Category Archives: Victoria

PM urges climate ‘wake up’ amid floods; man mauled to death by dogs – as it happened

Posted on by

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fights extradition from Britain to US, where he is wanted on criminal charges. This blog is now closed

We now have more details from NSW authorities about the four-vehicle crash on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge shortly before midnight last night, which killed two people.

NSW police have named the two victims as a 25-year-old female from the local area and a 38-year-old man from Sydney’s south-west. A police representative has been speaking to reporters:

At about 11:45 last night, there was a minor collision on the Anzac Bridge involving two vehicles. A 25-year-old female and a 38-year-old male were exchanging details or doing what you need to do after you’ve had a minor collision.

At that point, there’s been another two vehicles that have become involved in that stationary collision. One was a taxi and the second was a Commodore. Tragically, the way those vehicles have collided into the stationary cars has impacted with the two pedestrians who were out on the road exchanging details and unfortunately those two people have been killed.

The last 12 hours have seen an absolute tragic number of road trauma incidents in NSW. Six people have lost their lives. Six families are grieving the loss of family members.

Continue reading...

Victoria’s election result dispelled the myth of Daniel Andrews’ supposed unpopularity

Posted on by

Media and the Liberal party were enthralled by the ‘toxic Dan’ narrative in the face of evidence to the contrary

There is a bias all journalists share. It is baked into the profession, inseparable from craft skills, such as news sense. It is not ideological or party political. Rather, it skews the judgment towards whatever interpretation of the evidence makes for the best, most exciting story.

This, surely, is one of the reasons that so much of the media reporting of the Victorian election campaign was off the mark – particularly in the last week, when multiple outlets were predicting a late swing to the Coalition and against Labor.

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

Continue reading...

Australia Covid cases rising but peak before Christmas still predicted

Posted on by

Infections climbing at slower pace than last month and death rate stable but experts say reporting changes making numbers harder to interpret

Covid cases are continuing to rise across Australia, but health authorities remain confident the peak will hit before Christmas.

Cases have more than doubled in New South Wales and Victoria compared with the beginning of November, and jumped by 20% nationwide in the space of a week. The numbers build on the increases recorded last week of 10-15%.

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

Continue reading...

Victorian crossbench contenders vow to push for cannabis decriminalisation if elected

Posted on by

Despite premier Daniel Andrews refusing to budge on the issue, Legalise Cannabis party promises to push ‘forcefully’ on drug reform

A group of progressive candidates that might hold the balance of power in the Victorian upper house have vowed to push for cannabis decriminalisation despite premier Daniel Andrews refusing to budge on the issue.

While the Legalise Cannabis party said it was too early to “count their eggs”, preliminary projections suggest they are in the running to win three upper house seats – but it is promising to push “forcefully” on drug reform if elected.

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

Continue reading...

Restaurant faces $1m fine for allegedly shortchanging young staff in Australia-first wage theft case

Posted on by

Under Victoria’s wage theft laws the Macedon Lounge owner could be jailed if found guilty

A Victorian restaurant faces a potential fine of more than $1m and jail time for its owner, in an Australian-first wage theft case brought over allegations it underpaid workers by thousands of dollars.

The Wage Inspectorate Victoria has deployed the first criminal wage theft charges in Australia, filing a combined 94 against the Macedon Lounge, north-west of Melbourne, and its “officer”.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Dodson ‘taken aback’ by Nationals’ call on Indigenous voice but doesn’t see it as a setback

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

Coalition is alienating young voters, PM says

Over on ABC radio Melbourne, Anthony Albanese has been asked what he thinks about the Victorian election and the lessons for the Liberal party.

One of the things that we’re seeing, I believe is an alienation from younger voters from the Coalition.

When you have a position where you have senior members of the Coalition [who] can’t say that climate change is real in spite of the floods and bushfires and all of the evidence of the heating of the planet that we’re seeing, let alone any time something is put up to take action on climate change. They dismiss it.

[It] depends where you work. There will be some businesses, for example, which refuse to bargain with their staff where they used to and their staff where they used to and the better-off-overall test became too complex. Getting rid of the red tape we got there will bring some of the businesses back to the table straight away.

Also, any businesses that are concerned, like ... that actually don’t want to be involved in multi-employer bargaining, the simple fix for them is for them to negotiate with their staff now.

Continue reading...

Covid-19 Australia data tracker: coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccination

Posted on by

Guardian Australia brings together all the figures on Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and state-by-state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT. Here you can also find the numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.

In September 2022, federal and state governments began releasing data once a week, on Fridays, rather than daily. As a result, Guardian Australia has aggregated the data released before that date to weekly values, to make the new figures comparable with the old.

Continue reading...

Federal Liberals say Coalition must lure back women after Victoria state election rout

Posted on by

Party also argues Victorian campaign finance reforms favoured Andrews government as Anthony Albanese calls out media ‘scare campaign’

The Coalition must improve its offering to female voters and oppose electoral laws that entrench incumbent Labor governments, federal Liberals have suggested following their disappointing Victorian election defeat.

But Anthony Albanese argued on Sunday the election also has lessons for the media, citing adverse commentary about Victorian premier Daniel Andrews as part of a “scare campaign” that had fallen flat.

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

Continue reading...

‘Teal wave’ turns out to be barely a ripple as number of Victorian independents goes backwards

Posted on by

Of four state election candidates backed by Climate 200, two remain in contention – but both trail Liberals

The “teal” candidate Kate Lardner has called for reform of Victoria’s “unfair” campaign donation laws with the number of independents in the state’s parliament certain to go backwards at the weekend’s election.

With independents claiming 10 seats at May’s federal poll, one of the key talking points heading into the Victorian election was whether the major parties would suffer a similar assault.

Continue reading...

Victoria’s Liberals need to define who they are before deciding who can lead them back from oblivion

Posted on by

With a primary vote sitting on 29.7% – its lowest result since 1952 – it’s clear the party’s problems run deep

Victoria’s Liberals might be searching for a new leader but it’s clear from Saturday’s emphatic election loss that the party needs more than a new face to become electorally competitive in the state once more.

On Sunday the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, announced he would step down after leading his party to a second crushing defeat, with this loss arguably worse than the 2018 “Danslide”.Despite Liberal party headquarters reporting in the latter stages of the campaign that it had “narrowed the gap” on Labor, at the time of writing, the Liberals were on track to win 16 seats – a net loss of one.

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

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews vindicated in Victorian election that became a referendum on his pandemic response

Posted on by

Labor’s win allows Andrews to reshape his legacy, with his third term allowing him to become the party’s longest-serving premier

If the Victorian election was indeed – as the opposition framed it – a referendum on Daniel Andrews, voters have resoundingly backed the premier and his response to the pandemic.

At the time of writing, Labor looks on track to secure 50 of Victoria’s 88 lower house seats, just five short of its emphatic 2018 “Danslide” victory.

Continue reading...

Victorian Liberal party left shellshocked after another heavy election defeat

Posted on by

Opposition leader Matthew Guy concedes the Coalition has ‘a lot of work to do’ after losing six of past seven elections

The Victorian opposition, leader Matthew Guy, has conceded the Coalition has “a lot of work to do” after the party lost its third successive election to Labor’s Daniel Andrews.

While Labor’s primary vote fell about 5.6% statewide, the Coalition failed to capitalise on it, with the Liberal party in particular going backwards and recording a primary vote below 30%.

Continue reading...

‘Greenslide’: Victorian Greens celebrate election success while two teals lead knife-edge contests

Posted on by

Greens look likely to gain at least two seats and outperform expectations in a number of other electorates

The Victorians Greens are claiming a “Greenslide” result after recording an increased primary voteand gaining a likely two seats, with maybe more to come as counting progresses in Saturday’s election.

Teal independents were also leading in two tight contests on Saturday night, with Melissa Lowe slightly ahead of former Liberal shadow attorney general John Pesutto in Hawthorn. In Mornington, Kate Lardner – who isolated from her supporters after testing positive to Covid – was also slightly ahead of former federal Liberal MP Chris Crewther.

Continue reading...

Victorian election 2022 live results: premier Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy make final pitches as state polls set to close – latest updates

Posted on by

The Liberal leader needs to pick up 18 seats to form government outright in the Vic state election. Who is winning? Follow all the latest news, results, analysis and reaction tonight

Matthew Guy says he would redivert $2bn allocated to the Suburban Rail Loop

Returning to Victoria again, opposition leader Matthew Guy has appeared on Weekend Sunrise to say he hopes he’s convinced voters of his “positive and focused” plan.

Everywhere I have been on pre-polling booths ... this week, people are pretty clear they want the fresh start.

We want a reboot in this state, we want to come out of Covid-19 and put aside all the dark memories of the past, like the government that put us there.

Continue reading...

No matter who wins, both major parties have made this Victorian poll the Daniel Andrews election

Posted on by

Sources say the Liberal strategy of focusing the campaign around the premier is working, with Labor unsure of how to respond

Since Matthew Guy returned to the leadership of the Victorian Liberals last year, he’s taken inspiration from Labor leaders in his pursuit to win government.

He’s looked to the west, where Mark McGowan first led Labor to a crushing defeat before a landslide victory; and to South Australia, where Peter Malinauskas won government in March after a health-centric campaign

Continue reading...

Catholic charity tells Victorian domestic violence survivor to consider move to a rooming house

Posted on by

Mother of two urged to free up crisis accommodation for others amid a huge blowout in social housing wait times

A domestic violence survivor has been told by her emergency housing provider that she should consider moving with her two children and their pets into a rooming house to free up the accommodation for other victims, as huge blowouts in social housing wait times continue to affect vulnerable Victorians.

Ms Stewart, who asked that her first name not be printed, entered crisis accommodation run by the charity Good Shepherd at the height of Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdowns last year.

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

Continue reading...

Facebook reinstates Victorian Labor’s ‘Matthew Guy’ page used for ad attacks after marking it as satire

Posted on by

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using page before Facebook took it down due to alleged breach of policies

Facebook removed a Facebook page titled “Matthew Guy– The Liberal Cuts Guy” operated by the Victorian Labor party because it allegedly breached the platform’s integrity and identity policy, and has only reinstated the page once it was clearly marked as satire.

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using the page, criticising the Liberal leader’s record in government and his election policies. It is now showering key electorates in anti-Greens ads via another dedicated Facebook page ahead of Saturday’s Victorian election.

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

Continue reading...

Victoria election 2022 report card, week four: a debate, the challenge for pollsters and the sprint to the finish line

Posted on by

Three guest panellists give their verdict on how the parties performed in the final week of the campaign

We are down to the wire. The polls are different enough to cause anxiety all round, but they agree on the trends: an increased vote for the Greens, independents and minor parties, and a turn away from Labor – though not enough to mean defeat.

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

Continue reading...

Victoria’s major parties look to contingency funds as part of election commitment costings

Posted on by

Both Labor and the Coalition claim they could achieve forecast surpluses after releasing their costings

Victoria’s major parties have released the costings of their promises – despite the Coalition initially being unable to quantify the total amount committed and Labor’s document not providing timelines to provide major health and transport projects.

Less than two days out from Saturday’s election, the parties have also revealed they intend to draw on contingency funds – which are usually set aside to cover unforeseen circumstances – in order to prop up the state’s finances and achieve budget surpluses.

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

Continue reading...

Victorians face a choice of major parties determined to spend their way to power, analysts say

Posted on by

The state suffered country’s sharpest economic slowdown due to long lockdowns, requiring bigger fiscal repair job, one expert says

Profligate Coalition spending promises, a “build bigger” Labor campaign, and limited efforts by either major political party to rein in debt dominate the economic choices facing Victorians as they go to the polls, analysts say.

Victoria, which generates just under a quarter of Australia’s annual GDP, suffered the sharpest economic slowdown in the nation because of its lengthy lockdowns, leaving it with a bigger fiscal repair job, according to rating agency S&P.

Continue reading...