The Booklist
A weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger.
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Behind GW’s best features: we go deeper into our most intriguing issues.
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Behind police roadblocks, life in the Dandenongs is anything but normal
Although many roads have now been cleared of trees, they remain treacherous. Thick, black electrical wires still snake across roads and hang eerily from branches.
Carer takes legal action after funding denied for PTSD assistance dog
A carer with post traumatic stress disorder is taking legal action after her claim for funding to train a psychiatric assistance dog was rejected.
Body found in Ju Zhang search to be identified early next week
The results of a post mortem examination are expected Monday or Tuesday after the discovery of a body in a Melbourne tip.
Editorial
Coronavirus pandemic
Let’s hope that was our last lockdown
We must move away from triggering a lockdown as our immediate response to the next inevitable outbreak.
The Age's View
Editorial
Giants 16.6 (102) Carlton 9.12 (66)
Match report
Greene booked as Giants keep finals hopes alive by piling pain on Blues
Toby Greene found himself in hot water, Greater Western continued its domination over Carlton, and coach David Teague is in for another week under the blowtorch.
Meet Jack Boyd, the uni student who took a hanger as good as any taken this season
Shai Bolton, Jack Riewoldt and Liam Ryan have taken stunning marks in 2021, but VFL forward Jack Boyd took a mark that could comfortably stand alongside them.
Lions hop to it and hold off the gallant Kangaroos
This was a dour affair in Hobart but by evening’s end the Brisbane Lions had secured a 23-point win, retaining their top-four spot on the ladder.
Opinion
WordPlay
It haunts me still. I had helped our family’s real estate man to fib
When my brother-in-law wanted another word for opulent, I offered palatial. Am I now implicated in his trade’s jiggery-pokery?
David Astle
Crossword compiler, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
‘My boss has hooked up with the perfect bloke’: Colleagues give Berejiklian’s new beau the tick
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s new boyfriend has been given the seal of approval by her senior cabinet colleagues.
Extreme fitness success is sweet for Porepunkah ‘Ultra Nana’ Rosie
Rosie Spicer, aka the Ultra Nana, has overcome head injury from hitting a wombat and heavy smoking to enter gruelling Ultraman triathlons, training up to eight hours a day.
No booze until menopause: WHO’s alcohol guidance sparks backlash
The head of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said calls for women “of childbearing age” to avoid alcohol sounded like advice from The Handmaid’s Tale.
What is wrong with this picture? Cinema feeds our latest sci-fi fears
My Zoe and Little Joe join a long list of films in which science slips its ethical leash.
Opinion
AFL 2021
Family-work balance: the sensitive issue football needs to talk about
There is clearly a significant divide as to where the line sits between family and work commitments where football is concerned.
Caroline Wilson
Football columnist for The Age
Vatican priest-turned-whistleblower pens world’s only Latin news column
The star witness in tell-all The Closet of the Vatican, gay activist Francesco Lepore writes about “Vladimirum Putin” being called “pro homicida habet” (a killer).
Recasting monsters as women: lunch with Maria Lewis
The 32-year-old has written seven novels and has her eye on writing across film, television and comics.
WEEKEND READS
‘A hard sell’: the Aussie dad battling to get his ‘ISIS bride’ daughter home
After Kamalle Dabboussy learnt his daughter had travelled to Syria with her Islamic State fighter husband, he was told to stay quiet. Now, after years of little action, he’s battling for her return.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp: ‘We’re working hard on bringing back the buzz’
The first woman to be directly elected Lord Mayor of Melbourne discusses her post-lockdown city and how cancer made her a better leader.
Local
Updated
Coronavirus pandemic
COVID-19 ‘still out there’ as Victoria records one new case
Brett Sutton said he was “optimistic” the state was on the right track for more eased restrictions but that health officials needed time to assess the effect of loosened restrictions.
Exclusive
Coronavirus pandemic
Rise in rare clotting cases drove ‘difficult’ call on AstraZeneca vaccine
Concern about a rising number of non-fatal instances of a rare clotting disorder in Australians in their 50s led to the “difficult” decision to limit the AstraZeneca vaccine to those over 60.
‘Like hell on earth’: The night the trees fell from the sky
For those in the picturesque Dandenong Ranges, it felt as if the whole mountain was shaking. In Gippsland, it was worse than a cyclone.
Wild weather sparks calls for underground power lines
Parts of the destroyed electricity network will be rebuilt underground in the Dandenongs.
Investigation
Private schools
Top private schools build up multimillion-dollar investment portfolios
Australia’s richest schools have hundreds of millions invested in the sharemarket, reaping big financial returns while also receiving more than $600 million a year in government funding.
AFL 2021
Selwood fined for misconduct after two incidents against the Bulldogs
Geelong skipper Joel Selwood has escaped with a fine for making unnecessary contact to the face of Western Bulldogs opponent Bailey Dale, and for rough conduct when his boot made contact with Taylor Duryea’s leg after the Bulldog took a mark.
‘An accidental outcome’: Clarkson defends sparring session that left Lewis concussed
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has defended the club against criticism of the boxing session that led to young forward being concussed at training
Politics
‘No rush’ to reopen international borders: Trade Minister
Trade Minister Dan Tehan says the federal government is negotiating with Singapore about a potential travel bubble with Australia, but is in “no rush to open the borders” to international travel.
Business
‘There’s always a way forward’: Crunchtime for Mesoblast as legal threats loom
Investors in the ambitious biotech have been on a rollercoaster ride for years, but 2021 sees it fighting for validation and fighting off class action lawsuits after a year of smashed hopes.
World
Hardline judge elected Iran’s next President
Ebrahim Raisi has been congratulated on his victory by the other two candidates, but his dark past troubles Washington DC.
Opinion
Want to be part of the fashionable set? Don’t join the ‘freethinkers’
Parnell Palme McGuinness
Columnist and communications adviser
Xi Jinping’s effort to break Australia’s will has only solidified it
Peter Hartcher
Political and international editor
The green inner-city bogyman is a figment of the government’s imagination
Jan Fran
Journalist and presenter
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Property bydomain
'Like caged cats': Buyers pounce on house that was barely open to inspect
A newly renovated Caulfield home, only open for inspections for a week post-lockdown, drew four bidders and sold at auction for $1.73 million.
'As unique and special as it gets': A private haven in Albert Park
Behind the ivy-covered brick walls is some seriously cool design work, and the outside feels like you have stepped into the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Life & Culture
‘Extremely visceral’ novel about modern love is timely but lacks subtlety
Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s new novel is at times like Holden Caulfield meets Jean-Claude Van Damme at the local mosque.
Sport
Selwood fined for misconduct after two incidents against the Bulldogs
Geelong skipper Joel Selwood has escaped with a fine for making unnecessary contact to the face of Western Bulldogs opponent Bailey Dale, and for rough conduct when his boot made contact with Taylor Duryea’s leg after the Bulldog took a mark.
Storm 66 Tigers 16
NRL 2021
Shell-shocked Tigers hit rock bottom as Storm run riot
To regain the competition lead from Penrith, Melbourne needed to improve their for-and-against by 18 points. The feat was achieved after just 10 minutes.
‘An accidental outcome’: Clarkson defends sparring session that left Lewis concussed
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has defended the club against criticism of the boxing session that led to young forward being concussed at training
Giants 16.6 (102) Carlton 9.12 (66)
Match report
Greene booked as Giants keep finals hopes alive by piling pain on Blues
Toby Greene found himself in hot water, Greater Western continued its domination over Carlton, and coach David Teague is in for another week under the blowtorch.
Updated
AFL 2021
AFL braces for further fixture upheaval, as Bulldogs eye Perth quarantine
COVID cases in NSW have the AFL bracing for more upheaval in the coming week as Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains admitted the constant uncertainty and demands on travelling parties was taking an increasing toll on those working within clubs.
Lions hop to it and hold off the gallant Kangaroos
This was a dour affair in Hobart but by evening’s end the Brisbane Lions had secured a 23-point win, retaining their top-four spot on the ladder.
Meet Jack Boyd, the uni student who took a hanger as good as any taken this season
Shai Bolton, Jack Riewoldt and Liam Ryan have taken stunning marks in 2021, but VFL forward Jack Boyd took a mark that could comfortably stand alongside them.
Have Your Say
Blues have a big hole in their list that only time will heal
There are plenty of players with ability on the Carlton list, but there’s a clear reason the Blues are a long way behind the league’s best teams.
