Your noon Briefing

Welcome to your noon roundup of how the day has played out so far and what to watch for.

Hello readers. Here is your noon digest of what’s making news and a long read for lunchtime.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Roads Minister Luke Donnellan announce a major expansion for the Monash Freeway. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

‘Rorts for Votes’

Twenty-three Victorian Labor MPs have been named at the centre of a “Rorts for Votes” scheme and have been found to have breached parliamentary guidelines in an explosive report, which found Labor misused almost $400,000 during the 2014 election campaign. The Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass has found Labor “crossed a line” in the permissable use of MP entitlements during the 2014 state election campaign, when it employed a team of field officers who were paid in part by MPs’ staff allowances. The Ombudsman report personifies the perception of the Andrews government as tricky and untrustworthy, writes John Ferguson.

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James Packer leaves the Crown Resorts AGM at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Thurssday, October 26, 2017. (AAPImage/Tracey Nearmy) NO ARCHIVING

Packer steps down

Billionaire James Packer has stepped down from the board of his casino empire, citing mental health reasons. A spokesman for Mr Packer’s private investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings, said he had resigned from the board of Crown Resorts for personal reasons.

“Mr Packer is suffering from mental health issues. At this time he intends to step back from all commitments.”

Crown Resorts spokesman

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A smiling, happy woman in labor prepares to give birth in a clean white hospital setting. A depiction of a positive pregnancy and delivery. Horizontal with copy space.

Room rate rip-off

The peak body for not-for-profit health funds has hit out at the Victorian Royal Women’s Hospital for raising accommodation charges for private patients by up to 18 per cent this year. Matthew Koce, chief executive of Members Health, said prices had been rising over the past five years, lifting the cost for room categories by up to 211 per cent.

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Tertiary pathways, istock.

ATAR’s number up?

The proportion of students entering university on the basis of their ATAR score has continued to plummet, leading a respected think tank to ask whether the “number is up” for the Year 12 student ranking system. In a new report, the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University says that only 26 per cent of domestic students entering undergraduate courses in 2016 were admitted on the basis of their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank score. This is down from 31 per cent in 2014.

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Legla law concept image, scales of justice and books, law order court children's court

The long read: Judgment in the balance

Where judges seek to preserve judicial independence in response to political criticism by threatening use of the contempt power, do they actually strengthen the hands of those who oppose judicial independence? Dyson Heydon, former justice of the High Court of Australia, ponders the question.

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Comment of the day

“Here’s another theory. Shorten is damaging SMSFs so people will move their money into industry funds, which the unions run. He’s simply looking after his union mates.”

Linda, in response to ‘Flaw in Bill Shorten’s $2.5m cash refund claim exposed’.