Search for missing Ballarat woman enters second week
Police have expanded an appeal for dashcam or CCTV footage as they investigate the disappearance of the Victorian woman Samantha Murphy.
Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home in Ballarat East about 7am last Sunday to go for a run.
As they announced an on-the-ground search that has canvassed large areas of Ballarat would be scaled back over the weekend, police called on members of the public to submit any CCTV or dashcam footage covering the Ballarat East, Mount Helen and Buninyong areas last Sunday.
“Even if the footage does not depict Samantha, detectives are keen to review all footage in the areas between 7am and 7pm on Sunday, 4 February,” they said in a statement on Saturday.
For more on this story, read the full report from Guardian Australia’s Lisa Cox:
Key events
Last standing Liberal premier fights on
Australia’s only Liberal state premier is weighing his options after two renegade MPs rejected an ultimatum to ensure the minority government’s stability.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff threatened Liberal-turned-independent MPs John Tucker and Lara Alexander with an early election unless the pair agreed not to vote against the government on any motions, bills and amendments.
The two former Liberals have been ensuring confidence and supply after defecting in May last year because of transparency concerns about a proposed AFL stadium and an underwater electricity and data cable that will further connect Tasmania and Victoria.
The move left the last Liberal state government in Australia with only 11 of 25 lower house seats, leaving it vulnerable to a no-confidence vote without the support of the independents.
Rockliff said on Friday that he would not call an early election this weekend, and talks with the two independents are expected to continue next week.
The standoff comes after Tucker in January threatened to “bring the government down” with a no-confidence motion if the government did not comply with several motions passed by parliament.
Tasmania’s next election is not due until mid-2025 and parliament is scheduled to resume in early March.
– AAP
Search for missing Ballarat woman enters second week
Police have expanded an appeal for dashcam or CCTV footage as they investigate the disappearance of the Victorian woman Samantha Murphy.
Murphy, 51, was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home in Ballarat East about 7am last Sunday to go for a run.
As they announced an on-the-ground search that has canvassed large areas of Ballarat would be scaled back over the weekend, police called on members of the public to submit any CCTV or dashcam footage covering the Ballarat East, Mount Helen and Buninyong areas last Sunday.
“Even if the footage does not depict Samantha, detectives are keen to review all footage in the areas between 7am and 7pm on Sunday, 4 February,” they said in a statement on Saturday.
For more on this story, read the full report from Guardian Australia’s Lisa Cox:
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.
Meanwhile, Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers has appeared on Sky News this morning.
We will bring you all the latest as it happens.
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
The search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy has entered its second week with detectives appealing to the public for CCTV and dashcam footage of Ballarat East, Buninyong and Mount Helen areas. The 51-year-old mother left home on 4 February to go jogging and has not been seen since.
Australia’s only Liberal state premier, Jeremy Rockliff, is fighting for survival after two independent MPs rejected an ultimatum to prop up the minority government. The state is officially expected to go to an election in mid-2025, but Rockliff has pledged not to call an early election with negotiations expected to continue into next week.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
