Category Archives: Victorian politics

Jacinta Allan warned about rising cost of Commonwealth Games months before it was cancelled

Posted on by

Parliamentary inquiry hears organising committee wrote to the then games minister in April about additional funding and reducing costs

The organising committee tasked with delivering the 2026 Commonwealth Games has told a parliamentary inquiry that Jacinta Allan was warned about rising cost of running the event three months before it was cancelled by the government.

In its submission to parliament’s upper house inquiry into the canned event, Victoria 2026 reveals it wrote to Jacinta Allan – who was then deputy premier and Commonwealth Games minister – in April to request additional funding.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victorian government hired lawyers weeks before Commonwealth Games cancellation

Posted on by

Law firm was engaged well before cabinet decision to cancel 2026 event, but Jacinta Allan says it came amid rising cost estimates

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has confirmed that the state government hired lawyers weeks before the public was told that it was cancelling the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

But she has denied that the law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler’s sole role was to terminate the multimillion-dollar contract.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria to expand vacant residential land tax across state in bid to increase housing supply

Posted on by

The surprise announcement came on the first day of parliament since Jacinta Allan became premier

Victoria’s treasurer has shocked the property industry and even some of his colleagues by announcing an expansion of taxes on vacant residential land during Jacinta Allan’s first day of parliament as premier.

Tim Pallas told an industry breakfast on Tuesday that he planned to introduce legislation to parliament this week, which will see the vacant residential land tax expanded to include the whole state from 1 January 2025.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Jacinta Allan expected to become new premier of Victoria after Dan Andrews resigns; Tesla battery storage fire in Queensland

Posted on by

Bill Shorten says Allan is a ‘leader in her own right’; rule quirk means Labor may have acting premier

Andrews’ handling of pandemic ‘a legacy of his strength’, Bill Shorten says

NDIS minister and former Labor leader Bill Shorten has spoken highly of outgoing Victorian premier Daniel Andrews while speaking to ABC RN this morning.

I think the pandemic was the most unusual period in Victoria … and I think that we were learning a lot as we went along during that.

When I think back to those first few days, in March 2020, I think the aim was to ensure that we had enough hospital space to be able to treat people if they got very sick, and that required, I think, a high degree of central leadership.

Police will continue to monitor the situation as there are a large number of batteries on site … Nearby residents are urged to monitor [social media] and be prepared for police to door-knock homes in the area if the situation worsens.

Continue reading...

Jacinta Allan expected to be appointed Victorian premier amid Labor factional fight

Posted on by

Socialist left ally of Daniel Andrews is seen as his successor, but battles for deputy leader are expected on Wednesday

Victorian Labor MPs have arrived at state parliament ahead of a meeting that is tipped to see Jacinta Allan become the state’s new premier – despite a brewing factional battle over who will become deputy.

Allan, the state’s deputy leader, is expected to be backed by the Labor caucus at a midday meeting to replace the outgoing premier, Daniel Andrews, who will officially resign on Wednesday afternoon.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews remoulded the state of Victoria – but the wheels were beginning to wobble

Posted on by

Time will tell if the premier’s legacy will be his huge infrastructure projects and social reforms or his exercise of power and debt burden

Daniel Andrews has been one of the most transformational leaders in Australia’s history. Victorians will be living with his legacy for decades – encountering it when they drive, catch public transport, raise their children and, for some, even at the point of death.

His main legacy is already clear: the huge infrastructure and public transport projects that will mould life in Australia’s fastest-growing capital for the century ahead. If they work, they will keep Melbourne livable, despite the pressures of a booming population.

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews resigns as premier of Victoria

Posted on by

Labor’s longest-serving premier in the state made the announcement at a snap press conference on Tuesday

Daniel Andrews has announced his resignation as the Victorian premier, after nearly nine years in office.

The announcement was made at a snap press conference outside parliament on Tuesday and comes after prolonged media speculation about his future. Andrews’ deputy, Jacinta Allan, later confirmed she would run for leadership of the Victorian Labor party.

Continue reading...

By making a deal with developers on housing, Daniel Andrews may find it harder to negotiate with the Greens

Posted on by

Greens hold the balance of power in the upper house. They are also angered at the planned redevelopment of 44 public housing towers

In politics, optics are everything.

It’s why when the Victorian government unveiled its housing statement – an ambitious policy that it says will reshape the state by delivering 800,0000 homes over the next decade – it did so alongside the building and property sectors.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian-first 7.5% levy to hit all Airbnb and short-stay accomodation in Victoria

Posted on by

Daniel Andrews also announces redevelopment of 44 public housing towers and more renter protections

Australia’s first widespread levy on short-stay accommodation and the redevelopment of 44 monolithic public housing towers have been announced by the Victorian government as part of an overhaul of policy.

The 7.5% levy on platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, announced by the premier, Daniel Andrews, on Wednesday, is expected to raise about $70m annually to fund social and affordable housing.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victorian government hired KPMG to consult on tobacco changes despite firm’s links to industry

Posted on by

Exclusive: transparency advocates condemn arrangement as ‘appalling’ while health department refuses to say how much consultancy was paid

The Victorian government paid a consultancy firm that has spent decades working for big tobacco to lead the state’s consultation on changes to tobacco and vaping laws, before the process was abandoned.

The state’s health department has repeatedly declined to say how much KPMG was paid for the work this year and did not answer questions about whether the international firm’s long association with big tobacco and its ongoing work for the industry were declared.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Find a spot on the floor’: overcrowding complaints grow as Victorians take advantage of rail fare cap

Posted on by

V/Line passengers are used to delays, slow journeys and rail-replacement buses. Now they face a new challenge: finding a seat

Travelling by train to Melbourne from her home in regional Victoria, Rhona Rose says she has grown accustomed to long delays, slow and bumpy journeys, and the dreaded rail-replacement bus.

But since the government capped the price of V/Line tickets at $9.20 a day, she has begun to face an entirely new challenge: finding a seat.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Atagi recommends additional Covid vaccine booster for people over 75 – as it happened

Posted on by

Health minister’s office confirms government has accepted expert body’s advice. This blog is now closed

AMA says Coalition should ‘get out of the way’ of 60-day dispensing changes

The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the start of 60-day dispensing and urged the Coalition against reversing the decision. The opposition is expected to attempt to overturn the decision with a disallowance motion when parliament resumes next week.

Patients have waited for five years to get the hip pocket savings this policy delivers due to hardline opposition from pharmacy owners. It’s time for patients to get a fair go and for the Coalition to get out of the way of this long overdue health reform and to stop defending pharmacy owner profits.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

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.

Continue reading...