Category Archives: Victoria

Second Melbourne man charged over arson attack on Adass Israel synagogue fronts court

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Younes Ali Younes, 20, will appear again in December with co-accused Giovanni Laulu although court heard no evidence of links to Iran

A man charged with torching a Melbourne synagogue in an antisemitic attack was remanded in custody when he appeared in court on Wednesday.

Younes Ali Younes, 20, last week became the second suspect to be charged for the December arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue which Australia accuses Iran of directing. Police allege three masked arsonists doused the building’s interior with a liquid accelerant before igniting it, causing extensive damage and injuring a worshipper.

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Stonehaven school bus crash: one student dead and more children seriously injured after bus rolls over in regional Victoria

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Nineteen students taken to hospital after ‘serious collision’ on Hamilton Highway involving members of Christian College Geelong

One student has died and 19 others have been taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, after a school bus rolled in regional Victoria.

The bus, carrying 28 students ranging from primary to secondary school age, was turning left onto the Hamilton Highway north-west of Geelong when the incident occurred, Victoria police said in a statement.

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‘Dangerous’ suspect who allegedly killed two officers escaped into bush alone and is believed to be ‘heavily armed’ – as it happened

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This blog has now closed

Wangaratta police have confirmed there is still an “active incident” ongoing and are continuing to urge people to avoid the area.

In a statement published to its social media page a moment ago, the local police service said Victoria police “continues to respond to an incident at a property in Porepunkah”.

This is still an active incident and we will provide more information when it’s operationally safe to do so.

We ask people avoid the area.

Tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting has also been postponed, and will be rescheduled for two weeks’ time. Further details will be provided at a later date.

We thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Erin Patterson plea hearing live updates: mushroom murder cook faces victims’ families in pre-sentence hearing – latest news

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Pre-sentencing hearing at Victorian supreme court concludes after Patterson was found guilty of triple murder and attempted murder in July

Court hears statement from sister of Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC is reading a victim impact statement on behalf of Lynette Young, the sister of Gail and Heather. She says:

I’m just so angry and so sad that my people are not here to be the loving parents and grandparents that they always were.

She was more concerned about our own family, our work, our kids, than she was about her own sudden and unexpected health crisis …

I miss her daily and life feels less bright without her.

The world seems colder and harsher knowing this.

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Victoria’s mountain ash forests could lose a quarter of ‘giant’ trees as temperatures rise

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Eucalyptus regnans – which regularly reach 60 to 80m tall – lose about 9% of their trees for every degree of warming, research finds

Victoria’s mountain ash forests are thinning rapidly as the globe heats up, and could lose a quarter of their “giant” trees that grow up to 80m tall in the coming decades, research has found.

Forests of Eucalyptus regnans – one of the tallest tree species in the world – lose about 9% of their trees for every degree of warming, according to a University of Melbourne-led study published in Nature Communications.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

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Victoria’s urgent childcare review recommendations unveiled: major reforms but no ‘silver bullet’ to stop ‘dangerous individuals’

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Allan government commits to accepting all 22 recommendations, with several also directed at federal government

Major reforms to working with children checks, a new database and regulator, more unannounced visits to childcare centres and an urgent rethink of how the entire early childhood education system is funded have been recommended as part of Victoria’s urgent review into the childcare sector.

The review, written by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pam White, was released in full by the state government on Wednesday.

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Cost of Victoria’s renewable energy transmission plan projected to double

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Higher energy bills to cover the increased transmission costs could be offset by more renewable energy in the grid, state government says

One of Australia’s largest renewable energy transmission projects has expanded zones for solar, battery and wind developments with the cost of connection to almost double.

The latest version of Victoria’s 2025 Transmission Plan, released by state government agency VicGrid on Sunday, revealed a 200,000-hectare increase in the area available to developers.

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Judge criticises lawyers acting for boy accused of murder for filing misleading AI-created documents

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Documents filed included references to nonexistent case citations and inaccurate quotes from a parliamentary speech, judge says

A judge has criticised lawyers acting for a boy accused of murder for filing misleading information with the courts after failing to check documents created using artificial intelligence.

“It is not acceptable for AI to be used unless the product of that use is independently and thoroughly verified,” Justice James Elliott told the supreme court in Melbourne.

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Judge ruled Erin Patterson would have to face separate trial for attempting to kill estranged husband to avoid prejudice

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Prosecutors ultimately dropped charges relating to Simon Patterson before triple murder trial over mushroom lunch started

Triple murderer Erin Patterson would have been unfairly prejudiced if a jury heard allegations she tried to kill her estranged husband in the years before the fatal poison mushroom lunch.

Victorian supreme court justice Christopher Beale made the decision on 14 March, ruling Patterson would have to face a separate trial for the three alleged attempted murder charges.

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‘Nazis don’t belong in this country’: Victorian premier scathing over masked march by ‘goons’ in Melbourne CBD

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Man allegedly assaulted after confronting group of about 100 people on march to Flagstaff Gardens early on Saturday

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has condemned “goons” who took part in a neo-Nazi march through the streets of Melbourne in the early hours of Saturday morning.

About 100 people dressed in black with face coverings marched through the Melbourne CBD, including down Bourke Street, police said in a statement.

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Australia news live: huge crowds of pro-Palestine protesters, including Julian Assange, Bob Carr and Ed Husic, begin crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Follow today’s news live

As thousands of people make their way to Lang Park in Sydney for the start of a march in support of Palestinians in Gaza, the organisers the Palestine Action Group have asked people to arrive early for the 1pm start.

“Rain, hail, or shine, we will free Palestine!” the group said in a post on Facebook this morning. The weather forecast for the city is for rain.

Be patient and look out for each other.

We urge everyone to plan for a long day. Bring wet-weather gear, plenty of water and snacks.

The Palestine movement is an anti-racist movement. We will not tolerate any form of racism or bigotry, including antisemitism or Islamophobia.

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Palestinian statehood vote at Victorian Labor conference heaps more pressure on PM

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Labor Friends of Palestine’s motion also called on federal government to extend sanctions to all members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet

Victorian Labor members have voted to immediately recognise Palestine, heaping further pressure on the Albanese government to join Canada, France and the UK in their push for a sovereign state.

Rank and file members at Labor’s state conference on Saturday also carried an urgent resolution to review the Aukus submarine deal. However, the wording of the motion was watered down before the vote.

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Victorians could soon have the right to work from home two days a week under Australian-first laws

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Premier Jacinta Allan to announce proposal that if legislated would make Victoria the first state to enshrine in law the right to work remotely

Victorians could soon have a legal right to work from home two days a week, under proposed Australian-first laws to be introduced to parliament by the state Labor government in 2026.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, will use Labor’s state conference on Saturday to announce the proposal, which, if passed by parliament, would make the state the first in the country to legislate the right to work remotely.

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Victorians could soon have the right to work from home two days a week under Australian-first laws

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Premier Jacinta Allan to announce proposal that if legislated would make Victoria the first state to enshrine in law the right to work remotely

Victorians could soon have a legal right to work from home two days a week, under proposed Australian-first laws to be introduced to parliament by the state Labor government in 2026.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, will use Labor’s state conference on Saturday to announce the proposal, which, if passed by parliament, would make the state the first in the country to legislate the right to work remotely.

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On issues from Aukus to recognising Palestine, Victorian Labor’s base is determined to be heard

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At the party’s state conference this weekend, members and unions will have their say. The question then becomes whether governments – federal and state – will listen

Scrap Aukus. Recognise Palestine. Save public housing. Overhaul childcare. On paper, the urgency resolutions up for debate at Victorian Labor’s state conference this weekend lay out a roadmap for progressive, nation-shaping reform.

But how much sway do grassroots members and unions really have on the increasingly cautious federal and state Labor governments?

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Mushroom lunch murderer Erin Patterson prevented from selling house by court order

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Prosecutors granted restraining order under the confiscation act to stop the triple murderer’s Leongatha property being sold or otherwise dealt with

The property at the centre of a deadly mushroom lunch has been restrained by the court after Erin Patterson was found guilty of triple murder.

Victorian supreme court Justice Michelle Quigley granted the confiscation application over Patterson’s Leongatha property on 23 July after a closed court hearing.

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Victorian coroner calls out family violence failures after husband ambushes wife with hatchet

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‘It is critical that specialist family violence services make contact and offer support to people who use violence in a timely manner,’ coroner says

Family violence services are regularly failing to contact offenders who have been referred to them for support, a Victorian coroner investigating the death of a woman who was murdered by her estranged husband has found.

The coroner, John Cain, also found that more research should be done into “fixated threat” family violence murderers, given risk assessment tools used by police were largely inadequate in predicting homicides.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

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Victorian Labor party members to push for ‘immediate’ federal recognition of a Palestinian state

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Exclusive: Labor Friends of Palestine to move three ‘urgency resolutions’ at weekend conference, but PM maintains no immediate plans for the move

Victorian Labor members will use this weekend’s state conference to demand the federal government “immediately” recognise a Palestinian state and impose sanctions on Israel – in what will be their strongest push to date on the issue.

It comes after Anthony Albanese on Sunday described civilian deaths in Gaza as “indefensible” but reiterated he had no immediate plans to recognise a Palestinian state and insisted further steps were needed to reach a two-state solution.

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Law professor who claimed ‘Blak’ activists were leading University of Melbourne to ‘destruction’ sues for discrimination

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Exclusive: Dr Eric Descheemaeker files court application against university after 2023 email to Melbourne law school dean leaked last month

A University of Melbourne law professor who wrote an email saying the institution was dictated to by “‘Blak’ activists” who were leading it to “destruction” is suing Australia’s top-ranked university for discrimination.

Last month, a 2023 email written by Dr Eric Descheemaeker to the then head of the Melbourne Law School (MLS) was leaked and posted around the university’s Parkville campus. In the email, in response to the announcement of a cultural safety review at the university, Descheemaeker said MLS was “celebrating the ‘noble savage’” and likened it to an “ideological re-education camp”.

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Sunday school teacher jailed for sexually abusing nine children was protected by church leader, Victorian cult inquiry hears

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Former Geelong Revival Centre members tell inquiry abuse went unreported because group believed its authority was ‘higher than the law of the land’

A Sunday school teacher who was jailed for sexually abusing nine children was protected by the leader of his fundamentalist church, after parents reported the abuse to him instead of police, a Victorian parliamentary inquiry has heard.

Catherine and Ryan Carey, former members of the Geelong Revival Centre (GRC), gave evidence at the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into the practices of cults and organised fringe groups on Wednesday.

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