Category Archives: South Australia

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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Extreme fire danger warnings for Victoria as heatwave sweeps through south-east Australia

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Cool change expected to push through state late on Saturday, bringing intense rain and thunderstorms across the wider region into next week

Extreme fire danger alerts are in place in parts of Victoria, as swathes of south-east Australia continue to swelter through a heatwave sweeping across the region.

However, the weather system driving the warm conditions is expected to bring a cool change by late on Saturday for much of Victoria, before it triggers intense rain and thunderstorms by the end of the weekend and into the middle of next week.

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Heatwave forecast for south-eastern Australia triggers energy supply and fire danger warnings

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Coming hot weather prompts Australian Energy Market Operator to predict shortfall in electricity supplies for NSW and Queensland

South-eastern Australia will endure its first big heatwave of the season in the coming days, elevating fire risks and potentially straining the power grid in some states.

Dean Narramore, a senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster, said day and night temperatures would be as much as 8-14C hotter than usual for this time of year.

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Bushfire evacuations in Victoria’s west as conditions prompt catastrophic danger warnings

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Gellibrand, Dereel and Kadnook residents told to leave as total fire bans declared across parts of South Australia and Victoria

Several communities in Victoria’s west have been urged to evacuate as firefighters work to control a number of bushfires.

A short-lived heatwave has brought hot, dry and windy conditions to much of southern Australia, with total fire bans in place and some areas experiencing catastrophic fire danger.

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Man charged with murder after stabbing death in Adelaide

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Lewis Parkin, 23, was found with life-threatening injuries and taken to hospital after an incident at a unit complex in the CBD

A man who allegedly stabbed another man to death in central Adelaide has been charged with murder.

Police say they responded to reports a 23-year-old man had been stabbed at an accommodation complex on Hindley Street in the Adelaide CBD just before 8pm on Friday.

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Anti-abortion advocate Joanna Howe banned from South Australia’s upper house for alleged ‘threatening’ tactics towards politicians

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Upper house president Terry Stephens says of ‘highest concern’ is suggestion Howe attempted to ‘improperly influence the free performance’ of MLCs’ duties

The anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe has been banned from South Australia’s upper house after its president revealed in parliament that he had received several complaints from MLCs alleging she had used “insults and threatening and intimidating tactics” towards politicians during a debate about the state’s controversial “forced birth” legislation.

The legislation, if passed, would have meant any South Australian seeking an abortion after 27 weeks and six days, would instead be induced, give birth, then either keep or adopt out the child.

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Australians must keep up the fight for abortion rights, Jacinta Allan warns

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Exclusive: Conservative forces pose ‘genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won’, Victoria’s premier says

Jacinta Allan is warning that the battle for abortion rights must continue as conservative forces pose “real and genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won” amid “frightening” debate in South Australia and Queensland.

Victoria’s Labor premier made her strongest comments to date on abortion in an interview with Guardian Australia, just days before Queenslanders go to the polls in an election that has become dominated by the issue.

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Protecting the Green Triangle: experts warn of ‘irreversible’ groundwater decline

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The groundwater system in western Victoria and south-east South Australia has begun to show signs of collapse, threatening the water security of SA’s second biggest city

Some of the best-quality groundwater in Australia underlies the upper and lower south-east of South Australia and parts of south-western Victoria.

But almost 200 years of draw down for agriculture, farming and domestic use has changed the surface drainage. Underground water in some areas has collapsed and water quality is deteriorating, putting at risk not only a fragile natural ecosystem but a $5bn regional economy.

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Queensland warned of severe thunderstorms and large hail after east coast battered by wild weather

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Storms and showers predicted to linger around Australia’s east coast over the weekend

Damaging conditions are due to ease after days of wild weather but the risk remains of major thunderstorms.

Residents in Queensland’s Wide Bay and surrounding land areas have been put on alert for a risk of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail on Saturday.

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Adelaide launches bid to host Cop31 climate conference in 2026

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Peter Malinauskas says South Australia’s renewable energy credentials make it a logical host for UN’s annual climate summit

South Australia has launched a bid to host a major UN climate conference in 2026 in Adelaide, with the premier, Peter Malinauskas, declaring it would draw more than 30,000 people and could be worth $500m to the state.

Australia is vying with Turkey to host the year-ending climate summit known as Cop31, with a decision expected next month at this year’s conference in Azerbaijan. The Albanese government’s existing bid is that it would co-host the event with Pacific nations.

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‘It’s doing social harm’: Albanese asks states and territories to work together on a social media ban for kids

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PM is seeking input on the impacts of phone bans in schools and ideas to maintain the social connection of kids

Anthony Albanese has written to the nation’s first ministers asking for their support in implementing a nationwide minimum age for social media.

After South Australia’s Labor government announced it would be moving forward with plans to ban children under 14 from accessing social media, Albanese announced the federal government would introduce legislation addressing the same concerns by the end of the year.

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