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Workers to be paid up to 80% of their salary under wage subsidy plan
Australians who lose their jobs will be given a wage subsidy to guarantee a share of their income, in a government plan to be announced within days.
- by Laura Chung and Latika Bourke
'Major mistake': Experts say Australia's US travel ban was brought in too late
Australia should have put a travel ban on the United States and forced return travellers into hotel quarantines in February, medical and economic experts say.
- by Eryk Bagshaw
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
Remember when the government boasted it was 'tough on borders'?
It’s difficult to see how the Coalition will ever be able to rely on muscular “tough on borders” slogans again.
- by Jacqueline Maley
Pain at the top: Greenberg set to take unpaid leave as NRL shuts
Once an imminent deal on player wage cuts has been finalised, there is no reason for the NRL to remain open.
- by Danny Weidler
More top stories
Exclusive
Coronavirus pandemic
Minister's stark warning for Sydney: respect the rules or we'll shut the parks
"Closing our parks is a last resort but it will happen if people don't follow social distancing rules," Rob Stokes said.
- by Michael Koziol
As the virus spreads, carbon emissions are dropping. Experts aren’t celebrating
Australia’s and the world’s greenhouse gas emissions will slide in the first half of 2020 but any cut will likely be short-lived and modest, experts fear.
- by Peter Hannam and Nick O'Malley
'I have to tell everyone I'm positive': How coronavirus soured a Bondi Beach party
Guests at a Bondi Beach dance party were exposed to coronavirus as cases spike in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
- by Andrew Taylor
Can Australia sustain a lockdown with no end?
Many experts say a full-blown lockdown is desirable and more bearable for people than the protracted semi-shutdown we are experiencing now.
- by Michael Koziol
Opinion
Private Sydney
Dear Gerry, Alan and Kim: learn to read the room - or zip it
All three have displayed an extraordinary inability to "read the room" when it comes to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
- by Andrew Hornery
In Other News
Coronavirus PANDEMIC
'Our biggest fear is getting ill': NSW couple stuck on ship where four people have died
Peter and Carole Burke from Port Macquarie are trapped inside their cabin on board the Zaandam off the coast of Panama, where four passengers died during a COVID-19 outbreak and 135 people are now ill.
- by Megan Gorrey
Exclusive
Hotel chain offers 11,000 rooms for quarantine as infection rate jumps
Accommodation giant Quest has offered all of its 140 hotels across the nation for Australians undergoing mandatory two-week isolation.
- by Tate Papworth and Zach Hope
Sydney
Exclusive
Coronavirus pandemic
'They haven't listened': Medical professionals skipped quarantine and flew interstate
Thirty-three medicos who landed at Sydney Airport from South America on Friday night disobeyed orders to go into quarantine.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Eighth death, 212 more cases in NSW as government urges people to respect police
Coronavirus cases in NSW have jumped by 212 since 8pm Friday, driving up the state’s total to 1617, NSW Health said on Saturday.
- by Nigel Gladstone, Laura Chung and Kate Aubusson
Woman 'going to COVID-19 test' allegedly spat at police after car chase
A 25-year-old claiming to be on her way to get tested for COVID-19 allegedly spat at police while resisting arrest after a car chase through south-west Sydney.
- by Nigel Gladstone
Man stole hundreds of rolls of toilet paper, police say
Police allege the man broke into four supermarket storage areas and stole hundreds of rolls of toilet paper.
- by Megan Levy
City of Sydney to increase crisis relief package to $72.5m
The emergency funding will help small businesses, artists and others in the creative and community sectors left devastated by the loss of work.
- by Matt O'Sullivan
From our partners
WEEKEND READS
'I nearly threw up': I discovered my ex-husband's horrific secret
A marriage had already unravelled. Then just as she was getting her life back on track, a call knocked her for six.
- by Tasia Wilcox*
Is telling someone to pluck their nose hairs acceptable?
Is there a polite way to draw a friend's attention to their distracting hirsute nostrils?
- by Danny Katz
Politics
Breaking
Coronavirus pandemic
UK-style wage subsidy on the way in Morrison's plan to pay workers who lose jobs
Australians who lose their jobs will be given a wage subsidy to guarantee a share of their income as the coronavirus crisis wipes out hundreds of thousands of jobs, in a government plan to be announced within days
- by David Crowe
Relief for renters and business: Sweeping debt freeze to shield Australians from economic slump
- by David Crowe and Nick Bonyhady
Business
Companies rush to register 'COVID' and 'corona' trademarks
A raft of companies have applied to register trademarks in Australia including the words "COVID", "Corona" and "Quarantine".
- by Michaela Whitbourn
Analysis
Coronavirus pandemic
The $180 billion crisis: Landlords and franchisors need to step up
- by Adele Ferguson
Facing the threats of the virus economy, fintechs are going for broke
- by Colin Kruger and Cara Waters
World
Trump considering quarantine for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
The President said he was considering a quarantine for coronavirus hotspots in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, though it wasn't clear whether he had the power to order state residents to stay put.
Opinion
Unemployment has made a huge comeback
Matt Wade
Senior economics writer
Journal of a plague week: from death to rebirth as better humans
Elizabeth Farrelly
Columnist, author, architecture critic and essayist
In this nation of 25 million, there must be as many disappointments
Richard Glover
Broadcaster and Sydney Morning Herald columnist
When isolating at home becomes a danger to life
Julia Baird
Journalist, broadcaster, historian and author
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Editor's Picks
Property bydomain
Forced back home: The adults now living with mum and dad again
They’re out of work, they can’t afford rent, they want to be with family – more of Australia’s adult kids are being forced to move back in with their parents.
- by Jemimah Clegg
'Still in a better position': Auctions go ahead online, but off to a rocky start
Major auction cities were slated for a super Saturday but the majority of vendors opted for private sales instead. Here's how the first virtual auction day went.
- by Tawar Razaghi
Life & Culture
Powerful even at a distance: the Biennale of Sydney now online only
The Biennale of Sydney, which has made heroic efforts to remain open, has switched to a digital platform. But the powerful works will still pack a punch.
- by John McDonald
Food bygoodfood
Travel bytraveller
Cars bydrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Prizemoney for The Championships slashed as betting revenues plummet
Racing NSW has taken the extraordinary step of halving The Championships stakes by 50 percent only six days out from Doncaster day.
- by Chris Roots
Pain at the top: Greenberg set to take unpaid leave as NRL shuts
Once an imminent deal on player wage cuts has been finalised, there is no reason for the NRL to remain open.
- by Danny Weidler
How global solutions to coronavirus crisis could save the T20 World Cup
A memorable women's final three weeks ago was spared from the crisis by a matter of days, but the ICC is sweating on the pandemic easing in time for the men's tournament.
- by Andrew Wu
Analysis
Coronavirus pandemic
The NRL will never be the same, but that might not be all bad
The effects of the coronavirus crisis will haunt rugby league for some time. But some good will come out of it.
- by Phil Gould
Updated
A-League
Newcastle Jets confirm first case of A-League player contracting COVID-19
A member of the Wellington Phoenix coaching staff has also tested positive for the virus but the squad has already returned to New Zealand.
- by Dominic Bossi
'Doomsday scenario': Swans back on the breadline, this time with 17 others
The Swans lived on the brink in the early 1990s, but the fight for survival in 2020 is even more fraught.
- by Andrew Wu
The NRL was spending $500,000 a day. That's about to be cut in half
The administration costs of the game have blown out to $181 million before a dollar has been given to the clubs, the states or the players, according to the NRL's latest financial report.
- by Adrian Proszenko
Have Your Say
Stadium rebuilds will make even less sense if sports get demolished
The Berejiklian government rejected the NRL's proposal to divert stadium rebuild funds. But surely the stadiums only make sense with football to play in them?