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Updated
COVID inquiry
Charges dropped: Government escapes punishment over quarantine blunders that cost 768 lives
Victoria’s Health Department has been cleared of all criminal charges over the bungled hotel quarantine scheme due to a loophole that meant the state’s top prosecutors could not use evidence from a public inquiry.
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.
Lehrmann considers defamation appeal amid fight over costs
The former Liberal staffer has until May 31 to lodge an appeal against a landmark decision dismissing his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
What happens if you don’t tap off? The answers to your Melbourne public transport questions
Ever wondered why the City Loop changes direction in the middle of the day? Or what happens if you forget to tap off your myki? These are the answers to Melbourne public transport’s biggest mysteries.
Opinion
Home loans
Mortgage wars enter next phase as property remains a rich playground
The big banks are rethinking how muck risk they can take when it comes to lending, as some say that excessive regulation is only helping wealthy borrowers while others miss out.
Elizabeth Knight
Business columnist
Greens senator slams PM’s domestic violence response; Airservices boss resigns
Greens senator Larissa Waters has slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s response to domestic violence, saying it adds insult to injury.
‘It’s absolute garbage’: The footy flop that was ‘borderline embarrassing’
One round-seven performance left rival players bewildered by how poor it was, with some big names under fire.
Money Talks
Trading and drafting
$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.
Updated
ICC Men’s World Cup
No room for ‘really exciting’ Fraser-McGurk in T20 World Cup squad
Despite glowing praise from chairman of selectors George Bailey, exciting white-ball tyro Jake Fraser-McGurk missed Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup squad.
MasterChef overhauled its judging line-up. Has it worked?
The behemoth cooking show has a new group of judges, and they’re reminders of the program’s core values.
Mad Max creator George Miller premieres the biggest film to shoot in Australia
Star Chris Hemsworth says it was “bonkers and crazy and wild and fun” making the fifth Mad Max film.
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.
Developer sells stunning land for $100m. The buyer will never build a thing
Not far from where the Andes Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean, a vast swath of pristine wilderness is changing hands under the most unusual circumstances.
‘Extraordinary’: Shein Australia hits nearly $1 billion in sales
The Chinese-owned ecommerce play has become one of the nation’s biggest fashion retailers in a few short years, on par with Myer and Cotton On.
‘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.
‘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.
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.
Victoria
Hospital used ambulance, fake patients during ministerial visit
Ten Colac Area Health staff members, who worked in other sections of the hospital, attended the urgent care clinic during the visit and sat in the waiting room.
Exclusive
Planning
The statistic that reveals the depth of Melbourne’s housing challenge
The state government has repeatedly singled out NIMBY councils for standing in the way of its aspirations to densify Melbourne, but the data paints a different picture.
Exclusive
Domestic violence
‘No consequence’: Police say hallmark bail law reforms put women in danger
Frontline police have complained they now have fewer options when alleged domestic violence offenders breach bail conditions.
Exclusive
Greens
Greens councillors tear up membership, slam leadership over ‘surveillance, disinformation, fear’
Two more councillors have quit the Victorian Greens – and up to five more are tipped to soon follow suit – as a broader internal dispute threatens to split the party.
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.
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, the prime minister said state and territory leaders had agreed to strengthen action on domestic violence.
Business
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 call their careers or businesses “my baby”. As a business owner about to become a parent, I now know why.
Michelle Battersby
Company executive
World
How Hollywood stars helped make Mauricio’s real estate agency $19 billion in one year
Celebrity has transfixed the real estate world. Agents in markets such as Los Angeles and New York chase stardom as fervently as they chase deals.
Opinion
BHP’s $60b bid forces Anglo American to confront its own shortcomings
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
Explore
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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
‘It’s absolute garbage’: The footy flop that was ‘borderline embarrassing’
One round-seven performance left rival players bewildered by how poor it was, with some big names under fire.
Updated
ICC Men’s World Cup
No room for ‘really exciting’ Fraser-McGurk in T20 World Cup squad
Despite glowing praise from chairman of selectors George Bailey, exciting white-ball tyro Jake Fraser-McGurk missed Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup squad.
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 one that still keeps him awake at night.
AFL Briefing
AFL 2024
Danger out for 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.
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.
