Dutton,Albanese

Federal election 2025 as it happened:Half a million votes cast on first day of early voting;Trump tariff war to blow $13b hole in economy

Follow live as we bring you all the news of week four of the election campaign.

  • Angus Dalton andBroede Carmody

Latest

One Victorian has more than $400,000 in unpaid toll fines.

Twenty people. Nearly $6 million in fines. What went wrong?

Lawyers are calling on the government to announce an amnesty on penalty and enforcement fees attached to toll fines to stop people spiralling into unsustainable debt.

  • Daniella White andBroede Carmody
Victoria’s local public health units opened during the pandemic.

‘People are going to die’:Funding doubt over state’s frontline public health defence

The Victorian government refuses to guarantee the future of local public health units that were crucial to the state’s pandemic fight,igniting concerns about more budget cuts to an already stretched health service.

  • Chip Le Grand,Henrietta Cook andBroede Carmody
Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place chief executive Fiona O’Leary,left,and program manager Kerry Williams,right.

‘Clear risks to staff and clients’:The community health buildings that are falling apart

For many of these places,foundations are failing,there are cracks in the walls or portions of the roofs could cave in at any moment.

  • Broede Carmody
Marlyn Torres and son Ali,9. Ali is a patient at the Children’s Cancer Centre at the RCH who uses Art and Music Therapy.

Royal Children’s Hospital backs down on staffing cuts to kids’ cancer centre

Three days after The Age revealed the plan to cut 13 positions,the hospital confirmed the roles have now been saved.

  • Broede Carmody andAlexander Darling
Children’s Cancer Foundation chair Jaala Pulford.

Royal Children’s Hospital’s key donors hit back at claims they caused lay-offs

Donors to the Royal Children’s Hospital say they are committed to ensuring programs in the cancer centre continue to be funded.

  • Broede Carmody,Brittany Busch andAshleigh McMillan
Advertisement
Free pad and tampon kiosk technician Gabrielle Seils-Owen says one of the joys of her job is seeing women’s faces “light up” when they learn about the initiative.

Found yourself caught short of sanitary products? Free vending machine for tampons dispense 20,000 packs

Victoria has distributed more than 20,000 free packs of sanitary products in the first stage of its trial to provide free pads and tampons in public places.

  • Broede Carmody
The Children’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital is being hit with redundancies.

‘Appalling act’:Royal Children’s Hospital to slash cancer centre jobs on eve of charity appeal

The Children’s Cancer Centre will lose as many as 10 full-time equivalent roles,including dedicated mental health workers,in a move staff have described as devastating.

  • Broede Carmody
Ann Capling used a free bowel screening kit that helped detect a problem early.

The areas in Victoria where rates of this cancer are at their highest

Search your area to see how its bowel cancer rate compares with the national average.

  • Hannah Kennelly andBroede Carmody
Flu cases

‘Perfect storm of infection’:First-quarter flu cases hit high

Doctors have warned that record influenza detections between January and March could be an “ominous sign” for the cooler months.

  • Broede Carmody