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Tragedy

Family pay tribute to ‘loving, devoted father’ after crash

David Drozd (top right), 49, and Jason McMahon (bottom right), 42, were killed in a multi-vehicle crash near Lithgow on Friday.

Two people died and 15 were injured in the horror crash attended by more than 80 emergency personnel.

Do you own Sydney’s oldest Opal card?

There are 86 of the original Opal cards still being used on the network.

Eighty-six of the original Opal cards issued in December 2012 are still in use today.

Special series
City life

Kerryn survived a head-on collision. She wants you to slow down this holidays

Four months after surviving a major car crash on the Gold Coast, Kerryn Grafton still has nightmares. Her SUV was crushed like an accordion.

Campaign to remove Trump from state ballots kicks into gear

Donald Trump at the UFC 296 mixed martial arts event in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Challenges are under way in several US states, based on an obscure clause of a constitutional amendment enacted after the Civil War that disqualifies officials who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.

How Hamas weaponised sexual violence

A New York Times investigation shows a pattern of rape, mutilation and extreme brutality against women in the October 7 attacks in Israel. Warning: Extremely graphic descriptions.

Harry Connick Jnr on preparations for the NYE concert, seeing in the new year on Sydney Harbour and what he’s most looking forward to about performing at one of the worlds most iconic locations.

‘It’s endless’: Jazz superstar Harry Connick Jnr’s favourite Sydney digs

The New Orleans native will be performing at the Sydney Opera House during the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

A snake handler at the Brisbane International.

Deadly snake holds up play during Thiem’s match

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem was taking on Australian youngster James McCabe when an eastern brown snake slithered onto the court.

Australia’s all-conquering skipper, and the player of her generation: The stars of our top XIs for 2023

Ellyse Perry and Pat Cummins.

The importance of skipper Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja to Australia’s Test side has been reflected by the pair being the only players to retain their places in our team of the year.

Opinion
Opinion

Money is an unstoppable force in cricket. The game needs to evolve or perish

Test cricket in this country has the appearance of being alive, but what of the invidious advance of 20-over tournaments across the globe?

Geoff Lawson
Geoff Lawson

Cricket columnist

Exclusive
Byelection

Late Labor MP’s husband urged to run in key byelection for Albanese and Dutton

Peta Murphy’s husband Rod Glover at the December 15 funeral service for the late Labor MP.

The nation’s focus will turn to Dunkley for a contest that will test the political temperature in a potential federal election year.

The political challenges and players who shaped 2023

From the Voice to parliament referendum, stabilising relations with China, war in Gaza, the High Court’s curveball on indefinite detention, and a cost of living crisis, it has been a bumper political year.

Gillian Triggs is finishing up at the UNHCR.

Gillian Triggs says no one is copying Australia’s refugee policies

UNHCR’s outgoing Assistant High Commissioner for Protection says the UK’s failure to send asylum seekers offshore has demonstrated to the rest of Europe that hardline methods don’t work.

The late-night email to Tim Cook that set the Apple Watch saga in motion

The Apple Watch Ultra 2.

The dispute culminated this month in Apple having to pull its latest watches from the company’s US stores, hobbling a business that generates roughly $US17 billion in annual sales.

Topless massages to private flights: CEO mishaps around the world in 2023

It was a weird year.

While some chief executives seemed to relish the spotlight, Elon Musk chief among them, others were inadvertently thrust into social media’s harsh glare.

Exclusive
Crime

‘My wife has no idea’: Byron celebrant’s secret life as a paedophile

The marriage celebrant groomed a mother to get to her 11-year-old girl, but he was unaware his messages were sent to detectives.

Spike with family in Spike Milligan - the Unseen Archive.
★★★★★
Review

The joy and pain of Spike Milligan, the man who made modern comedy

A new documentary goes through the comedian’s personal archives with a gallery of friends, fans and those whose own careers owe much to Milligan’s influence.

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YEAR IN REVIEW

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis
Opinion

The world seems to be spinning in reverse. Have we reached the end of progress?

It’s been another regressive year for the planet. Pessimism abounds – yet there are occasional shards of light.

Nick Bryant
Nick Bryant

Journalist and author

Magazine

From politics to private affairs and court battles: the best features of 2023

From politics and private affairs to court battles, culture wars and more: reader favourites from Good Weekend in 2023.

22 stories

Sydney

Sydney New Year’s Eve 2023

1000 trains, ticket changes and 8.5 tonnes of fireworks: Your Sydney New Year’s Eve

Transport officials and police are bracing for Sydney’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration in years.

Gambling tax concessions for clubs to crack $1 billion

The top gambling tax rate for clubs is 26.55 per cent.

The Productivity Commission warned more than a decade ago the community was not getting value for money from concessions for clubs, but the money keeps flowing.

The suburb where we all scream for ice-cream

Missed by that much. Various sightings of the elusive ice cream van that torments the residents of Leichhardt.

There’s a challenge for anyone around Leichhardt in summer – get the local lead-footed ice-cream van to stop.

Modernism for the masses: reviving a retro masterpiece that costs two cars

A Lendlease brochure promoting the Beachcomber model of home in the 1960s.

Nino Sydney was called ‘the hero of Australian suburbia’ because he designed homes for everyone – and his work could inspire better ways of living today.

Analysis
Spending

The single issue holding the NSW economy back in 2024

The jury is still out on whether Australia can avoid falling into recession.

The NSW economy will slow next year, but there’s a thorny problem set to drag on activity for a decade or more.

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SEE AND DO

Jason Momoa reprises his role as the laidback underwater superhero in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Weary Aquaman sequel proves it’s just as well DC is starting over

Despite Jason Momoa’s laid-back charm, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom raises more questions than it answers.

The New year’s eve party that wasjust the beginning
Series

That special place: Writers on what takes them back to where they love

In this summer series, writers take us on their journeys – from Lake Eildon to London, Mongolia to Prague, and New England to Jerusalem Bay.

5 stories

Opinion

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Lifestyle

Culture

Traveller

Sport

David Warner celebrates a century before lunch on the first day of the SCG Test in 2017.

Why Warner the destroyer deserves a fond farewell in Sydney

I know how hard it is to do what he has done through 111 Tests, so I hope that David’s harshest critics acknowledge his talent and contribution and forgive his human frailties.

Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell

Former Australian Test batsman

Deadly snake holds up play during Thiem’s match in Brisbane

Deadly snake holds up play during Thiem’s match in Brisbane

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem was taking on Australian youngster James McCabe when an eastern brown snake slithered onto the court.

Cameron Green at Edgbaston during the most recent Ashes series.

Green credentials: Why all-rounder is being seriously considered for open position

There’s a strong push for Cameron Green to open the batting for Australia once David Warner retires after the Sydney Test against Pakistan.

Ellyse Perry and Pat Cummins.

Australia’s all-conquering skipper, and the player of her generation: The stars of our top XIs for 2023

The importance of skipper Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja to Australia’s Test side has been reflected by the pair being the only players to retain their places in our team of the year.

With Olympic medals and World Cup wins, is Norway the best sporting nation in the world?

Is a country with the population of Sydney the world’s top sporting nation?

With champions such as Erling Haaland, Casper Ruud and Ada Hegerberg, Norway is a small but mighty country when it comes to sport.

Cameron Green

Money is an unstoppable force in cricket, and the game needs to evolve or perish

Producing cricketers takes years of fertiliser and water from mums, dads, coaches, ground staff, councils and a myriad of volunteers, so cashed-up privateers should be making a serious contribution to the bottom line.

Geoff Lawson
Geoff Lawson

Cricket columnist

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari visit Taronga Zoo on Saturday.

Tsitsipas adopts eye of the tiger in hunt for Australian Open revenge

Last time Stefanos Tsitsipas was in Australia, he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. This time, he wants a grand slam title.

Racing

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