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Exclusive
Healthcare
Sweeping hospital mergers on the table after Victoria’s bad-news budget
Victoria’s 76 health services could be slashed to 12 in an efficiency-driven overhaul revealed as the government dropped a budget notable for soaring debt, higher taxes, stalled projects and abandoned promises.
Exclusive
University
Minister vows to ‘weed out the bottom feeders’ in university system
Months after The Age revealed the rise of “ghost colleges” that attract offshore visa holders who want to work rather than undertake genuine study, the new move clears the way for legal sanctions against providers with poor track records.
Opinion
National security
When politicians fire up on ‘security’, my bulldust detector goes to DEFCON 1
Using “security” as a justification for a policy initiative opens the door to interventions that are, in the words of former Treasury secretary Dr Ken Henry, “frankly, bad”.
Ross Gittins
Economics Editor
Editorial
Editorial
Victoria is driving towards a debt cliff. Here’s one way to hit the brakes
Projections that the state’s debt would rise from $135.9 billion this year to $187.8 billion by mid-2028 highlight a need for drastic action.
The Age's View
Editorial
We asked Victorians what they thought of the budget. This is what they told us
It’s a tight budget with a few standouts for families, but Victorians still have plenty to say.
‘Our hearts are broken’: Parents of surfers killed in Mexico share their grief
The Australian brothers were on a surfing trip in Mexico when they were allegedly murdered by Mexican nationals attempting to steal car parts.
The president, the porn star and the payment: Stormy Daniels testifies in hush money trial
In another astonishing moment ahead of this year’s election, the porn star told a jury in explicit detail about her alleged sexual encounter with the former US president.
Breaking
Cyber warfare
Unmasked: Notorious Russian cyber criminal who plundered hospitals with ransomware
Attacks by the ransomware operation targeted more than 100 hospitals and healthcare companies worldwide.
Opinion
Road safety
I’m about to turn 90, and I didn’t want to give up my licence. One moment changed my mind
I learned to drive on the Bathurst track and back in the day I owned a Ford GT. I know how to handle a car. Yet, I’ve made the heartbreaking decision to give up driving, and to sell my car.
Jayne Malone
Contributor
Choose your own adventure with Adam Liaw’s vegetarian lasagne recipe to rule them all
What’s red, white and delicious all over? This pasta bake, where you get to choose your own vegie adventure.
Money Talks
AFL 2024
Danger is staying, but here’s why some of the Cats’ biggest names aren’t their highest priorities
Geelong started the season with a long list of free agents to sign, but it won’t change the wait and see approach that has served them well when it comes to their veterans.
This legend of Australian acting no longer recognises himself
Thc celebrated actor has gradually turned into an eccentric child – awestruck and cheerful – since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Opinion
AFL 2024
We might not want what America has in its sports stars, but our players do
We need to create, and then support, an environment that encourages players to be themselves. It will make individuals and the game healthier.
Mathew Stokes
AFL columnist
‘Wit and grit’: Digging into her ancestry, Kathy Lette realises where she’s from
It’s no surprise to discover relatives who share similar looks. But parallel personality traits?
Opinion
Money & relationships
To have and to hold: When an engagement goes belly up, who gets to keep the ring?
As a psychologist, when I was weighing the question of who should keep the $100,000 bling after the bitter break-up of a Victorian couple, I considered the advice of two experts: a family lawyer and film star Elizabeth Taylor.
Peter Quarry
Psychologist
Opinion
Ask an expert
If I use up my super on a lavish holiday, can I still get the pension?
Taking an expensive overseas holiday using your superannuation should have no bearing on your pension eligibility when the time comes.
Noel Whittaker
Money columnist
Editor's Picks
Just in
Victorian budget 2024
Analysis
The budget is brimming with hairy-chested spin. But the reality is far more nuanced
Treasurer Tim Pallas says the budget aims to tackle two really big problems: high inflation and workforce shortages. But if you take the coming financial year as a benchmark, the reality is far more nuanced.
School bonus divides as rich reap benefits, poorer private areas miss out
Public school students in wealthy suburbs will get $400 each to help with learning costs while some of their private peers are overlooked.
Victoria
Exclusive
Literature
The Weirdo books once had a ‘prettiest girls list’. Now, they are re-recording the audiobooks
The best-selling children’s book author is revising his Weirdo audiobooks to remove a “prettiest girls” list. “I was ranked low on a list and it affected me for years,” he says.
Melburnians were encouraged to send an email about the city’s trees. They poured their hearts out
“Dear 1040090. Is it okay if I call you George?” A project mapping people’s emotional connections with trees draws on Melbourne’s beloved and viral “treemail”.
Driver in Lamborghini crash also accused of killing spectator at burnout event
A Ballarat mechanic has been refused bail after crashing into a house six months after he was involved in a fatal crash at a car festival in regional Victoria.
Updated
Mushroom case
Alleged killer mushroom cook Erin Patterson pleads not guilty
Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson will have her case fast-tracked to the Supreme Court where her barrister says she will plead not guilty to all charges.
Updated
Private schools
Private school boys expelled over list ranking female classmates
The principal of Yarra Valley Grammar said the school was characterised by respectful relationships “most of the time”.
AFL
‘Playing for their future’: Heat on Beveridge, Bulldogs ahead of Tigers clash
Western Bulldogs great Doug Hawkins is “a Bevo man” and has backed the coach to turn the Bulldogs’ season around. But he fears what could happen if his old club is beaten by Richmond on Saturday.
Analysis
The former tradie behind Demons’ success
Everyone knows a tradie who thinks they know everything about footy. There just aren’t many like former air conditioner technician Jason Taylor.
Politics
‘Stop provocations’: China fires back at Australia over Yellow Sea flare incident
The encounter has strained efforts to stabilise relations with Beijing and comes as Australian officials prepare to host a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Business
Apple’s most AI-focused chip debuts in its thinnest device ever
The company has debuted two new lines of iPads, including a larger screen iPad Air and a powerful OLED iPad Pro.
World
Updated
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
‘Death sentence’: Israeli tanks take control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing
The Gaza Crossings Authority said in a statement that Israel’s takeover was a “death sentence” against Gazans, particularly the ill and injured.
Opinion
Not all men abuse women. But is this how it starts?
Jenna Price
Columnist and academic
Gold fever: Why China and the rest of the world are stocking up
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
Explore
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Property
The type of home that got 50 per cent more expensive within four years
Asking prices have skyrocketed since the depths of COVID-19 lockdown. Is any relief in sight for home hunters?
How the conventional wisdom of the property ladder broke down
Previous generations would start with a modest unit and then upsize to a house, but today’s buyers face a different outlook.
Good Food
Lifestyle
Groundbreaking? No, but these celebrities won the Met Gala red carpet
The Met Gala isn’t really a place for setting trends, but these celebrities were best in show.
Culture
Mona heads to Supreme Court in fight to keep Ladies Lounge for women
The art gallery was ordered to close a women-only exhibit last month after a NSW man launched an anti-discrimination case.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Money Talks
AFL 2024
Danger is staying, but here’s why some of the Cats’ biggest names aren’t their highest priorities
Geelong started the season with a long list of free agents to sign, but it won’t change the wait and see approach that has served them well when it comes to their veterans.
Opinion
AFL 2024
We might not want what America has in its sports stars, but our players do
We need to create, and then support, an environment that encourages players to be themselves. It will make individuals and the game healthier.
Mathew Stokes
AFL columnist
‘Playing for their future’: Heat on Beveridge, Bulldogs ahead of Tigers clash
Western Bulldogs great Doug Hawkins is “a Bevo man” and has backed the coach to turn the Bulldogs’ season around. But he fears what could happen if his old club is beaten by Richmond on Saturday.
‘I’m not in great touch’: Hawkins’ form in focus ahead of games record
The champion Cat will match his triple-premiership teammate Joel Selwood’s games record on Friday night against Port Adelaide when he plays his 355th game for the club.
Cousins won’t be part of the hall of fame class of ’24
Former West Coast champion and skipper Ben Cousins will not be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2024 and is not considered likely to be added to the honour roll any time soon.
Five years ago Tiana tried boxing for the first time. Now she’s off to the Olympics
Tiana Echegaray went to a boxercise class in 2019 to keep fit and it has led her to competing at her first Olympics at the age of 30.
Batting phenom Fraser-McGurk opens up on World Cup snub
Australian short-form batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk said he didn’t feel he had earned a place in the T20 World Cup squad despite his recent pyrotechnics in the Indian Premier League.
Have Your Say
Not a top-four team: How rival recruiters really rate the Bulldogs’ list
It’s hard to get a handle on Bevo’s Bulldogs. List managers polled by The Age point to top-end talent, but a wobbly defence and a one-paced midfield.
