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COVID-19 CRISIS
Nine new cases; Delta spread key to lockdown call as vaccine supply doubles
Victoria’s top public health advisers will over the next few days make a crucial judgement call on whether it is likely that the Delta variant is spreading undetected in the state. There have been another nine cases confirmed, plus two revealed on Sunday at Arcare’s Maidstone home.
Breaking
Aged care
Suburban train line, city construction site added to list of exposure sites
An infected case travelled on the Upfield line between Merlynston station and the CBD last week, and a large city construction site has also been added after a worker tested positive on Saturday.
Watch live: ABC boss back in Senate estimates hot seat
ABC managing director David Anderson is set to be quizzed about his decision to delay the airing of a Four Corners episode exploring Scott Morrison’s ties to a QAnon conspiracy theorist.
Exclusive
Property market
Melbourne suburbs where every house costs $1m plus
There are 156 suburbs in Sydney and 15 in Melbourne where every house sold this year has changed hands for more than $1 million.
Colleen was tricked into losing $175,000 to an investment scam
Officially, Australians lost a record $851m to scams last year, up 34% on 2019. The real total may be much higher.
The world reacts to the birth of Harry and Meghan’s second child
British TV presenter Piers Morgan, who had clashed with the couple, declined to comment on Lilibeth ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor’s birth in California.
Just you wait: Hamilton star thrilled with move to Melbourne
Jason Arrow, who plays the title role in Hamilton, says moving to Her Majesty’s Theatre will create a more intimate show for Melbourne audiences.
Opinion
AFL 2021
Four Points: Dream blockbusters on the road, Shai on the way, hands off the back
It is an event bigger than the game itself, and one that has gained a hold in the imagination of the football-following public. It was the whole event, not just the contest, that drew people to the game.
Michael Gleeson
Sports columnist
Updated
Casinos
Crown faces widening money laundering investigation
The financial crimes watchdog has widened its investigation into casino giant Crown Resorts after uncovering potential breaches of anti-money laundering laws at its Perth resorts.
Exclusive
Organised crime
‘Serious threat’: intel report says Qantas targeted by organised crime groups
A classified federal law enforcement intelligence operation code-named Project Brunello has determined that a ‘significant’ number of Qantas staff are linked to criminality.
Exclusive
Organised crime
The cartel of Australian Mr Bigs responsible for $1.5b drug imports
Nine men drawn from Australian bikie gangs, Asian triads and Middle Eastern crime syndicates make up what criminal intelligence authorities have called the ‘Aussie Cartel’.
A disgraced priest, a children’s shelter and the fight for justice in East Timor
In a remote corner of East Timor, a scandal of enormous proportions has shaken an almost universally Catholic country and brought powerful forces into play.
Exclusive
Workplace culture
‘It’s all secret’: Probe into confidentiality agreements that silence victims
“I think we need to think very carefully about whether non-disclosure agreements have done more harm than good,” workplace injury lawyer Liberty Sanger said.
Opinion
Political leadership
PM’s the man for optimistic narratives but one day we will need hard truths
A conversation about what risk the nation is prepared to live with is coming but can this government do it with the honesty and complexity required?
Sean Kelly
Columnist and former adviser to Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
‘Millions impacted’: Industry super group faces ransomware attack lawsuit
IFM has been hit with a class action that alleges millions of consumers, from large businesses to regular motorists, paid higher prices for fuel when the pipeline was closed following a ransomware attack.
Breaking
AUSTRAC
NAB investigated over potential ‘serious and ongoing’ financial crime breaches
The financial crimes watchdog has outlined serious concerns with NAB’s customer identification procedures and compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Plea to reopen special schools amid ‘devastating’ loss of learning
Students in specialist schools were at the front of the queue when children made a staged return to face-to-face learning last year, but they have not been given the same priority status in this lockdown.
Mark cut his housemates’ hair during lockdown, now he’s a trainee barber
From learning how to cut hair to swimming every day in chilly Port Phillip Bay, the lockdowns of 2020 allowed some people to try new things. And they’re still going.
Local
Breaking
Private Sydney
Harper’s Bazaar set to relaunch in Australia
US media giant Hearst is teaming up with Switzer Media to have the glossy back on local news-stands by September after Bauer dumped it a year ago.
Exclusive
Victorian Parliament
Leaked WhatsApp messages show Coalition infighting over ‘low’ tactics
Members of the Coalition’s two parties trade barbs about strategy of purchasing website domains bearing the names of political opponents.
State regulator set to oversee boarding schools
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard from a “disproportionate” number of survivors who were abused in boarding schools.
Exclusive
ALP
Labor’s grassroots push to reclaim federal seat of Melbourne from Greens
A group of prominent Labor members have united to back think tank director Emma Dawson for preselection in the seat held by Greens leader Adam Bandt.
Ben Roberts-Smith's parents pledge support on eve of defamation trial
The parents of former SAS solider Ben Roberts-Smith have said they are proud of their son after arriving in Sydney to attend his defamation trial set to begin on Monday against The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
AFL 2021
Suns chairman takes a swipe at ‘hopeless’ state government, says grand final move on cards
Suns chairman says it’s “almost probable” the grand final will have to be played away from the MCG due to Victoria’s handling of COVID-19, but Martin Pakula has “absolute confidence” the decider will be back in Melbourne.
Choice for Cats: home lockdown or hotel quarantine
Geelong’s players and staff will have to decide whether to put their entire families into home lockdown or quarantine in hotels without them before Thursday night’s trip to Adelaide.
Politics
Four Corners pushes to air QAnon episode within weeks
ABC managing director David Anderson will return to Canberra today to face questions over his decision to delay an episode that explores PM Scott Morrison’s ties to a QAnon supporter.
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
Morrison government has to do its job better before mandating vaccine
Dr Katie Attwell
Senior lecturer in the school of social sciences at the University of Western Australia
Business
AustralianSuper dismisses privacy concerns over New Daily
One of the country’s largest super funds says it complied with its internal policies when handing over member data to news site The New Daily.
World
Meghan and Harry name new baby girl after the Queen and Princess Diana
The couple named the baby Lilibet ‘Lili’ as a tribute to her great-grandmother, the Queen.
Opinion
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Property bydomain
These are the only 11 neighbourhoods where house prices aren't rising
The handful of neighbourhoods escaping soaring house prices have been revealed, with fewer than a dozen areas recording price falls in recent months.
Home sells online for $2.619m in Melbourne's lockdown auction market
The home was one of several that sold for more than $1 million despite buyers not being able to attend on-street auctions due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Life & Culture
‘You rarely find me out of black’: how a Melbourne chef dresses for winter
“Fashion should be fun and interesting, always,” says Shannon Martinez.
Sport
Disaster strikes for Verstappen, Hamilton as Perez wins in Baku
Max Verstappen was cruising toward an easy second consecutive victory until an unexpected tyre failure brought on one of the more memorable races in recent memory.
Opinion
AFL 2021
Four Points: Dream blockbusters on the road, Shai on the way, hands off the back
At Optus Stadium on Saturday night was an event bigger than the game itself, and one that has gained a solid foothold in the imagination of the football-following public. It was the whole event, not just the contest, that drew people to the game.
Michael Gleeson
Sports columnist
Bont and Macrae lead way as Dogs outclass bruised Freo
The Western Bulldogs remain within touching distance of the ladder-leading Demons after a gritty win over Fremantle in Perth on Sunday night, to improve their win-loss record to 10-2.
Cochrane hits out, says grand final move on cards
Suns chairman says it’s “almost probable” grand final will have to be played away from MCG due to state’s handling of COVID-19, but Martin Pakula has “absolute confidence” the decider will be back in Melbourne.
Undermanned Eagles outwork Carlton
Carlton’s season of a thousand cuts has reached its all but fatal bleed after the Blues were out-hustled by a severely undermanned but gritty West Coast at the SCG on Sunday.
Updated
French Open
Williams loses at French Open, Federer withdraws
Serena Williams turns 40 in September, Roger Federer the month before. No one knows how many more French Open appearances each will make, and the tournament ended for both on Sunday.
Brooks’ last-gasp leveller may spare Victory the spoon
Lleyton Brooks came off the bench to rescue a point for Victory, and possibly spare the club a first wooden spoon.
Have Your Say
Comebacks, new blood and Demons galore in All-Australian mid-year team
While Richmond have long personified the cliche of champion team, Melbourne appear more propelled by star power. In my mid-year All-Australian team for 2021, the Demons have six of the 22.
Jake Niall
Chief football writer, The Age
