Category Archives: Victoria

Victoria to limit WorkCover compensation for stress after deal struck with opposition

Posted on by

Workers receiving payments beyond two-and-a-half years to undergo another impairment test under changes expected to pass parliament

Workers’ compensation for mental health injuries such as stress and burnout will be limited after the Victorian government struck a deal to push through contentious changes to the state’s “broken” WorkCover scheme.

Premiums for businesses under the scheme would also be frozen for the 2024-25 financial year, under an agreement with the state’s opposition to secure support for the bill.

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

Continue reading...

Monash University criticised over $127,000 farewell party for vice-chancellor while students ‘sit on the floor’

Posted on by

The university held the lavish event at the NGV for Margaret Gardner, now the governor of Victoria

University executives who spent more than $127,000 on a lavish sendoff for a departing vice-chancellor have been labelled out of touch.

Monash University threw the flashy party at the National Gallery of Victoria for Prof Margaret Gardner, now the governor of Victoria.

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

Continue reading...

Spill or no spill, Victoria’s Liberal party can agree on one thing: no more messiahs

Posted on by

As discontent with leader John Pesutto rises, the fractured party is casting around for a replacement that will unite them

By all accounts, the Victorian Liberals are heading for another leadership spill. But true to form, the party room is divided over the details.

Following a month of discipline during the federal byelection in the seat of Dunkley, the disunity returned on Sunday as the state opposition leader, John Pesutto, announced two of his most senior staff had left his office.

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

Continue reading...

Boy, 13, charged with sexually assaulting jogger in Melbourne’s south-east

Posted on by

Police say the alleged attack occurred on the Dandenong Creek trail on 31 January, with the woman fighting off the teen

A teenage boy has been charged over the false imprisonment and sexual assault of a female jogger in Melbourne’s south-east.

The 13-year-old from Rowville was charged over the alleged attack of a woman on the Dandenong Creek trail in January.

Continue reading...

Asio boss defends undercover police operation targeting boy with autism

Posted on by

Mike Burgess says security agencies ‘don’t radicalise people’ and stands by actions of police in case of 13-year-old with Islamic State ‘fixation’

The Asio chief has insisted security agencies “don’t radicalise people” but admitted “dealing with minors is incredibly difficult” after court findings criticising an undercover operation targeting a 13-year-old child with autism.

Guardian Australia revealed last month that the boy, known by the pseudonym Thomas Carrick, was granted a permanent stay on terror-related charges last October, after a magistrate found police “fed his fixation” with Islamic State during the operation and “doomed” his efforts at rehabilitation.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: siege unfolds at Geelong home; PM says Dutton’s team ‘dominated by blokes’

Posted on by

Albanese also flagged concerns over ‘nature of behaviour’ in comments in lead-up to Saturday’s Dunkley byelection. Follow the day’s news live

PM congratulates new MP Jodie Belyea for ‘strong and positive campaign’

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, joined community leader Jodie Belyea at a polling station on Saturday, his 61st birthday, and praised the strong campaign she ran, AAP reports.

And I’m now going to be your strong local voice in Canberra.

Continue reading...

Dan Tehan condemns ‘big Australia’ policy but won’t reveal Coalition’s immigration plan

Posted on by

Shadow immigration minister wants ‘better Australia’ but refuses to say what level of migration Coalition would pursue in government

The shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, has criticised a “big Australia” policy but refused to say what level of migration the Coalition would pursue in government, saying only that it wants “a better Australia”.

In an interview with the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Tehan was repeatedly challenged to spell out the Coalition’s view on acceptable migration levels, but said: “I can tell you what it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be as high as what it is today.”

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

Continue reading...

Telstra apologises to family of Victorian who died during triple zero outage

Posted on by

Government says regulator is looking into the disruption which prevented more than 100 calls being transferred to emergency services

Telstra has apologised for a technical issue that meant Australians were not able to speak to trained triple zero call takers for more than an hour.

The telecommunications giant issued the apology to people who were unable to make phone calls to triple zero for more than an hour on Friday morning.

Continue reading...

Victorian premier cancels iftar dinner after boycott announced by peak Muslim bodies

Posted on by

Jacinta Allan says event will not go ahead out of respect to those in the community that grieving over the war in Gaza

The Victorian government has cancelled its annual iftar dinner after the state’s peak body for Muslims and other community groups announced they would not attend the event due to Labor’s position on the war in Gaza.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, confirmed next month’s event would not go ahead out of respect to those in the Victorian Muslim community who were grieving.

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

Continue reading...

Deal allows police to march in parade – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

On the “broken promise” of changing the stage-three tax cuts (the latest Guardian Essential poll had Albanese falling in the trust stakes) the prime minister said:

We made not an easy decision. We made the right decision for all the right reasons. We know that families are under cost of living pressure.

The idea that we could sit back and ignore the clear recommendations that this was the best way that we could have an impact on providing that assistance to middle Australia without putting upward pressure on inflation – we couldn’t ignore that.

This is just a terrible incident that’s occurred here. The loss of the two young men and I feel for the grieving of the family, the friends. They obviously were full of life, because so many people interacted with them. It’s a really tough day for, as well, the queer community, and it’s been a very difficult time.

Continue reading...

Victoria fires: authorities on alert as strong winds develop amid 40C heat and catastrophic conditions

Posted on by

Residents across state’s west told to take action while bushfire continues to burn near Ballarat

Authorities remained on high alert for bushfires as temperatures rose across Victoria on Wednesday afternoon, with the state’s control centre warning the state was not “out of the woods”.

Catastrophic conditions had been forecast in the Wimmera region, in the state’s west, on Wednesday afternoon, while half the state was under an extreme fire danger rating. Emergency authorities had on Wednesday morning issued a final warning for residents in the state’s west to leave.

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

Continue reading...

Lidia Thorpe backs Mardi Gras over NSW police decision – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

The trade minister, Don Farrell, is at the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi where he had a sideline chat with China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, overnight.

Sideline chats are the unofficial official talks – it’s not considered a bilateral, but both sides have to agree to the talk in order for it to happen. So it’s not just a see them and grab situation between sessions. It’s a little more planned than that.

Continue reading...

‘Grave concern’ over Wednesday heat spike in Victoria after six homes destroyed in bushfires

Posted on by

Firefighters continue to battle blazes as they brace for temperatures to exceed 40C in western parts of the state this week

Six homes have been destroyed by bushfires in Victoria, as authorities issue a warning of “grave concern” for fire danger in the state on Wednesday.

On Sunday morning, Victoria’s emergency services minister, Jaclyn Symes, announced that after 228 impact assessments were carried out following fires in western Victoria, six residential homes were deemed to have been destroyed.

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

Continue reading...

Victoria fires: at least three homes destroyed as authorities warn towns still under threat

Posted on by

Warnings remained in place for a group of communities west of Ballarat as crews work to get blaze under control

At least three homes have been confirmed destroyed by a bushfire in western Victoria, with fire authorities warning that some towns remain under threat.

There were fears that as many as 10 houses may have been claimed by the fire burning west of Ballarat, and “watch and act” warnings remain in place for Bayindeen, Chute, Elmhurst, Mount Lonarch and surrounds, Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) said.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: NSW police officer charged with murder after disappearance of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

Posted on by

Former celebrity blogger expected to face court. Follow updates live

What will happen if there’s a storm during today’s Taylor Swift concert?

With a thunderstorm forecast at Sydney Olympic Park this evening, many are asking what this means for the Eras tour?

The show will play, rain or shine. The only exception would be severe weather, which could impact the safety of artists and patrons. Such a decision would be made by NSW Police, the event promoters and Venues NSW staff.

Please follow venue screens and staff instructions in these circumstances.

Continue reading...

Victoria bushfires: homes and sheds lost as blaze heads towards Elmhurst in state’s west

Posted on by

Thousands of residents from almost 30 communities near Ballarat told to ‘leave now’

Victoria’s premier says homes have been lost to a huge bushfire in the state’s west, after a “tough night” in which two fire trucks broke down.

Emergency warnings remained in place for about 30 communities west of Ballarat on Friday morning, including in Amphitheatre, Elmhurst and Mount Cole, where residents have been told to “leave immediately” before “conditions become too dangerous”.

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

Continue reading...

Samantha Murphy: police suspect ‘one or more parties’ involved as targeted search begins for missing Ballarat woman

Posted on by

New mobile data leads police to comb Mount Clear area for clues nearly three weeks after 51-year-old was last seen

Victoria police suspect “one or more parties” were involved in the disappearance of Samantha Murphy nearly three weeks ago, saying it was “very doubtful” she was still alive amid a renewed ground search.

Mobile phone data has provided a new lead in the search for Murphy, with a previously examined area the subject of a targeted hunt for clues as to her disappearance.

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

Continue reading...

Victoria fires: thousands urged to evacuate as out-of-control blaze bears down

Posted on by

An emergency warning has been issued for 28 communities west of Ballarat, with conditions not expected to ease until about midnight

Thousands of people in 28 communities are being urged to evacuate a large fire zone as an out-of-control blaze bears down on them in Victoria.

An emergency warning has been issued for the communities west of Ballarat with concerns about a wind change is expected to sweep the area between 6pm and 7.30pm.

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

Continue reading...

Fire situation ‘will get worse before it gets better’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Competition minister Andrew Leigh just spoke with ABC RN about, you guessed it, competition.

Speaking about supermarket prices and concentration in particular, Leigh said he is worried that Australia’s market concentration has “increased over recent decades”.

We’ve got evidence now from very good micro data, which wasn’t available a few years back, that market concentration has gone up, that markups have increased – that is the gap between costs and prices – and that there’s less job switching than there was in the past which is a problem, because switching jobs is one of the best ways people boost their wages. All of that points to a less dynamic economy, and maybe one of the reasons why we just had the lousiest decade of productivity growth in the post-war era.

It’s not a priority that we’re focusing on at the moment.

In London to support Julian Assange’s hearing on whether he can appeal his extradition to the US. Julian’s extradition would strike at the very heart of free speech [and] democracy. Enough is enough. The US must drop the extradition of Julian Assange.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a net zero cargo solution’: could Victoria become home to an airship renaissance?

Posted on by

French startup hoping to develop Ballarat manufacturing hub says its dirigibles will transport freight too cumbersome for road

They’re huge, can float through the air, and are synonymous with one of history’s most notorious transport disasters – but airships could be set for a cargo-oriented, green renaissance.

French startup Flying Whales has a vision to begin manufacturing its airships – which instead of the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg, will rely on 180,000 cubic metres of helium – by 2025, with an eye to gaining regulatory certification to begin operating in skies by the end of 2027.

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

Continue reading...