Category Archives: Victorian politics

Where now for Victorian Liberals after ‘massive loss’ of Matt Bach?

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Dashing high hopes after a byelection win, the potential future leader announced he was quitting. Shocked MPs are pondering what’s next

In less than a week the Victorian Liberal leadership went from heralding the “new dawn” of a byelection win to facing an even newer dusk as it lost one of its most valued MPs.

Matt Bach, the upper house MP seen as a future leader by many of his colleagues, shocked the party room on Thursday night when he announced he was quitting politics to move to the UK with his young family at the end of the year.

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Veronica Nelson’s family urges Victorian government to hear ‘cries for help’ and go further with bail reforms

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Exclusive: MPs urged to implement Poccum’s law, named in honour of First Nations woman who died in a cell while on remand

The family of First Nations woman Veronica Nelson has urged the Victorian government to “listen to [her] cries for help” and go further with its proposed changes to bail laws, which will be debated in parliament this week.

Nelson died alone in a Melbourne prison cell while on remand in January 2020 after her calls for help went unanswered. The 37-year-old Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman had been arrested for shoplifting and refused bail before her death.

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Has the first shot been fired in Victorian Labor’s succession?

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MPs say leaks about alleged branch stacking have escalated the factional war about who will eventually replace Daniel Andrews

Daniel Andrews has not announced plans to resign – but the first shot may have been fired this week in a fight over who will take over leadership positions in the Victorian Labor party when he does.

While unlikely to cause long-term damage to either the premier, or its subject, minister Lily D’Ambrosio, the leak of branch stacking allegations to a newspaper has been described by state MPs as an escalation in the war between Labor’s factions as they begin planning for a future without Andrews at the helm.

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Vandals damage Indigenous birthing tree sacred to Victoria’s Djab Wurrung people

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Police investigate vandalism of tree that was set to be demolished for major road project before large protests in western Victoria

A sacred Indigenous birthing tree that was once at the centre of large protests in western Victoria over Aboriginal cultural heritage rights has been vandalised with a pro-highway message and had three drill holes cut into its trunk.

Police are investigating after the tree – sacred to the Djab Wurrung people – was vandalised near Buangor, about 180km west of Melbourne. The Djab Wurrung people have been fighting for four years to prevent the destruction of the birthing trees as part of a major state government road project.

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Victoria’s first dedicated sobering up centre to open in inner-Melbourne suburb

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Andrews government unveils plan for 20-bed Collingwood facility as public drunkenness is decriminalised

Victoria’s first permanent sobering up centre will be set up in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Collingwood ahead of the decriminalisation of public drunkenness in the state.

The 20-bed facility has been announced as the Andrews government shifts away from treating public drunkenness as a crime and towards making it a health issue.

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Timing of $2bn housing and sports package uncertain after Victorian Commonwealth Games pullout

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Regional mayors say they expect the state government to provide details on infrastructure projects in coming months

The Victorian government has yet to commit to deadlines for new and upgraded sports facilities and $1bn in social and affordable housing promised to regional centres that were set to host the Commonwealth Games.

Weeks after Daniel Andrews announced the 2026 event in Victoria would be cancelled, regional mayors expect it could be at least two months before the government outlines its timeline to deliver promised facilities and housing. It comes after Victoria’s upper house on Wednesday voted to establish a select committee to investigate the cancellation of the major sporting event. This is separate to the Senate inquiry in federal parliament that will also examine the axing of the Games.

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Victorian electricity transmission charges could more than double if Australia’s longest power line proceeds

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Proposed 800km VNI West will be costlier than alternatives and won’t solve grid bottlenecks holding back new solar and wind, thinktank says

Victorians face a more than doubling of transmission charges on electricity bills if the state government proceeds with plans for what is likely to be the most costly and longest single power line in Australia’s history, a thinktank says in a new report.

The report by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre (VEPC) argues the proposed 500 kilovolt VNI West transmission line linking Melbourne’s outskirts with Wagga Wagga on an 800km path will be far costlier than alternatives and faces extensive landholder opposition. It also will not solve grid bottlenecks holding back new solar and windfarms in the state.

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Birmingham says opposition doesn’t ‘fear’ early election – as it happened

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Housing bill squabble to bring back possibility of double dissolution election

Parliament resumes next week after a five-week hiatus over winter, which means all the squabbles and fights we left in June are starting to whirl up again – chief among them housing. As Daniel Hurst reported this morning, Labor is going to bring back its housing bill to the house in October, where it will pass. Once it hits the Senate, things get a little more dicey. If it’s rejected by the Greens, who so far aren’t seeing what they want from the government, then the government has a double dissolution trigger.

The early indications are that there was a 50m exclusion zone around the deceased.

All efforts had been made to cover the body but at certain stages of the forensic examination, that body did need to be uncovered so the forensic police could do their work for the coroner and unfortunately, those children did walk past.

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Australia news live: Morrison ‘in complete denial’ over robodebt, Shorten says as former PM seen back in public

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Government services minister says royal commission ‘is gripping reading’. Follow live news updates today

Cash says department was responsible for contracts amid reports of money paid to Pacific politicians over detention processing

Cash has also brushed off the Coalition government’s role in media reports of the taxpayer money for detention processing that went to Pacific politicians.

There is no suggestion that Peter Dutton himself played a part in signing the contracts. These contracts are signed by the Department of Home Affairs.

What Mr. Burke seems to want to do now is to reintroduce the uncertainty that existed prior to a legislation the Coalition government introduced.

… What this gets down to is one thing. These changes are part of the Albanese government’s ongoing campaign to attack and undermine those who choose to undertake casual work, despite the fact that it works for millions of Australians.

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Commonwealth Games cost blowout known by government for months, Daniel Andrews confirms

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Victorian premier says it is possible a $5bn budget allocation was proposed earlier this year, prior to Games being cancelled

Daniel Andrews says he has been aware for months that the cost of Victoria hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games had increased beyond the original $2.6bn budget, but would not confirm if state Treasury officials rejected a bid to increase it to $5bn.

The premier said there may have been a proposal by the agency responsible for delivering the Games for an increased funding allocation ahead of the state budget in May, as reported by the Age.

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Daniel Andrews’ $7bn Commonwealth Games price tag doesn’t add up, expert says

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Grattan Institute analyst says ‘the supply and cost inflation can’t fully account for this massive increase in costs’

An infrastructure expert says inflation and labour can’t account for the $7bn cost estimate used by the Victorian government to call off the state’s Commonwealth Games, as the Greens call for an integrity crackdown on the use of consultants.

The state opposition has also referred the government’s scrapping of the event to the auditor general, saying it needed to be determined why the costs of hosting the Games escalated and how much Victorian taxpayers would pay for their cancellation.

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News live: Burney rules out voice debate with Price, saying ‘this is about Australians not politics’

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Follow live news updates today

Minister for education Jason Clare said increasing access to a Commonwealth-supported place at university will cost $34m over the next four years – “That’s a pretty good investment”.

He said on ABC RN this morning:

If you’re a young Indigenous person today, you’re more likely to go to jail than you are to university.

The cost of having somebody in jail every year is about $120,000. The cost of a university place is $11,000.

Tuna sushi.

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Commonwealth Games: Victoria’s regions ‘shocked and disappointed’ after event cancelled

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The 2026 Games, which Daniel Andrews announced would be cancelled, was set to be held across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton

Regional areas have been left “shocked and disappointed” after the Victorian government decided to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday the government announced it would cancel the 12-day event after the cost blew out from $2.6bn and could have reached $7bn, with the premier, Daniel Andrews, saying he did not want to take money from other areas of the budget to pay for the Games.

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‘Should be closed after midnight’: experts warn 4am pokies closures in Victoria will do little to stop harm

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Proposed mandatory closing times will still allow 361 venues to remain open after 2am, data suggests

More than 360 Victorian poker machine venues will be allowed to stay open past 2am, with experts warning proposed reforms to force 4am closures will do little to tackle gambling harm.

The Andrews government on Sunday announced widespread proposed gambling reforms, which include requiring all venues to close for at least six hours each day, from 4am until 10am.

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HWL Ebsworth hack: Queensland says its files were taken after criminals release Victorian documents

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State’s chief information security officer says information from Victorian departments and agencies was accessed

Highly sensitive legal documents from the Victorian government have been published on the dark web by cybercriminals, with Queensland also confirming files from at least one of its departments are included in the breach.

The breach is connected to data that was stolen from the law firm HWL Ebsworth in April by a Russian-linked ransomware gang, known as ALPHV/Blackcat, and posted online.

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Google ordered to hand over anonymous emailer’s information to former Victorian Labor candidate

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Federal court orders account details be given to Nurul Khan so he can sue the person for defamation

Google has been ordered to hand over the account information and IP address of a person who a Victorian Labor candidate alleges defamed them in an email.

Nurul Khan was endorsed to run for the Labor party in last year’s state election, but an email littered with allegations against him was sent to ministers and news organisations on 9 November.

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Local councils warn Victorian government against seizing control of planning laws

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Municipal peak body also says more town planners are desperately needed to speed up building approvals

Local councils have warned the Victorian government that seizing control of planning laws will not fix the state’s housing crisis, pointing to a shortage of town planners across all levels of government.

As pressure builds on the premier, Daniel Andrews, to release details of the government’s housing package – which he says will include a “substantial rewrite of planning laws” to increase supply, the Municipal Association of Victoria is urging caution.

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Daniel Andrews calls Victoria’s election funding laws ‘perfectly fair’ amid Climate 200 criticism

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Simon Holmes à Court says the laws make it ‘nearly impossible’ for independents to successfully campaign

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says he has no plans to change election funding laws, despite claims from Climate 200’s founder, Simon Holmes à Court, that they make it “nearly impossible” for an independent to successfully campaign.

According to Climate 200’s submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the November state election, sitting MPs received a significant “head start” during the campaign thanks to changes to the law introduced in 2018.

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Victorians rush to buy EVs in last days before state government dumps rebate scheme

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Victoria accused of undermining Australia’s ability to reach 2030 emissions reduction target by ending the rebate

A last-minute rush has seen more than 1,300 Victorians claim rebates on their electric vehicle purchases days before the state government ends the scheme, almost a year earlier than planned.

Government figures show Victorians have been claiming the $3,000 electric car subsidies at a rate of more than 60 a day since the change was announced early in June as part of the state’s 2024 budget.

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Greens and Coalition unite to refer bill to its own inquiry

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Albanese takes swipes at the Greens

The Midwinter Ball was held overnight. It seems to have been a fairly staid affair but I am still ferreting out info.

Consulting firm PwC engaged in a “calculated” breach of trust by using confidential information to help its clients avoid tax and engaged in a “deliberate cover-up” over many years, a Senate committee has found.

PwC should be “open and honest” by promptly publishing the names and details of its partners and staff involved, the finance and public administration committee has recommended.

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