups have spent years campaigning against the project.

The Surfrider Foundation said the decision was a “huge win”. The Northern Beaches branch member Rowan Hanley said:

This win truly belongs to the communities of ocean people who care, and who show up because they want to protect the coastlines that they love.

This is Australia’s most populated and valuable recreational coast as well as a major whale migration super highway.

At a time when Australia should be rapidly transitioning to renewable energy systems at scale and speed, opening NSW’s first offshore fossil fuel mine was never going to fly with Sydney’s beach-loving communities.

Significant damage and more wild weather forecast for parts of regional NSW

Andrew Edwards says the Hunter region in NSW has also been significantly affected.

There are at least 55,000 still affected by power outages in the area.

The mid north and central coasts of NSW are also heavily affected.

Edwards says they’re expecting more rain from Coffs Harbour to the Central Coast and the SES is monitoring for flash flooding this evening.

The SES is warning people camping near creeks and rivers in that area to look for higher ground, and not to camp under trees or power lines.

The NSW SES spokesperson Andrew Edwards has provided an update on the state of the damage across the state.

He says there have been a total of 4,767 incidents in NSW since the wild weather began on Wednesday.

There’s been a significant amount of damage in Sydney alone, with 2,130 callouts, with 600 callouts still to be attended by the SES.

In Sydney, at least 20 trees have fallen on to properties, at least 105 houses have been damaged, and 1,179 trees have fallen on to roads and pathways.

Edwards says there haven’t been any significant ongoing power outages in Sydney.

Emergency services crews continue to assess the damage around parts of Australia affected by wild weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology says there could be more severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in the northern parts of NSW tomorrow.

Australian shares slip, but finish week in the green

The local share market has slipped slightly, but still managed to eke out a small gain for the week, AAP reports.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index today finished 16.6 points lower at 8,310.4, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 11.7 points, or 0.14%, to 8,557.4.

For the week the ASX200 index rose 0.2%, its second week of gains.

The Australian dollar was buying 62.01 US cents, from 62.02 US cents at close of business Thursday.

Man charged over alleged tobacconist firebombing

A man with organised crime links has been charged after he allegedly assaulted a tobacconist owner before firebombing the store, AAP reports.

Police allege a man went into a Fortitude Valley tobacconist, in Brisbane, about 3.30am on 26 December and assaulted the store owner who was working at the time.

He left before allegedly returning and throwing a device into the store that exploded, sparking an extensive blaze.

The man’s clothes caught on fire but he continued to flee the scene, allegedly in a stolen car.

The car was later found burnt out.

Police carried out a search warrant at a home in Ormeau, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast yesterday, and arrested a 34-year-old man.

He has been charged with a range of offences including arson, stealing, assaults occasioning bodily harm, and possessing explosives (ammunition).

The man will face Brisbane magistrates court on Friday.

We have some images of police on the scene at Hyde Park in Sydney where a tree fell on pedestrians.

Two women were injured and have been taken to St Vincent’s hospital nearby.

Australians use AI more than Americans and Europeans, Google research finds

More Australians are using artificial intelligence technology than their American and European counterparts, research from Google has found, and many are deploying it at work, AAP reports.

But Australians are still more concerned than excited about the potential impacts of the technology, even as their optimism about it grows.

Google released the findings today in its second Life with AI study, which asked more than 21,000 people worldwide for their thoughts on the technology.

The data comes as the Tech Council of Australia names AI the defining technology trend of 2025, and the federal government considers mandatory restrictions on its high-risk use in Australia.

The internet giant teamed with market researcher Ipsos to ask 1,000 Australians about their use of generative AI tools and found almost half had used the technology in the past year, up 11% from 2023.

The figure also represented greater use of AI than in the US (29%) and Europe (42%).

More details on the fallen tree in Sydney

Two women, aged 35 and 66, have minor injuries from the tree that fell in Hyde Park.

Emergency services were called to Elizabeth Street just after 3pm and police say they are working to remove the tree from the roadway, with localised diversions in place.

The two women were treated at the scene by paramedics and have been taken to St Vincent’s hospital.

Two women have minor injuries after a tree fell in heavy winds at Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD, police say.

Officers are on the scene and will provide more details shortly.

Upcoming NSW review on dog ownership could consider pet licences

An upcoming review of the laws around dog ownership could have extensive consequences for owners, who may even need a licence for the family pet.

NSW owners could also face increased penalties if their dog attacks and harms someone, and if they ignore notices about how the dog should be kept.

People who own a dog for security could also be impacted by the proposed removal of legislation exempting owners from liability if their dog attacks a trespasser.

NSW coroners have been conducting a series of inquests into fatal dog attacks.

Delivering her findings on Friday after an inquest into the July 2021 death of a five-week-old baby at a Central Coast home, the deputy state coroner Carmel Forbes said there had been a concerning number of fatal dog attacks in the state since 2009.

Like several others, the attack involved an American staffordshire terrier, which is not currently a restricted breed, although the local council had resolved to request they be listed as such months earlier.

The breed had the highest incidence of attacks in local government data from 2018-21, the inquest heard.

The “tragic and untimely death” demonstrated the need for pet ownership laws to be reviewed and amended, Forbes said.

She made a series of recommendations, which along with other inquests will inform an upcoming review of the state’s pet laws.

The recommendations include consideration of a potential licensing scheme, increased penalties and more responsibility – and liability – for owners.

Former defence chief chosen for international posting

The former chief of the defence force will become Australia’s man in Belgium, and ambassador to the European Union and Nato, AAP reports.

Gen Angus Campbell served as the chief of the Australian Defence Force between 2018 and 2024.

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said in a statement this experience “will help deepen Australia’s peace and security co-operation with Nato, both in the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific”.

It comes at a time of uncertainty for the Nato alliance as Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in as US president.

Trump was critical of the transatlantic alliance during his first time in office, wanting allies to increase their defence spending and flagging a potential change in US military posture.

Concerns now remain about what his presidency will mean for military aid in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to fight off Russia’s invasion, largely backed by military contributions by the US and Nato countries.

Australia is one of Ukraine’s largest non-Nato contributors, providing $1.5bn on military aid, including giving tanks and armoured vehicles.

Aviation authority did not grant approval for Kyle and Jackie O ball drop contest

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) says it has not granted any approvals for a Kyle and Jackie O ball drop challenge, scheduled for a tennis centre in Melbourne.

The Herald Sun reports that Elsternwick Park Tennis Centre will host 100 people for the ball drop, a competition run by KIIS FM in which a helicopter will drop 200 tennis balls on the court, with participants expected to run and grab two of them.

The balls will be labelled with a winning amount valued up to $100,000, it reported, with the competition expected to take place next Friday.

But the government peak body said it had not granted any approvals for helicopter operations to support the event.

In a statement, Casa said there were “strict regulations around dropping things from aircraft, particularly in populous areas or over public gatherings”.

This type of event would require Casa approval by the helicopter operator. Casa has not granted any approvals for helicopter operations to support this event.

Following from the last post:

Asked if the government would take the matter to the federal court if it does not win at the commission, Haylen said the government would pursue “all legal avenues available to us to protect passengers”.

Haylen said the government’s offer to the unions of a 15% pay rise over four years was “very fair and reasonable”.

However, this is well below the union’s demand of 8% a year over four years, totalling 32%.

So far unions have refused to budge from the 8% pay rise a year over four years, saying it is needed to offset the wage stagnation caused by the Coalition’s decade-long wages cap which was later lifted by the Minns government.

The NSW transport minister has said the government will continue with its application to the Fair Work Commission to end a long-running pay dispute with the unions despite the railway union saying it was willing to give up industrial action if the government resumes negotiations.

The union has sent the government a counteroffer and said it was willing to end industrial action if the government returns to negotiations, saying it had been 45 days since they last met.

It comes after the government applied to the Fair Work Commission – which will be heard next Wednesday – to cancel approval for the union to undertake industrial action approval and move to an arbitrated decision after the dispute caused chaos for commuters this week.

The commission has, until a judgment is delivered, suspended protected industrial action for procedural reasons.

The transport minister, Jo Haylen – who said she had not yet seen the counteroffer, nor has the union yet made it public – told reporters a little earlier that the government would “of course consider” the union’s offer but the government would continue its push for a legal intervention from the Fair Work Commission.

“That is the mechanism that has provided the relief that passengers want and that passengers need,” she said, referring to the chaos that was caused for commuters this week due to industrial action.

Following from our last post:

Alex Ryvchin says he is concerned these attacks could become normalised, and how Australians respond to these issues will determine the future of the country.

He says:

If we allow these things to keep happening, they slowly define our national character and they change who we are as a people.

He thanks the police and counter-terrorism officers, saying he has “absolute confidence” in their determination to keep the community safe.

The co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, is calling on all Australians to condemn the recent attacks on Jewish communities.

A house in Dover Heights in Sydney’s east, which was previously owned by Ryvchin, was vandalised overnight, with nearby cars torched.

Ryvchin told reporters he will continue to speak out publicly.

Don’t allow the cowards who did this to win …

To my fellow Australians, don’t be silent, find your voice, speak up, we’re not a nation of bystanders … we’re upstanders, not bystanders.

Ryvchin says the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, called him “as soon as he was aware”.