Australia’s ski season is finally getting underway, with the first resort, Perisher, opening its ski lifts after some weekend snow fall. But snow lovers are still watching and waiting for good falls elsewhere…
A recent Ombudsman’s report is damning of the Victorian criminal justice sector, particularly around issues of accountability and transparency.
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Victorian Ombudsman George Brouwer’s report on deaths and harm in Victorian prisons may have largely sailed under the public radar, but it shines a rare spotlight on the levels of systemic harm in custody…
Are archaic laws getting in the way of Australians enjoying the beach?
Tim J Keegan/Flickr
We commonly assume that Australians have a fundamental right to access the vast array of beautiful beaches that fringe our continent. But as sea levels rise, these assumptions are being put into question…
Patient investors are needed for Australia’s farm sector.
taylr/Flickr
The Victorian Government has a goal of doubling the state’s agricultural production over 20 years. Achieving that will require substantial new investment. A recent report, for example, estimates that Australian…
Alcoa is to close its Point Henry smelter in Geelong.
AAP
Alcoa’s decision to close the Point Henry smelter, at a cost of almost 1000 jobs in Geelong and elsewhere, comes amid a perfect storm buffeting Australia’s aluminium industry. Point Henry will be the second…
Fire zone: bushland ablaze in the Perth Hills.
AAP
The return of heatwaves and bushfires to the news pages has brought fresh warnings that Australians who live in fire-prone zones still don’t fully understand the risk they are running. Deadly fires in…
Monday’s heatwave forecast - with even worse heat predicted for the south-east this week.
http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/heatwave/
Across south-eastern Australia this morning, people are waking up to forecasts of scorching heat for the week ahead. Players and spectators heading to the Australian Open should prepare for some baking…
Losing access to public housing has emerged as a major concern for Aboriginal Victorians.
www.panoramio.com/photo/55450813 - taken by densil
Imagine being the mother of a young autistic boy, whose violent outbursts had caused $30,000 of damage to your rented home - but being too afraid to ask anyone for help for fear of having your son taken…
A dead dingo in 2013 (left) and a Tasmanian tiger, last seen in the wild in 1932.
Dingo photography by Aaron Greenville; a hunted thylacine in 1869, photographer unknown.
The last Tasmanian tiger died a lonely death in the Hobart Zoo in 1936, just 59 days after new state laws aimed at protecting it from extinction were passed in parliament. But the warning bells about its…
Unlike Queensland, it’s very unlikely there will be fracking for coal seam gas in Victoria.
Simon Townsley, QGC AUSTRALIA
While New South Wales and Queensland have moved to exploit unconventional gas resources, Victoria maintains a ban on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for onshore shale gas and coal seam gas (CSG). Those…
The estimate that there have been several thousands of victims is conservative, at best.
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Twelve months ago, I wrote an article encouraging inquiries into child sex abuse to treat the church like a corrupt police force. Today, the first of the nation’s inquiries to child sex abuse, run by the…
Harsh measures of social control do nothing to solve the underlying problems.
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Reports have emerged today that police officers in Victoria are being forced to “babysit” prisoners who cannot fit into the state’s crowded prisons, leading to renewed criticism of the Denis Napthine-led…
Firefighters have plenty of ideas about disaster management - so why don’t we listen?
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
You do not find many climate change sceptics on the end of [fire] hoses anymore… They are dealing with increasing numbers of fires, increasing rainfall events, increasing storm events. – A senior Victorian…
Eileen Creamer is one of just three women to be convicted of defensive homicide in Victoria. A Victorian government report has proposed abolishing the controversial law.
AAP/Julian Smith
The Victorian Department of Justice has released its long-awaited review into operation of the controversial offence of defensive homicide. The Consultation Paper proposes the offence’s abolition on the…
Will new Victorian land clearing rules clear up confusion, or just create more?
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The Victorian government is overhauling its rules on native vegetation clearing, the first major change in this area for more than a decade. Vegetation management policy rarely makes it into the news…
One reason why: Leadbeater’s Possum will become extinct unless further action is taken to protect their Mountain Ash habitat.
Flcirk/Greens MPs
The Central Highlands of Victoria are home to the world’s tallest flowering plants, the Mountain Ash, and one of Australia’s most endangered mammals, the Leadbeater’s Possum. Both are threatened by ongoing…
Labor MP Darren Cheeseman faces an uphill battle to retain Corangamite. The Victorian electorate is Australia’s most marginal seat.
AAP/David Crosling
In 2013, the Victorian electorate of Corangamite is a mirror of the nation’s electoral allegiance and social composition. At the 2010 federal election, Labor’s Darren Cheeseman narrowly won on the back…
In terms of a two-party contest, Victoria has just three ultra-marginal seats.
Image from shutterstock.com
STATE OF THE STATES: a snapshot of the key issues affecting each state and territory in the lead up to Saturday’s election. With a total of 37 seats, the state of Victoria should figure as a major battleground…
After winning it in 2010, Labor MP Rob Mitchell is looking to hang on to his Victorian seat of McEwen despite an expected swing against the ALP.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The Victorian federal electorate of McEwen was a hard seat for Labor to win during the Howard years thanks to the popularity of the then-incumbent Liberal MP, Fran Bailey. But this year, due to major changes…
Victorian premier Denis Napthine may need to expedite reform to the state’s anti-corruption practices if a recent ombudsman’s report is any guide.
AAP/Joe Castro
To steal a line, there’s something rotten in the state of Victoria. It has a serious problem with corruption, and may find itself ill-equipped to fight it. This might come as a surprise to Victorians…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne