A man allegedly attacked people with broken glass before he was shot once by PSO working with police at the scene in Melbourne
A protective services officer has opened fire on a man who confronted them with broken glass after reportedly trying to rob people on a tram in the centre of Melbourne.
Police say the officers were responding to an incident on the Princes Street Bridge just after 5.30pm on Friday when they were approached by the man.
Continue reading...The council narrowly voted against a community consultation on the ‘location and context’ of the explorer’s Port Phillip memorial
A Melbourne council has narrowly voted against asking local residents whether it should restore or permanently remove a Captain Cook statue that was sawn off at the ankles just before Australia Day.
There was heated debate at a Port Phillip council meeting on Wednesday night over a motion to consult the community on the statue’s future, before it was voted down five votes to four. Some councillors were reprimanded and a member of the packed public gallery was asked to leave after several interjections.
Continue reading...Fifty-one-year-old was last seen leaving her home in Victoria early on Sunday morning to go for a run
Emergency crews continue to search for the missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, who disappeared five days ago after going for a run.
The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home at Ballarat East about 7am on Sunday.
Continue reading...State’s investment in Pacific Metal Group in October 2022 was described by treasurer Tim Pallas as a ‘win for everyone’
The Victorian government is set to lose millions of dollars it invested in a scrap metal recycling company, after the business went into administration earlier this year.
The Victorian Business Growth Fund investment in Pacific Metal Group, reportedly worth $10m, will probably be lost after the company collapsed in January after a fire at its scrapyard in Laverton North.
Continue reading...Climber, identified by police as a 29-year-old Newry man, believed to have reached top of 163m-tall residential building about 7.30am
Police say they have spoken to a man who scaled a 163m-tall residential tower in Melbourne’s city centre without a harness, while another person filmed him using a drone.
According to Victorian police, the man was seen climbing the side of 60 A’Beckett Street about 7.30am. He did not appear to be using any safety equipment.
Continue reading...Many participants struggled to afford basics, cutting back on food or rationing medication, survey suggests
People experiencing poverty and job insecurity are increasingly unable to budget their way out of financial crisis, a new report from the Brotherhood of St Laurence has found.
The research, which asked 40 low to middle-income Victorians to detail their finances over 10 weeks, found inadequate income support, insecure work and the cost-of-living crisis are driving inequality across Australia.
Continue reading...Advocates lament missed opportunity for reform, saying some safeguards have become barriers
Allowing doctors to start conversations with terminally ill patients about voluntary assisted dying will not be considered under a review of Victoria’s euthanasia laws – sparking criticism from advocates who say it is a missed opportunity for reform.
A five-year review of the dying laws is open for public submissions and will consider issues including access to the scheme and safeguards. Advocates say Victoria – which in 2017 became the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise VAD – is now lagging behind other jurisdictions.
Continue reading...Third man rescued from capsized boat, under which his fellow fisher became trapped off Barwon Heads
A fishing trip has turned into tragedy with a man drowning when large waves caused the boat he was in to capsize near Geelong.
In a separate incident, a scuba diver has died at Rye on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, where emergency services responded to reports that a man was pulled from the water at about 10am.
Continue reading...Heatwave warnings as ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily continues to dump heavy rain across parts of outback Queensland
Much of southern Queensland and eastern New South Wales will be gripped by heatwave conditions over the weekend as western Sydney and Melbourne brace for temperatures in the high 30s on Sunday.
Ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily has continued to dump heavy rain across parts of outback Queensland but the system was forecast to track south, taking a route across NSW, before finally leaving the continent on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Wilson’s Promontory beach is the first Victorian site to top Tourism Australia’s list, which celebrates coastal spots
It’s not the famous sands of Bondi, the surf mecca of Bells, or the pristine white stretches along the Great Barrier Reef – but Squeaky beach in Victoria has been named the best in Australia.
Named for the under-foot sound of its quartz sand, the Wilson’s Promontory beach is close to the most southerly point of mainland Australia.
Continue reading...Allan government releases summaries showing meetings with lobbyists, stakeholders and other external organisations
Victorian ministers have opened up their diaries to the public for the first time, revealing their meetings with media bosses, union leaders, sports stars – and even a Hollywood celebrity.
After changes introduced last year under the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, ministers now have to disclose diary summaries outlining scheduled meetings with lobbyists, stakeholders and other external organisations.
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BoM issues wind weather warning for Tasmania
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds in parts of Tasmania.
Australia has a very important role to play as a signatory to the ICJ, a signatory to the genocide convention, to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and ensure that the investigations that are occurring with UNRWA … don’t inhibit funding and delivery of services that are going to basically save lives in coming days and weeks and months.
UNRWA has done the right thing in standing down the staff, sacking them. They have got an independent investigation occurring. 150 UN UNRWA staff have been killed, their families and children as well, over the past several months of this conflict. The UN is in the middle, sandwiched in the conflict, trying to do its best to save lives. Donor governments like Australia need to bear this in mind that, if funding ceases, there is nowhere else to turn to. People will simply collapse and die.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to ABC RN, and says news that the inflation rate has plunged to a two-year low of 4.1% is “welcoming, encouraging progress”.
… We know that people are still under pressure and we need to not be complacent about it. We need to continue to work as we have with our three point plan, having the surplus, making sure we deal with cost of living pressures without putting pressure on inflation, and dealing with … supply-chain issues as well.
With parliament resuming next week, this is a wake-up call that 2024 is the last chance for meaningful democratic reform ahead of the 2025 election …
Australians should go to the next election with strict political donation disclosure laws, truth in political advertising laws in force and information about who’s meeting ministers made public as a matter of course.
Continue reading...Temperatures have not topped 35C since March last year as summer heatwaves skip Victorian capital
Melbourne is about to mark an unusual milestone. So far this summer the Bureau of Meteorology has not classified any single day as “hot” – that is, above 35C.
While other parts of the country have sweltered through severe heatwaves, the first month of 2024 has recorded no days above 35C, as observed at the BoM’s Melbourne Olympic Park weather station. On 12 January it was 33.4C and on 13 December it was 34C, but the last time the city’s mercury nudged over 35C was 18 March last year.
Continue reading...‘Baffled’ MPs express alarm at ‘captain’s call’ while premier Jacinta Allan says cabinet followed ‘normal process’ in a ‘consensus decision’
Some Victorian Labor MPs were “shocked and disappointed” by the decision to continue to allow duck hunting in the state, despite a recommendation from a government-initiated inquiry.
After a marathon three-hour meeting on Monday, cabinet rejected a recommendation from a Labor-led parliamentary inquiry to ban the divisive practice, which would have brought the state into line with New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.
Continue reading...Man who stalked 23-year-old Melbourne woman pretended he was experiencing psychosis when he killed her, psychiatrist tells court
A man who stabbed a young woman to death repeatedly faked symptoms of psychosis while being assessed for a mental impairment defence, a court has heard.
Luay Sako, 39, told three psychiatrists there was a being called “Isha” who encouraged him to kill 23-year-old Celeste Manno in the early hours of 16 November 2020.
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We’ve just spoken to St Vincent’s hospital and confirmed that the woman bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour last night remains in hospital in a stable condition.
The woman, in her late 20s, was bitten on the right leg by a suspected bull shark in Elizabeth Bay last night.
Continue reading...Susanne Horman’s comments have been ‘taken out of context’ and ‘misrepresented’, business says
Victoria’s oldest independent bookshop has apologised after its owner called for more picture books with “just white kids on the cover” and claimed that the chain would stop stocking “woke agenda” content that divided people.
Susanne Horman, the owner of Robinsons Bookshop chain, posted a series of tweets in December where she called for an “substantial shift” in Australian publishing, arguing the focus should be in line with public opinion, requests for books and “for what is good”.
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Australian and Aboriginal flags raised during Canberra ceremony
Following the welcome to country, the flag-raising ceremony has begun, with six flags raised including two Australian flags, two Aboriginal flags and two Torres Strait Islander flags.
Australia is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth, 65,000 years of uninterrupted heritage, demonstrated by the unique archeological evidence found in the very ground that you may are sitting on, found in the rocks and stones of this very place. That makes this continent unique in the whole world.
Ngunnawal’s view of heritage transcends time, it is our way of being with nature, best expressed in the Ngunnawal language through the concepts of respect and deep honour, coming together in the wellbeing for all.
Continue reading...Traditional options standing the test of time in top 20 popular baby names for 2023
Names that have stood the test of time have prevailed again in the ranks of the most popular baby names in Victoria, with Amelia rising to be the most popular name for girls in 2023, and Oliver retaining the crown for boys for the tenth year in a row.
The name Amelia knocked Charlotte to second most popular after it held the title in recent years. It was followed by Olivia, Mia, and Isla, while new entrants to the top 20 most popular girls’ names were Harper, Evelyn and Sienna.
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