News

Canberrans are being warned to take precautions this afternoon as a large band of thunderstorms with damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rain heads straight for the ACT, particularly for Canberra CBD. The weather system stretches from Cooma in the south and west to Tumut and is heading straight for the Canberra region. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe...

Two men - a 49-year-old and his 20-year-old son - will face the ACT Magistrates Court this morning over an alleged nail gun attack in Taylor. Police will allege that about 11:00 pm on Saturday (21 November), the two men armed themselves with nail guns and left their residence on McCredie Street to confront a group of people who were...

Canberra Avenue has taken the dubious title of having the most motor vehicle accidents in the ACT, according to new data from insurer AAMI, which also indicated that the most common type of car accidents in the Territory were nose-to-tail collisions, accounting for 67 per cent of crashes. Mondays were also the worst day on the road for accidents, especially during the...

ACT Policing’s Taskforce Nemesis has seized drugs, cash and firearms during an early morning search of a Ngunnawal residence yesterday (19 November). According to police, they entered the home at about 5:30 am and seized more than 300 grams of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, cash as well as two firearms and ammunition. Investigations are continuing and police expect charges to be...

UPDATED 10:45 am: The ACT has extended the Public Health Emergency for a further 90 days in response to the South Australian COVID-19 cluster, as the Territory records one new case, a returned diplomat who has been in quarantine. The diplomat, a man in his 30s, and his wife flew into Sydney Airport on 15 November before taking a private car...

Garbage truck drivers will begin their third strike in as many weeks today (16 November), affecting bin collections until Friday. This week, parts of Belconnen, Gungahlin and the Inner North will miss their regular collections while other suburbs will have their waste collected a few days later. ACT rubbish collection contractor Suez has again expressed disappointment at the industrial action....

The ACT Government is considering lower speed limits on major urban and rural roads to reduce the number of serious and fatal crashes occurring in the Territory. This could mean that roads where there is currently a 100 km/h speed limit could be reduced to 90 km/h, or 80 km/h zones could become 70 km/h zones. So far this year,...

The ryegrass that is causing Canberra's extreme levels After bushfires, smoke, hail storms and a pandemic comes ryegrass, elevating pollen counts to levels not seen in a decade, bringing runny noses, watery eyes, asthma outbreaks and that tickle on the roof of your mouth that won't go away. Chemists are reporting sales of antihistamines akin to the great toilet paper sellout...

Garbage truck drivers must be hoping for third time lucky as their industrial action for better pay and condition spills into week three. This time parts of Belconnen, Gungahlin and the Inner North will miss their regular collections while other suburbs will have their waste collected on a later date. The protected industrial action by drivers employed by collection contractor...

Mysterious loud noises in the middle of the night always cause consternation in Canberra, but this time there's an explanation. Multiple reports have emerged on social media of loud noises occurring around 11:00 pm on Sunday night. They were heard by householders around Belconnen and Woden, and as far afield as Gungahlin. Residents in Queanbeyan and Sutton also heard the...

E-scooters in the ACT remain divisive - love them or hate them, everyone seems to have an opinion. But given that more than a 100,000 scooter trips have already been taken, it's clear many Canberrans are keen to get out and give the new craze a go. Others, however, are voicing valid safety concerns, particularly around riders not wearing helmets,...

It may be well into next week before the ACT and the surrounding region sees more than one day of sunny skies, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting more rain and storms until at least Tuesday. While the rain and lack of morning frosts are giving tomatoes growers an early start before the traditional planting time of the first week...

The ACT has Australia's second-best performing economy according to CommSec's State of the State report, the Territory's highest ranking in three years and the nation's best figures for relative unemployment. The ACT has the strongest job market, being the only jurisdiction to record a fall in its unemployment compared to the decade-average. The unemployment rate for the June quarter was...

UPDATED 11:35 am Elizabeth Lee has been elected leader of the Canberra Liberals, taking over from Alistair Coe who did not re-contest the ballot after the party's defeat at the election 10 days ago. Giulia Jones has been elected deputy leader, replacing Nicole Lawder. Former opposition leader and shadow Attorney-General Jeremy Hanson, who led the party at the 2016 election,...

The ACT and the south-east region of NSW are set for another drenching this weekend from what at least one meteorologist is calling a "severe storm trifecta" during the coming days. Storms, damaging winds and flash flooding are in the mix across the entire eastern seaboard of NSW and parts of Queensland. There's also a chance of hail. The Bureau...

A 33-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man are expected to face court this morning (21 October) in relation to a series of property thefts in Gungahlin. Police allege that yesterday afternoon, the group was spotted by members of the public stealing packages from the front of residences in Casey, Nicholls and Taylor. At the time, the group...