Category Archives: Melbourne

New Year’s Eve 2023: heat and hail forecast in Australia’s weather mix as crowds gather early for fireworks

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Displays expected in cities across country to ring in 2024 while predicted wild weather on east coast could disrupt revelry

Heat and hail have been forecast across parts of the country as hundreds queue outside the Sydney Opera House to secure front-row seats for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Lines in Circular Quay began to form at 8am on Sunday as people sought to stake their claim to a view. By 11.24am, organisers announced the Sydney Opera House vantage point is full and advised members of the public to seek alternative options.

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Two people dead and a dozen injured after multi-car crash in NSW – as it happened

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Tasmanian yacht Alive is in the box seat to take out Sydney to Hobart yacht race’s overall honours, with skipper Duncan Hine confident the 66-footer has a winning time on the board.

Hine and his crew finished the 628-nautical-mile blue water classic yesterday afternoon as clubhouse leaders on handicap time.

It’s a waiting game. We’re looking good, though. I believe we could do it again, but the reality may be different. Now we wait with bated breath to see if anyone can beat our time.

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Carols by Candlelight: Melbourne woman arrested after pro-Palestine supporters storm stage

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Two other protesters were denied entry at the gates to the concert at Sidney Myer Musical Bowl

Thousands of people joined in to sing along at Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne on Sunday, with the festivities momentarily interrupted by two Pro-Palestine protesters who stormed the stage as children were performing.

The protesters were tackled and quickly removed, with host David Campbell appealing for calm and assuring people the children were safe.

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Christmas weather: rain forecast along Australia’s east coast after Brisbane hit by storms and hail

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Thunderstorm conditions extending from Mackay in Queensland to Melbourne, with BoM warning weather may change quickly

Widespread rain and cloudy weather affecting much of the east coast is expected to continue into Christmas Day, with revellers encouraged to prepare an indoor option for tomorrow’s festivities.

Queensland was lashed with severe thunderstorms on Sunday, with giant hail and huge downpours of up to 43mm in just 15 minutes recorded in northern Brisbane.

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‘Severe, intense conditions’: Christmas weather could be stormy in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra

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NSW SES warns heavy rain may cause flash flooding with storms forecast across three states from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day

Residents of Australia’s eastern states have been warned to prepare for severe storms forecast over the Christmas weekend.

Thunderstorms are expected between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day across a broad region, including much of New South Wales and south-east Queensland and spreading down into Victoria.

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‘A true icon’: Melbourne mourns death of renowned furniture salesman Franco Cozzo

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Due to his TV ads in the 1980s and 90s, Cozzo’s name became synonymous with the western suburb of Footscray

Melburnians are mourning the death of renowned furniture salesman Franco Cozzo, who has died aged 88.

Cozzo’s family announced his death on social media on Wednesday night.

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Convicted Melbourne terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika to be released from prison

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Electronic monitoring and rules on who he can associate with will be imposed by Victorian supreme court

Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika is set to be released from prison within hours and placed on an extended supervision order that will force him to comply with 30 conditions, including electronic monitoring.

The Victorian supreme court heard on Tuesday that Benbrika would be released later on Tuesday – after spending nearly 20 years behind bars – after the order was finalised.

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Australia news live: Daniel Andrews fires up over ‘Dictator Dan’ moniker; festival-goers warned about heatwave conditions

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Former Victorian premier gives first interview after resignation, saying ‘the haters hate and the rest vote Labor’. Follow the day’s news live

James Ashby to stand for One Nation in Queensland seat

James Ashby, the chief of staff to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, will stand for the party in the seat of Keppel at next year’s Queensland state election, AAP reports.

The Nationals are dead in Queensland’s parliament while the Liberals are lurching further left in their attempts to secure inner-Brisbane seats.

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‘A new low’: police believe gasmask-clad graverobbers sought to intimidate Melbourne gangland rival

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Victoria police say theft may not be only motive of two men who targeted coffin of Meshilin Marrogi, the sister of George Marrogi

An attempt to remove a body from a Melbourne mausoleum was part of a plot by an underworld figure to disturb a gangland rival, police believe.

Detectives confirmed on Friday that it was suspected two men who committed the offence had been trying to remove the corpse of Meshilin Marrogi to cause “friction and hurt” to her imprisoned brother, George Marrogi.

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Fires broke out in a Melbourne landfill site four years ago. Residents are still waiting for them to end

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‘The fact that we’re still having to attend meetings – four years down the track – is just a disgrace. It is so depressing,’ says one local

At times, the stench has roused Nicole Power from her sleep. The St Albans resident likens it to the smell of burning chemicals.

“It get rights down in my throat,” she said.

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‘Until freedom and justice prevail’: rallies for Palestine march again through Australian capitals

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Also on Sunday, families and friends of hostages taken by Hamas addressed a gathering at a Sydney synagogue

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have gathered in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, pledging the rallies will not stop until “freedom and justice prevails”.

For the eighth week in a row, supporters for a free Palestine marched through the Sydney central business district, Melbourne CBD and in Logan, south of Brisbane.

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News live: Australia signs renewables pledge at Cop28; Brisbane mayor quits 2032 Olympics role

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Adrian Schrinner says the Palaszczuk government has ‘completely lost its way’ on road to event as he quits Brisbane 2032 Games delivery forum. Follow the day’s news live

Australia backs COP28 renewables, energy efficiency vow

Now for some more detail on Australia – along with 118 nations - signing a pledge at the COP28 climate summit to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

“We know that renewables are the cleanest and cheapest form of energy - and that energy efficiency can also help drive down bills and emissions,”

Australia has the highest penetration of rooftop solar in the world and has a plan to get to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 to deliver cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy.

It’s clear that the games have become more about over-priced stadiums rather than the promise of vital transport solutions.

The state government’s ham-fisted and foolish attempt to extort Brisbane ratepayers for tens of millions of dollars for a new RNA stadium was the final straw.

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Climate protesters arrested at Port of Newcastle blockade – as it happened

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‘The biggest transformation in our country’s history’

Chris Bowen has been talking about Labor’s plans for reducing emissions, but he’s pressed on the fact that the government has been approving new coalmines and gas projects, which add to global emissions.

The way I see this, David, you can enter into a discussion with your international counterparts which we are doing which is us saying to them, “We will continue to be a reliable energy supplier but we want to work with you on your decarbonisation because we have advantages that you don’t have. We can provide renewable energy.” That is an important conversation to have.

Frankly the approach of others is more a slogan than a policy. We are making the biggest transformation in our country’s history and that involves both domestic policies and strong international engagements, as I will be doing over the next couple of weeks and we have been doing all the way through.

It will be treated in the budget statement of risks and liabilities in the normal fashion. But this is the right policy for the right times to ensure emissions come down and reliability goes up.

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Melbourne school students defy education minister and strike in support of Palestine

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Hundreds rally in CBD to call for an end to the war in Gaza and for Australia to stop military aid to Israel

Amid chants of “free, free Palestine”, hundreds of Victoria school students have walked out of classrooms to call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and for Australia to stop military aid to Israel.

Students gathered at the steps of Flinders Street station in the Melbourne CBD on Thursday afternoon, rallying for Palestine. The crowd spilled out on to the road, bringing traffic to a standstill at the busy Flinders and Swanston Street intersection.

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Jet trip followed guidelines, minister’s office says – as it happened

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Australians increasingly relying on credit cards as cost-of-living pressures rise

A survey from comparison site Finder has found an increasing number of Australians are turning to credit cards amid the rising cost of living.

Mounting pressure on households is seeing Aussies borrowing money to keep afloat.

Used responsibly, credit cards can be a great tool for earning rewards such as frequent flyer points and building your credit history.

But relying too heavily on them could cause you to go into a debt spiral which can be hard to bounce back from.

It symbolises the balance between utility and respect for the environment, mirroring our approach to space exploration.

It’s time for Australian science to take the next leap all the way up into space, like our roos do back home. Naming the new lunar rover ‘Roo-ver’ will reflect the Aussie spirit as we launch into this new endeavour.

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Australia news live: ‘hunger for justice’ has swept the world, Assange’s father tells Melbourne pro-Palestine rally

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Organisers of Sydney pro-Palestine rallies say they have been attended by 30,000 people, as thousands gather in cities around the country. Follow today’s news updates live

Julian Assange’s father to address pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne

A pro-Palestine rally will be addressed by the father of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, with organisers confident a large crowd is set to attend.

The Australian public are disgusted at the Albanese government’s refusal to call for ceasefire.

We’ve had people come who have never before been to a rally and the following week they return with their relatives and friends.

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Melbourne has waited decades for an airport train. But is a federal funding commitment enough to get it done?

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Unlike governments interstate, Jacinta Allan was uncharacteristically subdued about Canberra’s funding review

Throughout her decades in politics, Jacinta Allan hasn’t been afraid to pick a fight with the federal government – no matter which party was in power.

But on Thursday, when the Albanese government announced it would cut $4.8bn worth of infrastructure funding in Victoria after a months-long review, the premier was uncharacteristically subdued.

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Girl, 12, charged with murder over fatal stabbing of woman in Melbourne

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Victoria police say 37-year-old was found dead just before 2am on Thursday in an inner Melbourne suburb

A 12-year-old girl has been charged with murder after a fatal stabbing in Melbourne.

Emergency services were called to an apartment in an inner-city suburb after a 37-year-old woman was found dead just before 2am on Thursday.

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‘Deeply distressing’: premier condemns violence between Palestine and Israel supporters over Melbourne burger bar fire

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Jacinta Allan asks for increased police presence around Hawthorn Road after authorities break up scuffles near a synagogue close to where the Palestinian-owned burger shop was damaged by a blaze

The Victorian premier has condemned the “deeply distressing” violence that erupted between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protesters on Friday night, after a suspicious fire at a nearby burger shop in Melbourne’s south-east.

Jacinta Allan said she was briefed on the incident on Saturday morning by Victoria police, and asked for an increased police presence in area around Hawthorn Road in Caulfield.

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Daylesford pub crash victims mourned by their friends and communities

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Among five people killed in accident in Victoria were Pratibha Sharma, her daughter Anvi and her partner Jatin Chugh

A well-known Melbourne volunteer and former political candidate, along with her partner and her nine-year-old daughter, are being mourned after they were among five people killed after a car crashed through the busy beer garden of the Royal Daylesford hotel on Sunday.

Tributes were being paid to Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter, Anvi, and her partner, Jatin Chugh, 30, after the Point Cook family were named among the dead on Monday night.

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