Category Archives: Victoria

Victorian Labor promises new offences to close domestic and family violence ‘loopholes’

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Premier Ben Carroll vows to legislate new form of manslaughter and increase maximum penalty for rape to life imprisonment

A re-elected Victorian Labor government will create two new Australian-first offences aimed at closing “loopholes” it says have allowed perpetrators of family violence to escape punishment.

On Sunday, the premier, Ben Carroll, will announce an election commitment to legislate a new form of manslaughter covering cases in which a person takes their own life as a result of family violence, as well as a new offence covering perpetrators abandoning a victim in need of medical care.

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Alleged underworld supporters and unfounded health claims: One Nation rolls out more Victorian election candidates

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Party has unveiled a steady stream of contenders for state election, including a former councillor who lost his licence for drink-driving

Candidates contesting the Victorian state election for One Nation include a former Liberal who has won support from alleged underworld figures, a naturopath who has endorsed Donald Trump’s unfounded claim that paracetamol is linked to autism and a former shire councillor who lost his licence for drink-driving.

Pauline Hanson announced who would be her party’s upper house candidates and Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, at a press conference last month. Since then One Nation has used social media to unveil a steady stream of candidates, with 51 of the 88 lower house spots now filled.

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‘Anywhere, anytime’: Victoria police and PSOs to get random stop and search powers after Labor backflip

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Premier Ben Carroll adopts Coalition’s stance on Jack’s Law, which gives police and PSOs power to randomly search people for knives with metal detectors

The Victorian premier has made another policy backflip, announcing a re-elected Labor government would give police and protective services officers the power to stop and search people for knives using handheld metal detectors – despite experts warning of a lack of evidence that the measure reduces violent crime.

Ben Carroll on Wednesday announced he would match a commitment made by the Coalition opposition last year to introduce Queensland’s Jack’s Law, named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

Continue reading...

Datacentre giant accused of using AI while lobbying for Victorian minister’s support for hyperscale factory

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Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC’s behalf – but contains alleged AI-created errors

The Victorian jobs minister has accused one of Australia’s largest datacentre companies of using artificial intelligence while requesting she lobby her colleague to approve a massive expansion of its “hyperscale AI factory”.

Correspondence between Victorian cabinet minister Melissa Horne and the chief executive of ASX-listed company NextDC, Craig Scroggie, reveals increasing sensitivity to community concerns about datacentres before the state election.

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Labor has had 12 years to fix Victorian roads. Turning to ‘pothole populism’ now may be too late

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Potholed roads are ‘devastating political advertising’ for the Victorian government – but Ben Carrol’s made them the focus of his campaign

At a press conference to celebrate the sold-out NFL match played at Melbourne’s MCG on Friday, the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, was heckled on one issue.

“Fix the potholes,” a punter called out as they walked past the Victorian premier’s press conference.

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Former Carlton president apologises to ex-wife as lewd photo defamation case settles

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Luke Sayers says he accepts Cate Sayers did not post photo of his genitals as she says settlement closes ‘painful and difficult chapter’

The embattled former AFL club president Luke Sayers has apologised to his former wife for the harm he caused as her defamation case over a lewd photo settled.

Lawyers for Sayers, the immediate past president of the Carlton football club, read out the apology in the Victorian supreme court on Friday after indicating the settlement.

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Victoria’s koalas in chronically poor health and population is half what was previously estimated

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Exclusive: State government delayed releasing major report into the health of the koala population for more than 12 months

The Victorian government sat on a report for more than 12 months that found the state’s koala population was in chronically poor health.

The review of the state’s koala populations, led by state science agency the Arthur Rylah Institute in conjunction with scientists from major universities, was completed for the Victorian government in June 2025.

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Up to 6,000 tradies to get free qualifications under Labor scheme – as it happened

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Duniam targets ‘frivolous’ asylum seeker claims

The opposition is “very close” to “having a full migration package”, Duniam says. He says they’re willing to work with the government and that illegal overstayers must be deported.

We spend more per student per year than we ever have before and we’ve got declining standards across the board, and the problem with the curriculum is we have left foundations behind.

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Manhunt after alleged axe attack in Victoria leaves three people with serious injuries

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Police search for alleged attacker, in his 50s, after incident in Gippsland town of Tyers

Three people have been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after an alleged axe attack in Victoria, with police still searching for the suspect.

The alleged attacker, who is known to the victims, came to an address in the Gippsland town of Tyers at about 12.30pm on Saturday, according to a spokesperson for Victoria police.

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Sydney reaches 33C in potentially warmest start to spring since mid-1800s, while snow forecast in southern NSW

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A total fire ban is in place for greater Sydney with extreme fire danger exacerbated by hot and windy conditions

Summer heat is due to arrive early across much of eastern Australia with potentially record early September temperatures predicted for Brisbane and Sydney, while snow was expected in southern New South Wales.

Maximum temperatures in Sydney during the first days of September were on track to match the city’s midsummer average of 26.4C, warmer than any other start to spring since the city’s Observatory Hill station opened in 1858.

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Controversial plans for a Daniel Andrews sculpture officially scrapped by Victorian government

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The $134,000 cost of the statue of the former Victorian premier has been heavily criticised by the Liberal opposition

The Carroll government in Victoria has cancelled controversial plans for a statue of former Labor premier Daniel Andrews.

Work began in May on the statue commemorating the former premier’s more than 3,000 days in office, as part of a 1999 policy recognising long-serving Victorian premiers.

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Two men charged and drugs, guns and cars linked to CFMEU seized as police investigate alleged corruption

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Police arrest five men and search six properties including the union’s Victorian headquarters

Two men have been charged and Victorian police have seized drugs, guns and cars linked to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the building industry.

On Monday, detectives from Taskforce Hawk arrested five men and searched six properties including the Victorian headquarters of the union, saying they were investigating secret commissions, fraud and drug trafficking.

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