The Watchlist newsletter
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees.
Bondi Badlands podcast
We shed new light on a series of brutal murders along Sydney’s clifftops.
Superquiz
See how many of today's questions you can get right.
13th Omicron case recorded as 10 people urgently tested
Regents Park Christian School has been closed for the remainder of the year, while authorities are investigating a possible transmission event at an indoor climbing centre.
Scientists bunker down as Omicron findings expected within days
Some 450 researchers have begun work to isolate the highly mutated variant from patient specimens hoping to guide vaccine decisions.
Updated
Industrial relations
BHP COVID-19 vaccine mandate rejected by Fair Work Commission
The national industrial tribunal ruled BHP had failed to consult its workers properly, in a ruling that may open up other vaccine mandates to legal challenge.
Labor launches election fight over climate, household costs
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is promising to cut electricity prices by 18 per cent within three years.
Commuters brace for chaos as strikes, wild weather coincide
Hundreds of drivers on Sydney’s bus network will strike for 24 hours on Monday and Tuesday over an ongoing pay dispute.
PM backs targets for female candidates as Liberals push Berejiklian to run
Morrison wants the LNP to set targets for female candidates in federal seats, as the NSW division still hopes Berejiklian will run in Warringah.
Exclusive
China relations
Australia refuses to sign ‘truce’ for Beijing Olympics
The refusal of 20 countries to sign the Olympic Truce, a concept that dates back to ancient Greece, is designed to send a message over Beijing’s human rights abuses.
Exclusive
Title Deeds
Macquarie’s Peter Warne leads Mosman bonanza with $23m house sale
Macquarie Group executive chairman sold his Mosman home on Friday with the strongest sale in the well-heeled harbourside suburb.
Steve Simon, the man who took on Beijing for Peng
In 2018, Simon landed a $42m deal for women tennis players to play nine tournaments in China. Yesterday, he shut it down over Peng.
The Fitz Files
Test cricket
A pat on the back for our new man Cummins
You know the rules. It’s time for everyone who has ever had any interaction with Pat Cummins to dust off their best anecdotes.
Exclusive
NRL player movements
Bold attempt by Storm to swap Brandon Smith for Tigers’ Utoikamanu
Melbourne are so dissatisfied with their hooker over the way he joined the Roosters for 2023, they shopped him to the Tigers.
How author Alice Sebold misidentified her rapist
It was the night that changed Anthony Broadwater’s life for ever. Without a now-abandoned film adaptation, it’s unlikely he would have been exonerated.
London’s ‘half dead’ Trafalgar Square Christmas tree ridiculed
The tree drew mirth on Twitter with some commenting that it was “threadbare” or ill with COVID.
Opinion
Health
Want to lose weight and have sex? Do the housework
A new study from Singapore finds fit people do their own housework. It turns out there are other added benefits to doing household chores.
Richard Glover
Broadcaster and Sydney Morning Herald columnist
From Death of a Salesman to Cinderella: the must-see shows in Sydney
After a rough two years of postponed, cancelled, and delayed productions, Sydney’s theatre scene has returned with a cracking line up of shows.
WEEKEND READS
Good Weekend’s festive feasting 2021
A tough year’s nearly over – even more reason than usual to eat, drink and be merry. Try these delicious ways to double down on the celebrations.
Quiet now, the silent treatment really isn’t all bad
Paul Connolly’s Kitchen Sink Drama is a slice of domestic life, captured masterfully in only 100 words. This week, an astonishing silence.
Sydney
Second Shire Liberal candidate fails to declare developer links
Former mayor Kent Johns declared he was not a close associate of developers despite having helmed a company with them.
Hail batters south and north-west Sydney before storms ease
Hail landed at Agnes Banks and hit motorists on the Hume Highway at Pheasants Nest to the south.
Exclusive
Cold case
Revelle Balmain’s former boss a person of interest in her disappearance: police
Zoran Stanojevic, 63, was arrested on unrelated charges by police investigating the model’s disappearance in 1994.
‘We need to get serious’: Drums beat for live music precinct in Sydney CBD
Live music venues would be shielded from unreasonable noise complaints under a plan favoured by several City of Sydney mayoral candidates.
Boy, 3, killed after being hit by car on Glebe road
Emergency services were called to Sydney’s inner west on Friday morning following a report the child had been hit by a car.
SEE & DO
Opinion
Plenty to savour as Sydney’s arts-filled summer beckons
Staying home? Grab those new Dine and Discover vouchers and use our critics’ picks of the best entertainment in Sydney this summer.
Harriet Cunningham, John Shand, George Palathingal, Nick Galvin, John McDonald, Garry Maddox and Valerie Lawson
★★★½
Three Fat Virgins hit all the right notes in blazingly funny play
Ovidia Yu’s stage play is a brutal, hilarious examination of the role of women in society.
Politics
Big business welcomes Labor’s industry-focused climate policy
Labor aims to exceed the Coalition’s plan with more renewable energy and caps on industrial pollution, which big business groups support.
Business
Woolies could face political, regulatory hurdles in $870m Priceline bid
On Thursday, Woolworths shocked the market with its $1.75-a-share offer to acquire Priceline owner API. But it may not be smooth sailing.
World
‘Never look at his eyes’: Maxwell ordered staff not to address Epstein
Epstein’s former house manager testified that Virginia Roberts Giuffre, visited “very often” after encountering Maxwell at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Opinion
We saw Omicron coming, but we didn’t think to act
Waleed Aly
Columnist, co-host of Ten's The Project and academic
Grotty week for PM as noxious culture is laid bare
Michelle Grattan
Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Property
Why property prices rose while the economy contracted
Housing prices soared during Delta lockdowns when the economy was struggling and low interest rates helped homebuyers borrow more. But with the benefit of hindsight, economists say there was another surprising factor at play.
Competition at auctions drops as more homes hit the market
New figures show bidder numbers at auctions have dropped to their lowest level in a year in both Sydney and Melbourne.
Lifestyle
Opinion
Health
Want to lose weight and have sex? Do the housework
A new study from Singapore finds fit people do their own housework. It turns out there are other added benefits to doing household chores.
Richard Glover
Broadcaster and Sydney Morning Herald columnist
Culture
Musical creation goes from dream to nightmare and back again
It looks like being third time lucky for Amy Campbell trying to make her directorial debut.
Sport
Exclusive
NRL player movements
Bold attempt by Storm to swap Brandon Smith for Tigers’ Utoikamanu
Melbourne are so dissatisfied with their hooker over the way he joined the Roosters for 2023, they shopped him to the Tigers.
Lots of runs, no sledging: Root makes mark on England
England’s captain Joe Root enters the Ashes not just as the world’s best batter, but also as a leader with clear expectations.
Opinion
The Ashes
Equal parts art and science: the formula to selecting Australia’s first Test team
Putting a successful team together is equal parts art and science. Only following the data has led many selection panels down an endless, dark tunnel.
Greg Chappell
The viral meltdown that landed Chase Buford the job as Sydney Kings coach
Buford comes from NBA royalty. So why is he coaching in the NBL?
The Fitz Files
Test cricket
A pat on the back for our new man Cummins
You know the rules. It’s time for everyone who has ever had any interaction with Pat Cummins to dust off their best anecdotes. Myself, I’ve got nothing. But ...
Starc poised to get first crack at Gabba
Selectors are opting for the tried and true of Mitchell Starc over new kid on the block Jhye Richardson for the third pace berth to take on England in the first Test, while the No.5 role remains uncertain.
Phoenix 0 Wanderers 2
A-League
Wanderers clinch first win as Hemed haunts former club
After a slow start, Western Sydney produced their most composed and authoritive display in possession this season.
Have Your Say
The gloves are off for these Ashes and Australia will be better without Paine
Though nobody would recommend it as a solution to a looming problem, the sad ending to Tim Paine’s career should have a positive impact on Australia’s cricket.
Malcolm Knox
Journalist, author and columnist
