Breaking news, politics, business, economy, and current events from Australia.
Investigators are treating a fire that gutted a business in Melbourne’s south-east overnight as suspicious. Emergency services were called to a shopping strip on Lower Dandenong Road in Mentone about 4.10am, where crews found a shop on fire. Multiple units worked to extinguish the blaze, which was complicated by live power lines that had caught…
“It felt like a pleasure to be able to make things up,” Ariane Beeston says of writing her first work of fiction, the young adult novel Don’t Forget to Smile. Beeston had previously written an acclaimed non-fiction work, Because I’m Not Myself, You See, about her experiences with postpartum psychosis. “Following such an intense, traumatic…
On a winter’s night at a suburban ground in St Albans, in Melbourne’s west, a group of footy club presidents and officials are gathering to talk about the brain health of their players. Addressing them is the FIFTHQTR Foundation, an independent group led by former Carlton star Ken Hunter, dedicated to the welfare of former…
Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh was out early this morning to clean up, and also double down, on her call for a party rebrand. Yesterday the shadow minister declared the party should have another look at it’s values, policies and messaging in a bid to better appeal to voters after a drop in the polls Asked…
The sons of a woman killed by her Airbnb guest say the fire that gutted her house also destroyed answers about their mother’s final moments. Maree Vermont’s remains were found in the ashes of her burnt-out living room in rural Victoria in August 2023. The 60-year-old lived alone in the stone house she had designed…
Tech giants that refuse to hand over documents related to their enforcement of Australia’s social media age ban face fines of up to $1.65 million under new legislation. Widespread concerns social media companies are failing to take reasonable steps to block Australians younger than 16 from their platforms sparked the tougher legislation introduced to parliament…
On a winter’s day in one of the country’s most isolated towns, only a scattering of intrepid travellers have arrived to see the desert in flood. It is strange for this time of year. Birdsville should be stirring with the promise of peak season but it feels hushed, the streets eerily quiet. Despite the environmental…
The death toll from Venezuela’s two earthquakes has risen to more than 1,700, the president of the country’s national assembly Jorge Rodriguez has confirmed. More than 5,000 people were injured in the disaster and more than 15,000 have been left homeless, Mr Rodriguez said during an address to the nation televised on state television on…
Daria Kasatkina has got Australia’s tennis show rolling on Wimbledon’s grass courts, defying her own low expectations to finally dismantle a tough challenge from British wildcard Mimi Xu. The 29-year-old came to the rescue after the 13-strong Aussie contingent’s grass-court invasion began on a warm opening day with an injury-hit defeat for Aleksandar Vukic and…
Emergency service crews have been praised for their “persistence” during the 12-day search for a hiker who set off on an ill-fated midnight mountain walk in sub-zero temperatures while wearing sandals and a blouse. NSW Deputy State Coroner Rebecca Hosking has found the death of Esther Marie Wallace in the Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area…