Stuart Ayres, formerly the trade minister of New South Wales (NSW), was cleared of concerns that he breached the ministerial code of conduct. An independent review by barrister Bruce McClintock was conducted after concerns were raised that Ayres had overstepped his role in the appointment of former NSW Deputy Premier to a high-paying U.S. trade…

New South Wales (NSW) Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has stepped down from all ministerial positions as well as deputy leader of the state Liberal Party. It comes after a draft review into how former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro landed a high-paying U.S. trade role raised a concern as to whether Ayres breached the ministerial…

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) announced on Tuesday it will give back freedoms sooner to fully vaccinated people while postponing the same freedoms to those who are unvaccinated. The COVIDSafe roadmap freedoms, which were scheduled to end on Dec.1, have now been brought forward to Nov.8 for those who have got two…

After nearly 600 days of closed borders, Australia has welcomed its first quarantine and travel bubble-free international flights on Monday morning. A flight from Singapore arrived in Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport before 5:30 a.m. with a Qantas flight from Los Angeles, the United States, following at 6 a.m. The initial flights entering Australia are limited…

The New South Wales government will invest more than $530 million (US$397 million) into “turbocharging” the recovery of the events and tourism sector. “This is all about turbocharging our visitor economy,” Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres told reporters. “There’s probably no sector across NSW that’s been more damaged by the sustained impact of the coronavirus pandemic…

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pushing to fast-track the resumption of international travel once Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), readies its home quarantine program. In a Facebook live stream on Oct. 11, with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Morrison discussed bringing forward the start date of international travel for fully vaccinated people by…

Australia’s most populous state will be led by its first conservative-leaning leader in several years after the Liberal Party voted overwhelmingly in favour of Dominic Perrottet to replace outgoing Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Perrottet, from the Right faction of the party and a critic of lockdowns, said it was a “new chapter” for the state of…

Construction has resumed across Greater Sydney for workers living within the eight local government areas (LGAs) of concern, provided they show proof of vaccination for COVID-19. “Construction workers from the affected LGAs will be added to the list of authorised workers allowing them to work on unoccupied construction sites in Greater Sydney if they meet…