Matt Neal

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Matt Neal

Two Victorians and a South Australian have been identified as the victims of a horrific multi-vehicle crash in western Victoria on Wednesday. Police have revealed a 49-year-old male driver from Lyndhurst, a 24-year-old female passenger from Clyde North and a 65-year-old male driver from SA died in the collision on the Western Highway north of Ararat at about 12:30pm. Five vehicles were involved in the crash, which occurred near the highway's intersection with Thomas Road at Armstrong.

Mar 23, 2025 | abc.net.au | Matt Neal

A 72-year-old south-west Victorian man is to face court on Monday charged over the 2006 cold case murder of Christopher Jarvis. Police arrested Steven Frederick Johnson, of Wangoom, near Warrnambool, earlier in the day and charged him with murder. This month, 61-year-old Glenn Ernest Fenwick was jailed for a maximum of five and a half years after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Jarvis. Mr Jarvis disappeared from his home near Warrnambool on June 13, 2006.

Mar 15, 2025 | abc.net.au | Jean Bell |Matt Neal

A new battleground is emerging in Australia's oceans over renewable energy projects the government says are necessary to dealing with climate change and reducing our country's carbon emissions. Just one spin of an offshore wind turbine can power the average Australian home for 48 hours, according to wind energy companies. The Albanese government has set aside six offshore wind farm zones around Australia — two off Victoria's coast, two off NSW and one each for Tasmania and Western Australia.

Feb 27, 2025 | abc.net.au | Matt Neal

It's now a time-honoured tradition on the eve of the Academy Awards that we ask a film critic and mathematician to pull out their crystal balls and tea leaves and tell us who they think will take home the big Oscars. While the first showdown was a draw, last year our resident mathematician took home the chocolates by correctly guessing nine winners out of 10, two better than our critic.

Feb 23, 2025 | abc.net.au | Matt Neal

Ballarat Grammar School is investigating allegations of student-on-student physical abuse. The school principal says senior students allegedly hit younger boys as punishment for "perceived boarding house misdemeanours". Boys education expert Bradley Fenner will conduct an independent review. A south-west Victorian independent private school is investigating what it calls "horrendous and confronting" allegations of older boarding students striking younger pupils.