Allan government announces extended 2025 duck hunting season with hunters allowed to bag nine ducks a day
Wetland bird hunters in Victoria will have a longer duck shooting season and can take home more birds under new rules.
The Victorian duck hunting season will begin on 19 March and run for 83 days until 9 June, up from 56 days in 2024.
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Continue reading...Speaking after Netflix released Apple Cider Vinegar, Jacinta Allan says consumer watchdog is ‘constantly’ working to recover fine imposed in 2017
The Victorian premier says the state’s consumer watchdog is “constantly” pursuing cancer conwoman Belle Gibson and “won’t let up” until she pays the fine she was ordered to pay more than seven years ago.
Gibson, who is the now the subject of a new Netflix series, Apple Cider Vinegar, was in 2017 ordered by the federal court to pay a $410,000 fine plus $30,000 in legal costs for misleading and deceptive conduct, after she falsely claimed to have been diagnosed with brain cancer and cured through alternative therapies and nutrition.
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Continue reading...Critically endangered bird detected after analysis of tens of thousands of hours of song meter recordings
Critically endangered plains-wanderers have been found living in Melbourne’s west for the first time in more than 30 years.
Notoriously elusive and difficult to spot, the rare birds were detected on two pockets of remnant grassland by Zoos Victoria, with the help of AI.
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Continue reading...Bureau of Meteorology warns severe conditions will continue as parts of NSW coated in hail
Thunderstorms across New South Wales and eastern Victoria on Monday brought flash flooding, destructive winds and hail, as the Bureau of Meteorology warns severe conditions would continue.
A major storm rolled across the Sydney CBD around midday on Monday, bringing dark skies and heavy rainfall. By mid-afternoon, he city had recorded 52.8mm of rain at Observatory Hill since 9am, according to the BoM. Horsley Park, 50km west of the city, had recorded 87.8mm.
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Continue reading...Victorian premier denies any MPs have told her they want SRL money to be spent elsewhere after byelection battering
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has sought to dismiss concerns that the Suburban Rail Loop project should be halted after Labor took a battering in the Werribee byelection.
Counting resumed in the outer western Melbourne seat on Monday and both major parties expect – if postal votes follow the pattern of those already counted – Labor’s candidate, John Lister, will retain his narrow lead over the Liberal party’s Steve Murphy.
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Continue reading...One federal Labor MP said his party’s brand has ‘taken a dive’ in Victoria – but others at the state level believe time is on their side
Counting in the Werribee byelection is still under way. But even if Labor manages to scrape through, the Victorian government is just a few hundred disgruntled votes away from losing its grip on this heartland seat.
That is a problem Jacinta Allan knows cannot be ignored.
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Coalition backs healthcare package
Gallagher welcomed the opposition backing Labor’s package for women’s health this morning. She said on ABC Insiders:
We know Peter Dutton wanders around saying he’s going to cut a whole range of things. He’s clear he sees a lot of our investments in Medicare as wasteful spending. But these are really good investments into women’s health. And it will make a difference for millions of people across the country including women who are going through men who really have felt left behind by the health system and hopefully these new measures will address all of those issues.
It’s come down quite obviously for women across the country, the use of contraception, going through different stages of your life, including menopause, that these are areas that either haven’t been addressed for decades, or haven’t been met appropriately through the Medicare system. So, you know, we have landed the hospital deal, keep investing in the public health system, we have got a lot of initiatives about strengthening Medicare and this builds on that.
Continue reading...Greens concede loss to Liberals in Prahran and ALP on a knife-edge in Werribee
The Greens have conceded the loss of the Victorian state seat of Prahran to the Liberals, while the result in the once-Labor stronghold of Werribee remains too close to call.
The Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, said on Sunday the result in the inner-Melbourne seat was close but that it was clear the minor party will “fall just short” when counting resumes on Monday.
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Continue reading...‘Prolonged period of oppressive heat’ could push temperatures to mid 40C in South Australia, and mid 30C in Melbourne and Hobart
A heatwave marked by high humidity and hot nights will hit southern Australia next week as heat that baked western parts of the country moves east.
The period of intense heat for southern and central Australia is forecast to begin from Monday and last until Thursday, with South Australia, southern parts of the Northern Territory and far western parts of Queensland bearing the brunt.
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Continue reading...AFP also allege man used social media to contact Victorian state politician
A Victorian man has been charged in connection with alleged death threats and antisemitic comments against a federal politician in the latest incident investigated by a special police taskforce.
The Australian federal police confirmed on Friday a 33-year-old Reservoir man was charged with four counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and one count of using a carriage service to threaten to kill.
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Continue reading...Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, to remain behind bars over concerns the prolific design would continue across Melbourne if he was released
A Melbourne man alleged to be the creator of the prolific “Pam the Bird” graffiti will remain behind bars, with a magistrate saying there was a risk of him continuing to target prominent locations to boost his social media notoriety if released.
Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday morning where he was denied bail over concerns he would commit a serious offence if released.
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Continue reading...Heatwave not expected to end until Tuesday or Wednesday as fires burn in multiple national parks
South-eastern states sweltering in a heatwave may be waiting until late Tuesday or Wednesday for a cool change to bring some relief.
On Monday, temperatures in Melbourne peaked at 37.8C just before 4pm, after a high of 38C on Sunday.
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Continue reading...No potential breaches found by independent inquiry into former Coalition government’s handling of Abdul Nacer Benbrika case
Peter Dutton and the home affairs department have been cleared of wrongdoing over what a judge described as “a serious interference with the administration of justice” in a court case involving Melbourne terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika.
But the independent review clearing Dutton and his former department will not be released publicly, Guardian Australia has confirmed.
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Continue reading...Victoria police say Yarraville man, 21, is accused of vandalism on Flinders Street station clock and other prominent locations
A man accused of being one of Australia’s most prominent graffiti artists has faced court after allegedly causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage with his cartoon-like bird murals.
Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, sat in the Melbourne magistrates court dock on Friday afternoon and smiled at times as the allegations against him were read out.
Continue reading...The federal health minister cited data showing vape use among young Australians has significantly reduced meaning new laws are working. Follow today’s news live
Cyclone threat looms in northern Australia as drenched region braces for yet more rain
North Queensland is on cyclone watch with three tropical lows given a chance of developing in the coming days, bringing heavy rain that has flooded roads and homes.
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Labor adds homelessness focus to disability strategy
Australians with disabilities experiencing homelessness will be prioritised as the government commits to disability reforms, months after a scathing royal commission into the sector, AAP reports.
For the first time, they also include a number of national actions that all governments will work on together, with the disability community, to ensure people with disability right across Australia experience the benefits.
Some students, especially those in our cities, can see a career in agriculture as something that’s only for those who live in the regions or for those whose family own land that can be used to operate an agribusiness.
AgConnections aims to break down these misconceptions and build on the diversity of the industry, by highlighting and encouraging women and Indigenous Australians wanting to pursue a career in agriculture.
Continue reading...Company apologises over disclosure of information and collection of debts from vulnerable people
Human error has been blamed after a major energy retailer shared family violence victims’ private details without their consent and for chasing other survivors for unpaid power bills.
Origin Energy has coughed up $1.6m after it was served penalty notices by Victoria’s Essential Services Commission for breaching rules designed to protect the vulnerable cohort.
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AFP warns parents over rise in AI-generated child abuse material
There has been an increase in the use of AI-generated child abuse material in the past year, including students creating material like deepfakes to harass or embarrass classmates, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has said.
Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not.
The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.
As a society, I think that it demonstrates the need for us to place a high value collectively on a civil political discourse, rather than an extreme one.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that of the 16 arrests, only one person was from South Australia and the rest were scattered from all over the country and for whatever reason, decided to convene in Adelaide.
Continue reading...Hot, dry and windy weather for Australia’s south-east prompts bushfire and heatwave warnings
Multiple heatwave and bushfire warnings are in place for the Australia Day public holiday, with every Australian capital city expecting maximum temperatures above 30C and Melbourne forecast for a scorcher.
On Monday Melbourne was forecast to hit 41C before a late cool change. Sydney was due for 31C, Brisbane 30C, Adelaide 35C, Perth 32C and Hobart 32C.
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Continue reading...Heat moving east with temperatures over 40C expected in South Australia and Victoria
Light drizzle after a long dry spell is to blame for a series of fires that have cut power to tens of thousands of homes in Western Australia, while extreme heat is set to dominate the remainder of the long weekend in Victoria and South Australia.
A spokesperson from Western Power said dozens of pole top fires had left 38,000 homes in the Perth and midwest regions of WA without power on Saturday morning.
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