After one aborted, then abandoned, criminal trial and two successful out of court settlements Bruce Lehrmann was on Monday found to have raped Brittany Higgins.    The Victorian government is pushing for a “substantial ­increase” for workers on minimum and award wages, well ahead of the “economically ­responsible” lift other states want amid warnings too big a rise may drive up inflation.    A new housing “super portfolio” has been created to focus on fixing the South Australia’s housing crisis – and several other key portfolio responsibilities have been switched – a ..read more

Drug dealing would be virtually impossible for criminals without social media and apps like Meta-owned WhatsApp, with a new study finding 70 per cent of Australians use them to buy illicit substances.    NSW households face paying at least $20 a year extra on their electricity bills after a blowout in the already massive cost of a new privately owned transmission line to the troubled Snowy Hydro 2.0 project.    A young man who was brutally stabbed to death in a suspected drug deal gone wrong in an industrial street was “polite” and “well mannered” when he sought information ..read more

In a devastating on-air moment, a Channel Seven veteran has announced the tragic death of Sunrise reporter Nathan Templeton.    A $1 billion money laundering and tax evasion syndicate has been busted by the Australian Federal Police, who claim 1200 business were cashing in on the scheme.    Security footage has captured the moments after a 21-year-old Adelaide man was stabbed to death in a “senseless” attack in a quiet industrial street, with police now launching a major murder probe.    Queensland’s construction sector has the lowest rate of female participa ..read more

The state government is looking at charging foreigners more to buy property in NSW, with Treasurer Daniel Mookhey declaring money from overseas investors should be directed to help “build new homes”.  A large group of Hells Angels bikies charged over a joy ride have appeared in court, prompting a heavy police presence in Adelaide’s CBD.  Double time when it rains, a full month of rostered days off each year, and an extra $1000 a week when working away from home are just some of the sweetheart conditions the Queensland government has struck with the construction unions under its ..read more

The man charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend, who was found dead in a burnt-out car near Ballarat, posted a tribute after her death saying he would “forever love you” and allegedly messaged friends claiming she had taken her own life.  The owner of an e-scooter that allegedly set fire to a hotel room, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage, had taped over the room’s smoke alarm because her vaping had been setting it off too much.  Queensland’s critical housing shortage is being exacerbated by the Miles’ government centrepiece $92bn Big Build pipeline.  Sydn ..read more

Students were shown pictures of adults who had undergone transgender transformation surgery, and incest and bestiality were discussed in an unsupervised  sex-ed session in an Adelaide school.  Former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach says that Bruce Lehrmann was reimbursed by the network for drugs and prostitutes during a night out which prompted him to tell his boss the former political staffer was on the “warpath”.  Indian community leaders and Life Saving Victoria say the state government must urgently invest in multilingual water safety education and swimming lessons to “help s ..read more

  Australia’s next Governor-General will be a female corporate high-flyer with a long history of advocacy on gender, climate and Indigenous issues.    A Queensland pumped hydroelectricity project slated to cut through the world’s platypus capital and furiously opposed by locals could balloon to $18bn – the state’s most expensive project ever.  Bosses at the Seven Network are holding crisis talks on the future of Spotlight as allegations of payments for drugs and prostitutes engulf the current affairs program.    SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has declared this year ..read more

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson has been reopened at the 11th hour after sensational new evidence was presented to the Federal Court.    Parents in Sydney’s booming northwest are being forced to make 90 minute round trips to pick up their children from their catchment primary school after the state failed to deliver any of its promises for education in the area.    An expert says the three people who died after ingesting beef wellington allegedly laced with poisonous fungi may have spent their last mo ..read more

A motorcycle rider was killed in a crash during a police chase in Sydney’s inner west yesterday afternoon.  A Caboolture mother claims Queensland Health failed her toddler, who is now brain-damaged and fighting for life in intensive care after contracting the usually harmless hand, foot and mouth disease.  The Victorian Premier’s office is fighting to keep hundreds of documents from Daniel Andrews’ time in office secret in a legal case with ramifications for government transparency.  Adelaide City Council member Jing Li helped enrol 500 new voters in the hotly contested 2020 loc ..read more

Ex-Victoria Police chief commissioner Kel Glare says he is disgusted by footy’s secret “off the books” drug testing regime and called for the resignation of all AFL chiefs who had knowledge of its existence.  The man accused of killing a real estate agent and seriously injuring her co-worker in a random daylight stabbing attack will have his case fast-tracked to South Australia’s highest court.  The number of tobacco stores in local areas could be limited under a new Victorian scheme that would require sellers to obtain licences.  Millions of Australians are moving into share ho ..read more