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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.
Breaking
Coronavirus pandemic
COVID cluster grows to nine as Sydney ordered to mask up
Residents in seven local government areas are now required to wear masks indoors after two local COVID-19 cases were recorded overnight.
What are the new COVID-19 restrictions for Sydney and NSW?
NSW has introduced a number of new COVID-19 restrictions in response to the latest eastern suburbs outbreak and other states have introduced restrictions for travel to and from NSW.
‘Wouldn’t normally comment’: Marise Payne declines to confirm rumoured Chinese defection
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne says she doesn’t want to comment on the rumoured defection to the United States of a senior Chinese spy but has urged Beijing to fully comply with the next phase of the investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
Exclusive
NSW budget
Last year NSW had Centrelink queues. Now there is a skills shortage
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet says the unemployment threat facing the state has been turned on its head.
Opinion
Gender equality
Club members send wrong message not only to our daughters, but also our sons
I would hate to be a man justifying to his daughter, daughter-in-law or partner that they support feminism, but also want to join the Australian Club. But what are they telling their sons?
Daisy Turnbull
Director of wellbeing at St Catherine's School, Sydney.
Exclusive
Emerald City
The heir to the cross revealed: John Ibrahim’s secret baby news
Sydney identity John Ibrahim and his model girlfriend Sarah Budge have been keeping details of the child they are expecting a secret for months.
Exclusive
Workplace culture
‘They need to focus on supporting the victims’: Sony Music expands workplace investigation
After it was revealed Sony Music’s US headquarters were investigating the workplace culture in the Australian arm of the company, an external counsel has been engaged to hear allegations of bullying, harassment and more.
Hanging up his apron: Why Manu Feildel is giving up on restaurants
With My Kitchen Rules axed, his contract with Channel Seven set to expire at the end of the month and another failed restaurant under his belt, the celebrity chef has a plan for the future.
Opinion
Political leadership
A singer at a footy dinner in 2016 blew me away. Now look at her
The marketing manager at the Titans took the stage at the Gold Coast, and she was unreal.
Peter FitzSimons
Columnist and author
Exclusive
Property development
‘Greedy land grab’: Why Sydney’s top private schools can be difficult neighbours
Sydney’s top private schools continue to build lavish new facilities, but at what cost to their neighbours?
NSW to abolish stamp duty on electric cars under $500m plan
EV drivers, however, will be hit with a road-user tax within six years to help fund road and infrastructure spending.
Exclusive
Education
Up to 5000 NSW students are convicted of a crime every year. The schools are never told
The father of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by another student called on the NSW Department of Education to keep a register of students who have been charged with sexual assault.
Opinion
NRL 2021
Mum’s cancer fight was inspiration behind Cordner’s toughness
In retirement, we are finally getting to know the real Boyd Cordner. And what follows is a revealing insight into a man of rare steel and determination.
Danny Weidler
Sport columnist
Analysis
Concussion crisis
High crimes and low misdemeanours: Why NRL’s crackdown misses target
The NRL’s drive to stamp out high contact fails to acknowledge that the tackler is nearly twice as likely to undergo a HIA than the ball-carrier.
Opinion
Comedy
Blowing the whistle on the challenges of umpiring
Umpires cop a lot of abuse and they don’t deserve it. They’re the Ginger Rogers of footy – they’re doing just as much running, but backwards, and for one-tenth of the pay.
Danny Katz
Columnist
NRL 2021
Dragons 22 Raiders 20
Raiders land in hot water after 18th-man debacle
Canberra lost 22-20 to St George Illawarra, but the big talking point will be their use of 18th man Xavier Savage.
Storm 66 Tigers 16
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.
Sydney
‘We don’t want a Chatswood’: Critics attack plan for tall towers in Edgecliff
A draft strategy to allow towers up to 89 metres high in Edgecliff has triggered opposition from some Woollahra councillors and residents.
NSW to abolish stamp duty on electric cars under $500m plan
EV drivers, however, will be hit with a road-user tax within six years to help fund road and infrastructure spending.
Exclusive
Gender equality
New push to overturn the Australian Club’s women ban
Leading members of the male-only Australian Club have launched an internal campaign to admit women.
Free preschool program extended to 2022
Many families will get 15 hours per week of free preschool access next year after the NSW government extended a COVID-19 program to partially or fully fund hundreds of preschool services.
Premier’s new beau wins seal of approval from MPs
Police Minister David Elliott said Arthur Moses was the ideal man because “he’s a Parra supporter, a westie, a Liberal and a Reservist”.
WEEKEND READS
Menu mayhem: it’s time the food world stopped discriminating
Never mind bespoke vegetarian and vegan menus, dear chefs, consider bringing all food together as one.
The woman who helped an ex-Playboy editor become a feminist crusader
Former Playboy editor Chuck Smeeton became a self-confessed “feminist in training” after meeting his partner, Dr Niki Vincent, Victoria’s first Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner.
Politics
Opinion
Property prices
Boomers aren’t to blame for Australia’s property mismatch
I worry about the future of this country when even the most basic of needs – housing – is out of reach.
Liz Allen
Demographer
Business
‘String of disasters’: China’s shipping delays set to widen trade chaos
Still reeling from the pandemic and the Suez Canal blockage, an exhausted global shipping industry faces the biggest test of its stamina.
World
Cuba encouraged by early results of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine amid worst outbreak
Cuba, whose biotech sector has exported vaccines for decades, has opted not to import foreign vaccines but rather to rely on its own.
Opinion
It haunts me still. I had helped our family’s real estate man to fib
David Astle
Crossword compiler, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
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Property bydomain
Revealed: These are the biggest housing bubbles in the world
Ultra-low interest rates, buyers saving cash during lockdowns, government stimulus and strong competition for few homes. Sound familiar?
'Unbelievable': The coastal town where Sydneysiders are paying top dollar
By the beach, one house listed two years ago that couldn't fetch $1.05m recently traded for $1.585m, and house prices are up 23 per cent in a year.
Life & Culture
Opinion
Private Sydney
When it comes to tucks, sucks and plucks, let’s all be more like Dolly
One-time Bond girl Britt Ekland caused quite a stir when she blamed cosmetic surgery for “ruining my face”.
Andrew Hornery
Private Sydney Columnist
Sport
Opinion
NRL 2021
Mum’s cancer fight was the inspiration behind Cordner’s toughness
In retirement, we are finally getting to know the real Boyd Cordner. And what follows is a revealing insight into a man of rare steel and determination.
Danny Weidler
Sport columnist
Raiders face sanction for 18th man bungle as Ravalawa faces another ban
The NRL has asked for a variety of reports on how a Canberra rookie was accidentally allowed to make his debut as the Dragons were also dragged into another post-match drama.
Analysis
Super Rugby
Hunger pain: Kiwis gave Aussie rivals a lesson in desire in Super Rugby
The gap between New Zealand and Australian rugby was highlighted in one clear way during the Super Rugby Trans Tasman final.
Analysis
NRL 2021
High crimes and low misdemeanours: Why NRL’s crackdown misses target
The NRL’s drive to stamp out high contact fails to acknowledge that the tackler is nearly twice as likely to undergo a HIA than the ball-carrier. If the game is serious about player safety, it needs to realise this.
‘Goosebumps’ for Hughes with maiden major title in reach
It was “goosebumps” for 30-year-old Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, who rocketed up the leaderboard at the US Open on Sunday and will play in the final group of a major for the first time in his career.
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.
‘It might put a target on my head’: Luai roars defiance as THAT Origin photo riles Maroons
The Blues star is not bothered if Queensland target him in Origin II after taking offence to an image of him standing over Felise Kaufusi in Townsville.
Have Your Say
Why four wins from 10 Tests this year would be pass mark for Wallabies
With three Tests against France, three against the Kiwis and two each against South Africa and Argentina, even five wins would be very positive for Australia.
