Laura Mayers

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Shannon Schubert |Laura Mayers

HAV Proprietary Limited, formerly Hay Australia Victoria, has been ordered to pay a $400,000 fine over a worker's death. In 2021, Harley Muir died from crush injuries after working on a multibaler at a regional Victorian facility. The defence attempted to argue Mr Muir's actions and injuries were self-inflicted. The mother of a regional Victorian worker who was crushed to death at a hay baling plant in 2021 says she "prays we can let him rest" as a protracted court case concludes.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Laura Mayers |Jean Bell

Ararat Rural City Council is seeking damages after a 70-metre-long wind turbine blade was transported through a residential area last week. The movement of the turbine caused disruptions to municipal services and damage to council assets, including street signs and a tree. Authorities are working to understand how the incident unfolded. A Victorian council says it will seek compensation for the damage caused by a wind turbine blade that got struck on a residential street last week.

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Laura Mayers |Rebekah Lowe |Steve Martin |Andrew Kelso

As the sun rises over the Grampians town of Pomonal, population 300, all is still. Birds sing, wallabies feed on the grass of a local recreation reserve, and somewhere in the distance a rooster crows. It's a stark contrast to 12 months ago when a dry lightning strike started a fire that ripped through the town, destroying 45 homes. This summer fire again threatened the town, reigniting the fears and realities that come with living in the shadow of a national park.

Jan 23, 2025 | rnz.co.nz | Kellie Lazzaro |Alexander Darling |Laura Mayers

By Kellie Lazzaro, Alexander Darling, and Laura MayersPolice are searching for the vandals who removed the heads from two statues of Australian prime ministers and damaged 18 others in Ballarat early on Thursday morning. Twenty of the bronze busts, which line the famed Prime Ministers Avenue, were damaged in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens on Wendouree Parade sometime between 2am and 5am.

Jan 5, 2025 | abc.net.au | Laura Mayers |Jean Bell

Firefighters have contained a bushfire in the Grampians / Gariwerd National Park which destroyed homes and killed hundreds of animals in Victoria's west. Four homes and 40 outbuildings were destroyed in the blaze that stretched across more than 76,000 hectares of national park and farmland. Emergency Management Victoria confirmed 775 sheep, one horse, one beef cow and 1,285 beehives were burned, in addition to more than 10,000 hectares of pasture and 540 kilometres of fencing.