Proposed mandatory closing times will still allow 361 venues to remain open after 2am, data suggests
More than 360 Victorian poker machine venues will be allowed to stay open past 2am, with experts warning proposed reforms to force 4am closures will do little to tackle gambling harm.
The Andrews government on Sunday announced widespread proposed gambling reforms, which include requiring all venues to close for at least six hours each day, from 4am until 10am.
Continue reading...Agriculture Victoria says it is ‘working with local veterinarians and experts to investigate the cause of multiple sudden horse deaths at three properties’
The mystery deaths of at least 10 horses on three separate properties in Victoria has prompted an urgent investigation by state authorities.
Agriculture Victoria on Sunday confirmed 10 horses had died suddenly on properties on the Mornington Peninsula, in south-east Melbourne and south-west Victoria since 4 July.
Continue reading...Premier Daniel Andrews says reforms ‘will provide the strongest gambling harm preventions and anti-money laundering measures in Australia’
Mandatory closing hours, slower spin times and smaller spending limits will be used to minimise gambling harm in sweeping gambling reforms across Victoria.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, and the gaming minister, Melissa Horne, announced a series of reforms for electronic gaming machines in the state on Sunday.
Continue reading...State’s chief information security officer says information from Victorian departments and agencies was accessed
Highly sensitive legal documents from the Victorian government have been published on the dark web by cybercriminals, with Queensland also confirming files from at least one of its departments are included in the breach.
The breach is connected to data that was stolen from the law firm HWL Ebsworth in April by a Russian-linked ransomware gang, known as ALPHV/Blackcat, and posted online.
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Continue reading...Simon Geoffrey Raymond, 39, has been in custody since Tuesday after he was arrested over alleged threats against Anne Webster
A man accused of threatening to kill a federal MP will spend at least the weekend behind bars after a brief court hearing in Queensland.
Simon Geoffrey Raymond, 39, of no fixed address, has been in custody since being arrested by federal police at Brisbane airport on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Federal court orders account details be given to Nurul Khan so he can sue the person for defamation
Google has been ordered to hand over the account information and IP address of a person who a Victorian Labor candidate alleges defamed them in an email.
Nurul Khan was endorsed to run for the Labor party in last year’s state election, but an email littered with allegations against him was sent to ministers and news organisations on 9 November.
Continue reading...Shy broad-toothed rat found after a detection dog tracked down its bright green poo
A detection dog has unexpectedly discovered a new population of rare native rodents in Melbourne’s outer east.
The previously unrecorded broad-toothed rat population was found by a four-year-old labrador called Moss who was searching the Coranderrk bushland near Healesville sanctuary.
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Continue reading...Municipal peak body also says more town planners are desperately needed to speed up building approvals
Local councils have warned the Victorian government that seizing control of planning laws will not fix the state’s housing crisis, pointing to a shortage of town planners across all levels of government.
As pressure builds on the premier, Daniel Andrews, to release details of the government’s housing package – which he says will include a “substantial rewrite of planning laws” to increase supply, the Municipal Association of Victoria is urging caution.
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Continue reading...Aluel Ajak died after being struck by a car on Shaws Road in Werribee on Wednesday night
A nine-year-old who died after being hit by a car in Melbourne’s west has been described as a courageous and beautiful girl.
Aluel Ajak was struck by a car on Shaws Road in Werribee about 9.15pm on Wednesday.
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Continue reading...Simon Holmes à Court says the laws make it ‘nearly impossible’ for independents to successfully campaign
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says he has no plans to change election funding laws, despite claims from Climate 200’s founder, Simon Holmes à Court, that they make it “nearly impossible” for an independent to successfully campaign.
According to Climate 200’s submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the November state election, sitting MPs received a significant “head start” during the campaign thanks to changes to the law introduced in 2018.
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Continue reading...Prices rise amid concerns from competition watchdog over Transurban’s proposed acquisition of operator of Melbourne’s EastLink
Commuters on toll roads in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will notice price hikes on Monday due to long-term contracts with tolling giant Transurban.
The price rises come as the competition watchdog flags concerns the private operator could also become dominant in Melbourne.
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Continue reading...Geoscience Australia said the earthquake struck at 1.32am on Friday near Rawson, a small town around 150km east of Melbourne
A 4.6-magnitude earthquake has rattled residents in regional Victoria and Melbourne, with thousands of people feeling the early morning tremor.
Geoscience Australia said the earthquake struck at 1.32am on Friday near Rawson, a small town around 150km east of Melbourne.
Continue reading...Victoria accused of undermining Australia’s ability to reach 2030 emissions reduction target by ending the rebate
A last-minute rush has seen more than 1,300 Victorians claim rebates on their electric vehicle purchases days before the state government ends the scheme, almost a year earlier than planned.
Government figures show Victorians have been claiming the $3,000 electric car subsidies at a rate of more than 60 a day since the change was announced early in June as part of the state’s 2024 budget.
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Continue reading...Some community leaders say report is evidence of officers targeting people based on their ethnicity, which Victoria police rejects
African, Middle Eastern and Indigenous community leaders are calling for the Andrews government and Victoria police to review Covid fines after a report revealed ethnic minorities and First Nations people were more likely to receive infringements for breaching lockdown rules.
Released on Tuesday, the report revealed people of African and Middle Eastern appearance were four times more likely to receive fines for breaching the state’s lockdown rules in 2020, accounting for share of the population. Victoria police have rejected the allegation by the report’s lead researcher that officers targeted certain racial groups.
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Continue reading...African, Middle Eastern and First Nations people up to four times more likely to be fined for Covid-19 breaches
Victoria police officers have been accused of racial profiling, with a report showing they disproportionately targeted people of non-Anglo appearance during the pandemic.
African, Middle Eastern and First Nations people were up to four times more likely to be fined for COVID-19 breaches, when considering their share of the state’s population.
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Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
O’Neil defends decision to keep Nauru offshore processing open
Home affairs and cyber security minister Clare O’Neil was asked about why the offshore processing site on Nauru is being kept open if the last refugee has been removed on ABC RN this morning.
It is an unmitigated good thing for the country that we’ve transitioned the last asylum seeker off Nauru. This has been a festering sore in Australian politics for more than a decade. And I’m very pleased that our government has taken that approach of making sure that we bring that to a close.
However, it is very important that we maintain our strength on the borders. Offshore processing is a part of our overall approach and that is why Nauru will remain open and on standby.
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States will ‘do their own things’ on rent caps: Collins
Speers asks for what evidence Collins is referring to. The minister points to research by Graeme Samuel, former boss of the ACCC, which she referred to in parliament this week and again reiterates the talking point:
The overwhelming evidence suggests that it doesn’t work. States and territories will do their own things in terms of this. What we are being asked to do here is have eight different jurisdictions make these decisions at the same time and we have been told very clearly from those jurisdictions that they won’t be doing this. Some states have already ruled out both freezes and caps. What we’ve been asked to do is simply not achievable and we won’t commit to something that is not achievable, David.
When you look at the evidence that has been cited by others, the evidence shows that it reduces supply significantly by up to 15%. The other thing that it shows is the quality of the stock diminishes over time, so I will look at the data and the evidence and the data and the evidence says that it doesn’t work.
Continue reading...Victorian grassland earless dragon was once common west of Melbourne but numbers declined due to habitat loss and predators such as feral cats
A tiny earless dragon feared to be extinct in the wild has been sighted for the first time in more than 50 years – at a location that is being kept secret to help preservation efforts.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, has now been rediscovered in the state, according to a joint statement issued by the Victorian and federal Labor governments on Sunday.
Continue reading...Judge suggests there may have been ‘interference with administration of justice’ and government officials could be referred ‘to relevant authorities’
The Department of Home Affairs deliberately withheld information that raised serious questions about the reliability of a future crime prediction tool because it wanted to keep using it on other offenders, the Victorian supreme court has heard.
The supreme court justice Elizabeth Hollingworth is considering whether convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika should be subject to an extended supervision order while he is held in immigration detention, and the conditions of such an order.
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Continue reading...Australian prime minister says ‘it is Russia and its involvement that keeps this war going’. This blog is now closed
Forced property sales on the rise in outer Sydney as interest rate hikes start to bite
My colleagues, Peter Hannam and Nick Evershed have this report on the rise in forced property sales as interest rate rises begin to bite.
Sydney’s outer suburbs are showing signs of rising numbers of distressed property sales with higher interest rates the likely cause, a trend that can be expected to spread to other capitals, according to property data group Domain.
Distressed listings as a share of the national market remain low, at about 2.8% across the capital cities, compared with a record 5.1% in late 2018.
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