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Federal budget
Woman-friendly budget: Funding for domestic violence prevention, health
The focus on women comes after a difficult three months in which the Morrison government was rocked by allegations of sexual assault, poor treatment of women in Parliament.
Airborne COVID-19: Air quality a focus in new advice on spread
Experts call for focus on airborne virus spread, with one saying ‘you could be washing your hands until the cows come home and you could still get COVID-19’.
‘Forget Australia’: Britain snaps up stranded international students
Shaiz Javaid felt abandoned by Australia when borders closed. He is among thousands making up a record surge of uni enrolments in Britain.
‘I wish she could see her grandchildren’: MP Katie Allen on the pain of losing her mum at 28
Katie Allen still cries when she talks about her mother. “She begged us to get pregnant. She said ‘It gives me hope that there’s something to come’.”
Easy, impressive six-ingredient dishes to make for mum
Simple to throw together and delicious to eat, these sweet and savoury dishes are more than the sum of their parts.
It’s time we moved beyond breakfast in bed for mum
The mums I know would prefer to go to the pub or cafe, be taken somewhere new or scoff madly at the idea of anyone doing anything for Mother’s Day.
Clashes of the titans: The AFL’s murky uniform policies
Welcome to the opaque realm that is the AFL’s clash jumper policies, in which passions often run high and it is argued there are rules for some and rules for others.
Noble to call umpires seeking clarity on contentious decisions
North Melbourne coach David Noble says he will make a phone call to the umpires to better understand several contentious calls made during the match against Collingwood.
Pop-up bike lanes ripped up, stalled despite cycling upswing
Pop-up bike lanes planned at the height of COVID-19 to accommodate a huge increase in cycling have been ripped up or stalled in Melbourne’s inner-north, due to internal council politics and construction delays.
Opinion
Divorce
Bill and Melinda Gates: a modern twist on the marriage plot
The divorce of the American billionaire power couple has parallels that go back to Charlotte Bronte and her fictional creation Jane Eyre.
Jacqueline Maley
Columnist and senior journalist
‘Divided down the middle’: Scottish independence suffers a setback
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is on course to win 64 seats but needed 65 for a SNP majority and a strong case for a new referendum.
WEEKEND READS
To my one-year-old daughter, born at the right time
You are the wisest person I’ve ever met precisely because you came when you did. You were filled with joy even as the adults around you stressed away your first year.
Gene Simmons: ‘There’d be very few rock bands if there weren’t girls’
The co-founder and frontman of Kiss discusses his humble beginnings as the son of Hungarian Jews, having no shame, and the song he wants played at his funeral.
Local
Toughest lockdown? Melbourne’s grim 2020 in a global context
Blunt lockdown comparisons can be misleading, so The Sunday Age turned to the University of Oxford to put Melbourne and Australia in context.
Teenager mourned after stabbing death at basketball stadium
Friends and family are mourning the loss of a 17-year-old boy who was stabbed at a junior basketball game in Melbourne’s west on Friday night.
Updated
Courts
Truck driver who hit pedestrians in Southbank walks after getting bail
CCTV footage played in court showed the pedestrians and delivery driver falling on top of each other after they were hit by the back of the truck.
‘Left here to die’: Stranded Melbourne man’s entire family infected with COVID
The escalating coronavirus crisis in India is causing heartbreak for many Australian families.
Rail volunteers steaming over plans to shunt them out of workshop
Volunteers who keep Victoria’s collection of vintage trains in working order could be moved on from the rail yard they’ve called home for decades.
AFL 2021
Williams back but Blues axe Dow, Petrevski-Seton for Dogs clash
The Blues have welcomed back Zac Williams but have dumped Paddy Dow and Sam Petrevski-Seton from their starting 22, while the Bulldogs will be without two frontline ruckmen on Sunday.
Updated
AFL round eight teams and expert tips
How the experts tipped for 2021 round eight, and all the ins and outs as they drop across the weekend.
Politics
‘Minimal help, maximum hype’: Single parents housing package criticised for helping only a ‘handful’
A Morrison government initiative to allow single parents to buy a home with a 2 per cent deposit has met a lukewarm welcome.
Business
Insurers upgrade home fire claims coverage
Exclusions standardised to include cover heat, ash, smoke or soot damage within 100 metres of an insured address.
World
Blasts targeting Afghan school in Kabul kills dozens of students
Multiple blasts at a school in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens more, mostly female students, officials said, in an attack President Ashraf Ghani blamed on the insurgent Taliban.
Opinion
Why Slater unloaded on the PM
Peter FitzSimons
Columnist and author
Voters driven to distraction by Morrison’s short-term splurge
Peter Hartcher
Political and international editor
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Property bydomain
'No easy answers': Bushfire rebuild plans delayed by COVID building boom
Bushfire survivors are being forced to wait for up to two years to rebuild as the property boom fuels a shortfall in builders and building supplies.
'Easy way out': Home buyer schemes do little for supply, experts warn
The government will go guarantor on more loans for first-home buyers and single parents, and expand super savings for homes. But who is being left behind?
Life & Culture
The Hemsworths hit peak Byron Bay with their White Party
It appears when you invite a Hemsworth to your party, an entire village of shiny, perfect, rich people turn up.
Sport
Updated
Collingwood
‘It’s better to win’, says relieved Buckley as De Goey’s performance whets appetite
Nathan Buckley says the Magpies’ only expectation of Jordan De Goey is that he works hard to get the best out of himself after his six-goal performance against the Kangaroos.
Demons dig deep to keep Swans at bay
There will come a point this year when long-suffering Melbourne fans allow themselves to dream. That moment cannot be too far away after the Demons held off a late challenge from Sydney.
De Goey boots six to lead Magpies to victory
Collingwood have broken a run of five losses with a hard-fought victory over the winless North Melbourne, with Jordan De Goey kicking six goals and Darcy Moore starring in defence.
‘The Games will go ahead’: Coates shuts down talk of Tokyo cancellation
IOC vice-president John Coates said there was no ‘hypotheticals’ being entertained as he backed a vaccine program plus health protocols to see Tokyo succeed.
Giants 16.11 (107) Bombers 16.9 (105)
Match report
Giants strike late to hold off comeback by battling Bombers
Greater Western Sydney survived a brave fightback from Essendon, with a left-foot snap from Jacob Hopper at the death sealing a heart-stopping two-point win.
Updated
Match report
Saints surge to put sting in dour contest and grab victory
Suffice to say this was no affair to remember. But for coach Brett Ratten, all that will count is the result: a nine-point win to the Saints, who had trailed for the vast majority of the match.
Williams back but Blues axe Dow, Petrevski-Seton for Dogs clash
The Blues have welcomed back Zac Williams but have dumped Paddy Dow and Sam Petrevski-Seton from their starting 22, while the Bulldogs will be without two frontline ruckmen on Sunday.
Have Your Say
We’re not talking footy, we’re playing it
It’s what media and fans are not talking about this season that says most about the game’s evolution.
Greg Baum
Sports columnist
