Melbourne news

Father-daughter team Jim and Anna McCauley have spent days crafting a three-metre-high entry into the Australian Sand Sculpting Championships.

Doctors have warned that record influenza detections between January and March could be an “ominous sign” for the cooler months.

A woman who took part in an “appalling” gang attack on an autistic teen at a Victorian beach successfully had her sentence overturned and has been spared jail. 

The long-awaited reforms will make serious vilification – such as incitement of hatred or physical threats – punishable by up to five years’ jail.

There is this sense that the courts may be tempted to acquit the drug kingpin, to punish police for sneakily using barrister turned informer Nicola Gobbo as a spy.

It means Victoria will have had at least three different chief police commissioners in 2025, with applications for the permanent role closing this Friday.

The front-runner for the new chief commissioner role is a late scratching after he drew up a list of pros and cons for the job then walked out the door.

The long-awaited reforms will make serious vilification offences – such as the such as incitement of hatred or physical threats – punishable by up to five years’ jail.