Two men charged after allegedly stealing 1,000 litres of diesel worth $3,500
New South Wales police say they have charged two men with a range of offences after the duo allegedly stole diesel from a building site in the state’s south.
Police said the alleged break-in at a building site in Tralee, about 10km south-east of Queanbeyan, was reported to Queanbeyan police station on the evening of 11 April.
Police said they were told that a water tank containing 1,000 litres of diesel – worth approximately $3,500 – had been stolen from the building site earlier that day.
The force said that, after reviewing CCTV, Monaro police district officers arrested the two alleged offenders at separate properties in the region, which they searched with warrants.
Police said they arrested the first man about 8am yesterday at a home in Longden Way, Queanbeyan, where they also allegedly found a “small amount” of methylamphetamine.
The 27-year-old was taken to Queanbeyan police station, where he was charged with six offences; larceny, entering enclosed land not prescribed premises without lawful excuse, destroying or damaging property, taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug greater than small and less than or equal to an indictable quantity, driving a motor vehicle during a disqualification period, and possessing a prohibited drug and breach of bail.
Police said they arrested the second man about 4pm yesterday at a home on Mount Fairy Road, Mount Fairy.
The police allege they found the 37-year-old hiding inside the home and said they also took him to Queanbeyan police station after his arrest.
He was charged with entering enclosed land not prescribed premises without lawful excuse and larceny.
Police said officers seized a ute and the allegedly stolen water tank filled with 1,000 litres of diesel from the Mount Fairy property.
The men were refused bail to appear in NSW’s bail division court 3 today.
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Updated at 07.47 CEST
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My colleague Ima Caldwell has a lighter story for your Friday afternoon.
Out of 430,000 submissions across more than 200 countries and territories, an Australian photographer has won the Open Photographer of the Year at the 2026 Sony world photography awards.
Read about the image and how, incredibly, Elle Leontiev shot the winning image “blind” here:
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Harry and Meghan tour Sydney Harbour with Invictus athletes
Prince Harry and Meghan have received hugs and uniquely Australian gifts while meeting Invictus Games athletes on the tail end of their tour down under, AAP reports.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are wrapping up their trip on Friday, making the most of the autumn sun with a boat ride through Sydney Harbour alongside Invictus Australia representatives, before attending a Super Rugby Pacific match in the evening.
The Invictus Games competitor Joel Vanderzwan told AAP of his first meeting with the prince:
double quotation markHe’s a really easy guy to talk to.
[It’s] incredible that someone with that sort of following and that sort of presence can just be one of us.
The Invictus Games is an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel founded by Harry.
Joel Vanderzwan, with wife Alexandra, daughter Charlotte and twin sons Harrison and William, presents Harry and Meghan with thongs with the inscriptions ‘G’day Hazza’ and ‘G’day Megs’. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/APHarry shows off his personalised thongs. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/ReutersShare
Updated at 08.40 CEST
Jordyn Beazley
Hi there, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
ShareIma Caldwell
That’s all from me this afternoon. The wonderful Jordyn Beazley will take you through the rest of today’s live blog.
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Returning to the multi-vehicle crash on the Hume Freeway.
Ambulance Victoria has confirmed they were called to the incident near Violet Town at about 1.25pm. Advanced life support and mobile intensive care ambulance paramedics attended the scene.
A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria said two adults and two children were being taken to Northeast Health Wangaratta by road. Another adult was transported to Goulburn Valley Health in Shepparton.
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Updated at 07.56 CEST
Syndicate smashed in $2m steroids and peptides bust
Two men and a woman have been charged after authorities uncovered a bounty of steroids and peptides worth more than $2m, AAP reports.
The bust, announced on Friday by the Australian Border Force and Therapeutic Goods Administration, was set in motion in August following the interception 640 vials of performance and image enhancing drugs from air cargo shipments.
A subsequent probe revealed another 76 similar shipments had been made to the same recipient since April 2025.
Officers from the two federal agencies found more than 10,000 vials and 600 tablets in raids on 26 March on a commercial site and residential home in Melbourne’s west.
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Updated at 07.57 CEST
Motorists on Hume Freeway redirected after multi-vehicle crash
According to VicTraffic, as of 1.58pm, northbound motorists on the Hume are being asked to detour via the Goulburn Valley Highway, through Seymour to Shepparton, then return via Benalla on the Midland Highway.
Southbound motorists have been asked to exit at Violet Town and detour via Murchison-Violet Town Road and the Goulburn Valley Highway, rejoining the Hume in Seymour.
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Updated at 07.32 CEST
Hume Freeway closed in both directions after multi-vehicle crash
The Hume Freeway is closed in both directions after a multi-vehicle crash near Violet Town in Victoria’s north-east.
Victoria police said the crash involved a B-double truck and numerous vehicles.
Police and emergency services are now on scene at the collision.
More details soon.
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Updated at 07.46 CEST
Penry Buckley
Ben Roberts-Smith bail hearing concludes
The bail hearing for Ben Roberts-Smith has now concluded, after an additional session this afternoon to discuss an interim suppression order on details of his case. Another hearing will be held next Thursday to discuss the order.
Roberts-Smith, who has yet to be released, appeared via video link throughout from custody.
At the end of the hearing, the judge, Greg Grogin, addressed Roberts-Smith, stressing the need to comply with his bail conditions.
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Updated at 07.14 CEST
Catie McLeod
And with that, I’m signing off. I’ll leave you in Ima Caldwell’s capable hands for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely weekend.
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Two men charged after allegedly stealing 1,000 litres of diesel worth $3,500
New South Wales police say they have charged two men with a range of offences after the duo allegedly stole diesel from a building site in the state’s south.
Police said the alleged break-in at a building site in Tralee, about 10km south-east of Queanbeyan, was reported to Queanbeyan police station on the evening of 11 April.
Police said they were told that a water tank containing 1,000 litres of diesel – worth approximately $3,500 – had been stolen from the building site earlier that day.
The force said that, after reviewing CCTV, Monaro police district officers arrested the two alleged offenders at separate properties in the region, which they searched with warrants.
Police said they arrested the first man about 8am yesterday at a home in Longden Way, Queanbeyan, where they also allegedly found a “small amount” of methylamphetamine.
The 27-year-old was taken to Queanbeyan police station, where he was charged with six offences; larceny, entering enclosed land not prescribed premises without lawful excuse, destroying or damaging property, taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug greater than small and less than or equal to an indictable quantity, driving a motor vehicle during a disqualification period, and possessing a prohibited drug and breach of bail.
Police said they arrested the second man about 4pm yesterday at a home on Mount Fairy Road, Mount Fairy.
The police allege they found the 37-year-old hiding inside the home and said they also took him to Queanbeyan police station after his arrest.
He was charged with entering enclosed land not prescribed premises without lawful excuse and larceny.
Police said officers seized a ute and the allegedly stolen water tank filled with 1,000 litres of diesel from the Mount Fairy property.
The men were refused bail to appear in NSW’s bail division court 3 today.
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Updated at 07.47 CEST
Australian share market loses ground ahead of weekend
The Australian share market is on track to break a three-week winning streak as investors rotate out of banks and upward momentum from easing Middle East tensions fade, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 lost 29.5 points by midday on Friday, down 0.33% to 8,925.5, as the broader All Ordinaries fell 27.3 points, or 0.29%, to 9,147.2.
Equities have come under pressure from resurgent oil prices, as the best hopes around peace deals in the Middle East give way to ongoing crude supply concerns, the Westpac economist Luka Belobrajdic said.
ASX-listed miners have also been running out of steam since Wednesday, but the segment is still headed for a fourth straight week of gains.
The Viva Energy refinery in Corio, Victoria the day after the fire. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
The energy sector was trading broadly flat, as Santos crept up a bit and Woodside slipped, with the West Texas crude benchmark ticking up to US$93.40 a barrel and Brent crude oil at a similar level.
Oil refinery owner-operator Viva Energy remains in a trading halt after a fire broke out at its Geelong refinery on Wednesday night.
The blaze has reduced about 40% of the facility’s total petrol production capacity, and a fifth of its diesel and aviation fuel capacity.
Retailers were the weakest-performing sector as Bunnings owner Wesfarmers continued to languish, down almost 2% on Friday and shedding 4.6% for the week so far.
Guardian Australia’s economics editor, Patrick Commins, has more analysis on what’s going on with the stock market here:
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Updated at 06.48 CEST
One Nation increases margin in SA seat after extra votes counted
Tory Shepherd
We brought you the news earlier that 81 unopened ballot papers for the seat of Narungga had been found, weeks after the South Australian election.
Narungga was one of the four lower house seats Pauline Hanson’s One Nation picked up at the 21 March poll, with Chantelle Thomas winning by a wafer-thin margin of 58.
The South Australian electoral commission has now counted those votes and found the outcome has not changed.
In fact, Thomas’s margin has increased from 58 to 74 votes, dashing the hopes of the Liberal candidate, Tania Stock.
Hanson’s rightwing populist party declared victory in the Yorke Peninsula seat on 2 April, after a recount.
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Updated at 06.13 CEST
NSW mine operator says operations returning to normal after earthquake
Newmont, the company which owns the Cadia goldmine in regional New South Wales, says processing operations are returning to normal after a 4.5-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday evening.
More than 150 workers at the mine were evacuated after the quake hit at 8.19pm on Tuesday at a depth of 5km about 30km south-west of Orange in central west NSW.
Newmont has released a statement today providing an update.
The company said there had been no injuries and that:
double quotation markInspections indicate that while damage is present to certain underground areas, it is not significant.
Processing operations have been steadily ramped up and are returning to normal throughput.
All surface infrastructure, including tailings facilities and dams, were inspected immediately after the earthquake and no damage has been identified at this time.
The company said, based on current assessments, near-term production was not expected to be affected and it was continuing to assess the site underground to determine the “full recovery timeline and if there will be a longer-term impact to production”.
Newmont said the safety and wellbeing of its workforce “remain our priority” and all safety protocols were activated immediately at the time of the event, including moving underground workers to designated safe areas.
The quake’s epicentre was just 3km from the Newmont Cadia goldmine tailings dam, which partially collapsed in 2018. Effects of the quake were felt hundreds of kilometres away.
The Cadia goldmine near Orange in regional NSW. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 06.17 CEST
New appointments to CSIRO and Australia’s nuclear science organisation boards
Turning to something different now, the Albanese government has made two new appointments to the board of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) – Dr Susan Close and Kerryn Coker.
Women will make up 63% of the CSIRO’s board, the government says.
The government has also appointed Emeritus Prof Helen Garnett to the board of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (Ansto).
In a statement announcing the appointments, the government said it was continuing its focus on “improving capability on public sector boards and bringing greater alignment with national economic and strategic priorities across the research and development (R&D) sector”.
An illuminated CSIRO sign. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
The industry, innovation, and science minister, Tim Ayres, said he was delighted by the appointments:
double quotation markScientific and industrial research are crucial for making Australia stronger and leadership and governance is fundamental to ensuring our independent public science agencies stay strong, fit for purpose and focussed on Australia’s national science priorities.
The federal government has been repeatedly urged by different organisations to increase funding for R&D.
The appointments come a month after an expert panel convened to review the country’s R&D capabilities handed down its final report, Ambitious Australia, which found the innovation sector needed “bold reform”.
The panel found that as a wealthy nation with “substantial opportunities”, Australia was “not fully harnessing its success to invest in a better future”.
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Updated at 06.10 CEST
Ben Roberts-Smith’s parents seen outside court
Penry Buckley
The parents of Ben Roberts-Smith, Len and Sue Roberts-Smith, briefly the left court after a judge ruled that their son could be released on bail after being charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.
The former soldier’s parents, who were sitting in the front row of the courtroom today, were smiling and happy, although they did not give any lengthy statement to the scrum of journalists and TV cameras waiting outside Sydney’s Downing Centre, which followed them down Castlereagh Street.
Sue Roberts-Smith could be heard to say she was relieved by the ruling.
Roberts-Smith’s legal team, who will return to court this afternoon to discuss an interim suppression order on elements of his case, left Downing Centre during the lunch break without making any statement.
Len and Sue Roberts-Smith outside the Downing Centre court. Photograph: Paul Braven/AAPShare
Updated at 05.59 CEST
Byelection called for Brisbane seat
Andrew Messenger
The Stafford byelection has been called for 16 May.
Jimmy Sullivan, the MP since 2020, died last week. He held the Queensland seat at the 2024 state election with 55% of the two-party preferred vote.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, announced the writs had been issued for a byelection on Friday morning. He said the party does not yet have a candidate.
double quotation markWe live in incredibly uncertain times. It is vital that this community has representation, it really is. I also think, ahead of our budget in June, it’s important that a community has someone who can be there to advocate on their behalf, regardless of what side of the aisle they sit.
Queensland premier David Crisafulli. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Crisafulli said the byelection was an opportunity for the people of Stafford to back the government’s announcement that it would expedite state planning approvals for a new petrol refinery in Gladstone, as well as new gas and oil mining exploration in western Queensland at the Taroom trough.
double quotation markIt is an opportunity for the people of Stafford to send a message that they do back our plan … for us to control our own destiny, for us to ensure that we have our own fuel supply.
And also to send a message to those like Labor and the Greens who are finding every reason to stand in the way, that that’s not acceptable.
The Guardian Australia environment and climate correspondent Graham Readfearn recently looked at the Taroom trough, if you want to know more:
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Updated at 05.56 CEST
AFL club to appeal player’s ban for homophobic slur
St Kilda are appealing the nine-match ban given to Lance Collard for allegedly uttering a homophobic comment, AAP has reported, saying the young forward maintains his innocence.
Collard was handed a nine-game ban for uttering an offensive slur in a VFL game, rejecting evidence from the 21-year-old who denied making the offensive remark.
It was the second time in three seasons Collard has been found guilty of using homophobic language in a VFL match. He was banned for six games in 2024 when he admitted to using the same slur on-field.
Collard’s appeal hearing is due to take place next week.
“As a club, we will continue to stand by Lance, who maintains his position of innocence,” the Saints statement read.
double quotation markThis process has had a considerable impact on Lance, and we are committed to ensuring he is not only supported but that his integrity is defended through the appropriate process.
We also recognise and empathise with the impact the ongoing and public nature of this matter has had, particularly on members of the LGBTQIA+ and First Nations communities.
Sports columnist Jonathan Horn weighed in on the situation earlier this week – you can read his take here:
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Prince Harry and Meghan meet Bondi terror attack survivors
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have met survivors of the Bondi beach terror attack as they wind up their Australian tour.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks with Bondi beach terror attack survovir Elon Zizer. Photograph: Getty Images
Read more here:
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Updated at 05.23 CEST
