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Opinion

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“Catch ups” ... Daniel Son, Jarryd Hayne and Corey Norman.
Opinion
NRL 2021

Players still playing catch up on how to hold each other accountable

Corey Norman posting a photo of himself with Jarryd Hayne is a strong show of public support for his mate. Some will find it touching, even inspiring. I find it troubling.

  • by Peter FitzSimons

Latest

Harry Grant and Brandon Smith form a dymanic and dangerous combination for the Storm.
Analysis
NRL 2021

Kapow! Biff! Why Souths can’t stop Melbourne’s Batman and Robin

The Storm’s dynamic duo of Harry Grant and Brandon Smith are Melbourne’s version of Batman and Robin, and the undermanned Rabbitohs will need a miracle to keep them in check.

  • by Andrew Johns
Geoffrey Roberton is stuck in quarantine.

Liberals to move against four bad boys

Motions against four men are high on the agenda at the Liberal Party of Victoria’s state assembly on Friday.

  • by Stephen Brook and Samantha Hutchinson
Quotas have been described as a heavy-handed “bureaucratic mechanism”.
Opinion
Gender

How gender quotas can help kill both ‘queen bees’ and ‘tokens’

Quotas should be a central part of our current debate about improving economic outcomes for both women and society at large.

  • by Jessica Irvine
 Scott Morrison and wife Jenny at his Horizon Church in Sydney during the 2019 election campaign.

Revealing and uneasy peek at Morrison’s altar ego

We need to remember that respecting the right to freedom of religion is not the same as respecting religion.

  • by Julie Szego
Prime Minister Scott Morrison emphasised the importance of human dignity.

Faithful Morrison says one thing but does another

The Prime Minister has made a couple of speeches in the past month in which he has focused on his faith and beliefs. But his declarations sit at odds with his own behaviour.

  • by John Hewson
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Victoria is the highest user of gas in the country.

Turning off the gas makes good sense

We owe it to future generations to do all we can to reduce greenhouse emissions.

  • The Age's View
Westpac comes before a public hearing by ASIC into responsible lending as the bank faces court action over some of its lending activities

How Westpac found itself in the frame for alleged insider trading

While ASIC does not characterise it as a test case, a win for the regulator could open a can of worms for others that inhabit this arcane market.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Relatives of a person who died of COVID-19 mourn outside a hospital in Mumbai, India.

The Australian government cannot treat its own citizens as pariahs

The travel ban on Australians returning from India is a breach of the constitution that should worry all Australians.

  • by Helen Irving
Please Explain podcast.

Australia accused of abandoning its citizens in India

Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire speaks with health reporter Rachel Clun about the increasingly dire COVID-19 situation in India.

  • by Tory Maguire
Facing abuse at work can have deep and long-lasting effects.
Opinion
Schools

We must protect our teachers, or there will be no one left to teach

The ‘red card’ system to deal with aggressive school parents is a good step, but it will need support to be successful.

  • by Malcolm Elliott
Michael Hussey has tested positive to the coronavirus while in India.
Analysis
IPL

IPL shambles a result of putting greed above common sense

India’s passion for cricket is a blessing that provides colour, excitement and wealth to the game, but the downside is the demigods this creates and the power they wield.

  • by Malcolm Conn
ANZ is the second bank to report interim results this week following Westpac and before NAB.
Opinion
Big four

For ANZ and its peers it’s like the pandemic never happened

ANZ’s interim results show few pandemic scars, leaving it apparently overcapitalised and able to contemplate big returns to shareholders. But it’s too early to declare victory.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
A Chinese navy chorus marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.

Australians don’t want a war with China. It’s time to raise voices against it

The recent flurry of war talk needs to be met with a forthright public pushback.

  • by David Brophy
There was a sense that the pandemic was behind us when the calendar ticked over to 2021.

Economy is growing but the pandemic will affect us for some time

Contrary to last year’s expectations that we’d face horror deficits in future, next week’s federal budget will include some big spending.

  • by Shaun Carney
Alison Quigley knows well the culture of silence that surrounds Gymnastics Australia.

Gymnastics Australia should say sorry to abused athletes and back it up with cash

The investigation into the culture of gymnastics in Australia is two decades overdue.

  • by Alison Quigley
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AFL umpires coach Hayden Kennedy will soon step down from the role, leaving a lasting legacy in one of the toughest jobs in footy.
Opinion
AFL 2021

He had one of the toughest jobs in footy but the AFL forgot to invite him to the Brownlow

Hayden Kennedy umpired just shy of 500 AFL games and will soon leave the role of umpiring head coach. Richmond great, and former head of umpiring at the AFL, Wayne Campbell explains just what made Kennedy so well-suited to one of the toughest jobs in footy.

  • by Wayne Campbell
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Letters
Letters

Abandoning citizens in India equates to racism

Age readers have their say on the federal government’s ban on passengers entering Australia from India.

Being an Indian immigrant in early 1970s Australia meant getting spices shipped in from India in bulk.

Separated from their families, Indian Australians are feeling the pain

The Australian government has an opportunity to win the hearts and minds of its constituency in a time of utter crisis for many.

  • by Rana Hussain
COVID-19 has resulted in a dramatic plunge in credit card debt that is racking up interest.

‘Bad debt’ shunned as credit card balances plunge

COVID-19 appears to have accelerated the shift away from credit card debt. That’s good news for customers, if it lasts.

  • by Clancy Yeates
Some would criticise the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy settings, suggesting it should have done more.

Central bank ‘failures’ highlight need for better fiscal policy

The Reserve Bank of Australia has failed to achieve its inflation targets on a sustainable basis since the Global Financial Crisis, however, it should not solely be blamed.

  • by Alex Joiner
Women in Super CEO Sandra Buckley.

Two easy budget reforms to improve retirement for women

There are two easy and cheap reforms that could improve life for older women. But for real change, harder policies are needed.

  • by Charlotte Grieve
Apartment residents will be able to buy a slice of a regional “solar gardens” to offset their power bills.
Opinion
Renewables

‘Solar garden’ schemes to make renewables available to apartments

Solar panel housing revolution continues unabated but feed-in tariffs are plunging.

  • by Joel Gibson

Insurance bonds a viable inheritance investment option

Because the earnings accrue within the fund, there is no assessable income to declare on any individual tax return each year.

  • by Noel Whittaker
Josh Frydenberg has appointed current ACCC commissioner Sarah Court, left, as deputy chairman of ASIC, with Joe Longo, right, taking the top role at the regulator.
Opinion
Investing

Consumers want regulatory watchdog with bite

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission needs to maintain its litigatory focus on protecting consumers, rather than bow unreasonably to any government pressure for less regulatory red tape.

  • by John Collett
Coal-fired power in Victoria’s LaTrobe Valley has a big carbon footprint.
Editorial
Emissions

Victoria has every reason to aim higher in tackling climate change

The Andrews government is looking to marry existing trends in technology with targeted incentives. Yet there remains a case for even greater ambition.

  • The Age's View
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The grey-headed flying fox drinks by swooping low over the water, skimming the surface with its belly and chest.
Analysis
Science

You probably don’t need to worry about drinking more water

Population studies are yet to find long-term dehydration in anyone. It seems we drink as much as we need.

  • by Liam Mannix
Boyd’s daughter Kate in 2016.

Looking back, there were red flags about my daughter’s killer

For a long time, I was trying to understand how Katie’s relationship ended in her being murdered. I now know all too well what coercive control is and what wide-reaching effect it has.

  • by Boyd Unwin
Investors return to the housing market

Speculators back in the game to push up property prices

Having kept a low profile during the pandemic, investors are now returning to the market with gusto. And that means home prices will continue to be pushed higher.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust have also put money into funds that invest in private distressed debt, tax filings show.
Opinion
Divorce

Bill and Melinda Gates are parting ways, but they’re not alone

The Gates’ split after 27 years of marriage makes them part of a statistical trend.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
The LG Wing was a different take on the two-screens idea, which didn’t require a folding display.
Opinion
Phones

Innovative LG’s departure leaves a void in the smartphone market

As Apple, Samsung and their many imitators continue their very careful paths forward, a true innovator has been forced out.

  • by Krishan Sharma
Billie Eilish In British Vogue’s June 2021 issue.
Opinion
Body image

Billie Eilish posed in lingerie for Vogue – but does it matter what we think?

The 19-year-old singer, known for her baggy clothing, has undergone a pin-up “transformation”. And while many have praised her shoot as empowering, others have criticised her for sexualising herself. 

  • by Jenna Guillaume
Please Explain podcast.

Grey zone conflict and the drums of war as tensions between Australia and China escalate

Today on Please Explain, Nathanael Cooper is joined by foreign affairs and national security correspondent Anthony Galloway to look at the growing tensions between Australia and China.

  • by Nathanael Cooper
The US dollar is showing signs of a sustained period of weakness.
Opinion
Currencies

The US dollar is on the nose again and that spells trouble for the RBA

After a brief respite, the US dollar has resumed its fall. While that says something positive about the outlook for the rest of the world it isn’t such good news for the US, or the Reserve Bank.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Pokemon Go had everyone out and about chasing mythical monsters in 2016.

Murder mystery game that helped me rediscover Melbourne

If you liked Pokemon Go, you’ll love this new murder mystery game set in the heart of historic Melbourne.

  • by Alice Clarke
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s luck has held.

On budget night, here’s how we’ll know if Scott Morrison really cares about women

The Prime Minister has been lucky - but how will he choose to use his luck?

  • by Ross Gittins
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A family member performs the last rites of a COVID-19 victim in India.

The world is watching. And it is wondering what this draconian decision says about Australia’s character

Sometimes, outsiders see what is happening more clearly than we do ourselves.

  • by Bevan Shields
Elon Musk: Tesla has invested $US1.5 billion into bitcoin and will eventually accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its cars.

Tesla and Elon Musk are on thin ice with China

A company that often treats authorities with insolence is getting some of its own medicine. How Elon Musk handles the issue will determine his success, not just in China but around the world.

  • by Anjani Trivedi
Susan Hunt wore the green and gold for her country.

I wore the green and gold for my country, now I’d be jailed for coming home

I’m a proud Australian yet despite my Australian bona fides I am now persona non grata in my own country.

  • by Susan Hunt
The two options for norther access to the Harbour Bridge under consideration by the state government.
Opinion
City life

Harbour Bridge ramps are a short-term fix for a long-term problem, time for a bolder plan

The proposed ramp designs will connect to the existing Bridge cycleway that is substandard now and unfit for any real growth.

  • by Jilly Gibson
Former Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella has just been appointed to the Fair Work Commission.
Opinion
Courts

Mates getting plum government jobs? There must be an election coming up

Cronyism and political favouritism are having a direct impact on Australians.

  • by Jenna Price
LETTERS
Letters

This does not have to be an either/or proposition

Age readers discuss proposed changes to the Australian curriculum.

Solomon Lew steadfast on Thai villa legal costs

But the retail impresario has made an about-turn on JobKeeper.

  • by Stephen Brook and Samantha Hutchinson
A majority of Australians now think we are seeing more frequent and severe droughts due to climate change

States of disarray: Australia needs national plan to tackle climate

The states are forging ahead on climate action, but Australia needs a national strategy to reduce emissions at lowest cost over the next few decades.

  • by Tony Wood
Scott Morrison is standing by his decision to ban Australian citizens from returning from India.

Australia’s complacency, not racism, led to India ban

There was no malice in the Morrison government’s handling of the India ban, just ham-fistedness.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Patients suffering from Covid-19 are treated with free oxygen at a makeshift clinic in India.

Let Australians in India return home

If our quarantine system is not capable of dealing with a surge in cases after all this time, surely the question has to be asked as to why not.

  • The Age's View
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The Blues’ Sam Walsh.

Young Blue Walsh is ‘a massive Brownlow chance’

Sam Walsh is playing just his third season in the AFL, but this week on the Real Footy podcast, Michael Gleeson, Jake Niall and Greg Baum discuss the Blues and their young star, arguing that he has to be a contender for the Brownlow Medal this season. 

Westpac chief executive Peter King doesn’t rule out entering buy-now-pay-later.
Opinion
Big four

The King’s Gambit: Westpac CEO makes risky move to outplay rivals

Westpac chief executive Peter King has set himself an ambitious cost reduction target in a plan to claw back market share from the other big banks.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
James O’Connor had the final say in the Reds win over the Brumbies.

Wright move: Why captain O’Connor can give Reds the edge in decider

Liam Wright’s return to the captaincy against the Force on Saturday merely showed how effective the Reds’ game plan has been under stand-in skipper O’Connor, who has matured into an intelligent leader.

  • by Wayne Smith
Please Explain podcast.

‘Vulnerable being ignored’: Are native title benefits squandered by mismanagement?

Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire and investigative journalist Adele Ferguson discuss how millions of dollars of mining royalty payments are spent.

  • by Tory Maguire