Train Strikes, Punk Music, Development Woes: City Hub’s Top Stories Of 2024

Happy New Year from the team at City Hub! 2024 was a big year for us, and we stayed busy keeping you updated with breaking news on topics like train strikes and the local council elections, as well as the best of the arts scene. With 2025 just getting started, there’s no better time to reflect on the year just passed – here are some of our stories you enjoyed the most in 2024!

Train strikes dominated transport news

News about transport was of the greatest interest to City Hub readers by far, owing to the threat of train strikes that loomed over much of 2024’s latter half. 

One of our most popular stories came with the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) announcing on September 11 their plans to strike over plans to convert the Bankstown Line to a Metro service. Labelled “an affront to railway employees”, it was a sign of the tumultuous times to come as industrial action and train strikes continued throughout the final quarter of 2024. 

Speaking of, the next most popular transport story was about the RTBU threatening a strike in November over a number of unmet conditions, such as 24-hour train services and continuing disputes about pay. It signalled the beginning of a long saga of train disruptions and union negotiations, though the Union and NSW Government eventually agreed to run trains on NYE. However, RTBU secretary Tony Warnes has indicated negotiations will continue after this, which may mean more train strikes on the horizon. 

However, our biggest story for the entire year was about the NSW Government’s steadfast commitment to keeping travel concession policies the same for students, excluding part-time and international students from the benefits of concession. Though a petition with 20,000 signatures in support was taken to parliament by Greens MP Jenny Leong, NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen stated that the policy would not change. At the time of writing, it still hasn’t. 

HECS debt and protests occupied student news

After the Government made changes to the HECS indexation policy, City Hub readers were eager to find out how much money they’d get back as national student debt reduced by $3 billion in the 5th most-read story of the year. Given that indexation was at its highest this year and many students were feeling the stress, the refund given to students was welcome – even if it left many disappointed considering it failed to address an overall rise in tuition fees. 

The other area where universities made huge news were in the various pro-Palestine movements, with our article about USYD staff and students facing severe disciplinary action for their activism. Despite this, though, many of the students and teachers have continued to protest against their universities’ policies as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise. 

Tops arts stories shows hunger for Aussie stories

The Australian arts scene was of great interest to City Hub readers this year, and the top story for this section was our story about Orstralia, a book chronicling the rise and fall of punk music in Australia. You couldn’t get enough of our interview with author Tristan Clark, Radio Birdman’s Warwick Gilbert and Ray Ahn of The Hard-Ons, ending as our 3rd most popular story of the year. 

Behind that, our glowing review of the Australian film Just A Farmer was widely enjoyed by our audience, even outperforming reviews for some of the year’s biggest films like Furiosa, Dune: Part Two and Alien: Romulus. It’s proof that we’re hungry for more stories on screen about uniquely Australian stories, with this film highlighting the difficulties facing farmers in rural areas.

Speaking of authentic Australian stories on screen, our third-biggest arts story of the year was about the SBS show The Jury: Death on the Staircase, a part-reality and part-true crime show that follows a real jury rehashing a manslaughter case about a gay couple in Sydney. With insight from lawyer Dr. Jacqui Horan, this article laid out the show’s bleak, yet important appeal.

A controversial local election year in politics

It was a big year for politics in Sydney owing to the local government elections that saw Clover Moore secure her sixth term as Lord Mayor of Sydney – though not without a substantial six-point swing against her. 

However, the biggest political stories of the year came pre-election but were no less contentious. Our biggest local government story was about Labor councillors in the Inner West voting down a motion in August to investigate if they profited from human rights violations in Palestine. Our extensive article covered the vote, the protests that followed and also fully broke down why the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is a local issue with a number of interviews. 

Following close behind that was a pre-election breakdown about every candidate running for Lord Mayor in September, giving an overview of what their plans would be if elected to the position of Lord Mayor. Some councillors were stepping up for the first time, while others returned for another shot at the top job – but as already discussed, Clover Moore ended up taking it home once more. 

A messy year for development in Sydney

The ongoing development on Oxford and Foley Streets was a sore spot all year in Sydney, and that’s reflected in the fact that our article about businesses suffering along the iconic strip in May was one of our top stories of the year. We spoke to a number of business owners who shared grave concerns about the future of the area if the development kept extending. Businesses are still suffering, it seems – Cafe Freda recently announced they would be closing in 2025. 

After that, our most popular development story of the year was about the NSW Government taking over development for the Parramatta Road and Blackwattle Bay precincts. The Government took over the project with an expanded policy that allows the government to take over rezoning proposals if they have been “unreasonably delayed.” 

Happy New Year from City Hub!

And those were our top stories for 2024, as read by you! We’d like to again wish you a Happy New Year, and hope that your celebrations haven’t left you too hungover… and we’ll see you for more independent and arts coverage throughout 2025!