Daniel Andrews vindicated in Victorian election that became a referendum on his pandemic response

Labor’s win allows Andrews to reshape his legacy, with his third term allowing him to become the party’s longest-serving premier

If the Victorian election was indeed – as the opposition framed it – a referendum on Daniel Andrews, voters have resoundingly backed the premier and his response to the pandemic.

At the time of writing, Labor looks on track to secure 50 of Victoria’s 88 lower house seats, just five short of its emphatic 2018 “Danslide” victory.

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Victorian Liberal party left shellshocked after another heavy election defeat

Opposition leader Matthew Guy concedes the Coalition has ‘a lot of work to do’ after losing six of past seven elections

The Victorian opposition, leader Matthew Guy, has conceded the Coalition has “a lot of work to do” after the party lost its third successive election to Labor’s Daniel Andrews.

While Labor’s primary vote fell about 5.6% statewide, the Coalition failed to capitalise on it, with the Liberal party in particular going backwards and recording a primary vote below 30%.

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‘Greenslide’: Victorian Greens celebrate election success while two teals lead knife-edge contests

Greens look likely to gain at least two seats and outperform expectations in a number of other electorates

The Victorians Greens are claiming a “Greenslide” result after recording an increased primary voteand gaining a likely two seats, with maybe more to come as counting progresses in Saturday’s election.

Teal independents were also leading in two tight contests on Saturday night, with Melissa Lowe slightly ahead of former Liberal shadow attorney general John Pesutto in Hawthorn. In Mornington, Kate Lardner – who isolated from her supporters after testing positive to Covid – was also slightly ahead of former federal Liberal MP Chris Crewther.

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Victorian election 2022 live results: premier Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy make final pitches as state polls set to close – latest updates

The Liberal leader needs to pick up 18 seats to form government outright in the Vic state election. Who is winning? Follow all the latest news, results, analysis and reaction tonight

Matthew Guy says he would redivert $2bn allocated to the Suburban Rail Loop

Returning to Victoria again, opposition leader Matthew Guy has appeared on Weekend Sunrise to say he hopes he’s convinced voters of his “positive and focused” plan.

Everywhere I have been on pre-polling booths ... this week, people are pretty clear they want the fresh start.

We want a reboot in this state, we want to come out of Covid-19 and put aside all the dark memories of the past, like the government that put us there.

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Australia into first Davis Cup final in 19 years as Lleyton Hewitt’s team defeat Croatia

  • Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat Olympic doubles champions
  • The Australians will face either Canada or Italy in the final

Australia’s tennis men have defied all the odds with a makeshift doubles pairing steering them to victory over Croatia and into their first Davis Cup final in 19 years on a nerve-shredding evening in Malaga.

After more heroics from Alex de Minaur had pulled Lleyton Hewitt’s team back from the brink with his consummate tie-levelling singles win over Marin Cilic, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat the Olympic doubles champions to seal Friday’s exhilarating 2-1 semi-final win.

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Rocket launches pose extinction-level threat to SA’s tiny southern emu wren, conservationists warn

Tanya Plibersek could list the bird as endangered amid concerns about proposed rocket launch site

A tiny southern emu wren, which conservationists fear is under threat from rocket launches, could be listed as endangered within days.

Conservationists say planned rocket launches on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia pose an extinction-level threat to the wren, one of Australia’s smallest birds.

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Tasmanian flower farmer ‘shocked’ to learn she planted opium poppies by mistake

Kate Dixon has issued a warning to other gardeners after authorities seized 50 plants she thought were ornamental varieties

A Tasmanian flower farmer who planted a new line of “really beautiful poppies” has issued a warning to other gardeners after learning she had mistakenly grown opium poppies.

Kate Dixon, who operates a commercial flower farm at Clifton Beach, about 25km south of Hobart, said she received a call from the authorities earlier this month after they saw a photo of her frilly pink poppies on Instagram.

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It is illegal to grow, manufacture, sell or possess alkaloid poppies in Tasmania without a licence. For more more information about poppies, readers can also contact the Regulated Crops Branch on 1300 368 500 or email poppies@nre.tas.gov.au

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Bondi becomes nude beach as thousands take part in Spencer Tunick’s Sydney installation

Legislation had to be changed to permit public nudity on the beach

For the first time in its history, Bondi has been declared a nude beach.

On Saturday, thousands of bodies huddled together in the early morning light to model in artist Spencer Tunick’s latest Australian installation – and his first in the name of skin cancer.

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The Australian suburbs where more than half of properties will be uninsurable by 2030

‘We’re now seeing that the system is not able to cope with climate change,’ insurance analyst says

When Kim Sly moved to a lower-lying area of Forbes four years ago, she was asked to pay $12,000 a year for flood insurance.

The bill was a shock. Her new home was built 1.2 metres above the ground to protect it from floods, a factor that did not seem to influence the insurance company’s assessment.

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No matter who wins, both major parties have made this Victorian poll the Daniel Andrews election

Sources say the Liberal strategy of focusing the campaign around the premier is working, with Labor unsure of how to respond

Since Matthew Guy returned to the leadership of the Victorian Liberals last year, he’s taken inspiration from Labor leaders in his pursuit to win government.

He’s looked to the west, where Mark McGowan first led Labor to a crushing defeat before a landslide victory; and to South Australia, where Peter Malinauskas won government in March after a health-centric campaign

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Catholic charity tells Victorian domestic violence survivor to consider move to a rooming house

Mother of two urged to free up crisis accommodation for others amid a huge blowout in social housing wait times

A domestic violence survivor has been told by her emergency housing provider that she should consider moving with her two children and their pets into a rooming house to free up the accommodation for other victims, as huge blowouts in social housing wait times continue to affect vulnerable Victorians.

Ms Stewart, who asked that her first name not be printed, entered crisis accommodation run by the charity Good Shepherd at the height of Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdowns last year.

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Amazon warehouse workers stage Black Friday strikes and protests around world

On one of firm’s biggest shopping days of year, employees demand better wages and conditions

Amazon warehouse workers in the UK and 40 other countries are to strike and stage protests timed to coincide with the Black Friday sales, one of the company’s biggest shopping days of the year.

Employees in dozens of countries, from Japan and Australia to India, the US and across Europe, are demanding better wages and conditions in a campaign called “Make Amazon Pay”.

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NSW government announces deal with rail union in bid to end industrial dispute

Dominic Perrottet says the two sides agreed to a Fair Work Commission process to resolve long-running fight

The New South Wales government says it has carved out a deal with the state’s rail union to modify a fleet of trains and halt industrial action, after months of bitter negotiation.

The parties had been at odds over whether or not to make safety modifications to a multibillion-dollar Korean-built fleet of intercity trains, which have been in storage since 2019.

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Australia news live: nude activists target fast fashion in Melbourne CBD; ANZ cops heat for bankrolling more emissions

Police threaten to arrest protesters unless they leave store. Follow all the day’s news

Niki Savva also reports in her book that the shadow cabinet (of which Ley is the deputy leader) decided to downplay the issue.

ABC asks Ley if that was a mistake:

That’s not a description I would agree with. And I don’t comment of course on what happens in shadow cabinet.

Also revealed is that Josh Frydenberg put to Scott Morrison, you wouldn’t do it again, if you had you time over and Scott Morrison reportedly replied, ‘Yes, I would.’

Are you alarmed by that?

That’s a report of one person saying something to another. And you’re asking a third party who wasn’t privy to either.

Was this extreme overreach?

Well, I’m not a public commentator, I’m deputy leader of the opposition and both the former prime minister and the former treasurer are friends of mine and I actually note that they’re friends with each other, as Josh says in that report, so I’m not going to get into who said what and when.

But the question was, is it extreme overreach?

Well I’m just not a public commentator, I’m not going to engage.

With respect you’re the deputy leader of the Liberal party, you either think it’s extreme overreach, or you don’t.

I think the most important thing is what Peter Dutton and I said at the time – we will support any action or steps required to close the loophole that facilitated this and that includes legislative change, by the way.

So descriptions of what went on in the past, people can make those those comments, and they will and they have, but what I think people in the public need to hear is what we will do going forward and we have made that very clear.

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Toyah Cordingley: police confirm key suspect in alleged murder arrested in India

Arrest follows $1m reward offered for the location and arrest of 38-year-old Rajwinder Singh in relation to alleged murder of Queensland woman

A key suspect in a long-running Queensland murder investigation has been arrested in New Delhi, India, less than a month after a large reward was offered for his location.

Toyah Cordingley, then 24, was found dead on Wangetti beach, north of Cairns, in 2018 after what police described as a “personal and intimate attack”. She had been out walking her dog.

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Facebook reinstates Victorian Labor’s ‘Matthew Guy’ page used for ad attacks after marking it as satire

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using page before Facebook took it down due to alleged breach of policies

Facebook removed a Facebook page titled “Matthew Guy– The Liberal Cuts Guy” operated by the Victorian Labor party because it allegedly breached the platform’s integrity and identity policy, and has only reinstated the page once it was clearly marked as satire.

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using the page, criticising the Liberal leader’s record in government and his election policies. It is now showering key electorates in anti-Greens ads via another dedicated Facebook page ahead of Saturday’s Victorian election.

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Victoria election 2022 report card, week four: a debate, the challenge for pollsters and the sprint to the finish line

Three guest panellists give their verdict on how the parties performed in the final week of the campaign

We are down to the wire. The polls are different enough to cause anxiety all round, but they agree on the trends: an increased vote for the Greens, independents and minor parties, and a turn away from Labor – though not enough to mean defeat.

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Lesbians historically seen as ‘fair game’ in Sydney, advocate tells gay hate inquiry

Carole Ruthchild said gay women ‘couldn’t be out and open and not get a bad response’ in the past

Lesbians were seen as “fair game” if they weren’t in the company of a man and faced violence when they turned down sexual advances, an inquiry into unsolved LGBTQ+ deaths has been told.

In the years after New South Wales decriminalised homosexuality in 1984, Carole Ruthchild said lesbians still faced severe backlash simply for being themselves.

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Scott Morrison sought advice on a sixth ministry and did not agree to be interviewed by inquiry

Anthony Albanese says his government will accept all recommendations of Bell report on former PM’s secret ministries

Scott Morrison’s secret appointment to additional ministries was “apt to undermine public confidence in government” and was “corrosive of trust in government”, Virginia Bell has found.

In a report, released on Friday, the former high court justice said Morrison’s appointments to the health and finance ministries were “unnecessary” while three other appointments “had little if any connection to the pandemic”.

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Aria awards 2022: Indigenous rapper Baker Boy wins album of the year

Tones And I won song of the year for Cloudy Day – the fifth Aria of her career – at the first in-person ceremony since 2019

Indigenous rapper Baker Boy has won album of the year at the 2022 Aria awards for his critically acclaimed Gela, while Tones And I has won song of the year.

It was the fifth ARIA award for Tones And I, otherwise known as Toni Watson, who said the 2022 awards had a strong lineup.

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