Please Explain podcast
Expert daily insight into the stories that drive the nation.
Morning Edition
Our guide to the most important stories, analysis and insights.
Market Recap
A wrap of the day's trading emailed weekday afternoons.
Exclusive
Federal budget
The electorates where men retire with almost twice as much super as women
The data has given ammunition to groups pushing for super contributions to be paid on parental leave.
Exclusive
Josh Frydenberg
Learn if you can’t earn: Jobs focus in budget
Australians will be offered “intensive support” to retrain for the economic recovery in a skills package that will tell young people to sign up for new skills.
Budget to bet on consumers spending their $130 billion savings
Australians saved $130 billion through the pandemic. Josh Frydenberg is hoping they will spend that cash to offset a huge fall in COVID government support.
Crackdown on youth crime a ‘Band-Aid at best, a death sentence at worst’
New laws - expected to pass this week - are expected to result in more youths detained at Don Dale detention centre, with plans to reopen wings to accommodate the increase.
England reports no new COVID deaths for only second time of pandemic
New research suggests Britain’s world-leading vaccine rollout slashes the risk of dying from COVID-19 by up to 97 per cent.
‘I haven’t seen anything like it’: Inside Sydney’s mass vaccination hub
The first recipients of the coronavirus vaccine in NSW Health’s new two-storey mass vaccination hub sat down for their shots.
Opinion
Interest rates
The world is partying hard on free money, but beware the hangover
Central banks have pumped a fresh $US8 trillion into global liquidity since the pandemic was declared last year.
Peter Hartcher
Political and international editor
Undercover police operative caught MacGill ‘kidnapper’
The operative was used to investigate the brother of Stuart MacGill’s girlfriend after the former cricketer reported the incident to police.
Wall Street veterans using old tricks in $3.1 trillion crypto jungle
Wall Street veterans are becoming crypto converts and are unleashing old-school finance tricks to exploit the industry’s rampant inefficiencies, volatility and downright weirdness.
Ferraris, boxes of cash: ICAC unearths ‘rigged’ government contracts
Two public servants allegedly skimmed millions of dollars worth of kickbacks from NSW government contracts and spent it on luxury cars, cash deliveries and school fees.
NRL won’t allow de Belin to return despite Dragons request
After a jury was unable to reach a verdict on five out of six charges against Jack de Belin, details emerged of a contract extension he signed last year.
‘I’m in, baby’: Liz Cambage confirms she will play at Olympics after boycott threat
Cambage had threatened to boycott the Games over what she described as the “whitewashing” of two AOC promotional shoots.
Opinion
Privacy
Sharing private messages from Ben Affleck or anyone else is bad manners
This may be a radical thought, but we should keep our personal correspondence private.
Kerri Sackville
Columnist
Top chef to open seafood equivalent of a charcoal chicken shop in Sydney
Australia’s seafood king is opening the seafood equivalent of a charcoal chicken shop in the eastern suburbs.
FEDERAL BUDGET 2021
Hunt promises ‘record’ response to aged care royal commission in budget
Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates says he feels more confident on the eve of the budget than ever before that there will be substantial changes to the sector.
Blue Mountains highway upgrade to get bulk of $3b federal budget spend
The budget will also include new funding for one of the busiest intersections on the M5 Motorway in Sydney, along with upgrades to the Pacific Highway near Taree.
Sydney
Owner reunited with dog allegedly stolen from outside CBD shop
Police have charged a 38-year-old man after he walked into a Sydney police station on Monday night with the missing pet.
Exclusive
Sydney councils
Sydney’s net-zero goal accelerated by five years
The City of Sydney will bring forward its net-zero emissions goal to 2035, making it the first council in the state to set such an early target.
CBD
City life
Ex-colleagues set to squirm at disgraced MP’s new role
Michael Johnsen’s new website showcases photos of him standing alongside the Premier and former political colleagues.
Former Home and Away actor among seven charged with Byron drug offences
Putu Winchester-Stanton is among seven men charged with drug offences following two investigations into the supply of cocaine.
Jack de Belin not guilty of one charge, jury discharged
The NRL star and Callan Sinclair were acquitted of one charge, relating to a woman’s 2018 assault, but were unable to reach a verdict on other charges.
Politics
Exclusive
Trade
Industry, unions warn of fresh wave of ‘dumped’ foreign imports
The coronavirus-induced economic downturn has fuelled a global oversupply of steel, paper, alloy, glass, processed food and solar panels among other products.
Business
IPO on the cards for startup powering biotech giants through COVID
Trajan Scientific is weighing up the benefits of listing on the market after the pandemic showcased the importance of its specialised knowledge.
World
Man faces attempted murder charges after Dunedin stabbing attack
Court documents show the man has been charged with attempting to murder four people, two men and two women.
Opinion
Proposal creates potential for more pokies in a state already awash with them
Rebecca Thorpe
Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesperson
Time to revisit Australia’s golden goose
Paul Cleary
Ramadan a chance to dispel vaccinations myths across Islamic world
Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa
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Property bydomain
Sydney suburbs now out of reach for buyers using government scheme
Rapidly rising prices have reduced the number of homes eligible for the government's loan deposit scheme, set to be expanded in the budget tonight.
Exclusive Sydney suburb's biggest sale of the year: this $26m mansion
It's the city's highest house result outside Point Piper, where there have been three sales in recent weeks for more than $37m.
Life & Culture
Burn, baby, burn: 2021’s most extraordinary film tosses rule book on the fire
Seductive drama Ema reveals the full force of a dancer’s fury as she burns bits of a Chilean city to the ground. Don’t expect a happy ending.
Sport
Sam’s bush push: Burgess plans to go rural to start coaching apprenticeship
Sam Burgess has plans to head to the bush to start his “coaching apprenticeship”, and is already weighing up his options, according to his brother Tom.
‘I’m in, baby’: Liz Cambage confirms she will play at Olympics after boycott threat
Cambage had threatened to boycott the Games over what she described as the “whitewashing” of two AOC promotional shoots.
Hooker shortage: The scare that reminded Blues of Cook’s importance
The sight of Damien Cook clutching at his knee last Thursday night served as a timely reminder of what little depth NSW has when it comes to hookers.
Opinion
2021 Tokyo Olympics
‘Not queue jumping’: Why athletes don’t deserve to be caught in vaccine debate crossfire
Australia’s Olympians are deeply grateful for the chance to be vaccinated. They shouldn’t endure the scorn of a public they are so proud to represent.
Phil Lutton
Sports reporter
The $501 Waratahs: Bookies give Australian teams no chance in trans-Tasman Super Rugby
All five New Zealand teams are considered better hopes of winning trans-Tasman Super Rugby than any of the Australian franchises. The winless Waratahs are 500-1.
NRL won’t allow de Belin to return despite Dragons request
After a jury was unable to reach a verdict on five out of six charges against Jack de Belin, details emerged of a contract extension he signed last year which will see him remain at the Dragons until 2024 if cleared.
Four assists, two tries, but Trbojevic still critical of display against Warriors
Tom Trbojevic has admitted he is still struggling to find consistency in his game post-injury despite putting on an absolute clinic for Manly on Sunday.
Have Your Say
Was the Super Rugby final the most significant provincial game in Australian rugby history?
Many a facile word is spoken in commentary but Tim Horan’s observation after Queensland’s thrilling win that “rugby is back” was on the money.