Month: September 2025

Source: Mental Health Australia

A ferry has been shipped in from Sydney to provide the community of Lawrence with a replacement ferry while a regular vessel that operates the service is offline for essential scheduled maintenance and recertification. 

The 24-car vessel that normally ferries vehicles across the Clarence River at Bluff Point is expected to be out of service for up to 12 weeks, with a replacement 18-car ferry being delivered to ensure services are maintained during this time.

The additional ferry is expected to navigate through the heads at Yamba on Friday before crew and cranes reassemble it over the weekend so it can be ready to enter service from Tuesday 9 September.

There will be two ferries operating between peak hours of 6am-10am and 2pm-6pm Monday to Friday, with no peak service on weekends or public holidays.

The essential maintenance work for the regular Bluff Point ferry forms part of the normal operating requirements required by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and ensures the ongoing safety and operation of all ferry services.

This work cannot be completed onsite, so the ferry will be towed to a location outside the Clarence Valley until maintenance is completed, noting this timeframe is subject to weather impacts as ferry towing can only be done during light seas.

Some intermittent service disruptions are expected during the changeover period and motorists may experience delays as a result of temporarily reduced ferry capacity.

All ferry users are encouraged to allow additional travel time, avoid peak periods where possible and consider the alternative route via Grafton.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Northern Territory Police are calling for information after a stolen motor vehicle was driven dangerously through Alice Springs CBD earlier this morning.

About 2.20am a 2015 Silver Holden Cruze, which was stolen from a Braitling address in the early hours of yesterday morning, was seen doing donuts at the Hartley Street and Gregory Terrace roundabout and Bath and Gregory Terrace roundabout.

At least 2 youth offenders were observed hanging out the rear windows of the vehicle and 2 offenders were in the front seats.

The vehicle drove up behind Police at speed on one occasion, requiring members to take evasive action.

Members did not engage with the vehicle due to significant safety concerns.

About 3:00am the vehicle was located on Stuart Terrace near Hartley Street after if crashed into a road sign.

The offenders fled the crash scene toward Telegraph Terrace.

Investigations into the incident remain ongoing and police urge anyone with information to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number P25237931.

Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

Source:

Heidi and Nathan Smith

This Father’s Day, CFA is celebrating the many dads, father figures and families who volunteer side-by-side, protecting Victorian communities.

Submitted by	CFA media

Source: Tasmania Police

Issued: 5 Sep 2025

Two more people have caused extensive environmental damage after becoming bogged on saltpans in the Bowling Green Bay National Park.

They are the latest people to get bogged on the expansive saltpans and like many others before them, they have had to abandon their vehicles.

Senior Conservation Officer Craig Dunk from the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said it is illegal to drive a vehicle across the saltpans.

“The advice of rangers is that four-wheel-drive enthusiasts in the Townsville region should find other, legal locations for these activities,” Mr Dunk said.

“Due to environmental conditions, vehicles that are bogged on the saltpans can remain stuck for weeks before an authorised towing company can begin the extraction process.

“Vehicles that get bogged on the saltpans can be written off by the tides and it can cost thousands to have them retrieved.

“The towing company reported the incident to the department on 3 August 2025, and one of the vehicles has been extracted, and the other is still stuck on the saltpan.

“We want people to save our saltpans and their vehicles by taking their four-wheel-drives to locations where they can legally drive them.

“The maximum penalty for unauthorised use of a vehicle in a protected area is $3,226, and people who get stuck on saltpans risk their vehicle being written off and a hefty fine.”

Under the Nature Conservation Regulation, it is an offence to drive or ride a vehicle into restricted sections of a protected area. The saltpans in the Bowling Green Bay National Park are not an approved or authorised road or track.

The saltpans in the Bowling Green Bay National Park are listed under the Ramsar convention on wetlands of international importance.

Information about what roads or tracks are approved can be found in maps on the QPWS website.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

In brief:

• The Big Canberra Battery has reached a milestone with a transformer delivered to site.
• The transformer ensures electricity stored in the battery is converted to the correct voltage for safe use in the grid.
• The Big Canberra Battery will help deliver clean, reliable power and create jobs for the community.
• The Big Canberra Battery is on track to be operational in 2026.

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The Big Canberra Battery project has reached another milestone.

A transformer was delivered to the Williamsdale construction site this week.

The transformer makes sure the electricity stored in the battery is converted correctly to be safely supplied to the grid.

This renewable energy will power Canberra homes and businesses when demand is high and solar generation drops.

The Big Canberra Battery

The Big Canberra Battery will give the community energy security by keeping their power running, while helping reduce emissions.

The large-scale battery will deliver at least 250 megawatts of power.

This is enough stored renewable energy to power one-third of the city for two hours during peak demand.

It will help:

• reduce reliance on fossil fuels
• secure a reliable and affordable electricity system
• help the ACT’s transition to net-zero emissions
• generate revenue for the ACT
• create local jobs.

The ACT Government has partnered with Eku Energy on the large-scale battery energy storage system.

Construction of the battery is underway. It is on track to be operational in 2026.

Additional benefits

The battery will help deliver clean, reliable power and create jobs for the community.

The project will support 150 local jobs in the emerging clean energy sector.

Battery storage technology is a key component of the ACT’s net-zero emissions future.

Find out more on the Built for CBR website.

Source: Australian National Party

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Source: Australian National Party

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Source: Australian National Party

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Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

The rapid development of electric vehicle technology is transforming the outlook for both passenger and freight transport, and policies at all levels of government will need to evolve to seize the opportunities and manage the challenges of this new outlook.

Reforms to road user charging arrangements for electric vehicles have the potential to bolster productivity through more efficient use of the road network and vehicle fleet and ensure fair and sustainable funding for road investment and maintenance. Reforms should be designed to not deter the continued take‑up of electric vehicles.

The reforms to the treatment of electric vehicles will ensure more equitable treatment across vehicle types and provide certainty to support investment.

The design of reforms should be as simple as possible and minimise administration and compliance burden.

We will ensure any changes are phased to enable the productivity, climate and consumer benefits of increasing electric vehicle uptake over the coming years.

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Today, I met with state and territory Treasurers to advance key economic reforms following the Albanese Government’s Roundtable last month.

We built a lot of consensus on economic reform through the Roundtable and we made a lot of progress advancing economic reforms today.

Treasurers agreed to progress a Single National Market and expand competition reforms, increase efforts to improve regulation, build more homes and fast‑track approvals and undertake further work on road user charging.

This meeting was all about working together to make our economy more prosperous and productive and our budgets more sustainable.

National competition policy

Today we agreed to progress a Single National Market and bolster National Competition Policy (NCP) to boost productivity across the economy. NCP is supported by the $900 million National Productivity Fund.

Treasurers agreed to expand NCP priorities to include:

• Heavy vehicle access reforms – to improve transport productivity and reduce or remove regulations that disadvantage electric heavy vehicles.
• Further action on recognising international standards and harmonising state standards – states will identify opportunities to harmonise standards in key sectors like building and construction, electrical products, resource management, transport, renewable energy, agricultural and veterinary chemicals, and consumer goods.
• A national licence scheme for electrical tradespeople to remove unnecessary mobility barriers without reducing standards. Treasurers also agreed to work together and with industry and unions to identify other trades where we can expand national occupational licensing, with a particular focus on construction and housing. This is good for workers, good for businesses and will make our economy more productive and competitive.

Better regulation and faster approvals

Treasurers agreed to:

• Identify regulatory overlap and barriers to faster approvals, working with the Commonwealth’s Investor Front Door to unlock projects of national significance in priority areas like housing and energy.
• Accelerate efforts to reduce duplication in approval processes.

Housing

Treasurers agreed to:

• Work with Building Ministers to streamline the National Construction Code and reduce regulatory burden on builders.
• Work together to increase uptake of prefabricated housing, including through exploring how Commonwealth and state and territory governments can use procurement to provide a stable source of demand for the industry.

Road user charging

Treasurers agreed to:

• A statement to guide further work on a road user charge for electric vehicles.
• The statement outlines our approach to this work including fair and sustainable funding for road investment, whilst ensuring any changes are timed to enable the productivity, climate and consumer benefits of increasing electric vehicle uptake.

The Commonwealth will progress work with the states and territories and take the time to get the policy development right.

Health and disability

• Negotiations have re‑commenced to finalise the December 2023 National Cabinet deal on hospital funding and NDIS reforms. The Commonwealth has increased the hospitals funding offer. Treasurers discussed more action on the deal, which will be progressed by Minister Butler with his state counterparts next Friday.
• The hospitals offer remains linked to NDIS reform and the establishment of Foundational Supports (i.e. Thriving Kids for kids 0–9). Higher living standards are the holy grail, and higher productivity is how we get there together.

Whether it’s national competition reforms, better regulation or building more homes, we have a big and broad productivity agenda, we’re keen to add to it where we can, and the states and territories are a big part of that.

We are grateful for the support for the state and territory Treasurers for their constructive and candid engagement in this meeting.