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Sydney news: Fears for NSW's Moama Indigenous community as Victoria flood threat intensifies

Here's what you need to know this morning.

Hundreds of residents told to evacuate 

The State Emergency Service (SES) is working to evacuate residents from an Indigenous community near Moama on the NSW-Victorian border, as the flood threat intensifies.

Given the flood devastation in Victoria, the SES is concerned about the swollen Murray River and its impact on communities on the NSW side of the border around Moama.

Residents staying at the Moama caravan and tourist park have been told to evacuate by 9am this morning, while other low-lying areas are on stand-by to leave.

The SES's Scott McLennan says up to 200 people from the Cummeragunja Indigenous community need to be out by 12pm.

"We're just working closely with the mob on country at Cummeragunja now to ensure that we identify any persons of vulnerability, that we help them to evacuate to either Moama or one of their friends' or families," he said.

Unions back Labor's pledge to bring back manufacturing

Unions say NSW Labor's commitment to build trains and other public transport locally, and not overseas if it wins the March election, will help revive the ailing manufacturing industry.

Leader Chris Minns unveiled the policy during his keynote speech at the ALP state conference on Sunday.

He promised a locally built fleet of Tangara trains would replace the state's ageing rail stock, with trams, ferries and light rail also to be built within the state in the future. 

"It's these types of announcements that's going to go a long way to getting manufacturing back to where it needs to be," Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary Cory Wright said.

"It's going to allow us to make sure that we've got good jobs, secure jobs, well-paying jobs and lots of opportunities for apprentices and trainees".

Mr Wright said it could also benefit regional areas like Taree which used to build frames for rail carriages.

"It's regional places like that, that are going to get a boost to their local economy."

Transport Minister Elliott has labelled Labor's pledge as "empty" and insists the government has delivered on its promises to have more transport projects built locally.

Star casino to be fined 

Sydney's Star Casino is set to be fined 100 million by the NSW Independent Casino Commission after a damning report into its operations.

An official inquiry earlier this year found Star Entertainment was unsuitable to hold a licence for its Sydney casino.

The inquiry heard allegations of money laundering, organised crime links and fraud at the casino in Pyrmont in Sydney.

In accepting the findings Star Entertainment said it had taken "significant and urgent remedial steps".

Inquest into 2017 plane crash deaths starts today

A Sydney inquest is due to open today into six deaths after a plane crashed into the Hawkesbury River in 2017. 

Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee will examine the deaths at an inquest that is expected to run for a week.

On New Year's Eve 2017, Canadian pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, and five British passengers, 58-year-old Richard Cousins, his sons William, and Edward, his fiancee Emma Bowden and her daughter Heather, boarded a Sydney Seaplanes aircraft for a flight from Cottage Point to Rose Bay.

Soon after take off it crashed into Jerusalem Bay on the Hawkesbury River killing everyone on board.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report found carbon monoxide fumes affected the pilot's ability to operate the plane.

The ATSB also found missing bolts in a firewall, that isolated the plane's engine, could have let the poisonous gas enter the cabin.

Party infighting costs Labor leader a member of frontbench

Opposition Leader Chris Minns has lost a member of his frontbench after a bitter preselection battle for the Upper House.

Mick Veitch has been dumped from the Labor Party's ticket for the March state election.

A vote by 850 Labor delegates installed barrister Cameron Murphy, the former head of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties, on the ballot instead.

Mr Murphy has run twice for a lower house seat. It's unclear if this will prompt the Labor leader to reshuffle his frontbench

Mr Veitch, a Country Labor MLC, has been in parliament since 2007 and is the Shadow Minister for Regional NSW and Agriculture.

Western Sydney factory blaze under investigation

An investigation is underway into the cause of Sunday's big factory fire in Sydney's west.

Flames and plumes of thick black smoke billowed from the building at Smithfield and across the suburb, with residents told to stay indoors and keep their windows shut to avoid the toxic fumes.

Fire Superintendent Luke Unsworth from Fire and Rescue said multiple resources were brought in to control the blaze.  

"We had 90 fire fighters on scene plus an incident management team, so certainly a large incident and we haven't seen one like it in a little while," he said.

"At this point in time it's certainly too early to speculate on a cause. It's a pharmaceutical and beauty care products factory and that's as much as we know at this point in time."

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