Courier Mail - News Feed

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 houses, skipping insurance and driving run-down cars to survive the shocking cost of living crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About 100 current AFL players have been granted secret immunity from the AFL’s three-strike drugs policy. More than 90,000 new homes are stuck in the planning system, as young people are forced to flee NSW because they can’t find a place to live. South Australia's average wages have suffered cuts of more than seven per cent in past three years. A turbulent 12 months has wiped $384m off the value of Qantas’s brand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An IT worker at a Sydney high school has allegedy been busted with child abuse material after hacking the school’s computers in order to steal his colleagues’ credit card details. A former Melbourne Football Club doctor has sensationally ­admitted to conducting “off the books” illicit drug tests – ­allegedly authorised by the AFL – to help players evade ­detection on match days. A bridge collapsed in the US last night after it was struck by a cargo ship, sparking fears of a “mass casualty event” as rescuers desperately searched for people who were on the huge structure when it crashed into a river. Three people have been confirmed dead after a freak wave capsized a fishing vessel near Spilsby Island, South Australia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Facebook whistleblower has warned about unregulated access to Meta platforms by Aussie kids. The family of a woman raped and killed by Jonathon Bakewell has called for an urgent inquiry as the killer is released again. Australian schools are facing a chronic shortage of qualified maths teachers. A legal fight over a cancelled Australian Grand Prix concert by Robbie Williams is set for a court showdown within weeks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accused triple murderer mushroom cook Erin Patterson has been forced into a protected unit at a women’s maximum security prison alongside pedophile rapist school principal Malka Leifer, as fears mount for the mother of two’s safety. Video footage of protesters chanting anti-Israeli slogans with loudspeakers at a publicly-funded night markets in Sydney’s southwest have been forwarded to the NSW Police’s Engagement and Hate Crime Unit. Significant native forest home to endangered koalas would be bulldozed to make way for the QLD government’s controversial Olympic athletics stadium. The debilitating condition endometriosis which affects up to one in seven women will be investigated by an SA parliament committee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millions in compensation will be paid to the ­Indigenous owners of a disused bowling club due to the Western Harbour Tunnel being built underneath it – while thousands of neighbouring property owners won’t receive a cent. A court has heard that a man accused of repeatedly raping his daughter while she was a pre-teen is the son of a veteran Sydney police officer. Iconic Australian vacuuming company Godfreys will be closed for good, after no viable offers to buy the struggling business were made. Pandas are set to remain a star attraction at Adelaide Zoo after a breakthrough during top-level talks between Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank has abandoned talk of more rate hikes, as it `kept the official cash rate steady at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent. Harrowing new details have emerged of allegations convicted wife killer Brian Earl Johnston repeatedly raped Kelly Wilkinson just weeks before her murder in Queensland. Electricity prices for South Australian customers will start to fall from July. Straight from her Las Vegas residency, Kylie Minogue has touched down in Sydney for a well earnt break. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Population growth fuelled by soaring migration is set to cut the amount of GST revenue coming to NSW by $80 per person next financial year, heaping pressure on the state government to fund hospitals, schools and roads with a decreasing share of Commonwealth cash. A beloved special forces soldier described by his squad mates as a loyal friend with an “infectious sense of humour” has been farewelled in a heartfelt ceremony. In Victoria, organised crime figures who use their profits to lash out on yachts, penthouse living and sex workers will pay the price under new Allan Government laws. And Adelaide’s most famous madam, Stormy Summers, has died, three days short of her 78th birthday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baby Boomers are happily spending during the cost-of-living crisis, while younger generations tighten their purse strings. Regional townships in NSW have been rebranded by the Bureau of Statistics, causing an uproar over the GST carve up. David Speirs has denied a threat to quit as SA Liberal leader if former cabinet minister Anne Ruston lost the top Senate ticket spot. The Victorian government is being urged to set up special tax havens across Melbourne and regional areas to solve the housing crisis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia’s migration intake hit record numbers in January despite the Albanese government’s plan to slow the surge. A union boss is pushing for manslaughter charges to be brought against the owner of the Ballarat Gold Mine. A Chinese tourist has been found guilty of manslaughter over a botched boob job during which a Sydney beauty clinic manager died of an anaesthetic overdose. Plans to transform South Australia into a plant protein pow­er­house have collapsed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All workers would have the right to request to work from home under a union push to provide more flexibility. Kelly Wilkinson’s devastated loved ones called her killer Brian Earl Johnston “pure evil” as he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday. Violent incidents at regional NSW schools have increased to their highest level in five years. One of South Australia’s most senior firefighters has called in police over a fake email scam.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than eight in 10 voters think that nicotine vapes should be sold in the same way as alcohol and tobacco. China issues an interim recommendation to abolish crippling tariffs on bottled wine. Malaysia looks poised to swoop on the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Queensland Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli have gone head-to-head for the first time ahead of the October 26 election. The Matildas have sold out their 13th straight home game – in record time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The son of an ex-AFL player had been under scrutiny over the murder of Samantha Murphy for more than a fortnight before police made their move. Former Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has told of his “heartbreak” at the death of his son who died after a parachute mishap during a 14,000ft training jump in Sydney’s west. Not one of the 111 frontline domestic violence workers promised to Queensland by the Albanese government are on the ground more than two years after it was spruiked as an election commitment. An Adelaide vet clinic has been destroyed in a suspected arson attack, with two men still on the run. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All community footballers could be forced to wear helmets in the near future, with a head protection trial being launched this season. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has revealed it is going to look at whether Compare the Market should have to change its name because so many of the insurance products it compares are sold by its parent company. The South Australian international education sector has bounced back and even grown since a Covid slump when border closures prevented students from coming to the state. A prominent Sydney architect, who couldn’t resist the lure of her neighbour’s beautiful hydrangeas, has been convicted of being a flower thief. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hours after Sam Kerr revelled in scoring a historic FA Cup hat trick, the soccer superstar became entangled in an argument over a taxi fare that allegedly led to her “racially aggravated” abuse of a London police officer. More than 30 drivers fleeing bushfires were caught speeding after a camera was left operating in an emergency zone in Victoria’s west. Kids as young as 10 are getting away with violent crimes across regional NSW because courts rule they do not know right from wrong, even after bragging that “police will never catch me”. Approval has been granted for South Australia’s first institutional build-to-rent project, which will bring 240 new units to the western suburbs in a boon for the fledgling market. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fight to replace former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the seat of Cook got underway last night. A tent city’s emerged in QLD Premier Steven Miles’ electorate. Shocking footage of thugs armed with military rifles documents the escalation in Melbourne’s gangland violence. Tens of thousands of Adelaide homes are in the pipeline but the necessary infrastructure will come at an enormous cost.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mobile phone tower data identifying the movements of people in the area Samantha Murphy disappeared is expected to be key to the probe. New documents have revealed at least a dozen of the Queensland’s government’s signature major health projects have been delayed by up to 2½ years or been hit with cost blowouts. A regional South Australian council has voted to replace its Acknowledgement of Country speech at the start of meetings with a more “inclusive” statement that doesn’t mention Aboriginal people, while also scrapping its prayer. Meta’s announcement that it will not renew its commercial agreements with Australian media will have a devastating impact on all Aussies, News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller says. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brisbane house prices have soared by more than 60 per cent since the pandemic began – almost double the growth in Sydney – and the median price is now just over $200,000 less than Australia’s most expensive real estate market. Victorians punters will no longer be able to place bets on some of the rising stars of Aussie sport, with tough new gambling restrictions introduced on sports betting. A popular birthing unit in northern Sydney has been scrapped by the Minns government, in a move labelled by local families as a “disgrace”. And in South Australia, Smoking and vaping in popular outdoor public spaces including jetties, parts of beaches and outside shops will be banned from today, with new fines to help enforce the law. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has revealed the NRL’s $420 million war chest to drive expansion as he plots the next offshore project to match the code’s Vegas venture - a second team in New Zealand. It’s been revealed Gold Coast cop Arron Ottaway, who was stood down for defying an order to stop chasing a car containing allegedly armed teen offenders, was told by his superior to abandon the chase because overtime was not approved. Victoria Police have successfully fought to suppress key details of the kidnappers and torturers in a shocking alleged hate crime. Prince William pulled out of a church service at the last minute due to a “personal matter” as the Palace confirmed Princess Catherine is “doing well”. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queensland public servants who were stood down or sacked after refusing to comply with Covid-19 vaccine mandates could be back to work and seek compensation following a landmark legal win by a group of police officers and paramedics. Victorian firefighters and communities are bracing for “one of the most dangerous fire days” in recent years, with the mercury set to soar into the mid-40s in some parts of the state today. SA Police are continuing to hunt a person who opened fire on a female disability care worker and a man in an underground carpark in Wayville as they arrived for work on Monday. A tiny critically endangered dragon lizard has stalled tens of homes being built in Melbourne’s west, with property developers paying more than $1m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Albanese government has been urged to intervene to stop a Palestinian activist who took part in a series of aeroplane hijackings in 1969 and 1970 from speaking at a Perth conference on “ecosocialism” in June. A man and a woman have been shot at in an underground carpark in Adelaide’s inner south, sparking a police hunt for the suspect. A drug boss has allegedly assaulted a maximum-security prison officer. Vapes are wrecking the teeth and jaws of young people in a similar way to illicit drugs including cocaine and meth­amphetamine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The “bodies in the barrels” serial murders accomplice will be able to eat at cafes, shop, travel on public transport and access Centrelink now he has parole – but will be tracked at all times. Spin king Shane Warne has been credited with giving the gift of life in the wake of his shock fatal heart attack. A father has admitted shooting a defenceless man in his shed and burying his body – but insists his crime was manslaughter, not murder. Queensland real estate agents should have to undergo yearly training to keep their licence on safety and legal responsibilities under the state’s new code of conduct, says head of the industry’s peak body. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queensland’s more than 600,000 landlords have been warned they could face criminal charges if they ignore tough smoke alarm laws after the owner of the Russell Island home that burnt to the ground killing six people was charged. Sydney Police allege a man strangled a woman and child to death inside a martial arts studio in North Parramatta before he drove the woman’s white BMW to Baulkham Hills and fatally stabbed her husband on Monday night. More than a dozen detectives from specialist Melbourne-based units have been assigned to the Samantha Murphy mystery as it emerges as the state’s top priority police inquiry. Two brothers have saved the lives of a mother and daughter who became distressed while swimming off an Adelaide beach. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll will walk away with about $216,000 in lieu of serving out the remaining four months of her contract after she was forced to sensationally resign early as the state’s top cop to “clear the air” after mounting pressure over Queensland’s youth crime crisis. A mother and her little boy were stabbed to death inside a martial arts studio in Sydney’s west shortly before her estranged husband was killed in what police suspect was a ­bitter love triangle. Anti-doping investigators have accused Melbourne footballer Joel Smith of cocaine trafficking in a dramatic escalation of his failed drugs test probe. A man has been jailed for over five years after a night of drinking led him to commit multiple home invasions across Adelaide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sydney’s gang war is on track to eclipse the infamous Melbourne conflict involving Carl Williams and the Morans, according to one of the men behind the original Underbelly TV series. In Victoria, Mornington Peninsula ratepayers who don’t install new solar power would be forced to fund a generous discount for households that make the switch under a new council proposal. Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has revealed ahead of a meeting today with Minister Mark Ryan to discuss her future that she “may not” continue on as the state’s top cop. South Australian first-homebuyers purchasing a home-and-land package are, from today, eligible for a home loan with a deposit of just 2 per cent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coalition claims people smugglers are “testing” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, following the arrival of more than 40 asylum-seekers in remote Western Australia. A young SA man is fighting for life after he was struck by a car while changing a tyre on the side of the Port River Expressway. The sole survivor of the deadly mushroom lunch has broken his silence the day after his 45th wedding anniversary. More than half of all regional Queenslanders feel unsafe in their homes. The cost of building townhouses and apartments in NSW has soared in a single year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At least 40 guards will be deployed to protect NRL players in Las Vegas, with players warned over “sex” traps and extortion scams. Linesmen crucial to reconnecting electricity have been accused of downing tools as thousands of Victorian homes are left without power. South Australian criminals are flouting home detention conditions amid claims authorities are failing to properly respond to overnight alerts. A motorist with custom number plates seemingly glorifying the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel now claims he’s lost them after being ordered to turn them in. Almost 1500 excited Taylor Swift fans monitored the superstar’s journey to Australia with plane tracking technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dozens of people have fallen ill at a popular Adelaide sporting arena, sparking a major public health emergency and a safety review. More young offenders could be fitted with GPS trackers and police given expanded powers to randomly search people for knives, as the Queensland government scrambles to crack down on youth crime. A new study has found pregnant women are too reliant on multivitamins instead of eating a balanced diet in their second trimesters, a new study has found. It is official – the NFL has landed in the heart of Sydney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bosses who unreasonably contact their staff after hours face fines and jail time after the Greens snuck criminal penalties into a new “right to disconnect”, leaving Labor scrambling to fix its own law. Melbourne’s Catholic Church has lost a major legal fight to block the parents, siblings, friends and families of abuse victims from suing for ­damages. Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has asked the government to revisit the trial of GPS trackers for teen criminals on bail, saying only 33 devices had been issued, with five now in use. Police are targeting “gang” ringleaders luring vulnerable children into committing crime in exchange for cash, drugs and alcohol and fuelling a youth crime spike across Adelaide, it can be revealed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crucial crossbenchers are urging the Albanese government to stop a yearly hike to student debt set to hit almost three million Australians amid a crushing cost of living crisis. A complaint regarding a “hateful” customised licence plate seemingly glorifying the October 7 Hamas terror attacks was not acted upon – despite being made last month. Brisbane’s controversial $2.7bn Gabba rebuild is dead, with powerbroker John Coates declaring the project is damaging the Olympic brand and “just doesn’t stack up”. The owner of one of 10 small businesses raided by thieves during an overnight crime spree says she might “never feel safe again” after her bakery was broken into.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doctors across NSW could be forced to jack up their fees by $12 in six months time to combat a state government “tax grab” which could also result in the closure of many GP clinics. King Charles’s cancer diagnosis will force Prince Harry into a potentially tense reunion with his father, stepmother and brother, with the rogue royal expected to fly to London immediately. Two vile predators are now behind bars after an intoxicated 15-year-old was repeatedly raped at an Adelaide party. Queensland will aim to halve the number of children in residential care within five years, after a wide-ranging review sparked by The Courier-Mail found evidence of systemic issues across the sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Albanese government will reap billions of dollars from extra tax on fuel, beer and spirits, including a 1.8 per cent hike this week, while sparing Tesla owners and wine drinkers. Tobacconists across Sydney peddling black market vapes have been swept up in the largest raid blitz so far, with more than 30,000 illegal vapes at a street value of $1.1 million seized over five days last week. Victorian doctors will have to increase patient fees by a whopping 30 per cent to combat a state government “tax grab”. Thousands of employees at one of South Australia’s biggest companies are now working nine-day fortnights without reduced pay – and have become more productive than ever. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Distilleries and brewers are warning of a hit to Australia’s hospitality sector and local tourism unless the federal government freezes the twice-yearly tax hike on beer and spirits. It comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed the Western Parkland City Authority (WPCA) was sitting on $500 million in unspent grants and had only managed to start work on a visitors’ centre that has been dismissed as a “shed with a fancy pergola’’. Victorian GPs in training can apply for $40,000 in incentives from today, putting the South Australian government under pressure to match it or risk a brain drain of young doctors. It is an unusually busy time in the medical room at West Lakes with more Crows players suffering injuries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margot Robbie has spoken out one week after being overlooked for a nomination at the 2024 Oscars. Risk of being unable to field a team if players are benched for three weeks under new concussion protocols, a Victorian Nationals MP has warned. The number of babies dying within a month of birth has almost doubled since 2018, the year the state’s biggest ever review into maternity services was launched by then health minister Steven Miles. Gaming group SkyCity Entertainment says it faces up to $73m in penalties and legal costs after admitting to serious breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the biggest changes to Australian recreational sport in history is being urged by the country’s peak sporting institute in the fight against concussion and long term brain injuries. Education Minister Prue Car has slammed her federal counterparts, accusing the Albanese government of trying to “short-change” NSW school kids. South Australian public hospitals had five catastrophic “sentinel” events resulting in serious injury or death in 2021-22, the latest Productivity Commission figures show. Bystanders chased down a man who was seen to stab a woman in the head during a daylight attack on a busy eastern suburbs street yesterday.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Godfreys Group, the iconic retailer of vacuums that has been selling cleaners for almost 100 years, has collapsed into administration, with cost of living pressures and the challenging economic environment sucking out its profitability and causing its demise. Extra prevention measures protecting swimmers from sharks will not be installed around Sydney Harbour despite Monday’s brutal bull shark attack with the Minns government and local council passing the buck over who is responsible.Queensland communities are and facing a mammoth clean-up after torrential downpours of up to 350mm inundated homes and forced residents to swim for their lives.King Charles has left a London hospital, three days after treatment for an enlarged prostate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia will remain loyal to its top six for next month’s tour of New Zealand despite the worrying form slump that has resulted in No.3 Marnus Labu­schagne’s Test average dropping by 10 in little over a year. Sydney tradies have offered scathing feedback on the industry’s next generation of workers, describing them as “lazy” and “not willing to put in the hard yards”. Pop superstar Taylor Swift has a wild week of crisscrossing the globe coming up after her boyfriend Travis Kelce qualified for the Super Bowl. A large group of disgruntled homeowners are pleading for state government help after their new-build townhouses in Modbury have been unfinished and abandoned. A new technical college in Adelaide’s west has opened and is fully enrolled for its first day, but only after the government changed eligibility to drive up numbers and splashed $1.2m on an advertising blitz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Federal Government is facing calls to match its fee-free TAFE commitment. A flood watch has been issued for Southeast QLD. The Victorian Government has ignored the parliamentary inquiry recommendation to outlaw recreational duck hunting. NSW caseworkers are failing to visit up to 76 per cent of young people reported as vulnerable. South Australia has overtaken Victoria as the best-performing economy in the nation by CommSec. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two medical researchers helping to cure melanoma have both been recognised as the 2024 Australian of the Year. North Queenslanders could face three-day power outages and life-threatening flash flooding with Tropical Cyclone Kirrily making landfall. Infectious disease experts have queried official Covid advice sent to Victorian public schools this week. In South Australia, fewer teenage boys are pursuing teaching degrees.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Albanese will almost halve the tax cut going to some Australians in order to deliver savings to low and middle income earners. Former South Australian premier Steven Marshall retire from state parliament. A young boy is fighting for life after being kicked in the head by a horse in Centennial Park. In Victoria, three people are dead. in a drowning tragedy at Phillip Island. A 400mm deluge is expected for parts of Queensland, along with wind gusts of 165km/h, when Tropical Cyclone Kirrily crosses the coast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Albanese is poised to abandon his promise to leave Stage 3 tax cuts alone. Laws to indefinitely lock up or permanently monitor repeat child sex offenders in South Australia would be the toughest in the country. Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is forecast to start lashing the Queensland coast this afternoon. Rugby league players like Reece Walsh and Latrell Mitchell could potentially face visa hurdles ahead of the NRL’s Las Vegas premiership-opener.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 25,000 properties across Queensland’s southeast were without power overnight - as storms hit the region after a scorching day. Undercover cop Mick Drury claims Roger Rogerson and other senior police attempted to set him up to be killed after two previously failed attempts. Victoria Police officers clashed with pro-Palestine protesters at the Port of Melbourne on Monday. Up to 5000 new homes would be built within 10km of Adelaide’s CBD under a plan by the construction industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cricket Australia will walk a delicate tightrope this week when it gently acknowledges the polarities of emotion around Australia Day during the Gabba Test. A multi-millionaire conman has been found dead in a Sydney hotel, on the same day he was due to be sentenced for a Ponzi scheme which has left up to $24 million unaccounted for. A South Australian man missing since being caught in a rip has been hailed an “absolute hero” after he risked his life to save his and his best mate’s children. Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is predicted to make landfall along the Queensland coast as severe category three system in just two days time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian basketball star Josh Giddey is reportedly set to avoid criminal charges over his alleged relationship with a minor. Runaway Brittany Higgins has shared the first update from her new life in France. In a Wuhan-esque study, Chinese scientists are experimenting with a mutant Covid strain that is 100 per cent lethal to “humanised” mice. The first luxury hotel in Adelaide’s northern suburbs is set to open its doors this year as the developers announce a premium rebrand. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The driver who allegedly caused the crash that killed an Adelaide family is an Italian honeymooner and part-time international travel blogger whose new wife was also injured on impact. Former NRL star Sonny Bill Williams has been cautioned by Channel Nine management over a series of controversial personal social media posts he made claiming horrific atrocities committed by Hamas against Israelis were “proven to be untrue”. A popular Australian YouTuber has decided to leave the country over a government ban on vapes, launching a fundraiser to help cover the cost of the move. The morning after a victorious night at the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump was back in a New York courtroom for the selection of a jury that must decide how much he owes a woman who accused him of rape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Albanese government rejected a request to fast-track a nationwide review of supermarket conduct, it can be revealed despite the Prime Minister vowing to do “whatever is necessary” to bring down the price of essentials. Queensland’s domestic violence scourge is now a state of emergency, as shocking new data shows increases in almost every offence in just a year, and more than 20 people killed, allegedly by a partner or relative. An 83-year-old man has died and an 81-year-old woman has been rushed to hospital after a fire at a retirement village in Adelaide on Monday night. Donald Trump has claimed a convincing victory in the Republican Party’s first contest to nominate its presidential candidate, kickstarting his bid to reclaim the White House this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Victorian developers face delays of up to 18 months due to Indigenous cultural heritage ­requirements that are creating another roadblock to the government’s ambitious plan to build 80,000 homes a year. New shocking videos of violence between South Australian schoolchildren have emerged on social media – including a boy waving a knife in the face of another child as he performs what appears to be a TikTok-style dance. An Adelaide man accused of the daylight rape of a 12-year-old girl on a train and following her off the train has appeared in court for the first time – and asked his identity be suppressed An arrest warrant has been issued for controversial football identity Ricky Nixon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a fresh warning to supermarket giants, telling them the current voluntary grocery code of conduct could become mandated if they do not do the right thing. Aldi has joined Woolworths in its decision to axe Australia Day merchandise this year. Deadly skin cancer diagnoses are expected to rise by up to 69 per cent in Victoria over the next decade, with experts urging the community to stop underestimating the sun’s deadly UV rays. Hundreds of young Queenslanders are languishing in desperately needed hospital beds across the state as a lack of federal NDIS funding prevents them leaving. Parts of South Australia are being warned to brace for searing weather as an extreme heatwave arrives after a cool, wet summer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interest rates could be slashed as early as June, as smaller petrol and food price hikes helped slow inflation to its lowest growth in almost two years. Iconic Australian supermarket brand Woolworths has been condemned for ditching its ties to Australia Day after announcing it would no longer sell any merchandise related to the public holiday. Melbourne footballer Joel Smith is facing a suspension of two years – and possibly longer – for taking cocaine. Hundreds of Queenslanders are in hospital with Covid-19 as the wave that began in October has unexpectedly persisted, leading to a double whammy of two subvariants crossing paths. In Adelaide, the mother of a teenage boy shot in the leg in his suburban home has told of how the horror ordeal unfolded.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labor has been accused of an “outrageous cover up” after ­refusing to reveal if more convicted criminals have been ­released from immigration ­detention over the summer. A Sydney council has been slammed for spending thousands of dollars removing a wooden bench from a north shore naturestrip after the seat sparked a two-year battle between warring neighbours. The Victorian government has quietly dumped a promise to put electronic monitoring devices on dangerous young thugs, ­insisting the measure is now not needed because there are fewer youth offenders. More than 50,000 offences were committed every month in Queensland last year – the highest rate this century – with assaults, break-ins and car thefts among the crimes on the rise. A man was flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a stable condition after he was bitten by a shark at Elliston on Tuesday afternoon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.