Month: May 2026

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

Image: Travis Easton

Victorian fire services are warning of the fire risk of everyday household products after a recent significant incident in Upwey, where a family lost their home in a fire linked to a lithium-ion battery charger.

CFA crews were alerted to the structure fire at around 10.57pm on Sunday 19 April.

On arrival, crews found an elevated home fully involved with fire, with flames reaching well above the roofline. The fire had started in a workshop beneath the property, on a steep section of road, before spreading through the home. Multiple local brigades worked to bring the fire under control at 11.28pm.

A fire investigation the following morning indicated the cause was consistent with an older incompatible charger being used with newer lithium-ion batteries.

Victorian fire services have identified lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in rechargeable devices such as laptops, mobile phones, e-bikes, e-scooters, power banks, and power tools as an emerging fire safety risk.

Combined data from CFA and FRV shows firefighters responded to more than 3,600 residential fires across Victoria in the 2024-25 Financial Year.

CFA Acting Chief Officer Garry Cook said the Upwey incident was a reminder of how quickly lithium-ion battery fires can escalate.

“Lithium-ion batteries have become part of everyday life, but many people still underestimate the fire risk,” Garry said.

“These fires can start quickly and spread just as fast, which is why it is so important people take simple precautions when charging and storing these devices.

“Always use the charger supplied with the device, or one recommended by the manufacturer. Avoid charging batteries on beds, couches or other soft furnishings, and never leave charging devices blocking a doorway or exit.

“If a battery is overheating, swelling, leaking, making unusual noises or giving off a strong smell, stop using it immediately.

“Make sure you also have working smoke alarms that are interconnected in your home, because early warning can make all the difference.”

FRV Deputy Commissioner Community Safety and Operational Training Joshua Fischer said Victorians should be aware of the range of causes that could lead to lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

Firefighters are continuing to respond to around one fire each day caused by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, he said.

“These batteries become more of a fire risk when they are overcharged or incompatible chargers are used, when they are overheated or damaged, and when they malfunction or have faults,” he said.

“While these types of batteries are in many devices we use every day, the good news is that we can minimise the fire risk by knowing what to look for and following a few steps in choosing and handling lithium-ion battery-powered devices.

“By following these guidelines, we can look to reduce the frequency of these fires which are a significant cause of preventable fires across the state.”

To minimise your risks of a fire caused by a rechargeable lithium-on battery:   

• Purchase products from a reputable supplier and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. 
• Only charge items in rooms with smoke alarms. Charge away from doors and escape routes so you can safely exit a property if your product catches alight. 
• Only use chargers and cords that are originally supplied with that device. Using chargers with incorrect power delivery (voltage and current) can cause damage to the battery or overheating that can lead to fires. 
• Only use batteries that are designed for that device. 
• Check that chargers have the Regulatory Compliance Mark, to show that they meet the relevant Australian Standards. 
• Avoid charging on soft locations such as couches, beds and carpets.   
• Don’t use batteries or devices that show signs of swelling or bulging, leaking, overheating, or signs of mechanical damage. 

If your e-product does catch fire:

• Call Triple Zero (000) immediately. 
• Stop using the product if you notice overheating, bulging, leaking or unusual sounds.
• Leave the area and call Triple Zero (000), even if you no longer see flames or smoke.
• It’s not safe to attempt to put the fire out yourself, as batteries involved in fire can release toxic gases and generate multiple explosions. Ensure firefighters attend to make the area safe.

Safe disposal of lithium-ion batteries:

• Never throw lithium-ion batteries in your regular waste or recycling collection bins. Many battery-related fires start in household bins, garbage trucks and waste facilities.
• Victorians can learn more about lithium-ion batteries and how to safely use these products online at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/batterysafety and www.frv.vic.gov.au/battery-safety.

Submitted by	CFA Media

Source:

---

Source: New South Wales Health – State Government

NSW Health is advising people in Sydney to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of a confirmed case.
This case is a returned traveller from Southeast Asia, where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles.
The person visited several locations across Sydney while unknowingly infectious. Including a healthcare facility. 
A full list of locations is available on the NSW Health website​. Exposure locations and times are updated regularly. 
People who attended these locations should watch for symptoms of measles. These locations do not pose an ongoing risk. 
If it has been less than 6 days since the exposure at these locations and you are pregnant, have a weakened immune system or have an infant who was exposed, you are advised to contact your local Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055.
There is currently an increased risk of measles in NSW, with 46 cases confirmed since 1 January 2026.
Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit Director, Dr Leena Gupta, said people should monitor for symptoms of measles, particularly if they have visited any of the exposure locations at the listed time.
“If symptoms develop and you’ve been at one of the locations at the time listed on the website, see your doctor or health service, including an emergency department. Call ahead to let them know that you may have come into contact with measles so you don’t spend time in waiting rooms with other patients,” Dr Gupta said. 
“Symptoms to watch out for include fever, sore eyes, runny nose and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head and face to the rest of the body.
“Anyone with early symptoms who gets a rash a few days later should also think about measles, even if they haven’t attended one of the identified locations, and seek testing.
“It can take up to 18 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure, so it’s important for people who visited these locations to look out for symptoms for this period.”
Measles is a vaccine preventable disease that is spread through the air when someone who is infectious coughs or sneezes. 
“Importantly, we want to remind the community to make sure they are up to date with their vaccinations. Measles vaccine can prevent the disease even after exposure, if given early enough,” Dr Gupta said.
“Anyone born after 1965 needs to ensure they have had two doses of measles vaccine. This is especially important before overseas travel, as measles outbreaks are occurring in several regions of the world at the moment.”
Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and effective and is given free for children at 12 and 18 months of age. It is also free in NSW for anyone born after 1965 who hasn’t already had two doses.
Children under the age of 12 months can have an extra, early, dose of MMR from six months of age if they are travelling overseas. Parents should consult their GP.
People who are unsure of whether they have had two doses should get a vaccine, as additional doses are safe. This is particularly important prior to travel. MMR vaccine is available from GPs (all ages) and pharmacies (people over 5 years of age).
For more information on measles, view the measles factsheet. 
People can also visit the Australian Government Smart Traveller website for information on health risks, including measles outbreaks relevant to their travel destination.
If you, or a loved one, is experiencing measles symptoms, or have questions about measles, please call your GP or Healthdirect on 1800 022 222. 

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force continues to make arrests following Thursday night’s riot in Alice Springs.

A 33-year-old male was arrested earlier today for his alleged involvement in the riot at the front of the Alice Springs Hospital. He was further identified as being allegedly involved in the Aggravated Burglary at the Coles Shell Express on Gap Road shortly thereafter.

He has now been charged with:

• Offences relating to riots
• Aggravated Burglary
• Theft

He was remanded in custody to appear in Alice Springs Local Court tomorrow.

Investigators also arrested five individuals, aged 18, 19, 31, 38 and 65, in relation to the riots yesterday.

In total, 30 people have now been arrested in relation to the violence that was seen on Thursday 30 April 2026. The charges relate to the burglaries at Pigglys Supermarket and the Shell Express, along with the violence near the Alice Springs Hospital.

More arrests are expected to be made in coming days.

Anyone with information, including CCTV or dashcam, is urged to contact police on 131 444 or report anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force is calling for information in relation to an aggravated burglary in the Darwin CBD early this morning.

Around 12:10am, police CCTV operators observed multiple people enter inside a shop in the Smith Street Mall after its glass front door had been broken.

Upon Police arrival, numerous offenders fled the scene with a large quantity of stolen items, and a 37-year-old male was arrested nearby in possession of stolen property

Some stolen items were found scattered along the pathway where the offenders fled and have been recovered by police.

Strike Force Trident began investigations and identified another 42-year-old female alleged offender who had left Darwin on a Commercial Bus Service earlier that morning.

Katherine General Duties were notified and promptly intercepted the bus and the female was arrested.

Strike Force Trident are still investigating the incident and both offenders are expected to be charged later today.

Additional offenders are yet to be identified and Police urge anyone with information that may assist police, including footage, is urged to contact police on 131 444 and quote reference P26129439, or report anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: Airservices Australia

At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent.

Inflation picked up materially in the second half of 2025, and information since the beginning of this year confirms that some of this increase reflected greater capacity pressures. In addition, the conflict in the Middle East has resulted in sharply higher fuel and related commodity prices, which are already adding to inflation. There are early signs that many firms experiencing cost pressures are looking to increase prices of their goods and services. Short-term measures of inflation expectations have also risen.

The Bank has updated its forecasts to incorporate recent data and developments in the Middle East. The baseline forecast, which assumes that the conflict is resolved soon and fuel prices decline, sees underlying inflation peaking higher than was expected in February. It then declines as demand growth slows and capacity pressures ease in response to higher interest rates.

Financial conditions have tightened this year. Money market interest rates and government bond yields have risen, and the exchange rate has appreciated. But credit is readily available to both households and businesses.

There are materially heightened uncertainties about the outlook for domestic economic activity and inflation. With the conflict in the Middle East continuing, there are plausible scenarios where inflation is higher and activity lower than envisaged under the baseline forecast. A longer or more severe conflict could put further upward pressure on global energy prices; this would push up near-term inflation and could also increase inflation further out as these costs are passed through and if price rises get built into longer term inflation expectations. But higher prices and prolonged uncertainty may cause growth to be lower in Australia’s major trading partners and also in Australia.

Decision

As expected, developments in the Middle East are having an impact on inflation. Higher fuel prices are adding to inflation and there are indications that this is likely to have second-round effects on prices for goods and services more broadly. This inflation impulse is in addition to the high inflation recorded around the start of 2026, reflecting capacity pressures in the economy.

In light of these considerations, the Board assessed that inflation is likely to remain above target for some time and that the risks remain tilted to the upside, including to inflation expectations. It was therefore judged appropriate to increase the cash rate target.

The Board will be attentive to the data and the evolving assessment of the outlook and risks to guide its decisions. In doing so, it will pay close attention to developments in the global economy and financial markets, trends in domestic demand and the outlook for inflation and the labour market. Having raised the cash rate three times, monetary policy is well placed to respond to developments and the Board is focused on its mandate to deliver price stability and full employment. It will do what it considers necessary to achieve that outcome.

Today’s policy decision was made by majority: eight members voted to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent; one member voted to leave the cash rate target unchanged at 4.10 per cent.

Source: Prime Minister of Australia

ALI FRANCE, MEMBER FOR DICKSON: Good morning everyone. Welcome tot he Murrumba Downs Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. In particular I want to welcome our Prime Minister. This Medicare Urgent Care Clinic opened in 2023, and it has become a much-loved part of our local community. At the end of last year, I actually came here to deliver a cake, a big celebratory cake, to celebrate the milestone of 25,000 patients. And now we have over 32,000 patients, and that is such an incredible achievement. And I think that local residents are going to be so incredibly happy. We’ve just announced an extra $1.8 billion for our 135 Urgent Care Clinics right across the country to make them a permanent part of our health system. I know that everybody in this region, in the Moreton Bay region, will be so happy with that announcement.

But also, I want to say, it’s been one year since I became the Member for Dickson. And I’m so incredibly proud to be part of a Labor team that is prioritising Medicare. Over the past year, we have increased bulk billing. We have cheaper medicines. We have Medicare Mental Health Centres, one in my electorate in Strathpine. We have an awesome Women’s Health Package, and we also have these incredible Urgent Care Clinics. The whole reason I got involved in politics was to strengthen Medicare, and I’m just so proud of our team that we have been laser-focused on this, and now I’m going to hand over to the Prime Minister.

< ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER:

On Tuesday’s Budget, now just one week away, one of the centrepieces of that Budget will of course be once again strengthening Medicare. It was a key foundation of the election campaign in 2022, and then our re-election campaign last year. We committed to additional Urgent Care Clinics, and now 135 of those are open. And in Tuesday’s Budget, we will have $1.8 billion over the next five years, but ongoing to make Urgent Care Clinics a permanent feature of our health system. Urgent Care Clinics have been such a success because people can come in here whether to look after themselves or their children, given one in three of the three million Australians who’ve been to Urgent Care Clinics are there to look after a young one with a sports injury or with an issue that they may diagnose pretty quickly, but which is not life-threatening. It has built that gap between a local GP service and the emergency departments of hospitals, making a difference to both, taking pressure off emergency departments, but making sure people get the care that they need when they need it. And importantly, all they need is this little piece of plastic here, this green and gold symbol of Australian fairness and looking after each other that is so important with Medicare.

During that campaign as well, of course, we promised $8.5 billion for the bulk billing incentive to extend it right across the board. And we said we wanted to get bulk billing rates up, and that is happening as well. There are now eight clinics here in the electorate of Dickson that are fully bulk-billed. Five of those are new. So, what we’ve seen is a more than doubling of the access to fully bulk-billed services for GPs and for medical clinics in this electorate as well. When you combine Urgent Care Clinics with the bulk billing improvements, with cheaper medicines, just $25, the same price that they were in 2004, with as well the other work that we’ve been doing, endo and pelvic pain clinics, aimed specifically at women as part of our whole Women’s Health Package, the Medicare Mental Health Centres as well. 1800 Medicare, where people can get that 24-hour advice by just picking up their phone. All of these measures have been the most comprehensive health package to strengthen Medicare that we’ve seen from any government, and next Tuesday’s Budget will certainly be consistent with that.

This clinic here is seeing something like 275 patients a day on average. It’s one of 25 that are up and running here in Queensland. There’s going to be one just up the road at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast open this financial year as well, which is one of the last two to bring up to the 137 that we committed to. This is about Labor governments delivery as a result of the commitments that we made and as a result of the election of people like Ali France here. And it was certainly a great way to begin the campaign in 2025, and on the 3rd of May it of course was a great opportunity to celebrate Ali’s election at that time. Happy to take questions.

< JOURNALIST:

< PRIME MINISTER:

< JOURNALIST: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< JOURNALIST:

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< JOURNALIST: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< JOURNALIST: 

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< JOURNALIST:

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< JOURNALIST:

< PRIME MINISTER: 

< JOURNALIST:

< PRIME MINISTER:

< JOURNALIST:

< PRIME MINISTER: 

Source:

Issue date: Tuesday, 5 May 2026

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport will hold hearings with more than 20 councils in Wodonga, Wagga Wagga and Taree this week as part of its inquiry into local government funding.

The Committee wants to better understand the funding challenges faced by local government across regional and rural Australia and its workers who provide infrastructure and deliver services to vast areas of Victoria and NSW.

Committee Chair, Mrs Fiona Phillips MP, said “The Committee is looking forward to learning more about the fiscal sustainability of local government in both northern Victoria and regional NSW and potential solutions to current challenges for fast growing regional cities and geographically larger shires with fewer rate payers.”

Hearings will begin in Wodonga on Wednesday 6 May where the committee will hear from shire councils and regional city councils such as Wodonga and Wangaratta. The Committee will explore a range of issues including grant distribution processes, bushfire and flood recovery, workforce issues, and labour market conditions in regional Victoria and across the border in the Riverina.

The Committee will then travel to Wagga Wagga for hearings on Thursday 7 May to hear from city councils and shire councils in southern NSW and representatives of Regional Capitals Australia, NSW Country Mayors and NSW Farmers.

The committee travels north to Taree on Friday 8 May to hear from a local government representative body from the Hunter and a range of shire and city councils along the mid-north coast and inland up to the Tweed River. Discussions will cover financial sustainability, insurance and risk, workforce challenges, and broader pressures facing local government across New South Wales, especially for those councils contending with recovery from natural disasters.

Programs for each public hearing are available on the inquiry webpage.

Further information on the inquiry, including the terms of reference and how to contribute, is available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Time: 9.00 am – 3.30 pm
Location: The Huon Room, Huon Hill Hotel, 48 Reid Street, Wodonga, Victoria

Date: Thursday, 7 May 2026
Time: 9.00 am – 2.50 pm
Location: Premier room, Mercure Wagga Wagga, 1 Morgan Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW

Date: Friday, 8 May 2026
Time: 9.15 am – 4.00 pm
Location: Melaleuca room, Club Taree, 121 Wingham Road, Taree, NSW

Public hearings are broadcast live on the Australian Parliament House Streaming Portal.

Details for upcoming public hearings and more information about the inquiry, including the terms of reference, submissions and transcripts of previous hearings, is available on the inquiry webpage.

Media enquiries

Mrs Fiona Phillips, MP
Media Adviser: Katrina Condie 0437 662 967

For background information

Committee Secretariat
02 6277 2232
rdit.reps@aph.gov.au

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Strike Force Trident has arrested a male following an aggravated robbery that occurred in the Darwin CBD on Sunday morning.

Around 3:10am, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report from a taxi driver that a male had threatened him with an edged weapon while demanding his vehicle, phone and money.

The victim reported he picked up the male from Mitchell Street, who told the victim to drive to Casuarina before threatening him with an edged weapon whilst demanding the aforementioned items.

Whilst en route, the male changed the destination to Royal Darwin Hospital and once the vehicle was parked, the victim turned the vehicle off and ran towards security seeking refuge.

Casuarina General Duties and Strike Force Trident swiftly responded and arrested the 27-year-old male offender on hospital grounds. The male was also an outstanding target for a Parole Revocation. Strike Force Trident continued investigations and the male was later charged with:

1 x Aggravated robbery

1 x Going armed in public

1 x Possess thing to administer a dangerous drug

He was remanded in custody to appear in Court today.

Source: State of Victoria Local Government 2

In a boost to women’s sport in the region, the City of Greater Bendigo welcomes the recent announcement of $3M funding from the Victorian Government towards a new pavilion and female-friendly change rooms at White Hills Oval, Scott Street.

The funding is included in the Victorian Government’s upcoming 2026/2027 Budget. The City will also contribute funding to the project.
Greater Bendigo Mayor Cr Thomas Prince said this is an exciting investment in community sport facilities.

“Sport is not only great for being active and healthy, but it also brings people together, and pavilions such as White Hills are gathering places for local clubs and participants,” Cr Prince said.

“We recognise the growing need for more female-friendly facilities, and the importance of removing barriers to access by constructing new and improved facilities to support participation growth and increase social, health and wellbeing outcomes.

“This investment will enable us to upgrade the pavilion, kitchen, spectator shelter, amenities and change room facilities to support female-friendly AFL, cricket and netball participation.

“The City is also contributing funding to deliver this project, and we look forward to sharing more with the community in the coming months.”