Category Archives: Melbourne

Australia reacts to monarch’s passing – as it happened

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The prime minister Anthony Albanese is addressing the nation about the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

He said it is a loss that is “felt deeply in Australia”. The Queen was a rare and reassuring constant in a period of massive change, he said, and was the only monarch to visit Australia, which she did 16 separate times.

There is comfort to be found in Her Majesty’s own words. “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

This is a loss we feel deeply in Australia. Queen Elizabeth II is the only reigning monarch most of us have known, and the only one to ever visit Australia. Over the course of a remarkable seven decades, Her Majesty was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change. Through the noise and turbulence of the years, she embodies and exhibited a timeless decency and enduring calm. Her

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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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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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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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Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia calls for removal of ‘offensive’ mural of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers

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Artist who painted Melbourne mural of soldiers hugging has apologised and said his intention was ‘to promote peace’

The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia has slammed the painting of a large mural in Melbourne that shows Russian and Ukrainian soldiers hugging.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko said the mural near the CBD was “utterly offensive to all Ukrainians” and the artist “has no clue about the RU invasion of Ukraine”.

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Increased migration must come with planning and expanded services, councils say

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Fairfield mayor says ‘people are suffering’ due to lack of affordable housing in migrant communities as PM pledges $575m investment

Increasing Australia’s migration intake without improving key services will increase the strain on housing, hospitals and schools as well as inflation, councils in migrant communities have said.

The Albanese government on Friday announced at its jobs and skills summit it would lifting the migrant intake to 195,000 in 2022-23, from the current 160,000 cap, addressing calls from businesses for more skilled workers to be brought in to Australia to meet shortages. A review planned for next February would set intake levels for coming years.

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‘Million megawatt smile’: Friends pay tribute to Victorian MP Jane Garrett at state memorial service

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Former Labor minister celebrated as one of the state’s ‘most respected daughters’

Victorian Labor MP Jane Garrett has been remembered as a courageous and principled politician and a doting mother of three during a memorial service in Melbourne.

Family, friends and state and federal parliamentarians from across the political divide gathered at a state memorial at the Brunswick town hall – in the MP’s former electorate – on Friday morning to pay tribute to Garrett.

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Casino regulator launches investigation into Crown Resorts for providing credit to gamble

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Royal commission found bank and blank cheques had been exchanged for chips at Crown in Melbourne in breach of restrictions

Victoria’s casino regulator has taken action against Crown Resorts for the third time this year, launching an investigation into the use of bank and blank cheques by gamblers that could result in a fine of up to $100m.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) is investigating Crown after findings by a royal commission that it provided credit to gamble at its Melbourne casino, which is against the law in Victoria.

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Australian house prices falling at fastest rate since 1980s as ‘sharp’ downturn widens

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CoreLogic says every capital city except Darwin fell in August, with Sydney dropping 2.2%

Every capital city in Australia except Darwin is now in a housing downturn, according to a new report, with values falling at a trajectory not seen since the 1980s.

CoreLogic’s home value index shows national housing values are falling rapidly, after rising about 29% during a period of sharp growth.

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Pocock urges Labor to scrap tax cuts – as it happened

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Independent senator David Pocock says circumstances have changed ‘so much’ since stage three tax cuts policy was legislated. This blog is now closed

McManus: normal part of bargaining to have industrial action as a last resort

McManus is asked if she wants workers in specific business to regain the right to strike in support of workers in other business (otherwise known as sympathy strikes or solidarity action).

Not in support of workers in another business – together. It is a normal part of bargaining to have … as a last resort, to take industrial action, and that is what happens in countries that have multi-employer bargaining, and there [are] not more strikes, there is more pay rises.

Essentially when workers have an option to do that, obviously it means the option to have a better outcome, and a better outcome more quickly.

Basically, workers’ bargaining power has been smashed over that period of time That’s why we have a problem, a huge problem, with wages growth and unless we address that issue, that is not going to change.

We think [sector-wide bargaining] should be open to all, but obviously a lot of places … they are getting pay rises at the moment. They can access the bargaining system.

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Melbourne’s Gertrude Street named second coolest in the world – do you agree?

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The 850 metre-long strip in the innercity suburb of Fitzroy was the only street in Australia to make Time Out’s 2022 list. So what makes it so special?

Tucked away in the leafy inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy lies the second coolest street in the world – at least according to culture and entertainment website Time Out’s newly released 2022 rankings.

But those familiar with the area might be surprised to learn that it isn’t the famous Brunswick or Smith Street that’s taken out the silver medal, it’s their less well-known bisecting neighbour, Gertrude Street.

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Explainer: how much money would shelving the suburban rail loop save Victoria?

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$34.5bn railway – labelled the biggest public transport project in state’s history – set to feature heavily in election campaign

The suburban rail loop is set to become one of the big talking points of the Victorian state election campaign after the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, said he would shelve stage one in favour of spending on health.

Here’s everything you need to know about the project.

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Hurley says he had ‘no reason to believe’ extra ministries would be kept secret – as it happened

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Victoria’s opposition has pledged to scrap the suburban rail loop, described as the biggest transport project in the state’s history, with “every cent” of the $34.5bn saved to be invested in the health system if elected in November.

The commitment, made 101 days before voters go to the polls, sets the stage for another election turned referendum on infrastructure.

This November, Victorians face a clear choice. A choice between immediately rebuilding Victoria’s broken health system, or a train line in 13 years’ time.

As premier, my first priority will be to fix the health crisis.

So I think he himself, in reflecting on it, he has to come to the opinion that it probably wasn’t a good move. And, and on that issue, I agree with him.

If he did do something illegal, if he received some form of pecuniary benefit, if someone closely related to you get some for of pecuniary benefit, they failed to disclose, then yeah, you can pack up your bongos and get out of there.

But if something is legal, and you complied with the law even though people might not agree with that mightn’t be basically customary, or, as you would say, something you’ve done it in a way that’s annoying, you’ve done it in a way that has got people off side, but it’s not illegal. It’s not illegal.

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Matthew Guy pledges to shelve $34.5bn rail project to invest in healthcare

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Victorian election battle takes shape as opposition leader says fixing the ‘broken health system’ must be prioritised

Victoria’s opposition has pledged to shelve the Suburban Rail Loop, described as the biggest transport project in the state’s history, if elected in November and reinvest the $34.5bn cost of the first stage in the health system.

The state’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, made the announcement to halt work on the first 26km of the project on Wednesday, 101 days before voters go to the polls, setting the stage for another election turned referendum on infrastructure.

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Victorian health systems’ ‘failure’ led to woman’s death after a stillborn delivery, inquest told

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Brian Moylan urges coroner to be ‘courageous’ in pursuit of facts in inquest into death of his daughter, Annie O’Brien

Healthcare systems failed pregnant mum Annie O’Brien and her family has been burdened with investigating what led to her death, her father has told a Victorian inquest.

Five years to the day after the 37-year-old died, O’Brien’s father, Brian Moylan, urged the state coroner, John Cain, to be courageous in pursuing facts around her death and to make bold findings toward improvements in Victoria’s health system.

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Daniel Andrews backs federal plan to boost migration – as it happened

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Labor’s plan to tackle skills shortages would lift the annual migration cap from 160,000 to between 180,000 and 200,000. This blog is now closed

Bowen says climate reforms will help Australian industry avoid carbon tariffs

Bowen says how this will work has yet to be determined and gives a nod to an upcoming discussion paper, with the details to be hammered out in consultation with industry. But he raises some interesting points that this needs to happen as there is a growing risk Australian industry will be exposed to carbon tariffs if nothing changes.

This will help us avoid these, by showing the EU and the rest of the world, you don’t need to slap tariffs on our manufacturers and our producers because Australia is working with industry to get emissions down in a very sensible way.

The safeguard mechanism is taking the 315 biggest emissions and working with them to reduce emissions, because if we don’t, we will continue the 10 years of no reductions from those facilities and it won’t cut the mustard.

Any facility which emits more than 100,000 tonnes … whether it is new or existing, which is just increasing its activity, we are not having the same architecture. They will be put on a trajectory to net zero, facility by facility. We have designed this in a very sensible way.

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From celebrity wrangler to political staffer: how Mitch Catlin’s career change came unstuck

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Analysis: Liberals were always sceptical of Matthew Guy’s plan to use a marketing maestro to improve the party’s chances in Victoria

Eyebrows were raised among Victorian Liberals when returning opposition leader Matthew Guy announced last September that his new chief of staff would be marketing expert and celebrity wrangler Mitch Catlin.

Catlin, known for his Birdcage antics at Flemington and rehabilitating the image of Today show host Karl Stefanovic after his divorce, had little political experience, several Liberal MPs demurred.

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Dozens of flights cancelled at Sydney and Melbourne airports as industry struggles with staff shortages

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Multiple airlines experience delays due to crew absences while Qantas technical glitch left passengers waiting for hours

Widespread flight cancellations across multiple airlines have frustrated travellers at Sydney and Melbourne airports on Monday, as the industry grapples with staffing shortages as well as a technology glitch that affected Qantas flights on Sunday.

Across Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Rex, 23 domestic flights were cancelled out of Sydney airport on Monday.

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Margot Robbie returns to Ramsay Street for Neighbours finale

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Hollywood actor will play Donna Freedman one more time as Australian soap comes to an end

The Oscar-nominated actor Margot Robbie will join a handful of international stars returning to Ramsay Street for the final episode of the long-running Australian soap Neighbours.

The 32-year-old, who starred in The Suicide Squad and is playing Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming film, will return to her role as Donna Freedman in the Australian soap.

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Victorian spoke of wanting police to kill him before he was shot dead, inquest hears

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Coroner told Gabriel Messo attacked his mother before being shot three times by a police officer in 2020

A Victorian man who was shot dead by police after violently assaulting his mother told a social worker that he wanted an officer to kill him so his pain would end, an inquest has heard.

Gabriel Messo, who had bipolar disorder, was shot in the chest three times by a police officer at John Coutts Reserve in Gladstone Park, in Melbourne’s north, on 16 July 2020.

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