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The budget numbers that aim to help households and ease inflation
Tax cuts, worth on average $1888, and a further round of cost-of-living measures will be at the heart of Jim Chalmers’ third budget.
Opinion
Political leadership
Albanese’s is an ‘experimental’ government – and it looks like the experiment is failing
It’s the first federal government I’ve seen that has sought to build most of its political and policy mandate after winning office rather than before it.
Shaun Carney
Columnist
PM to commit extra $3.25b to key Victorian road link
The boost will be included in next week’s budget, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the money would make sure the city’s fast-growing northeast had the infrastructure it needed.
Private school seeks 40-year lease over public sporting grounds
Opponents of the idea argue a proposed new lease deal hands virtual ownership of a public park to a private school – for generations.
Labor’s promise to Australians: cheap gas for decades to come
The federal government is backing new gas fields as essential in the move to renewables.
There was one major difference between Pink’s and Taylor Swift’s tours. The music industry wants to get rid of it
The Australian music industry has united in a campaign to help boost the struggling live scene.
The marriages that work without sex
Yes, say counsellors and a surprising number of happy couples.
Kyle Sandilands’ salary secrets handed over in legal stoush
A ruling by the Copyright Tribunal of Australia has prompted speculation on who might be among Australia radio’s best-paid presenters.
‘Humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented proportions’: Gazans brace as Israeli tank shells land in Rafah
“The streets of the city echo with the cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and homes reduced to rubble,” Rafah’s mayor Ahmed Al-Sofi said.
‘Great power on the cheap’: China free rides on US diplomacy in the Middle East
China is playing a calculated strategic game in the Middle East, positioning itself as a peace-brokering alternative to the US while having no real skin in the game, experts say.
Exclusive
Cancer
‘A crime against cancer knowledge’: World-class Victorian research suffers major budget blow
As cancer rates soar across Victoria, the state government has axed 75 per cent of the funding to the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance.
Lowanna Grant stayed living with mum Karla into her 30s. Here’s why
The journalists work together, watch TV together – and there are the tattoos...
Their housing estate was demolished. Here’s what happened to the final residents
Things Will Be Different tells the story of two of the final residents to vacate their homes ahead of a controversial public housing estate demolition.
Analysis
AFL 2024
The 20 seconds that entered Carlton folklore the night the stands shook
We break down the key moments from a play Blues fans will never forget the last time their side took on the Demons at the mighty MCG.
Opinion
Sunday Life
Mums, learn to put yourself first for once in your life
Motherhood is as easy as climbing Everest in high heels and hotpants, carrying a disco ball. Get your kids through their teens, happy and healthy, with no addictions, cult memberships or far-right tendencies and well, you’ve reached the summit.
Kathy Lette
Writer
The Scoop
AFL 2024
Roos unable to ‘meaningfully change’ Tarryn Thomas’ behaviour: CEO’s email
The midfielder completed four different behavioural programs before being sacked by North Melbourne once the league’s ban was announced.
Victorian budget 2024
‘Bleakest budget’ for mental health didn’t fund promised new agency
Premier Jacinta Allan’s first budget failed to fund an overdue support service to be run by people with first-hand experience of ill-mental health.
Exclusive
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.
Victoria
Students are not just an exam score, experts say. Here’s how they want to shake up the system
Blunt, system-wide rankings are doing more harm than good, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.
‘Great Wall of Docklands’: Council savages state, AFL plan to rebuild near Marvel Stadium
Docklands locals say they desperately need a high school and a pool. Instead, the state government and AFL plan to use public land for three more towers.
Journalist had power to ‘utterly destroy’ surgeon, court told
Investigative reporter Charlotte Grieve defended the depth and fairness of her reporting in articles she wrote about orthopaedic surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis.
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.
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.
AFL
AFL Briefing
Pies’ depth put to test; Cousins responds to hall snub
Collingwood’s depth will be tested this week in a clash against the resurgent Eagles.
‘I’m well aware that 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.
Politics
Home Affairs botched sex-trafficking probe
Auditor-general damns Home Affairs’ handling of migration agents after finding inadequate supervision and poor complaint handling.
Business
ASX set to slide as Wall Street drifts lower
Wall Street has stayed in neutral, setting up the ASX to retreat at the open.
Opinion
Investing
Why this is the most poorly understood thing in finance
Paridhi Jain
Money contributor
Opinion
Social media
TikTok makes a stand against forced sale or ban in the US
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
World
Analysis
US Votes 2024
Stormy Daniels tells a story of sex with Trump as he listens in disgust
After about half an hour of giving evidence, the 45-year-old started disclosing intimate details about the former president, so much so that the judge baulked at some of the testimony.
Ben Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich, Maggie Haberman, Michael Rothfeld and Jonathan Swan
Opinion
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Property
Eight of our favourite luxury homes for sale right now
From a private sandy beach to equestrian facilities for horse lovers and a 15-metre pool, we’ve rounded up our pick of the bunch.
Grandparents give up to $1m in home deposits to keep family from moving away
Average workers are priced out, but many property buyers who are left in the market now have extraordinary wealth – often from family.
Good Food
Lifestyle
The best outfit transformations at the Met Gala after-parties
Competing after-parties were a chance for guests Janelle Monáe, Usher and Kendall Jenner to undress to impress again.
Culture
After 30 years, this TV show has never been more relevant
Long before the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial, this series eviscerated the priorities and practices of a sometimes-dubious business.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Analysis
AFL 2024
The 20 seconds that entered Carlton folklore the night the stands shook
We break down the key moments from a play Blues fans will never forget the last time their side took on the Demons at the mighty MCG.
The Scoop
AFL 2024
Roos unable to ‘meaningfully change’ Tarryn Thomas’ behaviour: CEO’s email to rival clubs
The midfielder completed four different behavioural programs before being sacked by North Melbourne once the league’s ban was announced.
AFL Briefing
AFL 2024
Blues, Dees teams named for blockbuster; Pies’ depth tested; Cousins responds to hall of fame snub
Carlton make four changes ahead of a huge MCG clash; Mum’s the word as the Pies prepare for Mother’s Day at Marvel; and Ben Cousins speaks out on the hall of fame.
Martin linked to a move as Blues chase Swans gun Hayward
Carlton are the front-runners to secure Sydney free agent Will Hayward as clubs circle out-of-contract Blues forward Jack Martin amid a salary-cap juggle at Ikon Park.
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.
In just 19 balls, Fraser-McGurk heaps more pressure on Australian selectors
He wasn’t deemed good enough for Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, but Jake Fraser-McGurk’s responded in the best possible way with another IPL batting blitz.
Opinion
AFL 2024
Why personalities like Sam Draper should be celebrated, not gagged
Seeing Sam Draper’s reaction to the crucial decision late in the Bombers’ last-minute win against Adelaide was revealing and hilarious – unless you barracked for the Crows.
Mathew Stokes
AFL columnist
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.