Last Top Stories: Ballarat manufacturer SEM Fire and Rescue wins $3m contract to build CFA fire ...

Ballarat manufacturer SEM Fire and Rescue wins $3m contract to build CFA fire ...

A Ballarat special purpose vehicle maker has won a Victorian Government contract to build 20 new fire tankers for the Country Fire Authority (CFA). The order is part of the Government's commitment to deliver 70 CFA trucks to brigades across Victoria. >> view original

Ballarat breakfast report | Wednesday June 3, 2015

Up to 15 workers at Ballarat-based footwear and clothing company Rivers Australia have been made redundant. The job cuts come despite Specialty Fashion Group chief executive Gary Perlstein telling employees not to fear job losses after the major ... >> view original

Ballarat breakfast report | Tuesday June 2, 2015

Ballarat breakfast report, Tuesday June 2, 2015. 07:51 AM: TOP STORIES. Ballarat breakfast report, June 2, 2015. TWO young children sat terrified in a car while a gunman attacked their fathers, shooting one and pistol-whipping the other, in a violent ... >> view original

Australia's humanitarian reputation 'deteriorating over refugees'

A top US official believes Australia's reputation as a leader on the humanitarian response to refugees has deteriorated in recent years. US Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard is in Indonesia as part of a six-day regional visit to learn more about an ... >> view original

Drought drags on for eastern Australia

Drought continues to grip northern NSW, central Queensland, the southern regions of South Australia and it's worsening in Victoria. Below average rain has now fallen on wide areas of eastern Australia for three years or more, the Bureau of Meteorology's ... >> view original

Batty pushed for domestic violence awareness

Australian of the Year Rosie Batty has addressed the National Press Club to push the media to 'help stop violence before it starts.' Ms Batty was subject to intense media glare after her estranged partner murdered her son Luke in 2014. As ambassador for ... >> view original

Coalition votes against Labor's move to pass budget's small business package

The Abbott government has voted against bringing on an urgent vote on its small-business tax incentives, despite repeatedly urging Labor to deliver certainty to the sector and pass the budget package. In a power play in the House of Representatives on ... >> view original

Haberfield kindergarten teacher Marie Cullen designs LessonBuzz app to lead ...

Over the course of 35 years, Haberfield school teacher Marie Cullen has riffled through hundreds of impenetrable textbooks, witnessed thousands of pencils snapped upon the page and seen countless children keel over in boredom despite a whole ... >> view original

Japanese skipper says Aust can't build subs

A former Japanese submarine commander claims Australia doesn't have enough skilled workers to build the Soryu class subs. Japan is best placed to build the high-tech vessels, which are being considered as replacements for Australia's ageing Collins fleet ... >> view original

Lindt Cafe: Man charged over vandalism

A former National Basketball League professional player who allegedly smashed the windows of the Lindt cafe in Sydney's Martin Place and later broke the jaw of an officer appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon. Police say former Sydney Kings guard ... >> view original