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Opinion

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David Fifita and Nick Politis.
Analysis
NRL 2024

‘You know I barrack for Queensland?’ How Roosters won race for Fifita

Fed up with waiting, Roosters supremo Nick Politis was contemplating pulling the four-year, $3.3 million offer on the table to David Fifita. Then his phone rang.

  • by Michael Chammas

Latest

The company attracted investors including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Jack Ma and the Walton family and were billionaires before reaching age 40.

Warren Buffett has a $285 billion problem

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has become too big, and it’s getting bigger by the day. It makes it a lot less exciting.

  • by Justin Fox
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys and Canterbury Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould.
Opinion
NRL 2024

‘It’s not personal’: V’landys dismisses talk of Gould fallout after NRL breach notice

But the ARL Commission chairman has promised greater scrutiny on club officials who slam the game in their media roles.

  • by Andrew Webster
It might seem like your potential employer was discriminating against your youth, but the truth is probably more complex.

I didn’t get a job because I’m Gen Z. Why did that happen?

It might seem like your potential employer was discriminating against your youth, but the truth is probably more complex.

  • by Jonathan Rivett
No matter which way you look at it, the way we are working is broken.

Why open-plan offices are bad news for ADHD workers

Bright overhead lighting, noisy phone calls, unpredictable office temperature and smells from the kitchen are all triggers that can overload workers with ADHD.

  • by Adam Mawardi
Opinion
GDP

The economy’s just the means to an end. So, are we getting our money’s worth?

Our materialism puts us on a “hedonic treadmill”. We think buying a bit more stuff will make us happier and, at first, it does. But pretty soon the thrill wears off.

  • by Ross Gittins
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Premier Daniel Andrews celebrates Labor’s win on election night last year.

Pallas says Labor’s promises have been delayed. Many would say they’ve been broken

Parents whose children will never attend promised childcare or see promised school upgrades are unlikely to be satisfied by the treasurer’s postponement of election pledges.

  • by Annika Smethurst
Players who suffered a concussion in the last NRL season: (Clockwise from top left) James Tedesco, Alex Johnston, Kalyn Ponga and Jordan Rapana.

Five ways to kick off the concussion debate without stopping the game

This problem is too complicated to reduce it to the kick-off debate.

  • by Michael Morgan and Anthony Boyd
Jim Chalmers, delivering his third federal budget, faces his toughest challenge yet.

If Chalmers gets the budget wrong, interest rate rises may kill his government

For Treasurer Jim Chalmers, this budget is existential. Bad decisions could increase unemployment or provoke more interest rate rises. Both would be political nails in the government’s coffin.

  • by Shane Wright
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Letters
Letters

No scientist can’t be shocked by this cut to cancer research

Readers are floored by the Victorian state budget cuts to a cancer research centre.

By cancelling Mother’s Day, this school is so inclusive it excludes mums

Hunter Valley Grammar School has cancelled its Mother’s Day gift stall for children in K-6 and replaced it with a “Family Gift Stall”.

  • by Brad Emery
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and US President Joe Biden.

Biden had hoped to send a quiet message, then Israel leaked it

The US decision to pause the delivery of bombs represents a significant turning point in its relationship with Israel. But it may not necessarily be a breaking point.

  • by Peter Baker
Earnings season showed the big four banks experienced a fall in profits and the themes were remarkably similar.
Opinion
Big four

CBA lowers the curtain on a profit season banks would rather forget

This season was not one that banks will be crowing about – all experienced a fall in profits and the themes were remarkably similar.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
An uneasy stand-off formed at Melbourne University this month between a Jewish community rally and students protesting against university ties to weapons companies and Israel’s war in Gaza.

When uni students endorse terror, it’s time for political intervention

The university protests in Australia arising from the Israel-Gaza conflict have moved beyond a debate about free speech.

  • by David Crowe
Lengthy ban: Gold Coast’s Wil Powell.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Homophobic and dumb: Why the punishment is right for Powell’s slur

Gold Coast player’s language shows that changing behaviour takes both time and decisive action.

  • by Peter Ryan
Aisha Khodary has spent almost every night at the Monash encampment.

Uni protests are messy, but they prove that campuses have come back to life

A sad legacy of lockdowns is that too many of us are unable to stop and listen to another side. But the noise of the encampments shows that campuses have come back to life.

  • by Alexandra Wake
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iPad
Opinion
Gadgets

Apple’s tone-deaf iPad ad triggers our darkest AI fears

Apple has made its worst marketing faux pas since it forced everyone to listen to U2.

  • by Dave Lee
The Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed up oil prices.
Opinion
Energy

It’s not easy being green for UK and European oil giants

The oil super majors are eyeing shifting their primary stock exchange listings to New York as a stronger push to reduce fossil fuels in their home markets weighs on their share prices.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz

The world’s turned a blind eye, but I’ve seen Gaza’s horrors

More than half a million children are sheltering in Rafah. Families I spoke to there as an Australian aid worker told me they were terrified, wondering how they will protect their kids.

  • by Sacha Myers
Adam Simpson, Luke Beveridge, Ken Hinkley.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Why AFL needs to embrace the coaching merry-go-round

In overseas sports, head coaches often transition swiftly between roles, quitting or being fired from one franchise to resurface as the head coach at another. The AFL’s landscape with more entrenched coaches underscores the need for more open minds on changing clubs.

  • by Kane Cornes
Moses Suli was nudged out of position just before the tackle on Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

Why I will continue to argue for concussion victims – past and future

The column written by my colleague last week shocked me, but this issue is far bigger than a difference of opinion.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Nicho Hynes takes on the Dragons.
Opinion
NRL 2024

Why this is the most important three weeks of Nicho Hynes’ career

Over the next month, the Sharks have a golden chance to shake their tag as flat-track bullies – and their star man can prove he belongs at Origin level.

  • by Andrew Johns
Blake Acres celebrates the winning goal.
Analysis
AFL 2024

Courage, a near miss and a shoulder hanging by a thread: The 20-second passage of play that shook the MCG

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.

  • by Andrew Wu
With tax rates at an all-time high, getting your house in order tax-wise is more important than ever.

Why sorting your tax early this year is more important than ever

You need to look for every tax deduction and defer any income you can, and take advice on your particular circumstances so you don’t overdo it.

  • by Julia Hartman
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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.

  • by Shaun Carney
“Buy your mum some flowers and go spoil that goddess rotten.”

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.”

  • by Kathy Lette
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Letters
Letters

I’m a state school principal, and most of our parents don’t need $400

Readers react to the Victorian state budget with wildly different views, but all agree its $400 school bonus to parents, whatever their income, is unfair.

Artwork: Dionne Gain
Opinion
Parenting

How do you know if you were ‘raised right’? I’ve always felt like I’m missing something

To be brought up with money, power, beauty and status are advantages few of us are lucky to have. But to be “raised right” is a scarcer, more valuable privilege.

  • by Wendy Syfret
Former North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas at a training session at Arden Street last year.
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.

  • by Sam McClure
Boys from Yarra Valley Grammar have been suspended for ranking girls in categories on a chat group.

What are the consequences of being a ‘wifey’ or ‘unrapable’? I hope those girls never find out

When my own high school rating list came out, that ranking stayed with me forever. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

  • by Katy Hall
Rob Adams, CEO of Perpetual defends selling assets to KKR

‘A joke’: The $2.2b deal with no detail that has left investors fuming

Hostilities have broken out over wealth powerhouse Perpetual’s deal to sell two of its major divisions and brand to private equity giant KKR.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Anthony Albanese is hopeful more low-cost airlines will enter the Australian market.

PM’s rinse-and-repeat response to China jet incident will do little to deter aggression

How stable are relations with China if the People’s Liberation Army is regularly putting the lives of Australian military personnel at risk?

  • by Matthew Knott
The US Congress has approved legislation to force the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the company or face a ban in the US.

TikTok makes a stand against forced sale or ban in the US

TikTok has filed a court challenge against a recently-enacted US law that would force its Chinese parent to divest its US business or close it down.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Donald Trump before he was elected, is interviewed at Politics and Prose in Washington, December. 3, 2018.

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.

  • by Ben Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich, Maggie Haberman, Michael Rothfeld and Jonathan Swan
Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson.
Opinion
Aviation

Sorry, not sorry: Qantas perfects the art of the non-apology

To suggest that the airline’s settlement over the ghost flights matter makes Qantas a trustworthy company is to be wilfully blind to its recent history.

  • by Joe Aston
The iPad Air now also comes in two sizes.
Analysis
Gadgets

Apple’s iPad event: Five things you should know

We’ve had our hands on all of Apple’s newly announced hardware. Here are our first impressions.

  • by Tim Biggs
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Taking an expensive overseas holiday using your super should have no bearing on your pension eligibility when the time comes.

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.

  • by Noel Whittaker
Australians trying to buy their first home are increasingly relying on the bank of mum and dad.
Opinion
Home loans

Parents thinking of helping kids into property must consider this

I have long been of the “help sooner rather than later” view, but if you hand over a lump sum to your children, is it going to be a gift or a loan?

  • by Noel Whittaker
When it comes to making money, taking risks is often unavoidable, so don’t be scared of making the leap.
Opinion
Investing

Why this is the most poorly understood thing in finance

It’s a factor many investors wring their hands about, but it’s worth learning how to manage it properly.

  • by Paridhi Jain
state budget
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
Joe Hockey gives good chat.
Opinion
CBD

Virtually good value: A jolly Joe Hockey gig costs $20,000 a pop

The former treasurer, who once declared an end to the “age of entitlement”, has a big price tag attached to his time.

  • by Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
Illustration by Simon Letch

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”.

  • by Ross Gittins
It feels like something in the Australian property market has to give, and it probably won’t be the bank of mum and dad.
Opinion
Investing

Our obsession with property is pathological. Something’s gotta give

Forget the Sunday trip to Bunnings - investing in property is the greatest Australian pastime of all, and queuing for house inspections is our national sport.

  • by William Bennett
Jayne Malone learned to drive on the Bathurst track and has always loved driving.

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.

  • by Jayne Malone
Wayne Holdsworth with his son Mac who took his own life in October 2023, aged 17, after becoming the victim of sextortion.

What I wish I’d known about suicide before my son died

He’d come to me and said: “Hey Dad, I’ve made a mistake.” My son was the victim of sextortion.

  • by Wayne Holdsworth
Yarra Valley Grammar School Principal Mark Merry.
Letters
Letters

Teenage boys are confused. A pile-on won’t help

Readers react to the expulsion of the Yarra Valley Grammar students who ranked their female classmates and the question of male entitlement.

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Sam Draper’s experience after he spoke out of turn on a podcast should not discourage players to be themselves
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.

  • by Mathew Stokes
Treasurer Tim Pallas delivering his 10th Victorian budget.

Victoria the ‘basket case’ state: This debt isn’t like a household mortgage

Most home owners understand that if you are serious about getting your mortgage under control, you can’t keep borrowing more money to pay for other things.

  • by Chip Le Grand
The diamond pear halo engagement ring.

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.

  • by Peter Quarry
The movie poster for Oppenheimer.

Confused by the quantum computing race? It’s just like the Oscars

The government just bet $1 billion on one kind of quantum. But there are many other contenders in the race for the golden gong.

  • by Angus Dalton