Greener grass if weed is legal but doctors more blunt
Legalising weed has been touted as a solution to reducing the stigma of users and increasing health benefits as senators hash out the effect of proposed laws.
inquiry
PwC executives accused of ‘thumbing nose at parliament’
The head of embattled consulting firm PwC has come under fire for not providing details of a key report into the organisation's conduct.
‘Making money’: insurers scolded over flood payouts
Insurers have been accused of failing to protect and compensate Australians devastated by floods during a fiery parliamentary hearing.
No ‘magic number’ to reduce hung juries, inquiry told
The merits of shortening mandatory jury deliberation times are being examined in a bid to reduce instances of hung juries and retrials.
Insurance fund for flood-prone areas: legal advocates
Advocates say a fund to help people in flood-prone areas afford insurance premiums should be considered as a parliamentary inquiry looks at insurer practices.
ACCC to ‘forensically’ probe supermarket prices
The deputy chair of the consumer watchdog says the body will examine information on possible supermarket price gouging as part of a new inquiry.
Optus admits thousands more triple zero calls failed
Optus' revelation the number of unsuccessful calls to emergency services was 10 times more than first reported is "deeply concerning", the government says.
NSW police failed victims of gay hate crimes: inquiry
Mandatory training for police about the LGBTQI community and investigating possible hate crimes has been recommended by a special inquiry into unsolved murders.
Police urged to apologise for handling of hate crimes
At a time when discrimination and violence against LGBTQI people was rife, many victims were unable to turn to police for help, a government inquiry has found.
Corruption ‘beyond dispute’ at time of Croatian Six
NSW police had a culture of fabricating evidence at the time a group of men were convicted over an alleged terror plot, an inquiry has heard.
Commonwealth Games bid hampered by ‘tight’ timeline
Consultants working on the business case for Victoria's 2026 Commonwealth Games bid did not visit any venues and were given six weeks to complete their work.
Longer wait for troubled youth detention closure
Tasmania's government has provided a formal response to an inquiry into child sexual abuse in state institutions that made 191 recommendations for reform.
‘This country failed them’: calls for detention inquiry
Refugees, politicians and asylum seeker advocates are urging the Albanese government to establish a royal commission into immigration detention.
Hundreds of emergency calls failed during Optus outage
A Senate inquiry into a 12-hour Optus outage that affected millions of Australians has revealed hundreds of triple-zero calls were unable to go through.
‘Defensive’ police missed opportunity in gay hate probe
A special inquiry into suspected gay hate crimes in NSW has heard police took an "adversarial" approach to the landmark probe.
‘Not credible’: minister in dark on Comm Games axing
Senior Victorian government minister Harriet Shing has claimed she only learned the 2026 Commonwealth Games could be axed a week after lawyers were hired.
Inquiry to shine a light on Christchurch terror attacks
A coroner has begun six weeks of public hearings into the murder of 51 worshippers in 2019 at Christchurch's Al Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.
Games chief reveals funding pledge before shock axing
Premier Jacinta Allan assured Commonwealth Games representatives Victoria would make good on funding the 2026 event that was later dumped, a top official says.
PwC partner at centre of tax scandal banned by watchdog
Peter-John Collins has been banned by ASIC from providing financial services for eight years following his role in the PwC tax advice scandal.
Flood loss a return to past trauma for retiree
A retiree forced from his home in mismanaged floods says the ordeal made him relive the trauma he experienced fleeing war-torn Europe as a child.
Comm Games promo $600k price tag money ‘well spent’
Victoria's canning of the 2026 Commonwealth Games has increased interest in people coming to the state, the head of the government's tourism company insists.
NSW needs to ‘catch up’ on mental health services
NSW has fallen behind other states on mental health care and will take a significant funding boost to meet the needs of patients, a parliamentary inquiry heard.
Officials defend Flemington flood wall after disaster
A racing industry official has defended a wall built around Flemington Racecourse which locals believe worsened the impact of floods on surrounding homes.
Premier stands by silence on ‘unacceptable’ Games costs
Victoria's premier has defended not publicly flagging potential cost pressures on the 2026 Commonwealth Games in the lead-up to the event being canned.
Modelling behind flood warning failure, inquiry hears
The Victorian State Emergency Service boss has conceded poor modelling contributed to the lack of warning about major flooding along the Maribyrnong River.
Top bureaucrat says he flagged axing $2b blowout Games
Victoria's government was told months before it cancelled the Commonwealth Games the event would cost almost $2 billion more than expected.
Forensic advance reveals suspect in decades-old murder
An inquiry has uncovered a potential suspect in the frenzied killing of Sydney man Ernest Head in the 1970s, in what was believed to have been a gay hate crime.
Key players to front flood inquiry on racecourse wall
Melbourne Water and the Victoria Racing Club are set to face questions about the Flemington Racecourse wall as part of an inquiry into the 2022 flood disaster.
Racism killing Aboriginal children: youth commissioner
The deaths of Aboriginal boys Cassius Turvey and Elijah Doughty have been raised in a Senate inquiry by WA's youth commissioner who says racism is taking lives.
Hate inquiry claims absolute rubbish, says ex-top cop
A controversial interview by an ex-detective has been the focus of an inquiry into gay hate crimes as it examines the high-profile case of Scott Johnson.
New workplace laws are ‘life and death legislation’
Businesses across Australia have spent millions of dollars on a campaign against workplace reforms that unions say stop gig economy worker deaths.