AU Engine

Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

Southern road police targeting red lights and mobile phones

Thursday, 8 May 2025 – 11:55 am.

Southern Road Policing Services conducted a targeted traffic operation in central Hobart yesterday, focusing on road safety offences, including drivers disobeying red lights and using mobile phones while driving.
Inspector Kathy Bennett said police were disappointed at the number of drivers who appeared to push the limits of red and orange traffic lights, failing to recognise the importance of stopping safely.
“We remind all motorists that they have a brake pedal as well as an accelerator, and the decision to rush through a changing light could have serious consequences,” she said.
Throughout the operation, officers detected and issued infringements for multiple offences:
• 22 people were caught using mobile phones
• 14 people were caught disobeying red lights
• One driver was caught not wearing a seatbelt
Inspector Bennett said these sorts of operations will continue to target dangerous driving behaviours.
“We will continue conducting targeted operations to ensure motorists adhere to the law and prioritise safety,” she said.
“If you’re on the roads, please follow the road rules, and avoid distractions while behind the wheel.”

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force is calling for information in relation to a rock throwing incident in Ludmilla overnight.

Around 10:20pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report that a brick had been thrown through a rear side window of a vehicle traveling outbound on Bagot Road near the entrance to Bagot Community.

The vehicle was carrying 4 occupants, with a woman suffering a serious injury to her eye.

Police and St John Ambulance attended, and the woman was conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital for treatment.

The alleged offender is described as a male youth aged around 14-years-old. He allegedly fled with two other youths into Bagot Community.

Patrols were conducted in the area and investigations into the identity of the offender remain ongoing.

Detectives are urging anyone with information, particularly if you have dash-cam footage along Bagot Road yesterday evening , to contact police on 131 444, quoting reference number NTP2500047387. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au.

Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies

Journalist: Thank you for joining us. Congratulations on Labor’s win. Firstly, it’s removed two leaders, Peter Dutton and Adam Bandt, at the last count. How are you feeling about the landslide?

Trade Minister, Don Farrell: Well, very positive. I think it’s a very positive endorsement of Prime Minister Albanese and the flawless campaign that he ran. He had a vision for Australia. I don’t think any of the other candidates from the other parties had that vision. I think the Australian people have now overwhelmingly endorsed Anthony Albanese’s vision for the future of Australia.

Journalist: And the Labor caucus will meet here tomorrow. Will you remain as Trade Minister?

Minister Farrell: Look, that’s entirely in the hands of the Prime Minister. I’ll be putting myself forward this afternoon and tomorrow for the ministerial positions. What job I get in that new ministry will be entirely in the hands of the Prime Minister. Obviously, I really like the job as Trade Minister and I’d like to continue. But I’m happy to serve Prime Minister Albanese in any way he thinks I should.

Journalist: I believe you are safe. That has been confirmed as the leadership team will stay the same. Where would your first trip be?

Minister Farrell: Well, that’ll be up to the Prime Minister. I know he has some plans to visit some countries and I’d be very happy to go with him if he wanted me to do that. On election night, I got messages from both the Europeans and the Indians indicating that they’re very keen to continue with the discussions to get free trade agreements. Obviously, we’ve got the UAE free trade agreement coming up in a few weeks that will allow all Australian products to go into the UAE tariff-free. So, we’re in the business of supporting free and fair trade and arguing wherever we can that the best interests of Australia and the rest of the world is served by free and fair trade.

Journalist: How are we going securing a tariff carve out with the Trump administration?

Minister Farrell: Look, we’re continuing to prosecute that argument. Obviously, we’ve been in caretaker mode for the last five weeks, but our Ambassador, of course, Kevin Rudd, is doing a really good job in the United States prosecuting the argument on our behalf and will continue to do that.

Journalist: And a difficult time between the United States and China, are we making any headway? How do you plan to tackle that relationship going forward?

Minister Farrell: Our argument is very simple. The way to prosperity is through free trade. Tariffs are the wrong way to go and I think we’ll quickly see in the United States that inflation goes up, unemployment goes up and the share market goes down. None of those are good for working people. We want to prosecute the argument with the United States with China that tariffs are not the way to go and both countries should remove their tariffs. Thank you.

Journalist: Thank you very much.

Source: Australian Attorney General’s Agencies

James Glenday, Host: On federal politics, Don Farrell joins us now from Parliament House. Don, good morning and welcome back to News Breakfast.

Trade Minister, Don Farrell: Good morning, James.

Glenday: On the final sitting day, could you have imagined returning to Canberra knowing that you’d knocked off the Liberal Party’s leader, Peter Dutton, and the leader of The Greens, Adam Bandt as well?

Minister Farrell: Well, the truth is, James, I don’t think anybody could have predicted that. I was confident, based on the work that we’d done over the previous three years, especially in my space, of trade, that we would be returned and returned with a majority. But even I couldn’t believe the results as they came in on Saturday night. I think the Greens have suffered because so many times in the last Parliament they blocked sensible policies of the Albanese Government. They voted with the Coalition in the Senate to block, for instance, legislation on housing, sensible housing policy, and I think they’ve paid the political price for that.

Glenday: This outcome must be deeply satisfying for you. Personally, I just wonder, have you ever felt so satisfied after an election win? Where does this rank? Is it the sweetest victory, almost a fairytale for Labor?

Minister Farrell: Look, it doesn’t, doesn’t get any better than this, James. When you’ve been involved in politics as long as I have, this has to be the sweetest victory of all.

Glenday: There you go. Now there’s a trade war happening. I’m not sure where you’re going to end up, but if you are reinstalled as Trade Minister, you’ll have a lot on your plate. Do you know where you’ll head?

Minister Farrell: First of all, look, we’ve got a number of objectives that we will need to prosecute and prosecute very quickly. On election night I got messages from my European colleagues, they’re very keen to re-engage and have another crack at an EU free trade agreement. The EU has 450 million people, and a $17 trillion economy. They’ll be very important if we can get a breakthrough there. The Indians also contacted me. We were very close to a new free trade agreement with them and I think we can move very quickly now to finalise that agreement. And of course, in the next few weeks, our new free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which sends all of our products into the UAE tariff free, will come into force and that will be important. And of course we, we want to continue discussions with the United States. We believe in free and fair trade and that’s the argument we’ll be prosecuting with them.

Glenday: I think it’ll be closely watched. Do you expect to head to either China or to the States first?

Minister Farrell: Look, we’ll worry about that after we know who the new Trade Minister is next week.

Glenday: That’s fair.

Minister Farrell: But we will move very quickly to ensure that Australia’s interests are protected here. China, of course, is our largest trading partner. We’re concerned about the tariff war between China and the United States. We believe in free and fair trade and we think that those tariffs should be removed on China.

Glenday: Okay. You are a factional leader of the Labor right. You were once unkindly referred to as a faceless man. Of course you do have a face. And here you are speaking to us. What are you asking the Prime Minister for though? You’ve got a lot of influence as these Ministerial portfolios are carved up.

Minister Farrell: A face that a mother could love. And they do call me other things too, by the way. That’s not the only thing they call me. Look, I’m not going to give the Prime Minister any advice on what he should do. He’s won a fabulous victory here. He ran a flawless campaign. His strategy throughout the whole of the last term was about getting reelected and continuing the policies that we took to the election. I’m very happy to leave it all to him and to accept whatever he might wish me to do in the new government.

Glenday: Ok, just before I let you go, I want to get you on an international issue that’s been developing. Has the Albanese government made any contact with India or Pakistan regarding these cross border strikes we’re seeing?

Minister Farrell: Look, that’s an issue of course, that is in the hands of our very competent and successful Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. But of course we don’t want to see any conflict in our region. We’d like to see an end to the conflict in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine, Russia, and we certainly don’t want to see any conflict in our own region.

Glenday: And Don, just one last one. We saw smoke this morning from the Vatican. You went to the Pope’s funeral. I’m not sure what that was like, but do you have a personal preference of who the next Pope should be or the direction of the Catholic Church? I’m guessing this is outside the bounds of your factional influence.

Minister Farrell: Well, as a matter of fact, James, I do have a personal favourite in the Conclave at the moment. And that is the Australian – Ukrainian Cardinal, Cardinal Bychok. I was lucky enough to meet with him twice while I was in Rome. He’s a very, very fine man. A very holy man. I’d like to see him as the next pope. My wife, on the other hand, who’s Filipino, she would like to see Cardinal Tagle as the next pope. And we also had the opportunity of meeting him at the Vatican. So, there’s a couple of candidates for you, James.

Glenday: There you go. Well, we’ll have to wait and see if you’ve backed a winner there, Don Farrell, the Trade Minister. Perhaps the continuing Trade Minister. We’ll wait and see for that as well. Thank you so much for joining News Breakfast this morning.

Minister Farrell: Thanks, James.

Source:

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Source:

Source: Tasmania Police

Issued: 7 May 2025

The flames of protection and renewal are lighting up K’gari once again as the island’s annual collaborative planned burning program sparks into action.

From now through July, fire-trained Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers and their firefighting partners will be leading the charge across key areas of the island to safeguard its unique ecosystems and protect vital infrastructure.

After a soggy start to the year, including the impacts of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred and a bustling Easter holiday season, QPWS has officially launched this year’s planned burn initiative.

In late April, the first planned burns were carefully conducted at the Dundubara camping area.

Over a two-day operation, rangers expertly applied low-intensity fire to reduce fuel loads around the popular campground and nearby dingo exclusion fence.

The result was a safer, more resilient landscape – better prepared for bushfire season and the next phase of aerial planned burns.

Senior Ranger Linda Behrendorff emphasised the importance of timing and ecological balance.

“Now is the prime time for planned burning on K’gari,” Ranger Linda said.

“We take many factors into account – like seasonal wildlife movements, peak visitor periods, and recent weather patterns – to ensure every burn benefits the environment and the community.”

Planned burns play a critical role in QPWS’s long-term fire management strategy.

By creating a diverse mosaic of burnt and unburnt areas, these efforts help reduce bushfire intensity, support biodiversity, and promote healthier ecosystems across the K’gari section of Great Sandy National Park.

Visitors to K’gari over the coming months are encouraged to stay informed, respect Ranger instructions, and look out for signage related to fire operations.

For your safety and the safety of others:

• Never enter closed areas
• Only light campfires in designated zones
• If smoke is present, stay indoors, close windows and doors, and keep respiratory medication handy

For the latest updates, visit the QPWS Fire Management webpage or stay connected via Park Alerts and @QldParkAlerts on X (formerly Twitter).

Source: Tasmania Police

Issued: 7 May 2025

Parts of Kondalilla National Park, including the Kondalilla Falls Lower Circuit are temporarily closed due to damage from flash flooding.

Recent heavy rainfall and severe weather in the Blackall Range has resulted in damage to bridges and tracks in the national park.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) Rangers are working to assess and repair the damage and will re-open parts of the Kondalilla Falls when it is safe to do so.

These measures have been enforced to ensure the safety of visitors.

Sections of Kondalilla National Park remain open:

• Picnic Creek Circuit
• Kondalilla Falls Lookout
• Kondalilla Falls Rock Pools
• Access to Flat Rock and the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk

Visitors are being urged to check Park Alerts for up-to-date information on protected area closures.

QPWS will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates when the protected areas are safe to reopen.

The public is urged to obey all signs and directions from Rangers to ensure their safety.

Media contact:                 DETSI Media Unit on (07) 3339 5831 or media@des.qld.gov.au

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services