7News Just In

Former Treasurer Joe Hockey has urged the Liberal Party to abandon culture war debates and refocus on core conservative principles including lower taxes, less regulation, greater freedom and families.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 11 offences over an alleged violent home invasion in Condell Park in April. Police allege he was part of a duo-for-hire who held two residents aged 57 and 60 at gunpoint and assaulted a woman in what authorities believe was a case of mistaken identity. Task Force Falcon investigators say the incident represents young people working as contract criminals for organised crime groups to commit serious violence against innocent community members.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Darweish Mohamed near Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north. The victim was allegedly ambushed by up to 14 youths and found critically injured metres from a community hospital, where he later died. Three other individuals, including a 20-year-old man, a 15-year-old girl, and another 15-year-old boy, have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A motorcycle collided at high speed with a silver Toyota Corolla at an intersection in Morayfield, Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane just after midday. The motorcycle rider fled the scene on foot despite the severity of the crash, prompting police to launch a search due to serious welfare concerns. The female driver of the Toyota suffered minor injuries.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fire broke out in a storage facility in Scoresby, Melbourne's southeast, threatening the neighbouring Cadbury lolly factory and forcing the shutdown of confectionery production. Emergency services evacuated the area with 13 firefighting units responding to the blaze, while one man sustained non-life-threatening burns. Police have closed the street and are investigating whether the fire is suspicious, as neighbouring businesses were evacuated due to smoke and safety concerns.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fatal crash occurred on the Northern Highway in Tooborac, approximately 90 minutes north of Melbourne, when three vehicles collided with a fallen tree at 6am in pitch-black conditions. One driver was killed, another was taken to hospital with serious injuries, while the third driver, who was in a truck, escaped injury. One vehicle appears to have struck the tree at windscreen height, suggesting part of the tree was elevated off the ground when the collision occurred.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A giant petrel found near Hawks Nest on New South Wales' mid-north coast has returned a positive preliminary test result for H5 bird flu, marking the first suspected case in an eastern Australian state. Five confirmed cases of the deadly H5N1 strain have previously been detected in seabirds across Western Australia and South Australia. Secondary testing is currently underway to confirm the result.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A laundromat worker in Clarkson, Perth, accidentally started a fire while attempting to remove a tag from clothing just before midnight. After rushing out and finding herself locked out, she repeatedly rammed her Commodore into the shop front to re-enter and extinguish the burning clothes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perth police have arrested 20 wanted people in one week using Australia's first facial recognition cameras, which scan passersby against police databases. The technology, currently being trialled in Perth CBD, Midland and Mirrabooka, has scanned over 130,000 faces with only two false alerts, also detecting 21 registered sex offenders. The five-month trial has prompted immediate results, with arrests occurring even during the commissioner's media conference announcing the technology.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Western Australia is implementing its largest overhaul of residential planning laws in nearly 30 years, reducing the minimum block size for subdivision from 900 to 700 square metres under R20 zoning. The changes could unlock 50,000 new development sites across Perth, allowing homeowners with larger blocks to subdivide and build additional dwellings. The reforms also propose reducing mandatory car bay requirements in new apartment blocks, which currently add approximately $137,000 to apartment costs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.