Law & order

A national gun buyback scheme introduced in the wake of a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach has stalled, with a majority of Australian states and territories declining to join the program by the March 2026 deadline set by the federal government. The buyback was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in December 2025, days after a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach...

...the Government is releasing draft legislation to regulate the cash distribution sector to ensure it continues to serve the needs of Australians. This is about strengthening the cash distribution system, which is essential for the many Australians and businesses that rely on cash.

Carey Brennan. More than 100 farmers attended the recent VFF community meeting held by the St Arnaud branch on Thursday, April 9, to listen to legal experts speak about the effects of the new Victorian Treaty Act and the land acquisition procedures for transmission lines, all of which will adversely affect farmland in this district.

Patrick Tucker. A local farmer has been left out of pocket and frustrated after more than 1000 litres of diesel is believed to have been stolen from his property. Benjeroop farmer Lindsay Schultz said the fuel went missing sometime in March after a fresh delivery ... he believed the scale of the incident pointed to something more organised.

Some of you may have read my previous articles on Summit’s Force Majeure Gamble: A Pattern Emerges and CSBP’s Force Majeure Gamble ... The response on social media has been staggering, with the algorithms going off the charts — which tells me I have hit a nerve. Even more interesting are the stories of urea...

The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, says Victoria’s growing police vacancy crisis is leaving regional communities exposed, as reports of fuel theft surge across the region. Ms Cleeland said with more than 1500 Victoria Police vacancies and limited farm crime officers remaining, the Allan Labor Government had left farmers increasingly vulnerable to organised theft.

The Crisafulli Government is committed to unlocking productivity for Queenslanders with an inquiry into the impact of the Federal Government’s 2025 environmental legislation. Changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 have raised concerns with stakeholders about increased regulatory burden, compliance costs, uncertainty and delays. 

Broken Hill City Council has been awarded several million dollars following a successful NSW Supreme Court action against a former lawyer whose billing records claimed up to 36 hours of work in a single day. The court found that Keith Redenbach, principal of Redenbach Legal, charged the council $10 million to litigate a building dispute over renovations to the Broken Hill Civic Centre...

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and Department of Home Affairs’ Australian Border Force (ABF) have ramped up their compliance efforts across South Australia’s wine regions, conducting coordinated unannounced inspections targeting vineyard owners and labour hire providers.

In a stunning act of betrayal, the Liberal and National parties have back-flipped on a commitment made in the Senate just seven days earlier and voted with Labor to scuttle a motion that would have relegated the Government’s problematic cash mandate regulations to history ... Senator Michaelia Cash stood up last Tuesday and, speaking for both the Liberals and National parties, ridiculed the proposal and accused One Nation of trying to “ban cash”.

Police were called to the Allora headquarters of Bartranz Petroleum last week after a man allegedly lashed out at staff. Bartranz owners Justin and Gretta Barton described it as "A Tough Day for Our Team" ... A man allegedly entered the workplace and became aggressive over a fuel pricing dispute.

Oliver Jacques. A 77-year-old farmer has lost his last-ditch legal fight to win back two family farms worth around $4.8 million near Narrandera from his own son, ending a seven-year courtroom battle that he said has left him fearing homelessness. Colin Protheroe launched legal action against his son Brian, seeking to overturn a 2023 judgment which found that Brian was entitled to the farms under a court-imposed arrangement.

A wanted man - now confirmed as Desmond Freeman - was shot dead after a standoff at a rural property in Thologolong on Monday as part of the operation to locate the fugitive after seven months at large. The shooting occurred at the property shortly after 8.30am following an impasse with police including members of the Special Operations Group and detectives from Taskforce Summit.

The Finocchiaro CLP Government has enacted the Price Exploitation Prevention Act for the first time, since its inception in 1949, in an unprecedented move to manage the on-going fuel crisis.

Following a meeting of the National Cabinet ... the Australian Government will halve the fuel excise on petrol and diesel for three months ... is acting to shield Australia against any future fuel supply chain disruptions, by establishing new fuel security powers, enabling government to work with fuel suppliers to keep fuel flowing to Australia.

As the Iran–USA–Israel conflict ripples through global fertiliser markets, Western Australian farmers are discovering just how fragile their supply chains really are. At the centre of it is CSBP, which has reached for the force majeure clause in its contracts to step away from its contractual obligations.

The NSW Minister for Energy has issued formal information notices to a number of liquid fuel companies, as NSW responds to fuel distribution challenges arising from the conflict in the Middle East. Last week the NSW Government sought voluntary information from major fuel companies about historical stocks and sales as well as future orders and forecasts.

The Albanese Government is helping Australia’s trucking industry manage the impacts of the war in the Middle East, ensuring truckies and transport operators are better protected from fuel price rises. With global uncertainty leading to significant impacts on our transport industry, our Government is taking practical action to support the truckies and transport operators who keep the Australian economy moving.

Yet drive through Perth and the metropolitan fuel system appears to be operating normally. No ration notices. No capped pumps. No anxious motorists sneaking jerry-cans into the back of Hiluxes ... something more curious is emerging: selective rationing.