Ballarat mine operators charged over fatal rockfall
By Laura Mayers
The operators of Ballarat Gold Mine have been charged over a rockfall that killed 37-year-old miner Kurt Hourigan and seriously injured a 21-year-old workmate in March 2024.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-27/ballarat-gold-mine-collapse-charges/106031668
#WorkplaceAccidentsandIncidents #MiningandMetalsIndustry #Gold #LauraMayers
Five dead in four major collisions across South West Victoria this month
By Laura Mayers and Stephen Martin
The death of a man following a collision near the Victorian town of Bacchus Marsh caps a horror two weeks for roads across the state's south west.
#RoadAccidentsandIncidents #Roads #LauraMayers #StephenMartin
Lachlan Young sentenced to 28 years' jail for murdering Hannah McGuire
By Laura Mayers
Lachlan Young strangled Ms McGuire in their Sebastopol home, then placed her body in her ute and set it alight in bushland on Ballarat's outskirts, staging the scene to look like a suicide.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-18/lachlan-young-jailed-for-hannah-mcguire-murder/106021422
Man sentenced over 'disgusting' death threats to Senator Fatima Payman
By Olivia Sanders and Laura Mayers
A Victorian court has sentenced a man to a community corrections order after he sent death threats to Australian senator Fatima Payman via email.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-17/man-sentenced-over-fatima-payman-death-threats/106016600
Man sentenced for drink driving 10 times over legal limit
By Laura Mayers
A Victorian magistrate praises a man's engagement with counselling services during sentencing after being caught with a blood alcohol reading 10 times over the legal limit.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-11/magistrate-sentences-driver-caught-ten-times-limit/105995684
Thomas Sewell found not guilty of offensive behaviour by Victorian court
By Laura Mayers
A Victorian Magistrate says he has not been convinced that Thomas Sewell's behaviour during a 2023 Neo-Nazi rally in Ballarat was offensive.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-28/thomas-sewell-not-guilty-of-offensive-behaviour/105941348
Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell claims Ballarat rally was political
By Laura Mayers
Photos and videos shown to a Victorian court capture a racially charged speech given by Thomas Sewell before he leads a group of 30 masked men through Ballarat.
Victorian volunteer firefighter numbers grow despite levy angst
By Laura Mayers
Despite resentment and anger from some farmers, the CFA says it's well prepared to deal with an elevated fire risk this spring and summer.
#EmergencyServices #Fires #Bushfires #RuralandRemoteCommunities #Volunteers #LauraMayers
Residents feel 'anything is possible' as tribunal rejects liquor store
By Laura Mayers and Stephen Martin
Australia's largest retail drinks network has been knocked back for a second time in its legal bid to open a liquor store in the heart of Daylesford.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-01/daylesford-celebrates-liquor-store-knockback/105837910
#Alcohol #RegionalCommunities #RegionalDevelopmentandPlanning #UrbanDevelopmentandPlanning #Courts #LauraMayers #StephenMartin
Shattered parents call for change after 21-year-old footy star's death
By Laura Mayers
Steven Callanan had the world at his feet and loved footy like it was a religion. The talented player could bring together communities while he played, but after a night of partying he took his own life.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-19/football-club-culture-drugs-alcohol-mental-health/105735836
Hunt on for valuable meteorite that fell from Victorian night sky
By Laura Mayers
Researchers have vowed to continue their search for a missing bit of space treasure after a meteor fell to Earth two weeks ago.
Section of Western Highway closed accident involving two trucks
By Laura Mayers
Large plumes of thick, black smoke are visible in western Victoria after an accident involving two B-Double trucks on the Western Highway.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-10/dimboola-b-double-fire-western-highway-closed/105633660
Midwives tell inquest of 'regrets' from home birth and baby's death
By Anna McGuinness and Laura Mayers
A midwife says "extreme tiredness" could have impaired her decision-making during a tragic home birth in Victoria.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-31/baby-death-home-birth-coronial-inquest-victoria/105585204
#Courts #PregnancyandChildbirth #WomensHealth #AnnaMcGuinness #LauraMayers
Mother recalls 'what if' moment during home birth at baby death inquest
By Anna McGuinness and Laura Mayers
The mother of a baby boy who died after a planned home birth tells an inquest she assumed she would be transferred to hospital when complications first arose, but a midwife chose to monitor her "more closely".
#WomensHealth #RegionalCommunities #AnnaMcGuinness #LauraMayers
