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For subscribers: John Silvester lifts the lid on Australia’s criminal underworld.
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Updated
COVID inquiry
Charges dropped: Government escapes punishment over quarantine blunders that cost 768 lives
WorkSafe Victoria had accused the state’s Health Department of failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment for employees.
Exclusive
Crime
Ankle monitor removed on government experts’ advice before alleged assault
A former immigration detainee accused of a violent assault during a home invasion had his ankle monitor removed following advice from a board of experts.
PM announces $5000 grants to help women leave violence; states to consider bail laws
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced $925 million will be allocated from the budget to support women to leave violence.
How a well-heeled street lined with rug and wedding dress shops found serious dining cred
Visitors used to flock to Armadale for the boutique shopping. Now its eateries – from high-end to casual – attract Melburnians from all over the city.
‘Aussie’ John Symond lists his trophy home. Yours for just $200 million
The last time the Aussie Home Loans founder listed the waterfront mega-mansion in Sydney’s Point Piper, he knocked back $110m because he couldn’t part with it.
We have entered the golden age of Mid TV
TV was great for so long that we were frogs in boiling water, but in reverse. It became lukewarm so gradually that you might not even have noticed.
If you love roast pork, this is the best place in the world
Its aroma fills an entire neighbourhood. People come from far away, battling notorious traffic, for a whiff. Or a bite. Or a whole pig.
Tattooist of Auschwitz arrives on screen and doesn’t shy from the book’s controversy
Heather Morris’ book was an enormous success, but mired in a controversy about accuracy. The series based on it doesn’t shy way from that.
Money Talks
AFL 2024
$800,000 for Zurhaar? The players and clubs who will be key to AFL’s silly season
Richmond, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne are among seven clubs that loom as major movers and shakers in this year’s player movement sweepstakes.
Breaking
ICC Men’s World Cup
Fraser-McGurk misses T20 World Cup squad as Marsh named captain
Exciting white-ball tyro Jake Fraser-McGurk has missed Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup squad after the selectors stuck with experience for next month’s tournament.
Exclusive
For subscribers
‘Every day I wish I could take it all back’: Finlayson’s shame over homophobic slur
What happened 26 nights ago against Essendon at the Adelaide Oval was, says Jeremy Finlayson, a moment in time he cannot fully explain and which still keeps him awake at night.
‘Monsters in wall’ in girl’s bedroom turn out to be 65,000 hidden bees
At one point, the three-year-old’s parents sent her to bed with a bottle of water they said was “monster spray”, the BBC reported.
Opinion
Food and wine
I met my travel hero and he was exactly what I’d hoped for
They say you should never meet your heroes. So it’s nerve-racking sitting in an empty dining room waiting to meet Rick Stein.
Ben Groundwater
Travel writer
Opinion
Mergers & acquisitions
BHP’s $60b bid forces Anglo American to confront its own shortcomings
Whether successful or not, the Australian mining giant’s offer puts pressure on Anglo’s board and management to consider significant changes to its business.
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
Updated
Information security
‘My app just spewed out all these boarding passes’: Privacy scare as users report Qantas glitch
The glitch has apparently given customers access to personal information and accounts of others.
Opinion
Small business
Work is a way to make money. Please, stop calling it your ‘baby’
For as long as I can recall, I’ve squirmed when women refer to their careers or businesses “my baby”. As a business owner about to become a parent, I now know why.
Michelle Battersby
Company executive
Inside Hollywood’s billion-dollar real estate agencies – and the stars that make them
Mauricio Umansky’s agency made $19 billion in 2022. He’s just one of the exclusive group who have earned fame on TV and millions selling homes to the likes of Beyoncé and Daniel Craig.
Victoria
After hitting her car, Brenton Brown left Carol-Anne for dead – twice
Carol-Anne Jones’ death, and the callousness of Brenton Brown’s act on a Victorian road, still haunt her family and friends.
The X-rated truck that is probably illegal in Melbourne
A brothel is using a mobile digital billboard on a truck to advertise its services around Melbourne with explicit sexual imagery.
Debra was keen to try kerbside car charging. Now, her council is abandoning the scheme
The trial of 10 kerbside chargers, paid for by individual residents, has been in place since 2022, but despite overwhelming support from those involved, council officers have recommended ending the program.
Exclusive
Black Saturday
‘He killed all those people’: Black Saturday arsonist released from prison
Brendan Sokaluk, a former Country Fire Authority volunteer, was freed on Tuesday after serving 15 years for deliberately lighting a blaze in the Latrobe Valley.
Dumped MP takes leave, as premier blasts ‘inappropriate behaviour’
A complaint from a second woman prompted Premier Jacinta Allan to punt Darren Cheeseman from her Labor government, but he’s declared he will remain on the crossbench.
AFL
Exclusive
AFL clubs push for stand on violence against women
AFL clubs have backed a move by West Coast urging the league to make an organised and coordinated statement this weekend condemning violence against women.
Analysis
Cats surprise, again, and the competition’s breakout key forward
In key takeouts this week: The “frighteningly efficient” Cats, there’s still fight in some of the competition’s old dogs and clubs in need of a key forward will surely be keeping an eye on this Eagle.
Politics
PM promises $1b ‘leaving violence’ payment program and online safety measures
Speaking after a snap national cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, Albanese said state and territory leaders had agreed to strengthen action on domestic violence.
Business
Updated
Cryptocurrencies
‘I failed here’: Crypto king with a $62 billion fortune sent to jail
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao will become the world’s richest prisoner after being sentenced for allowing money laundering.
World
Smiling King Charles III visits cancer centre on his return to public duties
A healthy-looking King Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer in February, told patients at a treatment centre for the disease in London that he was “all right”.
Opinion
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Property
Once-booming Victorian tree-change towns that just got a price cut
There are more opportunities for buyers now than a few years ago in an end to the boom that had pushed prices to unaffordable levels.
The coastal hotspot where property prices soared 50 per cent in five years
Buyers are paying huge prices for property in beachside hotspots that cost significantly less before the pandemic hit.
Good Food
Lifestyle
‘I do, but don’t tell anybody’: Why Gen Z are keeping their marriages secret
Marriage rates in young people have never been lower. But even those who are getting engaged or tying the knot are choosing to keep their news private.
Culture
Jerry Seinfeld blames ‘extreme left’ for ruining comedy
The 70-year-old comedian has revealed the jokes he says he couldn’t get away with on his celebrated sitcom today.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Breaking
ICC Men’s World Cup
Fraser-McGurk misses T20 World Cup squad as Marsh named captain
Exciting white-ball tyro Jake Fraser-McGurk has missed Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup squad after the selectors stuck with experience for next month’s tournament.
Money Talks
AFL 2024
$800,000 for Zurhaar? The players and clubs who will be key to AFL’s silly season
Richmond, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne are among seven clubs that loom as major movers and shakers in this year’s player movement sweepstakes.
Exclusive
AFL 2024
‘Every day I wish I could take it all back’: Finlayson’s shame over homophobic slur
What happened 26 nights ago against Essendon at the Adelaide Oval was, says Jeremy Finlayson, a moment in time he cannot fully explain and which still keeps him awake at night.
AFL Briefing
AFL 2024
Danger to miss up to six weeks; Pregnant AFLW star to miss 2024 season
Geelong midfielder Patrick Dangerfield’s hamstring injury will sideline him for four to six weeks as the Cats take a conservative approach to their skipper’s rehabilitation.
Analysis
NRL 2024
Five candidates, two meetings, one sacked coach: How day of chaos unfolded
Russell Crowe wanted his representatives to fight against the coach’s firing. Five hours later, Jason Demetriou’s exit was unanimous. This is their coaching hit-list.
This ‘scaredy-cat’s’ job is to plough down a mountain at high speed and launch metres into the air
Jakara Anthony has soared from Barwon Heads to Winter Olympic glory and the pinnacle of sport. But where do you go after reaching the top of the mountain?
Exclusive
Domestic violence
AFL clubs push for stand on violence against women
AFL clubs have backed a move by West Coast urging the league to make an organised and coordinated statement this weekend condemning violence against women.
Have Your Say
Blues’ fatal flaw exposed ahead of Pies blockbuster
Carlton may have the firepower to engineer a barrage of goals, but it’s when they don’t have the ball that has them in trouble heading into Friday night’s clash against their arch-rival.