Category Archives: Victoria

Australia fires: record-breaking temperatures fuel bushfires across the country

Posted on by

Temperatures top 40C in Victoria’s north as up to 11 properties hit by fire in South Australia, while NSW and Tasmania face difficult conditions

Record-breaking spring temperatures helped spark and fan bushfires across the country on Thursday, forecasting a potentially devastating bushfire summer.

In Victoria, 100km/h winds fanned more than 60 blazes, as an unprecedented heatwave moved north to south, drawing comparisons with the “worst conditions you’d see in February or March” from the state’s emergency services minister Lisa Neville.

Continue reading...

Australia fires: All mainland states top 40C as bushfire code red issued in Victoria

Posted on by

Extreme heat hits across the country as parts of Victoria prepare for worst possible bushfire conditions on Thursday

All of Australia’s mainland states, and the Northern Territory, had areas that reached more than 40C on Wednesday, as a code red bushfire warning was issued for parts of Victoria for Thursday.

By 3pm AEDT on Wednesday, the highest temperatures recorded were 43.4C at Smithville in New South Wales and 42C at Walpepup in Victoria. Ballera in Queensland reached 43.7C, Warburton in WA got 43.8C, Nullarbor in South Australia recorded 46.6C and Lajamanu in the Northern Territory had hit 42.7C.

Continue reading...

Australia braces for electric scooter boom as confusion reigns over state laws

Posted on by

Some retailers are giving inaccurate advice to shoppers in states where it is illegal to ride e-scooters on public roads or footpaths

Retailers are preparing for a Christmas boom in the sale of electric scooters, even though it is illegal to ride them on public roads or footpaths in several states.

Federal and state regulation has struggled to keep up with the technology, leaving consumers at risk of inadvertently breaking the law.

Continue reading...

John Setka tells Anthony Albanese to ‘grow some balls’ after Victorian Labor no-show

Posted on by

Labor leader denies non-attendance at Victoria’s Labor party conference sparked by threats of a union walkout

Controversial union boss John Setka has told the federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, to “grow some balls”, amid the latter’s no-show at Victoria’s Labor party conference.

Albanese denied his non-attendance at the annual meeting in Melbourne this weekend was sparked by threats of a union walkout.

Continue reading...

Victorian government owed up to $700m after fine system failures

Posted on by

Merging of Victoria’s court fines system with the centralised fines system has led to a delay in payments

Issues merging Victoria’s court fines system with the centralised fines system has led to a delay in payments for more than 100,000 fines, adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars waiting to be paid to the Victorian government.

Reports estimate the amount of outstanding fines sits as high as $700m, with 120,000 fines going unpaid.

Continue reading...

Melbourne Anglicans vote to express ‘sorrow’ over blessing of same-sex marriages

Posted on by

Melbourne synod’s vote comes days after Sydney archbishop said Anglicans who back same-sex marriage should leave church

Melbourne’s Anglican church has formally voted to record its “sorrow” over a regional Victorian diocese’s decision to bless same-sex marriages.

The nod of approval given by the Wangaratta diocese in August has angered the Melbourne church’s governing body.

Continue reading...

Cryogenic cylinders full of cattle semen destroyed in fire

Posted on by

Fire broke out at artificial insemination facility in regional Victoria, Australia

Cryogenic cylinders full of cattle semen have gone up in flames at an artificial insemination facility in Australia.

A fire broke out at Yarram Herd Services in regional Victoria at about 3am on Tuesday. A crew of more than 30 firefighters brought it under control within three hours.

Continue reading...

Tanya Day’s family win bid to release CCTV footage to combat ‘invisibility’ of her suffering

Posted on by

Inquest agrees that family’s advocacy and public interest outweighs concerns about privacy and dignity

The family of Aboriginal woman Tanya Day has persuaded the coroners court to release footage of her final conscious hours, saying that not releasing it would render her suffering – like the suffering of so many Indigenous people – invisible.

Coroner Caitlin English announced on Friday that she would release selected footage of Day’s time in the cells of Castlemaine police station. She said the public interest and the possibility that it could prevent further deaths in custody outweighed her earlier concerns about protecting the 55-year-old’s privacy and dignity.

Continue reading...

Eurydice Dixon’s father says he hopes killer ‘gets better’ after receiving life sentence

Posted on by

Judge sentences Jaymes Todd to a non-parole period of 35 years for crimes described as crimes as ‘sadistic’ and ‘categorically evil’

Eurydice Dixon’s father said he hoped the man who raped and killed his daughter “gets better,” shortly after the killer was sentenced to to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 35 years.

Jaymes Todd stalked Dixon, 22, for more than an hour before attacking her as she walked through Princes Park following a comedy gig ‪on 12 June‬ last year.

Continue reading...

Crown Resorts: inquiry to examine whether James Packer’s casino group fit to hold licence

Posted on by

Former judge also asked to report on whether NSW gambling laws need to be overhauled

A public inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing at casinos run by Crown Resorts will decide whether the James Packer-dominated group is fit to hold a licence in New South Wales and whether the state’s gambling laws need to be overhauled.

Terms of reference, released by the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority on Thursday, show the inquiry, to be headed by former judge Patricia Bergin, will also investigate whether Packer’s decision to sell almost 20% of Crown to Hong Kong billionaire Lawrence Ho breached the gambling group’s licence to build a high-roller casino at Barangaroo in Sydney.

Continue reading...

Melbourne archbishop says George Pell innocent and questions if victim mistaken

Posted on by

Peter Comensoli says he accepts victim was abused but wonders whether he was wrong in naming cardinal as abuser

Catholic archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli says he believes convicted paedophile Cardinal George Pell when he protests his innocence, and has speculated if the sole living victim got the name of his abuser wrong.

A day after Victoria’s court of appeal upheld Pell’s conviction for the rape of a 13-year-old choirboy and sexual assault of another at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1996, Comensoli said while he respected the courts, he also believed his friend and would continue to visit him in prison.

Continue reading...

Vatican invokes Cardinal George Pell’s ‘right to appeal’ after child sexual abuse conviction upheld

Posted on by

Former Vatican treasurer, and most senior Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of child sexual assault, maintains innocence after losing appeal

The most senior Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of child sexual abuse, Cardinal George Pell, has lost his appeal against his conviction, but maintains he is innocent.

In a brief statement issued after the decision the Vatican reiterated that Pell maintained his innocence, and that it was now “Pell’s right to appeal to the high court”.

Continue reading...

Cardinal George Pell loses appeal on child sexual assault conviction – live

Posted on by

Appeal dismissed by a majority of two to one for the 78-year-old who will remain in prison until October 2022. He was sentenced in March for sexually assaulting two choirboys in 1996

By the way - this is a huge testament to the value of the jury system. I will have so much to say about that. There is NO strong evidence judges alone are less biased or more correct than a jury of 12. #Pell.

Interesting that Morrison said the decision to strip Pell of his honours is independent to the government. Back In February my colleague Paul Karp was told that if Pell lost the appeal the prime minister would write to the Council of the Order of Australia recommending it review and revoke the honour, a decision made on its recommendation by the governor general.

Related: PM to strip George Pell of Order of Australia honour if cardinal loses appeal

Continue reading...

Homeless woman says Centrelink took entire $3,500 tax return for disputed robodebt

Posted on by

Couch surfing 50-year-old says welfare agency told her she wasn’t in financial hardship

A Melbourne woman battling homelessness says her entire $3,500 tax return was swiped by Centrelink last month, despite the fact she disputes the alleged robodebt.

But when Sue Prgic, 50, complained to the agency that the money had been taken without her knowledge, she said staff had asked to know what she would do with the cash if it were returned.

Continue reading...

Weather warning: cold snap continues across south-eastern Australia

Posted on by

Strong and gusty winds to bite parts of New South Wales as frosty temperatures sweep Victoria

Wild weather conditions are predicted to lash parts of New South Wales on Sunday afternoon, with conditions in Victoria expected to remain icy as the state is swept by another cold front.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast weather conditions in NSW would ease on Sunday morning before picking up again with strong and gusty winds in many areas of the state for the rest of the day.

Continue reading...

Cardinal George Pell: purported letter from prison sparks investigation

Posted on by

Victorian justice department says prisoners are not allowed to post on social media or ask others to post on their behalf

Authorities are investigating whether a letter circulating online, apparently written by disgraced Cardinal George Pell to supporters breaks prison rules.

The letter, dated 1 August, was posted on Twitter by an account called “Cardinal George Pell Supporters” on Friday night.

Continue reading...

Wild weather: severe winds, snow, surf and rain lash Victoria, South Australia and NSW

Posted on by

Delays at Melbourne and Sydney airports, Frankston pier ripped from its moorings and snow at the AFL as polar blast strikes

Icy winds up to 120km/h, snow, wild surf and rain continued to lash South Australia, Victoria and parts of New South Waleson Friday, and snow fell at the AFL in Canberra.

The “strongest weather system this winter” to hit south-east Australia has continued its path of carnage across the country, grounding flights in Sydney and Melbourne, and leading to hundreds of calls to the State Emergency Service across all three states.

Continue reading...

Roberta Williams allegedly threatened to kill TV producer making show about her life

Posted on by

Melbourne gangland widow freed on bail after being charged with kidnapping and death threat

Gangland widow Roberta Williams has been given bail by a Melbourne court after allegedly kidnapping and threatening to kill a television producer making a show about her life.

The 50-year-old widow of convicted killer Carl Williams, who was killed in prison in 2010, is one of four people charged with assaulting and threatening to kill producer Ryan Naumenko at Collingwood on 9 July.

Continue reading...

Victorian government orders investigation into Crown casino crime allegations

Posted on by

Claims including links to Triads to be ‘re-examined’ and rules covering junket operators reviewed

Victoria’s minister for gambling, Marlene Kairouz, says she has ordered the state’s casino regulator to conduct a snap investigation into a flood of allegations made against Crown Resorts and its Melbourne operation that include claims of links to organised crime and that its high rollers got waved through immigration without proper checks.

Kairouz said her department would also review the regulation of junket operators who bring high rollers from China, some of whom have been linked by Nine to Triad gangs.

Continue reading...

Jeff Kennett accuses Victorian Labor MP who kicked in hotel door of playing mental health card

Posted on by

Former premier says he objected to Will Fowles ‘using the coverall of a mental health illness’ when explaining his confrontation

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has accused a state Labor backbencher who kicked in a door at a Canberra hotel of wrongly playing the mental health card.

Will Fowles smashed a door at the Abode hotel during a confrontation with staff over his luggage on Thursday morning. Police have questioned the MP for the Melbourne seat of Burwood but he has not been charged over the incident.

Continue reading...