Month: November 2025

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

The City of Greater Bendigo has completed a key phase of the Bendigo Writers Festival review process, following the closure of an online survey and roundtable discussion held last week, as well as direct engagement with publishers and other literary stakeholders.

The survey on the Let’s Talk Greater Bendigo community engagement platform was completed by 852 people and the independently facilitated roundtable discussion brought together a group of six local stakeholders identified as having helped establish the Festival or had significant involvement in past festivals.

Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf and Cr Damien Hurrell also participated in the roundtable, with Cr Hurrell’s participation due to him serving as the Council representative on the Festival working group.

Feedback from both the survey and the roundtable reflected on the Festival’s history, who the Festival is for and the benefits it provides to the community, what has worked well, where improvements can be made, the recent challenges experienced by the Festival, and a future direction for the event and what success looks like.

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Cooney thanked everyone for participating in the review to date.

“This has been an important process for the City to undertake following this year’s reduced Festival. We value the time and energy people have put into completing the survey, responding to requests for feedback or attending the roundtable discussion,” Mr Cooney said. 

“Our team will now assess the data and emerging themes to inform a report to Council that will go to the December Council meeting with a recommendation on how we move forward.”

A summary of the survey data, roundtable discussion and other feedback will be included in the Council report.

Source: Mental Health Australia

The NSW Government is announcing $9 million to seal the final stretch of Rangari Road in the Narrabri Shire.

The funding, from the NSW Government’s Rural and Regional Roads Fund, will allow Narrabri Shire Council to seal the last 9.6 kilometres of the road, the missing link that connects the Tamworth, Gunnedah and Narrabri local government areas.

Once complete, Rangari Road will be fully sealed for the first time, improving safety, reducing maintenance, and providing a smoother, more reliable route for locals, farmers, freight operators and emergency services.

The upgrade will cut dust, improve traction and reduce potholes, making travel safer and easier year-round, particularly in wet weather when unsealed roads can become impassable.

The $9 million investment brings total government funding for Rangari Road improvements to more than $30 million, completing a vital regional transport corridor and supporting economic growth across Western NSW.

More information available here (PDF, 128.15 KB). 
 

Source: Tasmania Police

Police seek witness to fatal motorcycle crash

Tuesday, 4 November 2025 – 12:55 pm.

Police are seeking information as investigations continue into a fatal motorcycle crash on the Bass Highway, at Elizabeth Town, on the afternoon of Friday, 31 October.
In particular, police would like to speak with the driver of an older model, white Toyota Hilux who was believed to be travelling behind the Honda motorcycle just prior to the crash.
The driver did stop at the scene and was observed to be a younger male wearing high-visibility clothing, but he left prior to police arrival.
Police would like to speak to this person as he may have valuable information in relation to the crash.
Police wish to highlight that they are wanting to speak with this driver as a witness only and there is no information to suggest he was involved in the crash.
The driver can contact Northern Crash Investigation Services on 131 444.
Police are calling for any other witnesses to the crash, or any person who observed the motorcycle rider’s manner of driving prior to the crash, to come forward.
Anyone with dashcam footage or information should contact police on 131 444 or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestopperstas.com.au

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Police are currently investigating the circumstances of a fatal pedestrian strike and a large disturbance that occurred in Timber Creek overnight.

Around 8:50pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received reports that a large group of people, some allegedly armed with edged weapons, were fighting along the Victoria Highway.

During the incident an unknown male entered a vehicle and began driving dangerously through the area before striking and killing a 27-year-old male in the process.

A 16-year-old male and 65-year-old female were allegedly assaulted with an edged weapon and sustained serious injuries, while a 24-year-old male was also assaulted, resulting in minor injuries.

The 16-year-old male and 65-year-old female were stabilised at the scene before being conveyed via CareFlight to Royal Darwin Hospital.

Three crime scenes have been established with additional resources from Katherine deployed along with the Major Crash Investigation Unit, Northern Investigations Section and Major Crime Detectives.

The Victoria Highway is expected to remain closed in both directions for the remainder of today, and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

Police urge anyone with information about the incident to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number NTP2500109691. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers through 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

Bendigo:
189-229 Lyttleton Terrace, Bendigo

Heathcote:
125 High Street, Heathcote

PO Box 733 Bendigo VIC 3552

Source: Mental Health Australia

NSW Maritime is asking boaties across New South Wales to safely dispose of their expired marine flares as part of its annual statewide collection program.

The program launches Friday 7 November providing boaties with a safe, simple, and free way to dispose of expired or unwanted marine flares, helping protect our waterways and the environment.

It comes as the warmer months see increased traffic on NSW waterways. NSW Maritime is asking the boating community to remind themselves of important boat safety measures.

Before you head out on the water:

• Check your safety gear – including lifejackets, flares, and communication devices
• Bring any expired flares to a designated collection point

Disposing of flares properly reduces the risk of accidental discharge and ensures hazardous items are handled safely.

Executive Director for NSW Maritime Mark Hutchings warned boaties that carrying expired flares onboard is dangerous.

“Marine flares are pyrotechnical devices that create heat and smoke and can burn up to 1600 degrees celsius. It’s critical that all boaties check their flares before hitting the water, and if they’re expired, take them to our disposal centres,” said Mr Hutchings.

“The last thing we want to see this summer is flares accidentally igniting or malfunctioning because boaties aren’t checking their equipment is up to date. Our collection program offers a safe and responsible way for people to dispose of expired flares.

“If you find yourself in a situation on the water where you need to use a flare, you want to have peace of mind it’s going to work as it should. I encourage all boaties to put safety first this summer,” said Mr Hutchings.

The Expired Marine Flare Collection Program runs from 7 to 23 November 2025 at key boating locations across NSW.

For Collection Locations and Dates please visit here.

For more information about the collection program and safe disposal methods visit here.

Source: Australian Capital Territory – State Government

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Source: Tasmania Police

Drivers caught breaking road rules over the long weekend

Tuesday, 4 November 2025 – 10:24 am.

Police continued their road safety focus in north-west Tasmania over the Recreation Day long weekend, with multiple drivers caught breaking the road rules.
“Tragically this year we have seen a devastating increase in fatalities on our roads, and it’s disappointing to see that some motorists continue to put themselves and other road users at risk,” said Acting Inspector Martin Parker.
Over the long weekend, at traffic operations conducted by police across north-west Tasmania:

Four drivers were charged with drink driving:

A 23-year-old man from Devonport was detected on Stanley Street, Latrobe, and returned a reading of 0.162.
A 66-year-old man from Shorewell Park was detected on Mount Street, Burnie, and returned a reading of 0.117.  He was not wearing a seatbelt.
A 47-year-old man from Waratah was detected on Main Road, Penguin, and returned a reading of 0.119.
A 37-year-old man from Tugrah riding an ATV quad bike was detected on Top Farm Track, Granville Harbour, and returned a reading of 0.083.

Three drivers – one in Burnie and two in Devonport – returned positive results for driving with drugs in their system. They will be summonsed to appear in court at a later date.

A 34-year-old Westbury man was detected driving while disqualified at Stoney Rise.  He will be summonsed to appear in Court at a later date.

A 28-year-old woman from East Devonport evaded police on Wyllie Street, Devonport and was later charged with several offences including evade police (aggravated circumstances), drive whilst not the holder of a driver licence, breach of bail conditions, use unregistered motor vehicle, and unlawfully possess dangerous article in a public place. She was detained for court and remanded in custody to appear in the Devonport Magistrates Court on 4 November 2025.

A 19-year-old man from Burnie evaded police in the Burnie area and was later charged with evade police (aggravated circumstances), drive whilst not the holder of a driver licence, ride motor bike when not wearing helmet, and use unregistered motor vehicle. He was bailed to appear in the Burnie Magistrates Court on 20 January 2026.

43 traffic infringement notices were issued for speeding offences, with a 50-year-old Burnie man detected travelling at 97km/h in a 60 km/h zone issued a fine of $615 and 5 demerit points.

Acting Inspector Martin Parker said Tasmania Police will continue its road safety efforts.
“It is extremely disappointing that some individuals continue to disregard the law and endanger other road users by undertaking risky driving behaviours,” he said.
“We will continue to conduct targeted and random patrols on Tasmania’s roads to detect and deter high-risk behaviours such as speeding, drink driving, inattention, and not wearing seatbelts.”
“These factors overwhelmingly contribute to serious and fatal crashes.”
“Please help police to keep everyone safe by doing the right thing every time you travel on the roads.”
Incidents of dangerous driving can be reported to police on 131 444 or Triple Zero (000) in an emergency. Reports can also be made via Crime Stoppers Tasmania on 1800 333 000 or at crimestopperstas.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.

Source: Tasmania Police

Man charged following disturbance in Launceston CBD on Sunday

Tuesday, 4 November 2025 – 10:12 am.

Police are calling for further information from the public after a man was arrested in the Launceston CBD on Sunday afternoon. 
Police will allege the man spat on two women in the Brisbane Street area about 12.30pm and confronted several other people before being arrested by an off-duty police officer. 
The 32-year-old man from Launceston has been charged with assault, stealing, disorderly conduct, possession of a knife and offences against police. He appeared in an after-hours court on 3 November and was remanded in custody to re-appear at a later date. 
“Understandably this would have been a confronting incident for the witnesses,” said Senior Sergeant James Scicluna. 
“People have the right to feel safe in our community, and this type of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by police.” 
“As part of our ongoing investigation police would like to speak to the two women who were spat at, we understand they left the area shortly after the incident.” 
“Police would also like to express our thanks to the two men who assisted our off-duty officer who arrested the man as the incident occurred.” 
If anyone has information in relation to the incident, they are asked to contact Launceston Police on 131 444 or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000 – quote OR789125. 

Source: South Australia Police

Just 8.30am today (Tuesday 4 November), emergency services were called to the railway crossing near Pym Street.

Train services are restricted in the area and road closures are in place.

Please avoid the area if possible.