Category Archives: Victoria

Melbourne public transport card readers won’t accept credit cards or iPhones until 2025

Posted on by

Exclusive: upgraded Myki ticketing system could have been in place sooner, according to alternate proposals tendered

Using credit cards and iPhones to tap on to Melbourne public transport won’t be a network-wide reality until at least 2025, but the Victorian government has defended its new ticketing contract amid claims other bidders could have implemented the compatibility faster.

Upgrades to existing card readers on trams, buses and trains – as well as more ambitious schedules for the installation of new readers – were detailed in two proposals to overhaul the Myki system that would have seen credit card and iPhone payments accepted across the network before 2025, Guardian Australia understands.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Teenager fights for life after car crash kills four people in Victoria’s west

Posted on by

Police investigating cause of single-vehicle accident after car lost control and hit tree

A teenage girl is fighting for life as police probe a single-vehicle crash that killed four others in regional Victoria.

Police remained at the scene of the crash on Wannon-Nigretta Falls Road, Bochara on Saturday evening after the car with five people on board lost control and hit a tree.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly says Facebook must act against ‘tidal wave’ of racist trolls

Posted on by

Indigenous body says it has blocked about 300 people in the past week who used racist slurs

Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly has called on Facebook to act against the “tidal wave” of racist online trolls that it says have targeted its work.

But Facebook’s parent company Meta has defended its record of addressing online abuse, saying it was a problem all tech companies needed to confront.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Cold snap with damaging winds, hail and snow forecast for Australia’s south-east

Posted on by

Severe weather warnings for wind gusts of up 100km/h issued for Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, BoM says

A cold front is set to sweep across Australia’s south-east in the coming days, bringing icy winds and steep drops in temperature.

The front is brushing the southern tip of Western Australia and is expected to strengthen and intensify as it approaches south-eastern Australia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Hitlist’ of private schools criticised and businesses and public sector join outcry over Victorian budget

Posted on by

New tax measures and job cuts to help repay state’s Covid debt spark criticism from multiple groups

Victorian private schools are among a chorus of critics of the state’s latest budget, after payroll exemption for schools with “high fees” was cut and landlords and big businesses were hit by new taxes.

To help repair the state’s budget bottom line, the Andrews government on Tuesday revealed more than 100 private schools will no longer be shielded from payroll tax in a budget measure the opposition and independent education sector warns will lead to higher fees for parents.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Property market revival continues; employment minister dismisses wage price spiral fears – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Birmingham says cost of Coalition’s jobseeker plan is ‘being worked through’

Asked whether the Coalition would support a lift to the jobseeker payment, Birmingham tells David Speers that Peter Dutton has “proposed an important alternative that would help Australians who are willing to and looking to engage in the workforce”.

We’ve outlined an alternative at this stage, David. We are not at an election and not about to firm government in the next two years.

That clarity should be there before the prime minister entertains a formal state visit to Beijing.

We should expect them to be lifted complete, as we should the tariffs on our wine industry.

Continue reading...

Moira Deeming supporters boo and walk out on Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto at state council

Posted on by

Group heckled Pesutto and held masks of Deeming’s face at party’s state council in Bendigo

Supporters of Victorian MP Moira Deeming have walked out of a Liberal party conference as tensions flare between members over the decision to expel her.

A small group clutching masks of Deeming’s face and a sign labelling the Liberal leader, John Pesutto, a “bully” shouted “shame, shame” as he took to the stage at the party’s state council in Bendigo on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Cancelling Victorian LGBTQ+ events in response to threats only rewards extremists, expert warns

Posted on by

Emergency meeting to address the targeting of LGBTQ+ events hears from extremism expert who says cancellations are exploited as victories by far right

Cancelling events such as drag storytime because of threats from far right groups only emboldens opposition to them, an extremism expert who has advised Victorian councils has warned.

About 100 representatives from councils across the state came together on Thursday to discuss the rising levels of disruptive behaviour directed at meetings and LGBTQ+ events such as drag storytime.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Fatal Melbourne stabbing: boy, 17, arrested after death of teenager near Sunshine bus station

Posted on by

Boy arrested and police searching for at least two more suspects

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested after a fight between two groups of teenagers which ended with the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy in Melbourne’s west.

Homicide squad detectives arrested the 17-year-old boy at Braybrook on Friday after the 16-year-old died on Station Place, Sunshine, on Thursday afternoon.

Continue reading...

Victoria considers mandates on school bus seatbelts after crash leaves children severely injured

Posted on by

Daniel Andrews says it is important to see if rules around wearing of restraints need to change

Daniel Andrews says the Victorian government will consider mandating the wearing of seatbelts on school buses after a catastrophic crash in Melbourne’s western fringe that left several children severely injured.

A bus carrying 46 students from Exford primary school was struck from behind by a truck at the intersection of Exford Road and Murphys Road in Eynesbury about 3.55pm Tuesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

MP questions referendum wording – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Quad still a priority, White House says

Despite the postponement of Joe Biden’s visit, the White House says that partnerships like the Quad remain a priority.

Revitalizing and reinvigorating our alliances and advancing partnerships like the Quad remains a key priority for the President. This is vital to our ability to advance our foreign policy goals and better promote global stability and prosperity. We look forward to finding other ways to engage with Australia, the Quad, Papua New Guinea and the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum in the coming year.

I think he will obviously be working very hard for this not to happen. We’ve danced this dance before, as the phrase goes …

I think we’ll get to a good place and I think that’s why he’s wanting to stay there, to focus on just that.

Continue reading...

Melbourne bus crash: truck driver released on bail after several school children injured

Posted on by

Jamie Gleeson, 49, appeared in court after allegedly crashing into bus carrying Exford primary school children in Eynesbury

A truck driver charged after allegedly crashing into a school bus in Melbourne’s west on Tuesday, seriously injuring several children, told police flashes of sunlight may have altered his perception, a court has heard.

Jamie Gleeson, 49, appeared before Melbourne magistrates court via video link on Wednesday afternoon after he was charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

Continue reading...

Council in Melbourne declares health emergency, claiming truck pollution is linked to high rates of illness

Posted on by

Maribyrnong city council says lack of enforcement of road train curfew has undermined its ability to protect residents

A “health emergency” has been declared by a Melbourne council, which claims residents are suffering above-average rates of hospitalisations for certain conditions partly due to a surge in road trains on its suburban streets.

Maribyrnong city council, which takes in Footscray in the city’s inner western suburbs, announced the declaration on Wednesday, claiming rates of illness in the municipality due to pollution “considerably exceed the Australian average”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Neo-Nazis clash with police and counter-protesters at anti-immigration rally in Melbourne

Posted on by

Police use pepper spray on crowds outside Parliament House, where a group of masked men performed the Nazi salute

Neo-Nazi and anti-fascist groups have clashed in Melbourne, with police making several arrests and deploying capsicum spray in a bid to quell the violence.

A group led by the self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell was expected to meet at state parliament at midday on Saturday for an anti-immigration protest, which an anti-fascist group planned to disrupt by rallying 30 minutes earlier, according to multiple posts on social media.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Councils call off drag storytime and LGBTQ+ events in Victoria after far-right threats

Posted on by

Drag performer who had four IDAHOBIT events cancelled said councils felt they could not create a safe environment

Several councils across Victoria have quietly cancelled drag queen storytime and LGBTQ+ events after threats from far-right groups.

Last week Monash council cancelled a drag storytime event scheduled for International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) after angry protesters derailed a council meeting.

Continue reading...

Moira Deeming expelled from Victorian Liberal party room after threat to sue leader John Pesutto

Posted on by

Previously suspended for nine months, Deeming has been accused by colleagues of ‘bringing discredit’ to the party

The controversial MP Moira Deeming has been expelled from the Victorian Liberal party room.

Deeming’s colleagues voted 19 to 11 to expel her during a party room meeting on Friday morning, meaning she will have to serve the remaining three-and-a-half years of her term on the crossbench of the upper house of the Victorian parliament. She remains a member of the broader Liberal party.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Moira Deeming serves Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto with defamation concerns notice

Posted on by

MPs expected to proceed with a vote to determine if Deeming is expelled from the party on Friday

A vote on whether Moira Deeming will be expelled from the Victorian Liberal party room will go ahead on Friday, despite the suspended MP’s decision to serve the opposition leader, John Pesutto, with a legal letter warning he could face possible defamation action for doing so.

The Australian on Thursday reported Deeming’s lawyer sent Pesutto a defamation concerns notice, warning of possible federal court proceedings if he does not immediately seek the withdrawal of Friday’s expulsion motion, publish an apology to her on his website, and pay her compensation and legal costs.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Moira Deeming supporter Richard Riordan urges delay of Victorian Liberal’s expulsion vote

Posted on by

The Polwarth MP claimed Friday’s meeting could risk a ‘messy legal dispute’ due to an ‘invalid’ motion

Richard Riordan, a Victorian Liberal MP, has written to the party’s state leader, John Pesutto, calling for a delay to Friday’s vote to expel the suspended MP Moira Deeming or “risk a very messy legal dispute”.

The Polwarth MP also wrote on Tuesday to the five MPs who put their names to the expulsion motion – Roma Britnell, former leader Matthew Guy, Wayne Farnham, Cindy McLeish and James Newbury – saying it was invalid as they did not sign it or provide reasons.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria’s police chief apologises for systemic racism and discrimination against Indigenous Australians

Posted on by

Shane Patton acknowledges at Yoorrook commission the police uniform is a symbol of fear for some First Nations people

Victoria’s chief police commissioner has unreservedly apologised for past and present actions of the force that inflicted trauma on First Nations people.

Shane Patton appeared before the state’s Indigenous truth-telling inquiry on Monday morning.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Heroin overdoses surge in Melbourne as health services struggle to cope

Posted on by

Victorian capital’s CBD recorded most fatal heroin overdoses in country between 2020 and 2022, with 12,000 syringe kits now handed out each month

Stronger heroin on the streets of Melbourne is resulting in a spike in overdoses in the CBD, with community health organisations saying they are buckling under the increased strain.

The most recent data from the Victorian coroner’s court shows between July 2020 and June 2022 Melbourne’s city centre had the highest amount of fatal heroin overdoses of any local government area. There were 29 deaths, followed by 28 in Brimbank and 23 in the City of Yarra.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...