Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has played down a poll showing Labor trailing the coalition by 10 points on a two-party preferred basis. The Newspoll, published in The Australian, shows a 10 per cent swing against Labor since 2022. Health Minister Ingrid Stitt conceded the election will be tough, while Carroll said the only poll that matters is the vote on November 28. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said her team takes nothing for granted. Carroll also announced a pledge to hire 500 graduate nurses and midwives.
Residents of South Hedland confronted WA Premier Roger Cook during a five-hour visit to the northern town. It was his first trip there since the state government announced a coronial inquest into the deaths of three local children in 2022. Cook said he fully appreciated that people wanted to see things improve. Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski accompanied him, and no child protection policy announcements were made. Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said it was insulting that the premier did not meet affected families.
The Australian Education Union Tasmanian Branch has called on politicians and their representatives to avoid Tasmanian public schools for the rest of Term 4. The union has set a condition: the stay-away request lasts unless Premier Jeremy Rockliff apologises.
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Tasmania's Australian Education Union has called on politicians to stay away from public schools for the rest of term 4. The union wants Premier Jeremy Rockliff to apologise for a social media post about a northern Tasmanian school's end-of-year event, which had been renamed End of Year Extravaganza. Mr Rockliff has refused to apologise and said he has the right to voice his opinion. Treasurer Eric Abetz said politicians of all parties support schools. Labor leader Josh Willie backed the union's stand and called for an apology.
Calls have grown for Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff to apologise over comments about a northern Tasmanian school renaming its Christmas event. Rockliff posted online about efforts to remove Christmas references from end-of-year celebrations and urged the education department to act. The school had renamed its Christmas on the Hill event to End of Year Extravaganza! The Australian Education Union has passed a motion seeking a ban on politicians attending public schools in term four unless he apologises. Rockliff says he is entitled to his opinion and has condemned adverse behaviour towards others.
The Victorian Liberal Party has paid for mocking ads on digital screens at service stations in Premier Ben Carroll's electorate. The ads show an AI image of Mr Carroll grinning with car keys as a worker chases him. Mr Carroll said he forgot to pay a $90 petrol bill late on Monday night while running errands, and that he fixed the bill straight away. Police contacted his office the following day. Some online commenters criticised the ads as childish. Victorians vote on November 28.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has not apologised after publicly criticising a school for allegedly removing Christmas references from its end-of-year celebrations. The school's calendar still lists Christmas events, including Santa and carols. The school's acting principal is on stress leave, and the Australian Education Union has launched a petition calling for an apology. Labor leader Josh Willie accused Mr Rockliff of getting the facts wrong and leaning into culture wars.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has admitted he drove off from a service station near his Melbourne home without paying for petrol. He said he forgot to pay on Monday night while running errands and has since fixed the bill. Carroll was contacted by police on Tuesday night about the incident. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said driving off without paying was not necessarily a criminal offence, and that intent is a key consideration. He said accidental cases are generally treated as civil matters.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has repaid a fuel bill after driving off from a petrol station without paying late on Monday night. That evening, he was receiving briefings on an attack that critically injured independent MP Helen Haines in north-east Victoria. Mr Carroll said he fixed the bill straight away and thanked staff at the service station for their understanding. He said he found out the following day that he had not paid. The ABC understands he was notified of the mistake by the Department of Parliamentary Services, which police contacted the day before.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll drove off from a service station without paying for petrol on Monday night, police have confirmed. Officers contacted him through the Department of Parliamentary Services on Tuesday night. Carroll said he filled up after a busy evening, found the mistake the next day and paid the bill straight away. Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said petrol drive-offs were usually treated as a civil matter unless proven otherwise. No further action is expected.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has admitted he drove away from a petrol station without paying after filling up on Monday evening. In a statement released on Wednesday, he said he discovered the error the following day and paid the bill straight away. He thanked the staff at the service station for their understanding but did not name the business. The Australian reports that the Department of Parliamentary Services contacted him on Tuesday night after Victoria Police were told of the unpaid petrol. He was driving his own car, not a government vehicle.
WA Premier Roger Cook says he is proud of how Western Australia has come together for Telethon 2026. Speaking at RAC Arena during the Telethon Family Festival, he said the event offers a welcome break from difficult times. Cook said children's efforts, including coin and pocket money donations, matter as much as large gifts. More than 75 schools across the state took part in The Premier's Challenge. Mindari Primary School was the most successful, raising $32,000, partly through selling 1.5 tonnes of cookie dough.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is being urged to apologise after a Facebook post about a Launceston school's end-of-year event drew wide attention. Rockliff wrote that schoolchildren should be encouraged to sing Christmas carols, and asked the education department to step in. The school, Trevallyn Primary School, had planned to rename its Christmas on the Hill event as the End of Year Extravaganza. Rockliff said he would not apologise, and the education department said no decision had been made on changes to school celebrations.
