The Watchlist
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees.
The Morning Edition podcast
Get behind the headlines of the most important stories, with Peter Hartcher every Thursday.
Explainers
Expert background and analysis on key issues and news events.
‘Zero empathy’: Qantas refunds customer forced to pay $1900 for typo
Chris Bowers made a typo when booking a Qantas flight for his nephew. It was an expensive mistake.
Welcome rain for WA as Lincoln heads south
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Lincoln could bring heavy rain and strong winds to Western Australia’s interior as it moves southeast on Sunday.
Taylor Swift gives young Perth girl with brain tumour her 22 hat
Nine-year-old Scarlett Oliver’s wish came true at Taylor Swift’s first Sydney show on Friday night, when she was given Swift’s black hat during her song 22.
Police call for patience as Paddington home searched in double murder case
Commissioner Karen Webb says police are working “around the clock” to locate the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, who were allegedly were killed by a Sydney police officer.
Updated
WA
Dead body washes up in East Perth
Police said the body of a man was located alongside the waters edge.
Rottnest Channel Swim abandoned due to dangerous weather
Swimmers were pulled from the water about 10am after organisers received advice it was unsafe for participants to continue.
Investigation
Food safety
The search for superbugs lurking in your shopping trolley
Is your scotch fillet, chicken roast or pork belly harbouring dangerous bacteria? Scientists are about to find out.
Who keeps the fur baby?
Pets are treated as property under Australian family law, but some legal experts say change is needed, pointing to other countries that consider pet welfare in custody battles.
Trump victorious in South Carolina Republican primary
Nikki Haley has suffered another major setback in her ambitious bid to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Exclusive
Social media
$1b for journalism at risk in new warning over Google, Facebook
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg and former competition boss Rod Sims have urged the Albanese government to enforce the media bargaining code struck three years ago, when they stared down the social media giants.
Katy Perry performed at lavish mansion party, but the PM just wanted to talk jobs
While global superstar Katy Perry staged a private performance at billionaire Anthony Pratt’s mansion, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was just there to talk about manufacturing.
Opinion
Governance
Banducci and Joyce shared special talents, and one crucial weakness
Brad Banducci, like Alan Joyce before him, was very good at lobbying governments. But the public lost patience with them, so they checked out.
Parnell Palme McGuinness
Columnist and communications adviser
Third T20: Smith’s World Cup bid in danger after rain-shortened 10-over slogfest
Matthew Short thumped Australia to an imposing total before rain and crafty death bowling kept New Zealand in check. But Steve Smith’s unhappy day at the crease could cost him a trip to the Caribbean in June.
‘I still have that zebra dress’: How Blondie’s Debbie Harry keeps rocking it at 78
The queen of punk chats about her enduring career, distinctive style and plans for the future. Yes, there’s a new Blondie album on the way.
These monstrous beasts seem lazy and harmless, until they don’t
Tourists show no fear, happily standing a metre away from the beasts to get their photos taken. I later discover it’s a pretty dumb move.
Western Australia
Updated
Crime
Rottnest identity Peter Minekus walks free after sentencing over child sex offences
Minekus, a well-known employee at the island’s general store, was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to two assaults against a child in the 1980s.
Jail likely for Perth school shooter in Australian-first case
A teenage boy who opened fire at a school in Perth’s north, plunging it into lockdown, will likely be jailed in what is an Australian-first case.
Exclusive
Courts
Teenage boy jailed for ‘frightening’ late night Lake Monger sex assaults
The 14-year-old, who at one point had a bright sporting future ahead of him, will now spend months behind bars after he attacked two women exercising at the park.
Exclusive
Workplace safety
Heart-stopping footage captures offshore worker’s brush with death
As contractors for Santos and Woodside lay long-delayed gas pipelines for key gas export projects a disturbing number of serious safety incidents are occurring.
Land sales are booming in Perth...
With new land sales booming and supply struggling to keep up, there is upward pressure on the price of a vacant lot in Perth.
Politics
Exclusive
Social media
$1b for journalism at risk in new warning over Google, Facebook
Former competition boss Rod Sims has urged the Albanese government to enforce the media bargaining code struck three years ago, when they stared down the social media giants.
Business
Opinion
Hip pocket
When it comes to this insurance, it’s time for a healthy debate
More than half of us have private health insurance, but it’s not cheap. So, do you really need it? Here are a few things to consider.
Dominic Powell
Money Editor
World
Zelensky vows victory as Ukraine marks two years since Russian invasion
“We will win,” Ukraine’s president told a ceremony attended by four Western leaders as he pledged that his forces would be able to overturn recent defeats on the battlefield.
Opinion
Why America’s historic weakness strengthens Trump
Nick Bryant
Journalist and author
Two years on, Ukraine’s moral courage shames the fickle West
Mick Ryan
Military leader and strategist
Explore
Property
Even a modest home is out of reach for first home buyers now
Young people who lower their expectations to an unassuming home in their second-choice location still could not comfortably afford the loan repayments.
The proportion of West Australians who own their own home is shrinking
Australia’s property market is one of the most expensive in the world, with the time taken for first home buyers to purchase a home rising in Perth.
Good Food
Recipe collection
Tomato
Five luscious late-summer tomato recipes to make this weekend
Lifestyle
Opinion
Parenting
What the darkness of parenting memes taught me about motherhood
As a millennial who came of age in digital media, I know a lot about memes. But nothing prepared me for the onslaught of “jokes” I’d witness as a new parent.
Wendy Syfret
Freelance writer
Culture
Women strive to define themselves in this love letter to the words the dictionary leaves out
This wrap of shows around Melbourne includes The Dictionary of Lost Words at Arts Centre Melbourne and the 3MBS marathon at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Analysis
Australian cricket
Why the fall of Test cricket would hurt Australia the most
Australian cricket has bet most of its chips on the health of Tests. Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird must lead the way to save them.
Opinion
The Fitz Files
Hard to swallow: The moment in Wallabies doco where Eddie’s excuses demand a reply
The documentary on Australia’s World Cup debacle is car-crash TV, but one scene should have veered from fly-on-the-wall to scripted film.
Peter FitzSimons
Columnist and author
Match simulation
AFL 2024
‘Preferably four’: AFL urged to slap Port enforcer with hefty ban
Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper is facing a delayed start to the home-and-away season for a bump which left Adelaide’s Mark Keane concussed.
It’s 4am in Vegas, you’re an NRL star and you’re in trouble. Fear not, top cop will save you
As the spectre of scandal looms after a night in Sin City goes awry, there is only one person to call if you’re a drunken NRL star.
Hazlewood, Zampa pin New Zealand as ferocious Aussies claim T20 series
Australia retained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after a superb bowling effort, defending 174 for a 72-run win at Eden Park that clinches the three-game T20 series against the Kiwis.
Analysis
Matildas
Five burning questions as the Matildas aim to seal Olympic berth
Tony Gustavsson’s side play the first leg of their Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Saturday night. We take a look at the biggest questions surrounding the team.
The director’s cut: Watching Collingwood’s historic grand final win with Scott Pendlebury
The Collingwood great sat in front of a projector screen and revealed his fears - that this would 2018 all over again - and the conversations with coaches, teammates and umpires behind a modern classic.
Have Your Say
Poll reveals how clubs really feel about the NRL’s Las Vegas expedition
The survey asked club bosses if taking games to Las Vegas over the next five years would yield a big financial benefit for the sport. This is what they said.