What we learned, Sunday 14 December
And with that, we are going to close the blog. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, has become the first MP to make repayments for family travel amid growing controversy about politicians expenses, after some of her claims for a 2023 trip were found to be a breach of the rules.
A 23-year-old woman is fighting for her life and a man is in custody after an alleged hit-and-run on the Sunshine Coast. The vehicle has struck eight pedestrians. As a result of that incident, one of those pedestrians is in hospital in Brisbane in a life-threatening condition.
The federal government has taken the next step on plans to stop supermarkets from price gouging their customers. Australia’s big supermarkets are furious they are being targeted with more regulations, Australian Associated Press reported, with Coles crying poor about making about $2.50 for every $100 a customer spends.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has raised major concerns about the detention of Indigenous people, children and migrants. The experts urged Australian authorities to engage in comprehensive reforms to reduce the imprisonment of First Nations peoples, raise the minimum age of detention to at least 14 years, and end the mandatory detention of persons with irregular visa status.
A report will be prepared for the coroner after the sudden death of a teenage girl at Moffat beach on the Sunshine Coast last night. She fell off a cliff after taking photos with her friends beyond the barrier.
The West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne has opened, providing an alternative to the West Gate bridge, with new ramps, bridges, elevated roadways and a widened and upgraded freeway.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow morning to do it all again.
Updated
Victoria’s West Gate Tunnel opens
We have a bit more here on the opening of the west gate tunnel from AAP:
A major new toll road intended to ease traffic in Australia’s second-largest city has finally opened, a decade after the project was first announced.
Victoria’s West Gate Tunnel, an alternative route to Melbourne’s west, opened to the public on Sunday morning with the long-awaited toll road heralded to be a “game-changer” for commuters.
The first trucks and cars passed through the 6.8km stretch just after midnight, drawing the $10.2bn project to a close.
Premier Jacinta Allan described the roadway - which has three lanes in each direction - a “massive game-changer for the way people travel around this great city and state”.
It means families can get home sooner, congestion will be reduced, and most importantly, for residents here in the western suburbs, it will get trucks off local roads.
Allen defended the Labor-backed project, despite a decade of turbulent planning, a doubling of its cost and years of delays.
Updated
