Greater Dandenong City Council is switching its fleet to lower-emission vehicles. Mayor Sophie Tan said 76 per cent of the council's passenger cars have already been replaced with hybrid and electric models. The council has committed to replacing all cars with low-emission alternatives by 2030. Five trucks and four electric vans have been introduced, and options for larger vehicles are being investigated as they come up for replacement. Tan said the council aims to cut its overall carbon footprint to zero.
Five new SES vehicles will be deployed across the Fraser Coast's six SES groups, with the fleet upgrade costing $328,610. Funding comes from the Queensland Government's SES Priority Fleet Replacement Grant Program, which paid for three vehicles, and from Council's Disaster Management and Resilience Levy, which paid for two. Mayor George Seymour said the vehicles would help volunteers respond safely to storms, floods and other emergencies. Residents are urged to prepare for storm season and can attend the free Get Ready Food n Groove event in Maryborough on Friday 30 October, from 4pm to 9pm.
Western Australia's summer cruise season opened last Sunday when Crown Princess arrived at Fremantle at 6am. The 3000-passenger ship is on a 28-day round Australia trip that also visits Broome and the Kimberley coast. The arrival is the first of 200 scheduled cruise visits to WA ports in the 2026-27 season. Next year, Sapphire Princess will be based in the state. Carnival Cruise Line has also announced it will remove two ships, Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa, by March 2028. That is half its summer fleet in Australia. Carnival cites regulatory uncertainty and local operating conditions.
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Carnival Cruises will remove two of its four Australian cruise ships from March 2028. The Carnival Adventure and Carnival Luminosa will be pulled, while the Carnival Encounter and Carnival Splendor will stay. Carnival said it was weighing long-term certainty and global operating conditions. Maritime historian Chris Frame said costs such as berthing, refuelling and food supplies make Australia harder to operate in profitably. The move follows a change to cruise labour law exemptions, which now include new worker protections. Carnival denied workers' claims of long hours and unsafe conditions.
Carnival Cruise Line will cut its Australian fleet in half from 2028, adding to a run of cruise operators leaving the local market. The company confirmed Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Adventure will leave in March 2028, leaving Carnival Splendor and Carnival Encounter as its only year-round ships from Australia. Carnival pointed to regulatory uncertainty and high operating costs. A federal extension of the cruise industry's exemption from the Coastal Trading Act runs until December 2028, but the company says broader concerns remain. Carnival Cruise Line country manager Peter Little called the extension a welcome but interim step.
