Politics
Victoria
Exclusive
Victorian budget
Victoria keeps nearly $2 billion in debt rather than paying it off
The government has decided to spend almost $2 billion budgeted for paying off debt over the past two financial years.
- by Kieran Rooney
Latest
Exclusive
Mental health
Victoria fails royal commission timeline as mental health reforms delayed
The Allan government has backtracked on its promise to implement all recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System on time.
- by Kieran Rooney, Broede Carmody and Rachel Eddie
Will Melbourne get an Ivy-style nightclub? City car park sale sparks fury and speculation
Did Justin Hemmes make the City of Melbourne an “exclusive offer” it couldn’t refuse? CBD businesses are worried.
- by Cara Waters
Meet our demands and shelves will be restocked with groceries, union tells Woolies
Woolworths abandoned plans to send staff to work in a key distribution centre on Monday, with the supermarket giant and the union still locked in a stand-off.
- by Cassandra Morgan and Hannah Hammoud
Updated
Crime
Man on the run after two shot dead in Rye
A man and woman have died from gunshot wounds after a confrontation at a Mornington Peninsula home, while a 29-year-old has been charged with murdering a man in South Melbourne on Friday.
- by Marika Dobbin-Thomas and Carla Jaeger
Opinion
Rail
I’m a planning expert and have reviewed the SRL business case. It’s no wonder the feds won’t fund it
The state government is frustrated at Canberra’s refusal to pay up, but the reasons are simple: the Suburban Rail Loop business plan – and what it lacks – is of major concern.
- by Eric Keys
Exclusive
Rail
Next stop court for level crossing removal works on Melton train line
Labor has promised to remove four level crossings from the Melton line and fast-tracked the works to finish in 2026. But land developers want to renegotiate the design of a bridge crossing the tracks.
- by Rachel Eddie
Exclusive
Courts
HWU boss back in court accused of threatening revenge on ‘traitors’
Diana Asmar is facing a fresh push to be stood down from the Health Workers Union after allegedly standing down or ending the jobs of seven staff.
- by Kieran Rooney
Exclusive
Industrial relations
Frown force: Schoolchildren the secret weapon in dental workers’ better pay push
Dental therapists say they’ve been left with no choice but to get their small patients to ‘dob the government in’ to mum and dad as part of an industrial campaign.
- by Broede Carmody
Greens choose environmental engineer for Prahran byelection showdown
Angelica Di Camillo was originally picked to run in the now-abolished federal seat of Higgins. She will now run for the state seat following the resignation of Greens MP Sam Hibbins.
- by Kieran Rooney and Annika Smethurst
Why Victoria’s privacy chief is so worried about facial-recognition technology
Gaming venues and retail are increasingly using off-the-shelf facial-recognition software, sparking high-level concern about potential risks of privacy and data security breaches.
- by Kieran Rooney and Carla Jaeger