Category Archives: Victoria

Nine Entertainment journalists vote for industrial action – as it happened

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Biden has been ‘a great fan of Australia’: Albanese

Anthony Albanese is speaking with ABC RN after Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the US presidential race.

The president has been a great fan of Australia. [A] very significant economic relationship has grown out our trade during his presidency … He’s someone who has stood up for values of social inclusion, and importantly as well for Australia and for the world he’s been a leading figure on climate action.

He was a gracious host to myself and Jodie during our state visit last year … [He] will continue to be over the coming months the most important leader in our globe. Of course, the United States is our most important ally.

The policies won’t change much. I mean, he’s obviously very interested in policies around tariffs and trade. I don’t think that will change much from his first term.

I think the challenge for us with with Donald Trump is to remind him that one of America’s unique advantages is its network of allies and partners and to make the maximum use of that. And there’s been great progress … in terms of Aukus [and] many groupings in the Indo-Pacific … and all these need to be sort of maintained and strengthened and that requires American leadership.

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Apprentice hung from noose and poked with drill during bullying campaign, Victorian court told

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Celsius Ballarat fined $10,000, with no conviction recorded, for failing to provide a safe work environment

A Victorian apprentice was hung from a noose and poked with a drill in his groin as part of prolonged bullying at work, with his employer fined $10,000 over the abuse.

The first-year apprentice was working for Celsius Ballarat Pty Ltd in Bakery Hill, near Ballarat, when he was targeted by colleagues, a court had heard.

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Sydney commuters face delays as light rail workers strike – as it happened

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Emergency meetings to assess IT outage fallout

Further emergency meetings will be held to examine the fallout of a global IT outage in Australia, AAP reports.

We are still in recovery stage … there is still more work to do to make sure that the residual issues arising from this outage are able to be addressed.

There will be opportunity in time to reflect on what’s occurred over the last couple of days, whether it exposes vulnerabilities that we are able to address.

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Murder charge after man dies following alleged fight in Melbourne home

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Police said there was a fight between two men and a woman that left one man dead and the woman with life-threatening injuries

A man has faced court charged with murder after an alleged altercation at a Melbourne home left another man dead and a woman with severe injuries.

Emergency services were called on Saturday night to a house in Bentleigh East, in Melbourne’s south-east, where a man was found in a critical condition.

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‘Magical wintry scenes’: snow ‘just keeps coming’ at Australian ski resorts

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A massive dump of snow on Friday night has continued into Saturday, bringing ‘super thick fresh powder snow’ to alpine areas

Christmas in July has finally arrived for ski resorts this weekend as the first widespread snowfall of the season blankets parts of Australia’s south-east, bringing more than 50cm falls in popular tourist destinations.

David Clark, destination marketing manager for Mt Buller and Mt Stirling ski lifts, said the snow “just keeps coming”.

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Chemical fire in Melbourne’s west forces evacuations and closes roads

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More than 80 firefighters attended an early morning blaze at the Orica factory, a short distance from the scene of last week’s fire at a chemical factory

Dozens of firefighters and emergency services have rushed to contain a major chemical factory fire in Melbourne’s west on Saturday morning, with five people evacuated and smoke causing local road closures.

It comes just a week after a major Derrimut factory fire, which forced thousands of people to stay indoors due to potentially toxic smoke.

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Quickly moving cold front could bring ‘most significant snowfall of the year’, as Australia’s east coast battles bitter winds

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Bureau of Meteorology predicts strong winds for SA, NSW and Victoria that will make temperatures feel colder than what is forecast

Bitter winds and rain are in store for the south-east coast and South Australia over the weekend thanks to a cold front that could also herald the heavy snow ski resorts have been hoping for.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting strong, gusty and potentially damaging winds and showers, local thunderstorms and strong, abnormally high tides.

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Greg Lynn to appeal conviction in Victorian high country murder case, court hears

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Jury had found former Jetstar pilot guilty of killing Carol Clay, but not of murdering Russell Hill

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn will appeal against his conviction for the 2020 murder of elderly camper Carol Clay, a Victorian court has heard.

After a five-week trial, a supreme court jury last month found Gregory Stuart Lynn guilty of murdering Clay and acquitted him of murdering Russell Hill in Victoria’s high country in 2020.

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Let there be night: digital billboards to be turned off to curb light pollution under Melbourne city proposal

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Illuminated signs have increased nocturnal artificial light and are detrimental to the city’s liveability and sustainability, a review has found

Large digital billboards could be turned off late at night under a proposal by Melbourne city council to crack down on light pollution and reduce its health and environmental impacts.

A review, commissioned by the council, recommended the introduction of a curfew for illuminated signs above ground level.

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Melbourne public housing towers demolition to go ahead despite residents’ class action

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Exclusive: Lawyer says move by state government shows residents being treated ‘as an afterthought’

The Victorian government is forging ahead with plans to demolish three public housing towers subject to a class action seeking to stop the redevelopment.

The move was described by a lawyer for residents as an example of them being “treated as an afterthought”, after the supreme court ordered the class action could proceed to a two-day trial earlier this month.

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Queenslanders melt with delight as snow spotted for ‘a few minutes’ north of NSW border

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Footage taken at a tourist lodge in Scenic Rim shows a brief snow flurry, the area’s first since 2015

A rare and short-lived dusting of snow has fallen on parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, surprising residents in high-altitude border areas on Tuesday as Australia’s south-east shivered through a windy and wet start to the week.

Video footage taken at Spicers Peak Lodge at the Scenic Rim, west of the Gold Coast in famously sunny Queensland, showed snow flurries on Tuesday morning.

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Woman charged with murder after body found in Melbourne river

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Police say 49-year-old was arrested alongside a teen, who was released without charge, after woman’s body discovered in Maribyrnong River

A woman has been charged with murder after another woman’s body was found in a river in inner Melbourne.

The body was discovered by a passerby in the Maribyrnong River, near Smithfield Road in Flemington, on Sunday.

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Cold snap sets record winter demand for electricity in Victoria as NSW windfarms supply third of power

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New peak may be challenged as early as Tuesday evening as mid-winter bites in Melbourne

The wintry blast sweeping across eastern Australia has set a record for electricity demand in Victoria and propelled wind generation in New South Wales to new highs, with energy authorities preparing for another power peak on Tuesday evening.

Victoria broke a 17-year record for maximum winter electricity demand, with the tally reaching 8,612 megawatts at 6pm on Monday, the Australian Energy Market Operator said.

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Snowfall possible in northern NSW as low pressure brings Antarctic blast to southern Australia

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BoM says most severe impacts expected on Sunday and Monday, with warnings of flash flooding in Tasmania

An intensifying low pressure system off Australia’s south-east is bringing frigid temperatures to large parts of the country’s south and a chance of snow as far as northern New South Wales.

The Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) was carefully monitoring the system on Saturday, which was expected to move from the NSW coast towards Tasmania, intensifying as it goes.

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Two people found dead after Melbourne house fire

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Firefighters called to Donvale home at about 3.46am Saturday found the house fully engulfed in flames

Two people have been killed after a home in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs went up in flames.

Fire crews were called to a Donvale home, about 20km east of Melbourne’s CBD, at about 3.46am on Saturday, after reports that a house was on fire.

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Anthony Albanese slams John Setka after union heavyweight resigns as CFMEU boss

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Controversial figure will step down from role as Victorian branch secretary after 12 years

Anthony Albanese has slammed John Setka, saying he “has no legitimate place in the Labor movement” after the powerful union figure resigned as secretary of the Victorian branch of the CFMEU.

The prime minister’s comments came after reports were published on Saturday by Nine newspapers into alleged criminal links within the construction industry and the union.

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Lucrative building contracts for Exclusive Brethren schools awarded to businesses run by church members

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Donations to school building funds are tax deductible, with Brethren-owned businesses across three states the beneficiaries

Schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect have spent millions of dollars with businesses owned by church members on major building projects, including to a company majority-owned by the powerful Hales family, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

The Brethren’s OneSchool Global (OSG) schools are registered charities in Australia and exempt from income tax. The schools also have building funds endorsed for deductible gift recipient status.

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Australia news live: religious sect allegedly thought 8-year-old diabetic ‘should not use insulin’, court told; Alice Springs curfew won’t continue

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The curfew declaration will conclude at 12.55pm today, local time. Follow the day’s news live

The mayor of Alice Springs, Matt Paterson, spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier as authorities meet to determine whether a three-day curfew on the central Australian town will be extended.

He is “still waiting to hear” whether the curfew will be extended – a decision for the police commissioner. Asked whether he believes it should be extended, Paterson says:

It’s obviously worked in the CBD, but we are hearing that it is pushing crime out into the suburbs. So we’ll wait to see what happens. Ultimately, the community gets to have a breath while there’s extra resources and police in town, so we’ll just wait to see what’s decided …

The curfew is a reaction to events over the past week or so, and we can’t continue to put these in. We need to think about the long-term solutions.

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Concern over fumes and contaminated runoff as Derrimut chemical factory fire still smoulders in Melbourne

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Fire expected to burn for days as local residents warned to avoid nearby waterways

Residents in Melbourne’s west have been told to avoid lingering fumes and potentially contaminated runoff after a chemical factory fire sent toxic smoke billowing over the city.

Firefighters battled the blaze throughout the day and night after a large explosion at the Derrimut factory on Wednesday morning.

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Greens and academics criticise appointment of antisemitism envoy – as it happened

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Flights have been cancelled or delayed out of Brisbane airport this morning as thick smoke blankets the city.

According to the Brisbane airport website, nine domestic flights and two international flights have been cancelled. On social media, the airport wrote that widespread fog across Brisbane was “slowing movements on ground and limiting visibility.”

Flights are still departing but there are delays due to the reduced visibility.

Participants will be able to check accessible scorecards that will show what services DES providers offer and how they rate for quality and effectiveness, helping them make an informed choice when selecting their provider.

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