Category Archives: Melbourne

Melbourne lord mayor ridiculed for ‘AI fail’ images with extra human limbs and lifeless bodies

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Nicholas Reece was announcing a post-election pledge to build more than two dozen parks when eagle-eyed viewers spotted the errors

The Melbourne lord mayor, Nicholas Reece, has been pilloried online after posting what appeared to be AI-generated images of proposed parks in the city containing AI-like features like lifeless bodies, extra limbs and floating objects.

On Sunday, Reece, who is running to be re-elected mayor in October’s Victorian council elections, tweeted four images alongside a pledge to build 28 new parks in Melbourne if successful in his bid.

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Brother of man arrested over 1977 Easey Street cold case says he is ‘100% sure’ of his innocence

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Perry Kouroumblis, 65, was arrested at Rome airport and held for the alleged murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett

The brother of a man accused of the 1977 Easey Street killings in Melbourne says he is “100% sure” that there has been a mistake and his brother is innocent of the double murder.

Perry Kouroumblis, 65, was arrested at Rome airport on Thursday Australian time and held for the murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett. Police plan to apply to Italy for extradition for the man to face charges in Australia.

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Man arrested in Italy nearly 50 years after two Melbourne women found dead in their home

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Victoria police seeking an extradition order for the 65-year-old over the 1977 deaths known as the Easey Street murders

A man has been arrested in Italy over the 1977 murders of two women, Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, who were found dead in their Melbourne home on Easey Street, Collingwood.

A 65-year-old man, a Greek-Australian dual citizen, was arrested at a Rome airport on Thursday evening, Australian eastern time.

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Federal government approves third runway for Melbourne airport

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Approval requires the establishment of a noise amelioration program for nearby communities

The federal government has approved a third runway for Melbourne airport, with conditions set to share and minimise the effects of aircraft noise on surrounding communities.

The transport minister, Catherine King, announced the go-ahead for the runway construction on Friday, saying it would allow the airport to cater for the demand of a growing city and provide better access for freight and passengers.

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Anthony Albanese may decide who runs in safe Labor seat as deputy PM and union locked in tussle

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Richard Marles and Bill Shorten’s old union, the Australian Workers’ Union, in stoush to pick candidate for Gorton

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is locked in a struggle with Bill Shorten’s old union, the Australian Workers’ Union, to pick the next candidate for the safe Labor seat of Gorton.

Shorten’s seat of Maribyrnong will be contested by the left’s Jo Briskey while Labor’s choice for Gorton is a tussle between the climate crisis and water policy expert Alice Jordan-Baird and the Brimbank mayor, Ranka Rasic.

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Injuries and arrests in Melbourne as anti-war protesters and police clash in fiery scenes

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Police accuse some protesters of throwing acid and other objects amid criticism of officers’ tactics outside Land Forces weapons expo

Dozens of police and protesters have been injured and 39 people arrested amid a series of confrontations at an anti-war protest in the Melbourne CBD in which pepper spray was deployed and horse faeces was thrown at officers.

Fires broke out while police responded to a rally outside the Land Forces exposition – an international military conference – at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday.

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Man charged after Olympic medals allegedly stolen from ‘Oarsome Foursome’ rower’s car in Melbourne

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Victoria police arrest 47-year-old after alleged theft of Drew Ginn’s medals in Docklands last week

A man has been charged after four Olympic medals – including three gold – belonging to one of the members of Australia’s popular “Oarsome Foursome” rowing team were allegedly stolen from a car in Melbourne.

Victoria police said Drew Ginn’s medals from four consecutive Olympics were in the back of a Land Rover that was parked on Cumberland Street in Docklands when they were allegedly stolen last week.

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Thousands of anti-war activists to disrupt weapons expo as Melbourne braces for biggest protest in decades

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Victoria police erect ring of steel around event, which is expected to attract up to 25,000 activists

As many as 25,000 protesters are set to cause chaos ahead of a weapons expo to be held in Melbourne on Wednesday, with some already vandalising hotels and blocking traffic.

Interstate police have been called in to bolster law and order ahead of what could be Victoria’s biggest protest since the chaos surrounding the World Economic Forum in 2000.

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Labor factions draw battle lines for Maribyrnong seat after Bill Shorten’s retirement from politics

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Australian Workers Union says it is a rightwing seat but UWU’s Jo Briskey has backing of Queensland powerbroker

The battle to replace Bill Shorten is likely to pit the United Workers Union’s Jo Briskey against a right-faction candidate, with the Australian Workers Union insisting Maribyrnong is an AWU seat.

Guardian Australia understands that Briskey, the UWU’s national political coordinator, is likely to be the left faction candidate for the north-west Melbourne seat to be vacated when Shorten retires in February.

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Brisbane e-scooter operator Beam loses licence over alleged breach of daily cap

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City council alleges cap on scooter numbers ‘systematically exceeded’ by 500 a day but company ‘disagrees’ with claims, saying it is ‘reviewing options’

Brisbane has become the first Australian city to kick out an e-scooter operator, after the council cancelled the licence for Beam to operate over allegations it regularly breached its caps.

The Brisbane city council said it would now seek a replacement e-scooter operator for the city, after an investigation found Beam had “systematically exceeded” its cap on numbers by about 500 a day. The company has denied “assertions” made by council.

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New peregrine in town: female falcon becomes latest to nest atop Melbourne skyscraper

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The cameras that made the falcons a social media phenomenon are rolling again for a new breeding season

For more than three decades, Melbourne’s famed Collins Street peregrine falcons have treated a CBD skyscraper ledge as home.

Now, the cameras that made them a social media phenomenon are again rolling for a new breeding season, with the first egg laid this week.

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Carlton coach Michael Voss makes citizen’s arrest after alleged thief flees Melbourne car crash

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‘It was a bit of action,’ AFL coach says after detaining 16-year-old in Hawthorn who allegedly ran from Mercedes that had flipped on to side

Carlton coach Michael Voss has made a citizen’s arrest after seeing an alleged car thief try and flee after they allegedly crashed a stolen car in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.

The AFL coach was at a cafe on Tuesday morning when the Mercedes flipped on its side on a footpath after crashing.

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Man found dead in Melbourne park last seen by sister seven hours before

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The 28-year-old was last seen by his sister in the Derrimut area of the city’s west with four other men about 9pm on Friday

Police are trying to piece together what happened during the seven hours leading up to the death of a man found in a Melbourne park with apparent stab wounds.

The 28-year-old was last seen by his sister in the Derrimut area of the city’s west with four other men about 9pm on Friday.

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Melbourne zoo welcomes rare southern white rhino calf to the world

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New male baby of near-threatened species born at Werribee open range zoo to be named in public competition in coming weeks

A very large bundle of joy was quietly delivered to a Melbourne zoo last Sunday as a southern white rhino gave birth to a male calf.

Mother Kipenzi, 11, and father Kifaru, 15, welcomed their 60kg baby into the world in the early hours of 18 August, Werribee open range zoo announced.

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Melbourne’s e-scooter wars escalate as neighbouring councils unite in support after city centre ban

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Merri-Bek, Darebin and Moonee Valley mayors back e-scooter hire schemes after Melbourne city council ejects the vehicles from the CBD

Victoria’s e-scooters wars have ramped up, with mayors in Melbourne’s north uniting to back e-scooter hire schemes after the mayor banned them from operating in the inner city.

The mayor, Nicholas Reece, succeeded in banning the rentals in the city council area, arguing the e-scooters presented an unacceptable safety risk and that Melbourne’s city needed a reset.

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Driver charged after cyclist killed in alleged hit-and-run in Melbourne

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Southbank man, understood to be a food delivery rider, died at scene of crash on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne

A driver has been charged after a cyclist, understood to be a delivery rider, died in an alleged hit-and-run in Port Melbourne.

A car struck the cyclist on Plummer Street just after 8pm on Tuesday night, Victoria police said in a statement.

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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra board promises independent review after musicians revolt over Gaza comments controversy

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Announcement comes after musicians passed vote of no confidence in senior management over cancellation of Jayson Gillham’s performance

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s policies will undergo an independent review after the decision to cancel a performance by acclaimed pianist Jayson Gillham shortly after he made comments on the killing of journalists in Gaza.

It comes after the orchestra’s musicians passed a vote of no confidence in their senior management on Friday over the cancellation of Gillham’s performance, according to a letter sent by staff to the board seen by Guardian Australia.

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Melbourne lord mayor floats plan to slash power bills by bulk buying renewable energy

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‘MPower’ would be Australia’s largest scheme of its kind – with neighbouring councils invited to join in

Melbourne residents and business owners could have their electricity bills slashed by hundreds of dollars each year in a radical plan proposed by the city’s lord mayor.

Nick Reece has pledged to facilitate Australia’s largest community-led bulk purchasing scheme for renewable energy if he is re-elected.

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‘She looked lifeless’: teen tells court father used axe to kill Nelomie Perera in Melbourne home

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Son of Dinush Kurera, who has pleaded not guilty to wife’s murder, gives evidence in supreme court trial

A teen has told a Melbourne court that his father allegedly repeatedly slashed his mother with an axe “in a rage” and then turned the weapon on him when he tried to run for help.

Dinush Kurera’s 19-year-old son gave evidence to the Victorian supreme court on Thursday about the evening his father allegedly murdered his mother in their family home.

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Melbourne learner driver fined $600 after unintentionally driving off as sister clung to door in fatal accident

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Asyai Luk fined without conviction after judge found she was unaware her sibling was at car door before she accelerated forward

A woman has walked free from court with a $600 fine after unintentionally driving off while her sister held on to a car door following an argument in a Melbourne street.

Her sister later died in hospital.

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