Politics
Victoria
World in pictures, June 18, 2025
The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by The Age picture editors
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Local council
This council overcharged up to $12m in parking fines for a decade. Here’s how to get your money back
Merri-bek City Council will launch the refund scheme for 11 different types of parking fines after an administrative error resulted in motorists paying at least $40 more than permitted.
- by Kieran Rooney
Abbotsford Convent fights plan to ‘wall off’ iconic spire with retirement village
Custodians of the historic site fear a proposed four-storey building would be “excessive and imposing” and clash with the convent’s public-spirited ethos.
- by Rachael Dexter
Exclusive
Construction
Building surveyors bypassing tougher Victorian licensing with WA loophole
A massive share of the state’s surveyors are no longer being registered here, prompting fears poorly qualified workers are being tasked to catch out unsafe buildings.
- by Kieran Rooney
New Anzac metro station opened up for ‘trainspotters’ block party’
Thousands partied underground at the new Anzac Station for RISING, mixing trainspotting with tunes from Briggs ahead of the new Metro Tunnel’s opening.
- by Rachael Dexter
Exclusive
City life
No one will fix this heritage chimney. It’s costing owners thousands of dollars
The developer blames red tape, but for residents footing the bill, the real issue is a system with no consequences.
- by Rachael Dexter
Exclusive
Mental health
Mental health watchdog muzzled by ‘drastic’ budget cuts
Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission chair Treasure Jennings says the funding cuts leave the commission unable to do the work it was established to do.
- by Chip Le Grand and Grant McArthur
Exclusive
Religion
Anglicans vote for change with new archbishop
Ric Thorpe wants to expand the Anglican Church in Melbourne and get more women into the ministry, but he’s against blessing same-sex marriages.
- by Barney Zwartz
State government grant supported firm with criminal links
The use of taxpayer funds to partner with a company that has deep links to serious criminal figures raises the pressure on authorities to act.
- by Nick McKenzie and Kieran Rooney
Sketch
Mushroom trial
On the 31st day of exhaustive effort, the mushroom case witnesses finally rested
Long days and one-word denials came to symbolise the final days of evidence in the case of accused mushroom cook killer Erin Patterson.
- by Tony Wright
Erin Patterson trial recap: What happened on each day of the death cap mushroom case
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder after allegedly serving poisonous mushrooms in a beef Wellington for lunch.