Category Archives: Victoria

Australia live news update: Albanese meets King and UK PM ahead of Queen’s funeral; Grace Brown wins silver at Wollongong cycling worlds

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Downing Street frames conversation between Australian PM and the British leader as chat rather than formal bilateral talks. This blog is now closed

China is watching world’s response to Ukraine crisis, Marles says

Marles is asked about what the situation in Ukraine and the relationship between China and Russia may mean for the situation regarding Taiwan. Specifically, Marles is asked what will happen if China moved to reunify Taiwan with the mainland using military force.

The way in which the world has reacted to Russia … has been very impressive, but so, too, has the incredible resistance of the Ukrainian people. People fight for the homeland. It has been remarkable and more than expected.

China will be watching this, as I guess we all are.

I think it says something about where the whole conflict is at. There is a degree of humiliation for Russia in relation to this.

I didn’t imagine when the invasion first occurred that Ukraine would be able to provide the resistance that it has.

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Flood warnings in NSW and northern Victoria as more wild weather expected

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Flood warnings issued for parts of Upper Murray and the Peel, Macquarie and Lachlan rivers in NSW, and Victorian communities along Murray River

Thousands of New South Wales residents were under flood watch as the Bureau of Meteorology issued major warnings across the state on Saturday.

Emergency personnel performed 11 rescues from floodwaters overnight, with more wild weather forecast for the weekend.

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Parts of Australia’s south-east brace for wet, cold and windy weather

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More than a dozen people rescued from flood waters in NSW while severe weather warning issued in western Victoria

South-eastern Australia is bracing for a wet and windy weekend with temperatures expected to drop in most major centres.

A deep low-pressure system is expected to fuel a number of cold fronts, with rain now likely to last into next week.

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Labor MP claims rate decisions based on ‘outdated and outmoded data’ – as it happened

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NSW roads impacted by rainfall

Man falls to his death while hiking near Gold Coast waterfall

Emergency services were initially called to Tanninaba Falls around 12.15pm following reports a man falling several metres down a cliff face.

Crews located the man at the bottom of the cliff and was declared deceased a short time later.

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Model mother or pretty face: campaign reveals seven potentially harmful female stereotypes in ads

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shEqual wants to reduce sexist stereotyping in advertising to avoid reinforcing dangerous social norms

Advertising agency founder and gender consultant Bec Brideson beamed with pride when her 11-year-old daughter pointed out the students at her all-girls school were being taught muscle anatomy by studying a drawing of a male body.

“My daughters have been trained to look to notice that male default and see that it’s all around them,” Brideson said.

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Melbourne cancer patient went to Adelaide for urgent scan due to ‘miscommunication’, minister says

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Victoria’s health minister defends colleague who suggested Kylie Hennessy, who has a brain tumour, ‘roll with the punches’

Victoria’s health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, has claimed a “hospital miscommunication” caused a woman with a brain tumour to travel to Adelaide for an urgent medical scan.

Kylie Hennessy travelled to Adelaide last week for a functional MRI (fMRI) scan after she was told she would face a months-long wait in Melbourne.

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New South Wales government ‘ready and willing’ to discuss bringing rebel LIV golf tour to Australia

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Exclusive: State’s sports minister says NSW is ‘the perfect place’ for major tournaments, with Greg Norman believed to be scouting Sydney courses

The New South Wales government is “ready and willing” to have discussions with Greg Norman in a bid to bring the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour to Sydney, the state’s sports minister has said.

Amid increasing speculation Norman is seeking to bring the controversial breakaway tournament to Australia, the minister, Alister Henskens, confirmed he was open to hosting the multi-million dollar rebel series.

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Indigenous man’s death in Victorian custody the second in a month

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Family of 38-year-old Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri man Clinton Austin say he was let down by police and justice systems

An Aboriginal prisoner in central Victoria has become the second Indigenous person to die in custody in the state in a matter of weeks.

Clinton Austin, a 38-year-old Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri man, died at Loddon prison near Castlemaine in Victoria on Sunday. Austin’s family has said they are devastated by his death.

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Falls festival to return after pandemic with move to Melbourne

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Lil Nas X and Arctic Monkeys to headline at Sidney Myer Music Bowl after farmers appeal plans to hold event in Birregurra

Victoria’s Falls festival will make its long-awaited return in December following a two-year hiatus but with a second location change to the fringe of Melbourne’s CBD.

For the first time in its nearly 30-year history, the three-day festival will relocate from regional Victoria to the inner-city.

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Mixed reaction on potential delay to integrity commission bill – as it happened

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And the London police have responded to the viral video of a police officer talking to a protester at Parliament Square – with a statement that reads like it is reminding officers people have the right to peaceful protests.

If you haven’t read the UK Guardian’s editorial today, you may enjoy it

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Australia news live: review into Stuart Ayres over Barilaro hiring finds no breach of ministerial conduct

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Ayres stepped aside as deputy NSW Liberal leader and trade minister after a separate report into the controversial trade posting of John Barilaro. Follow all the day’s news live

Australia’s high commissioner to the UK meets with King Charles

Australia’s acting high commissioner to the UK Lynette Wood has had an audience with King Charles III.

Really what matters is we have the best possible person for the job, who can advance Australia’s interests in the best possible way, and that certainly needs a thorough and robust process to choose that person.

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Queen public holiday: Australian business groups express concern over lost revenue and staffing disruptions

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Industry bodies join medical association in criticising Albanese government over notice for national day of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth

Australian retail and business groups have joined the medical association in raising concerns about disruptions caused by the public holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II after her death on 8 September.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement on Sunday that a “one-off public holiday” would be held on 22 September as a national day of mourning, after the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.

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Governor general proclaims King Charles III as Australia’s head of state – As it happened

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Anthony Albanese has set 22 September as National Memorial Service Day for Queen Elizabeth II. This blog is now closed

Howard says the popularity of the Queen was the key reason behind the republican movement failing, but that the monarchy offers stability.

I think there’s also a keener appreciation of the value of the institution and its strength. People look around the world at the moment and the alternative governance systems on offer, everyone in democracies, don’t look all that flash on occasions. I think the strength and durability and flexibility of the constitutional monarchy is something that more people appreciate than is imagined.

That is fair enough. It’s a democracy. People can argue for change. My observation is the strength of the monarchy in Australia was immeasurably increased by the personal popularity of the Queen.

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Melbourne Tinder swindler sentenced to 22 months in a Victorian prison

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Christopher Collins pleaded guilty to 24 charges including financial deception offences, fraud and theft

Within hours of meeting Christopher Collins on Tinder, a Melbourne woman had been swindled of thousands of dollars, a court has heard.

But that was just the beginning of her nightmare. As the court was told, weeks of manipulation followed, including threats of blackmail.

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Guardian Essential poll: 64% of young voters would consider backing independents in NSW and Victorian elections

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After success of federal ‘teals’, about half of all respondents are thinking about a shift away from major parties

About half of voters – and more than two-thirds of young people – are considering backing independents at the upcoming Victorian and New South Wales state elections, in a trend described as the “Uberisation” of politics.

The latest Guardian Essential poll shows 48% of 1,100 respondents in Victoria and NSW are considering voting for an independent if one were to run in their electorate.

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Passengers escorted off Qantas flight by police after Sydney airport security breach

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All passengers were escorted out of the screened area of Melbourne airport because one passenger had bypassed screening in Sydney

All passengers on a Qantas flight from Sydney on Wednesday evening were escorted off the plane by police to the unscreened area of Melbourne airport, after one passenger managing to bypass screening.

A Qantas spokesperson said “a passenger on a Sydney to Melbourne service (QF487) boarded the flight after inadvertently passing from an ‘unscreened’ to a ‘screened’ part of the airport in Sydney.”

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Massive rain band to bring more storms, flooding and windy weather to Australia’s east coast

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Bureau of Meteorology expects to issue further flood warnings as rain falls in already saturated areas

A massive rain band moving across the country towards the east coast is threatening to bring severe thunderstorms, flash flooding and gusty winds in the coming days.

Inland Queensland and northern New South Wales were expected to be hardest hit by thunderstorms, with flooding also likely.

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City of Melbourne will lobby to change the date, but will keep 26 January ceremonies if unsuccessful

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Councillors vote to ask government to change the date to ‘celebrate what it means to be Australian’

The City of Melbourne will advocate for the federal government to change the date of Australia Day from 26 January, despite the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, saying there are no plans to shift the national celebration.

At a future Melbourne committee meeting on Tuesday evening, councillors voted to campaign for the Albanese government to change the date – a decision that can only be made at a federal level.

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Dutton withdraws Albanese ‘liar’ allegation in question time – as it happened

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Anthony Albanese insists stage-three tax cuts worth $243bn will go ahead

There has been a lot of talk around the incoming (July 2024) stage-three tax cuts given they will cost the budget $243bn over 10 years (at this point); overwhelmingly benefit men earning over $180,000; and destroy Australia’s progressive tax system (everyone earning between $40,000 and $200,000 will pay the same tax rate).

You make a choice about what you do, your initiatives and the initiatives we are making are positive ones that will make a difference to people, including our childcare policy.

It’s really important that our payments keep up with inflation. That’s why they’re indexed twice a year, and every little bit helps. This indexation will be particularly big this month, because inflation is particularly challenging.

And we know that it won’t solve every problem for everybody, but it’s important that we try and make sure that those payments keep up. That’s what the indexation is about. It will be welcome even as we acknowledge that times will still be tough for a lot of people.

I’ve been really upfront with people before the election, during the election and after the election. I’ve said to you many times over the last six months or so that it would be too expensive to continue that petrol price relief indefinitely. I think Australians understand that we’ve inherited a budget which is heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt, and that means some difficult decisions including this one.

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Victorian government repeatedly warned of ‘precarious’ situation at triple-zero agency

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Government was made aware of Esta’s vulnerable financial position as long ago as 2015

The Victorian government was warned of the “precarious financial position” at the state’s triple-zero call-taking agency about six years before Covid-19 overwhelmed the service and caused delays linked to 33 deaths.

A report by Victoria’s inspector general for emergency management (Igem), Tony Pearce, released on Saturday, identified 40 “potential adverse events” linked to triple-zero delays, lengthy ambulance waits and command decisions at the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (Esta) between December 2020 and May 2022.

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