Here's what you need to know this morning.
Fare-free buses due to industrial action
Some bus travel is fare-free in Sydney's inner west for 24 hours on services run by the company Transit Systems, as drivers turn off Opal card machines as part of an industrial campaign.
Drivers are taking action in an area including the Inner West, some of the CBD, Olympic Park, Strathfield, and Rockdale.
Transport Workers Union (TWU) state secretary Richard Olsen said the government had refused to negotiate since 2018 when they privatised the region.
"Bus drivers doing exactly the same job are employed on a two-tier system of wages and conditions," he said.
"In NSW, competitive tendering's very nature has meant a lowering of standards based on the key requirements of offering the lowest possible price and over-promising on service delivery."
The TWU and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) appeared before a NSW Parliamentary inquiry on Monday to discuss the impact of the privatisation on bus drivers.
Flu season starts early
People are being urged to get a flu vaccination as soon as possible with the number of cases doubling in recent weeks.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the flu was circulating widely in the community for the first time in two years, coinciding with ongoing high levels of transmission of COVID-19.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said there had been 1,024 new influenza cases in the week ending April 30, 2022, compared with 478 cases in the previous week.
"There are some early indicators that we might be seeing an early start to the flu season," Dr Chant said.
"The percentage of tests testing positive for flu is now at 5.5 per cent and we are seeing increasing numbers of hospital presentations and hospitalisations, particularly in younger children.
"Please get your flu vaccine now, we're particularly urging parents of children aged six months up to five years to take advantage of the free flu vaccine under the national immunisation program."
The elderly, pregnant women, children aged under five years, Aboriginal people and those with serious health conditions can get a free flu shot now from their GP or pharmacy.
Dr Chant said it was safe to have a COVID-19 booster and flu jab at the same time.
Tender for Australia's longest flying fox
A new $50 million eco-adventure tourism destination has been announced for the Blue Mountains.
The 'Gardens of Stone' State Conservation Area near Lithgow will feature Australia's longest zip line, rock climbing, 4WD and mountain bike tracks, and camping areas.
The 30,000-hectare property will also showcase and protect several rare and protected animal and plant species.
When the project was first proposed last year, Indigenous and conservation groups accused the state government of trying to make money out of efforts to preserve important environmental and cultural sites.
Indigenous groups expressed concerns that the development could damage sacred burial sites, artefacts, and caves.
"It's more like a theme park and the Aboriginal Place should be handed back to the community," Wiradjuri elder Aunty Helen Riley said.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole said the project would create 200 local jobs and attract around 200,000 visitors per year.
"The first-of-its-kind Lost City Adventure Experience will be one of the state's biggest ever regional ecotourism projects that will be a tourism attraction generating millions of dollars for the local economy," Mr Toole said.
The first stage of the project is expected to open to the public in 2023.
Embezzlement trial involving Guy Sebastian's manager postponed
The embezzlement trial of Guy Sebastian's former manager is now shrouded in uncertainty after the pop star tested positive for COVID-19.
The Australian Idol winner is the star witness in the District Court fraud trial of Titus Day, who managed him for a decade.
Sebastian was meant to return to the witness box to give evidence for a second day.
But the singer announced he had tested positive on Thursday, forcing the postponement of two performances in Queensland next week.
Mr Day is accused of pocketing a million dollars in royalties and performance payments that were meant for the singer.
The trial was adjourned yesterday after the judge fell ill.
Mr Day has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Liberal-held Reid could fall in election
Away from the outer suburban mortgage belt and the teal-targeted inner-city seats, the Liberal-held electorate of Reid could be the first to fall if there is a swing to Labor in NSW this federal election.
Reid, held by the Liberals on a 3.2 per cent margin, is the state's most marginal Liberal seat on a two-party preferred basis.
ABC chief election analyst Antony Green said that of all the Liberal seats, it will be the hardest to hold.
"In any statewide swing to Labor, Reid will be one of the first to fall," he said.
Green described Reid as a "quite affluent inner suburban seat", which was held by Labor for 90 years until the 2013 election.
Court considers Bill Spedding malicious prosecution case
Years after he was outed — and then cleared — as a suspect in the disappearance of William Tyrrell, a court has heard the investigation still haunts Bill Spedding.
Mr Spedding lost 20 kilograms, avoids being out in public, and says mentally he is not the same man he once was.
He was one of the first persons of interest publicly named in the feverish media coverage surrounding how William had vanished on the NSW north coast in September 2014.
This week the Supreme Court heard his case for suing the State of NSW for malicious prosecution, and Justice Ian Harrison has now retired to consider his judgement.
To be successful in a malicious prosecution case, it must be proven on the balance of probabilities that authorities acted with malice in wrongfully bringing and maintaining a charge.
