Australia news live: Victorian police commissioner quits after no-confidence vote; Sydney faces more train chaos

The Guardian

16-02-2025

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Victoria is set to recruit a new police boss after the embattled chief resigned days after a majority of his workforce declared no confidence in his leadership.
As AAP reports, chief commissioner Shane Patton said last night that he had advised the Victorian government he had decided to step away from the role 'effective immediately'.
It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision, however I think it is the right one to allow fresh leadership in the role.
After more than 45 years of serving the community with Victoria police, he had 'utmost pride' in the organisation.
Victoria's emergency management commissioner, Rick Nugent, would step into the role 'as soon as practicable' until a replacement was chosen, premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement yesterday. Deputy commissioner Wendy Steendam will lead the organisation temporarily.
The state's top cop had gone to ground since initially vowing to stay on after a union no-confidence vote was passed on Friday. Of the 14,571 Police Association members who took part in the online ballot, more than 12,600 – or 87% – did not have confidence he could lead and manage Victoria police in the future. Police at work in Melbourne. Photograph: Michael Currie/Speed Media/REX/Shutterstock Share Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
O'Neil on Labor's move to ban foreign investors from buying existing homes for two years
The housing minister, Clare O'Neil, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier after Labor matched an opposition policy of stopping foreign investors from buying existing homes for two years.
Asked if she always personally supported this idea, or if it was about getting this on the agenda ahead of the election, O'Neil said this was because 'Australians are under real housing pressure today.'
You asked if I always believed in this – the honest truth is, yes. I feel really strongly about this. We've got serious problems with housing in our country at the moment, and that's why you're seeing our government throw absolutely everything at this problem.
She was asked what impact this will actually have on housing prices, with the move catching around 0.5% of the market. O'Neil said it wasn't 'a silver bullet and no-one is pretending that it is'.
If this was an easy problem to solve, a government would've done this a long time ago. We got a housing crisis in our country which has been in the generation in the making …
Will it make a difference? The answer is, yes, it will mean thousands of Australian families get the opportunity to own their own home that otherwise wouldn't have had that chance. If we keep making moves like this, then we're going to make a difference. Share
Transport for NSW says the rail network is running 'close to timetable' this morning with minimal delays and a smaller number of cancellations.
But passengers are still being advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time, with disruptions throughout the day flagged.
197 Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink train drivers and guards did not report for their normal shifts as of 5am today, and this number could grow throughout the day. As a result, 335 services have been cancelled so far today.
Across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 1,525 train drivers and guards did not report for work, resulting in 3,935 services cancelled or delayed.
Transport for NSW said the matter would be back in the Fair Work Commission for a full bench hearing on Wednesday. Share
Victoria is set to recruit a new police boss after the embattled chief resigned days after a majority of his workforce declared no confidence in his leadership.
As AAP reports, chief commissioner Shane Patton said last night that he had advised the Victorian government he had decided to step away from the role 'effective immediately'.
It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision, however I think it is the right one to allow fresh leadership in the role.
After more than 45 years of serving the community with Victoria police, he had 'utmost pride' in the organisation.
Victoria's emergency management commissioner, Rick Nugent, would step into the role 'as soon as practicable' until a replacement was chosen, premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement yesterday. Deputy commissioner Wendy Steendam will lead the organisation temporarily.
The state's top cop had gone to ground since initially vowing to stay on after a union no-confidence vote was passed on Friday. Of the 14,571 Police Association members who took part in the online ballot, more than 12,600 – or 87% – did not have confidence he could lead and manage Victoria police in the future. Police at work in Melbourne. Photograph: Michael Currie/Speed Media/REX/Shutterstock Share Emily Wind
Good morning, and welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I'm Emily Wind and I'll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
As AAP reports, Victoria's police commissioner Shane Patton has advised he would step away from the role 'effective immediately'. He said last night:
It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision, however I think it is the right one to allow fresh leadership in the role.
After more than 45 years of serving the community with Victoria police, Patton had 'utmost pride' in the organisation. We'll have more on this shortly.
Meanwhile, chaos is continuing throughout the Sydney train network amid the rail unions' ongoing standoff with the New South Wales government. Commuters are being advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time today, with service disruptions already occurring.
We'll bring you updates throughout the day as the situation develops. You can read more on this below:
As always, you can reach out with any tips, questions or feedback via email: [e-mail]. Let's get started. Share