Category Archives: South Australia

Stinging deaths, back yard poisons and billions spent: model predicts Australia’s fire ants future

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Exclusive: Cost blow-out has experts worried people will use ‘huge’ volumes of pesticides to protect themselves from ‘tiny killers’

Australian households will spend $1.03bn every year to suppress fire ants and cover related medical and veterinary costs, with about 570,800 people needing medical attention and 30 likely deaths from the invasive pest’s stings, new modelling shows.

The Australia Institute research breaks down the impact of red imported fire ants (Rifa) by electorate, with the seats of Durack and O’Connor in Western Australia, Mayo in South Australia and Blair in Queensland the hardest hit if the ants become endemic.

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Blair: $1.7m in medical costs, $1.5m in vet costs and $5.1m in household pesticide costs.

Dickson: $1.4m in medical costs, $1.2m in vet costs and $4m in household pesticide costs.

Ryan: $1.5m in medical costs, $1.3m in vet costs and $3.4m in household pesticide costs.

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‘Disgusting’ antisemitic tactics used to threaten exiled Hong Kong man in Adelaide, Jewish group says

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Exclusive: Ted Hui and Melbourne resident Kevin Yam are both subjects of anonymous letters and pamphlets mailed from Chinese-controlled territories

A prominent Jewish group has condemned a “disgusting” attempt to intimidate an exiled pro-democracy campaigner who fled to Adelaide from Hong Kong, with the federal opposition accusing a foreign actor of weaponising antisemitism.

Human Rights Watch said a separate attempt that encouraged people to inform on another dissident, Kevin Yam in Melbourne, was designed to make critics of the Hong Kong government feel “unsafe and hunted, no matter where they are in the world”.

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Dead and dying Port Pirie birds and bats exposed to lead at 3,000 times acceptable levels

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South Australia’s EPA did not open a formal investigation into the source of the lead poisoning, despite referral from the Department of Primary Industries

South Australia’s Environment Protection Authority did not open a formal investigation into what may have killed dozens of birds in Port Pirie, despite tests showing some of the animals had been exposed to 3,000 times the acceptable level of lead.

In July 2024, residents of the industrial town raised the alarm when they found dead and dying native birds and flying foxes in local parks and green spaces.

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New evidence expected in dig for missing Beaumont children

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Decades-long search to find any trace of three young children, who disappeared from an Adelaide beach in 1966, restarts

Fresh evidence is expected to be made public when a decades-long search to find any trace of three young children who disappeared restarts.

Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont vanished without a trace during an outing to an Adelaide beach on Australia Day in 1966, triggering multiple searches, some based on as little as a psychic’s vision.

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Troubled Whyalla steelworks gets $2.4bn government bailout as hunt for new owner begins

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GFG chair Sanjeev Gupta says SA government is on the ‘wrong course’ after it forced the operation into administration

A support package of $2.4bn will be poured into the Whyalla steelworks to protect thousands of jobs and “invest in the nation”, the prime minister says.

The federal and South Australian governments would “combine dollar for dollar on administration” to ensure the steelworks kept operating, and staff and creditors were paid, while a new owner was found, Anthony Albanese told steelworkers.

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Whyalla steelworks placed in administration after South Australia rushes legislation to secure its future

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Move allows government to act on millions of dollars in debts owed by GFG Alliance and secure future of mid-north operations

The Whyalla steelworks has been placed into administration after the South Australian government rushed legislation through parliament and pledged “one of the most comprehensive industry support packages that this nation has ever seen”.

Jim Chalmers, saying on Wednesday that securing the future for steel in Whyalla was important, said the federal government would have more to say on the matter “in due course”.

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Hot nights expected in southern Australian states as heatwave sweeps east

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‘Prolonged period of oppressive heat’ could push temperatures to mid 40C in South Australia, and mid 30C in Melbourne and Hobart

A heatwave marked by high humidity and hot nights will hit southern Australia next week as heat that baked western parts of the country moves east.

The period of intense heat for southern and central Australia is forecast to begin from Monday and last until Thursday, with South Australia, southern parts of the Northern Territory and far western parts of Queensland bearing the brunt.

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‘Intensely hot’ weather continues in south-eastern states as Victoria battles bushfires

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Heatwave not expected to end until Tuesday or Wednesday as fires burn in multiple national parks

South-eastern states sweltering in a heatwave may be waiting until late Tuesday or Wednesday for a cool change to bring some relief.

On Monday, temperatures in Melbourne peaked at 37.8C just before 4pm, after a high of 38C on Sunday.

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Rain causes power outage for tens of thousands of Perth homes as long weekend brings hot weather

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Heat moving east with temperatures over 40C expected in South Australia and Victoria

Light drizzle after a long dry spell is to blame for a series of fires that have cut power to tens of thousands of homes in Western Australia, while extreme heat is set to dominate the remainder of the long weekend in Victoria and South Australia.

A spokesperson from Western Power said dozens of pole top fires had left 38,000 homes in the Perth and midwest regions of WA without power on Saturday morning.

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Victoria and South Australian schools to be fully funded after securing landmark federal government agreement

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But Queensland and New South Wales still hold out on agreement that will see southern states get a 5% boost in commonwealth public school funding

Victoria and South Australia have secured a landmark 5% increase in commonwealth public school funding meaning they will be fully funded by 2034, leaving just Queensland and New South Wales holding out on signing up to the historic education agreement.

The move is a major win for the states and for Labor ahead of the federal election, bringing an end to more than six months of disputes over who will pay to deliver on fully funding public education for the first time.

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South Australia proposes law for bigger garages to stop street parking being ‘overrun’ with SUVs

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Plan sparks debate about use of urban space, housing costs and investment in public transport amid climate crisis

South Australia is proposing laws that will force developers to build bigger garages in new homes, in an effort to stop cars too big for standard off-street parking from crowding suburban streets.

Under the plan, which is still in the consultation process, residential car park sizes will have to be half a metre wider and 60cm longer to accommodate big cars and dual-cab utes. The size of a single car park, under the proposed changes, would be 3.5m wide and 6m long.

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Southern Ocean winds to break stifling heatwave baking Australia’s south-east

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Front dragging warm air from the Pilbara brings ‘particularly hot’ weather to SA, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania

Winds from the Southern Ocean will bring relief on Monday to parts of south-eastern Australia sweltering through a three-day heatwave.

A heatwave warning for South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for the weekend as temperatures were expected to spike in some parts to 40C.

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Surfer missing off South Australia’s west coast believed to be victim of shark attack

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Witnesses say 28-year-old man from Port Lincoln was attacked just after 7pm on Thursday while surfing south of Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula

Emergency crews are searching for the body of a man believed to be the victim of a fatal shark attack in South Australia.

A 28-year-old man from Port Lincoln was attacked by a shark just after 7pm on Thursday while surfing near Granites beach, south of Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, according to witnesses.

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Future fizzles: the promises and predictions for 2025 in Australia that came true (or didn’t)

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From cheaper energy to recyclable packaging and phasing out Australia Post motorbikes – here’s what has and hasn’t been achieved

An Australian republic, renewable-powered supermarkets, recyclable packaging and the phasing out of Australia Post motorbikes.

These are just some of the promises, targets and predictions that years ago were set for 2025 – which is now finally here.

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100% of packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.

70% of plastic packaging recycled or composted.

50% average recycled content across all packaging.

Phasing out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging.

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All the 1 January changes in Australia: Centrelink increases, import bans and pay rises

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Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also in 1 Jan changes

With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.

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All the 1 January changes coming to Australia in 2025: Centrelink increases, import bans and pay rises

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Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also ahead

With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.

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Victoria fires live updates: emergency bushfire warnings and road closures in Grampians, Vic; dangerous fire conditions in South Australia and NSW

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Fires burning in Grampians national park, Bullengarook, Creswick and at the Gurdies after residents of Bornes Hill, Moyston and Pomonal ordered to leave. Follow the latest updates live

Authorities in Victoria have issued an emergency warning for a bushfire at Mafeking in the state’s west.

Locals have been told to take shelter immediately.

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Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli faces nine charges over alleged unlawful lottery

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His company Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the name LMCT+, is facing a further 10 charges

Adrian Portelli is facing nine charges in South Australia of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.

His company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the name LMCT+, is facing 10 charges for conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.

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South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and NSW could experience blackouts from too much solar power, Aemo warns

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Aemo says it does not want to ‘directly control people’s rooftop solar’ but it may be necessary to reduce or cut off power gleaned from the sun

The power grid in eastern Australia could experience “outage conditions” as soon as next spring unless states speed up actions to cope with surplus generation from solar panels on sunny days, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has warned.

In a report released on Monday, Aemo called for an “emergency backstop” mechanism to ensure grid stability when households and other solar photovoltaic (PV) owners export excess electricity.

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First Nations Voice makes history in South Australia: ‘We are determined to prove you wrong’

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Inaugural address from Leeroy Bilney, outlining racist history of Australia and future challenges, greeted with acclaim

The First Nations Voice has delivered its first message to the South Australian parliament: “We are determined to prove you wrong.”

MPs had to squeeze together to make room for all those who turned up to Wednesday’s special joint sitting to hear the Voice’s inaugural address.

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