Victorian premier says ‘I act appropriately at all times’ following questions about his role in awarding two grants worth $3.4m to a Labor-linked union
Daniel Andrews has issued a blistering statement about “smear and innuendo” surrounding an anti-corruption investigation.
The Victorian premier is facing questions about his role in awarding two grants worth $3.4m to a Labor-linked union.
Continue reading...We’ve been bringing you some of the news about rain causing more flooding in NSW. Here are some visuals from Wagga Wagga in southern NSW and the Newell highway in the state’s central west.
Jacinta Allan avoids question of whether families returned from Syria would be welcome in Victoria
The first group of families the wives and children of Islamic State fighters arrived in Sydney over the weekend from Syria and are now living in the community in Sydney. Will Victoria accept returnees?
I was with the premier [Daniel Andrews] on Sunday at a at a media event… where the premier was asked this direct question and I’ll give to you the answer he gave on Sunday which is these are very sensitive security matters. They are primarily the province of the federal government, it would not be appropriate -
As a matter of principle, will you accept them [in] Victoria? Or have you asked for them not to come during the election campaign?
We’ve not, Patricia. There is a … As I think we’ve seen from the media reporting around this issue, this is a very careful matter. There is a very -
Sure, but as a matter of principle, do you think returning citizens – they’re Australian citizens – should be allowed to live in Victoria?
I would really direct you to the federal government and the federal … I think you would appreciate that this is not a simple yes or no proposition because there needs to be robust and careful assessments that are not undertaken by the Victorian government. They’re undertaken by the federal government and the federal Department of Home Affairs.
And if they do all the checks and balances, should they be welcome in Victoria?
Firstly it’d be entirely inappropriate to cut across that and secondly, I am in no position to run a commentary.
Continue reading...Comes as Victorian and federal governments announce $877m package for flood recovery
Victoria has endured its wettest month on record, the State Emergency Service says, as it warned the flood risk may continue across the state for up to two months.
On Tuesday the SES’s chief of operations, Tim Wiebusch, said October was both Victoria’s wettest month on record and the busiest for his volunteers.
Continue reading...The opt-in program would be implemented by the end of 2026 in an effort to ease cost of living pressures and support nutrition of students
All Victorian public school students would be provided with free lunches under a major cost-of-living election pledge by the state’s opposition.
The healthy lunches program was unveiled on Sunday, just weeks before early voting opens on 14 November for the state election where more than half of voters are expected to cast their ballot paper before polling day.
Continue reading...The Victorian Electoral Commission is examining donations made during the 24-hour fundraiser
An inquiry into the Victorian Liberals’ “Ditch Dan” donations drive will not be complete before voters head to the polls.
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) confirmed Thursday that the outcome of its investigation into the 24-hour fundraiser in August won’t be known until after the 26 November state election.
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Continue reading...Reproductive rights and parenting become hot topics in state election as parties on the left court women and young families
Kissing babies may be an election campaign trail cliche but for the Victorian Greens, it might also be sign their party – just like their supporter base – has grown up.
Announcing a plan for five days of reproductive leave for public sector workers this week, leader Samantha Ratnam, deputy Ellen Sandell and their candidate for the seat of Richmond, Gabrielle de Vietri, were joined by their children under two.
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Continue reading...Opposition’s promise to amend act has also been criticised by the state’s peak multicultural organisation
Victoria’s most senior Catholic has backed the Coalition’s proposal to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to allow religious schools to hire staff on the basis of faith, despite opposition from the state’s peak multicultural organisation and a leading Jewish group.
The Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, said he supported the Victorian opposition’s election pledge, arguing “any leader who supports fairness to religious organisations is simply doing the right thing by all Australians”.
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Continue reading...The party said it would save a typical family $3,500 a year, and cost nearly $1.3bn over four years
Victorians could pay just $2 for all-day public transport if the Liberal party wins the state election.
The opposition on Sunday announced it would slash the price of train, tram and bus travel in a bid to combat the cost of living.
Continue reading...Matthew Guy also criticises debate that led to resignation, after premier says views were ‘appalling’
The Anglican archbishop of Melbourne has joined Victoria’s opposition leader in criticising Andrew Thorburn’s resignation as Essendon chief executive over links to a church condemning homosexuality and abortion.
Thorburn was appointed to the role on Monday but resigned on Tuesday afternoon after sermons by the City on a Hill church, of which he is chairman, were made public.
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Continue reading...Pledge to station officers at five hospitals, despite inquiry finding it would be ‘contrary to the good management of security’
Protective service officers would be stationed at five Victorian hospitals to boost staff safety under a pre-election pledge by the opposition, despite the health services not being directly consulted about the scheme.
Under the two-year plan PSOs would be stationed at the Royal Melbourne hospital, Dandenong hospital, Sunshine hospital, Frankston hospital and Box Hill hospital, to respond to incidents of violence, assist medical staff and sworn police officers, provide support to mental health patients and accompany staff to their cars.
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Continue reading...Party to announce election policy to build 200,000 affordable and public homes and reintroduce social housing levy on developers
A plan to build 200,000 affordable and public homes will be at the heart of the Victorian Greens election campaign, with its leader, Samantha Ratnam, claiming major parties have “given up” on addressing the housing crisis due to their relationships with developers.
The party will on Saturday launch its election platform, proposing the reintroduction of a social housing levy on property developers and a requirement that 30% of homes in large developments are set aside for first-home owners.
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Continue reading...‘How are you supposed to help kids if you literally don’t know where they live?’ asks opposition
The addresses of hundreds of vulnerable children and young people are missing from the Victorian government’s child protection database, according to a report by the state’s auditor general.
The report, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, found the IT system used by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) was “incomplete, inaccurate and inconsistent” and “does not readily give the most current and complete information on vulnerable Victorian children”.
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Continue reading...Labor is likely to secure a rare third parliamentary term, but departing MPs warn it will lose support for parachuting in non-local candidates
The 59th parliament of Victoria has been anything but boring. In the past two years there’s been a leadership spill, a finding of branch stacking, a catastrophic fall down slippery steps, a drunken car crash, dozens of protests, Covid-19 outbreaks, resignations, defections, a visit from a lamb in a diaper and a resident fox – and that’s without mentioning the work that goes on inside the building.
Having wrapped up the final sitting week on Wednesday – dumping 52 documents on the way out, including a scathing auditor general report on the suburban rail loop – Daniel Andrews will now begin campaigning for a third term in office.
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Continue reading...Reason party leader says she still plans to fight November state election after undergoing surgery next month
Victorian MP Fiona Patten has revealed she has been diagnosed with cancer after a tumour was recently discovered on her kidney.
The Reason party leader will undergo a nephrectomy – the removal of the affected kidney – in early October and still plans to contest the state election on 26 November.
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Continue reading...Daniel Andrews defends plan to change name of Maroondah hospital from Woiwurrung word that celebrates the natural environment
Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly has accused the Andrews government of making a hospital in Melbourne’s east “culturally unsafe” for Indigenous Australians after it vowed to rename the site in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, dumping its Indigenous name.
In a pre-election pledge on Sunday, Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, promised to rebuild the Maroondah hospital, in East Ringwood, at a cost of $1bn and rename it to pay tribute to the Queen.
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Continue reading...Victoria’s health minister defends colleague who suggested Kylie Hennessy, who has a brain tumour, ‘roll with the punches’
Victoria’s health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, has claimed a “hospital miscommunication” caused a woman with a brain tumour to travel to Adelaide for an urgent medical scan.
Kylie Hennessy travelled to Adelaide last week for a functional MRI (fMRI) scan after she was told she would face a months-long wait in Melbourne.
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Continue reading...After success of federal ‘teals’, about half of all respondents are thinking about a shift away from major parties
About half of voters – and more than two-thirds of young people – are considering backing independents at the upcoming Victorian and New South Wales state elections, in a trend described as the “Uberisation” of politics.
The latest Guardian Essential poll shows 48% of 1,100 respondents in Victoria and NSW are considering voting for an independent if one were to run in their electorate.
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Continue reading...Government was made aware of Esta’s vulnerable financial position as long ago as 2015
The Victorian government was warned of the “precarious financial position” at the state’s triple-zero call-taking agency about six years before Covid-19 overwhelmed the service and caused delays linked to 33 deaths.
A report by Victoria’s inspector general for emergency management (Igem), Tony Pearce, released on Saturday, identified 40 “potential adverse events” linked to triple-zero delays, lengthy ambulance waits and command decisions at the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (Esta) between December 2020 and May 2022.
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Continue reading...Matt Bach has written to UN subcommittee about the ‘systematic’ isolation of youth detainees he says contravenes international law
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Victorian Liberal MP Matt Bach has written to the United Nations subcommittee on the prevention of torture, urging them to investigate the “systematic” use of isolation in the state’s youth justice facilities during an upcoming visit.
The subcommittee is set to visit Australia from 16-27 October to inspect places of detention and examine the treatment of detainees.
Continue reading...Emergency services ‘simply did not have sufficient ambulance call-takers’, with one caller waiting more than 76 minutes, review finds
More than 30 people died after the pandemic overloaded Victoria’s triple-zero call service and caused delays, an independent review has found.
In one case, someone waited for more than 76 minutes for their emergency call to be answered, as the pandemic placed “unprecedented demand” on the system.
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