Agriculture Victoria says it is ‘working with local veterinarians and experts to investigate the cause of multiple sudden horse deaths at three properties’
The mystery deaths of at least 10 horses on three separate properties in Victoria has prompted an urgent investigation by state authorities.
Agriculture Victoria on Sunday confirmed 10 horses had died suddenly on properties on the Mornington Peninsula, in south-east Melbourne and south-west Victoria since 4 July.
Continue reading...Premier Daniel Andrews says reforms ‘will provide the strongest gambling harm preventions and anti-money laundering measures in Australia’
Mandatory closing hours, slower spin times and smaller spending limits will be used to minimise gambling harm in sweeping gambling reforms across Victoria.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, and the gaming minister, Melissa Horne, announced a series of reforms for electronic gaming machines in the state on Sunday.
Continue reading...Four-day operation results in 1,107 domestic violence charges being laid against 592 people. Follow live
‘Textbook fiscal policy’ from Labor about getting economy ‘in nick’
Chalmers is asked whether it’s possible to control inflation without the unemployment rate growing further.
Remains to be seen.
We’ve got the budget in better nick, not the expense of the economy but in addition, and cost-of-living help is targeted in out-of-pocket health costs, electricity, rent and some particular pressure points. We found $40 billion of savings over two budgets compared to zero in savings in the last Liberal budget.
So all of those things are about get getting the economy in nick at the same time we provide help for people to get through through a difficult period.
The point that Michele Bullock was making in that speech, which, again, I think is relatively uncontroversial, is that as the Reserve Bank forecast and the treasury forecasts, have inflation moderating in coming months, they have a tick-up in unemployment. I’ve been upfront. The challenges in the economy are unsubstantial, globally and domestically, I think the slow-down is expected in the forecasts to be significant. That will have implications for the unemployment rate, which is the point that Michele Bullock was making.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister Richard Marles says byelection swing to LNP was ‘half the average swing you would expect against a sitting government’
Senior members of the Albanese government insist they are not troubled by Labor’s loss in the Fadden byelection, as they seek to reassure Australians their main focus is on the cost-of-living crisis.
The Liberal National party retained the safe Gold Coast seat on Saturday in a byelection caused by the resignation of former minister Stuart Robert. There was a swing of about 2.4% to the LNP after preferences.
Continue reading...Accused, 51, due to face court on Monday after one woman killed and another woman, 22, taken to hospital in a stable condition
A 51-year-old man will face court charged with murder and attempted murder after a siege in suburban Adelaide that followed a woman’s death.
Another woman, 22, was seriously injured in the alleged shooting incident on Saturday afternoon before the standoff with police in Campbelltown.
Continue reading...Plans to have historic 1297 edition back on display in Canberra by the end of next year have been revealed
Australia’s 1297 edition of Magna Carta, bought in 1952 for £12,500, is now worth $35m.
The precious document, the “foundation stone of constitutional and parliamentary government”, is in storage at Parliament House in Canberra while a new display case is built.
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Continue reading...Cameron Caldwell wins retiring member Stuart Robert’s seat with Labor candidate Letitia Del Fabbro conceding less than 90 minutes after polls closed
The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, has been given some breathing room with the LNP comfortably retaining its safe Gold Coast seat of Fadden.
Labor, which had debated whether to even run a candidate in the poll, went into the byelection expecting the LNP to win – it was always about by how much.
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Continue reading...The new chief was one of the board members raising interest rates, but has been brought in to reform the central bank
When the Albanese government announced Michele Bullock as the next Reserve Bank governor on Friday, few were particularly surprised – and that was the plan.
Sure, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, got on the front foot the previous day, prematurely warning against choosing a public servant. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, had shared his shortlist with his shadow, Angus Taylor, but held back Bullock as his pick.
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Continue reading...Stakes are high in contest for Queensland seat. This blog has now closed
Singleton Roosters to play their first game since tragic bus accident
NSW premier Chris Minns is in Cessnock today, where he will attend the first games of the women’s and men’s Singleton Roosters Australian rules football teams since the bus tragedy that rocked the community in June.
For the rest of winter and into spring, there’s a very high chance of above average temperatures, and actually quite a high chance of unusually warm temperatures as well.
Continue reading...Australian Airports Association tells parliamentary inquiry market dominance has allowed the two airlines to jack up profit margins
Qantas and Virgin now account for 95% of Australia’s domestic aviation market, a dominance that dwarfs industries such as banking and supermarkets and has allowed the airlines to jack up profit margins, the national airport body has warned.
The continued duopoly of Qantas Group – which includes budget carrier Jetstar – and Virgin Australia in the domestic aviation sector has also allowed air fares to rise above pre-pandemic levels even when adjusting for inflation, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in its submission to a parliamentary inquiry.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts – home of the 1889 Tenterfield oration – to close in a fortnight
The first museum included on the National Trust register will close its doors at the end of the month, leaving its century-old artefacts of federation locked behind glass until further notice.
The Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts is the site of the five-time premier’s famous Tenterfield oration in 1889, regarded as the first direct appeal to the public for an Australian nation-state to unite the colonies.
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Continue reading...The Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast expects more warm weather for the east coast, with Sydney hitting a top of 23C on Saturday
Sydney is expected to hit 23C on Saturday, with the unseasonably warm weather forecast to continue for the rest of the winter.
Hugh McDowell, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the bureau’s long-range forecast showed Sydney could expect more unseasonable temperatures.
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Continue reading...Assistant trade minister suggests consideration of China’s push to join CPTPP ‘some way off’ as UK becomes 12th member
China has no hope of being accepted into a major regional trade pact in the near term, the Australian government has signalled, as members prepare to welcome the UK into the fold this weekend.
The assistant trade minister, Tim Ayres, is visiting New Zealand for a meeting with fellow members of the CPTPP. The UK, which sees joining as part of its “tilt” to the Indo-Pacific region, is to be formally accepted as the 12th member on Saturday.
Continue reading...Owner Origin Energy say ‘nothing has changed’ on plan to shut the coal-fired Eraring plant no sooner than August 2025
The New South Wales government says it will hold off any decision about the future of the country’s largest power station until at least next month, after it receives a “health check” on the state’s energy security.
Origin Energy, owner of the 2880MW Eraring plant near Lake Macquarie, also said on Friday that “nothing had changed” on the plan to shut the coal-fired power station no sooner than August 2025.
Continue reading...State’s chief information security officer says information from Victorian departments and agencies was accessed
Highly sensitive legal documents from the Victorian government have been published on the dark web by cybercriminals, with Queensland also confirming files from at least one of its departments are included in the breach.
The breach is connected to data that was stolen from the law firm HWL Ebsworth in April by a Russian-linked ransomware gang, known as ALPHV/Blackcat, and posted online.
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Continue reading...Government says new regulations stipulating rents can not be raised more than once a year will be reviewed
Landlords seeking to avoid new Queensland laws limiting rent increases to once a year have left numerous renters worse off, according to the state’s tenants’ rights service
The Palaszczuk government on Thursday said it would review the laws – just two weeks after they took effect – amid reports landlords had evicted tenants in order to get around the regulation.
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Continue reading...Review of Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority followed claims senior member of staff urinated on colleagues at Christmas function
The board chair and CEO of Australia’s agricultural and veterinary chemical regulator have resigned, as an independent review found “serious and systemic issues” within the organisation.
The federal minister for agriculture, Murray Watt, said the government would take “firm action” to ensure the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority’s integrity after the review’s findings.
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Continue reading...Australia’s competition watchdog publishes draft guidelines in a bid to stamp out greenwashing
Companies should have evidence to back up claims they make about their environmental sustainability, according to draft guidelines developed by the competition watchdog in a bid to stamp out greenwashing.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published the draft guidance on Friday after its recent greenwashing internet sweep identified concerning practices ranging from overstating climate action to companies developing their own certification schemes.
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Continue reading...The Reserve Bank of Australia’s first female governor will begin her appointment at or very near the end of the cycle of rate rises
Australia will get its first female Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, and the order of the day is continuity with change.
Continuity because Bullock is an extremely well qualified RBA lifer with four decades of experience.
Continue reading...Simon Geoffrey Raymond, 39, has been in custody since Tuesday after he was arrested over alleged threats against Anne Webster
A man accused of threatening to kill a federal MP will spend at least the weekend behind bars after a brief court hearing in Queensland.
Simon Geoffrey Raymond, 39, of no fixed address, has been in custody since being arrested by federal police at Brisbane airport on Tuesday.
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