Puzzled with David Astle newsletter
For subscribers: Tips and tricks from our puzzles guru, plus try our quizzes, crosswords and puzzles.
The Confession podcast
Murder was just the beginning in this astonishing new podcast.
Considering post-grad study?
Find the right course to advance your career with Campus, your essential higher education guide
Exclusive
Victorian Parliament
More than 100,000 Victorians now have a digital licence. But there’s a hiccup
Victoria’s digital licence scheme launched this week, but they cannot be used everywhere.
Everything you need to know about the $300 energy rebate
Here’s how the government will deliver the money, and what it could mean for inflation.
Analysis
Federal budget
Five things Jim Chalmers didn’t tell you in his budget speech
We pick apart an abridged version of the Treasurer’s third budget speech – and explain five key points.
Updated
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Pro-Palestinian protesters defy warnings to leave Melbourne Uni building
The Zionist Federation of Australia is calling for all pro-Palestine protesters to be evicted from university encampments.
Growing numbers of students with disability to cost $1.1 billion more in school funding
As more students need help, budget figures raise the stakes in tense government negotiations over spending on schools and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Opinion
City life
I’m returning to the game of my youth and I’m hoping not to break a leg. Or maybe I am
I love my team and, good news, I don’t have to play centre or wear one of those short pleated skirts. But I am a bit scared of players who try to gain an advantage by slapping their opponents.
Carolyn Webb
Reporter
Halfway through Fashion Week, two front rows couldn’t have been more different
Two vastly different labels stood out at Australian Fashion Week by getting personal with their customers.
Opinion
Tripologist
Got somewhere to be? Never try to arrive the same day
The recent deluge that soaked Dubai left some passengers stranded for several days.
Michael Gebicki
The Tripologist
Why one in 10 AFL players ignore concussion symptoms
The revelation in a survey by the AFL Players’ Association comes despite the growing awareness of the issue.
Talented forward out as injury toll mounts for Blues ahead of Friday night blockbuster
Talented Carlton forward Jack Martin has injured a calf and will miss Friday night’s huge game against premiership favourites Sydney.
Carol Clay reunited with her first boyfriend. They died together, killed on a camping trip
When Russell Hill and Carol Clay went missing in the remote alpine region it raised an unusual problem for her family.
Portrait Rinehart doesn’t want you to see: Mogul demands gallery remove image
Australia’s richest person wants the National Gallery of Australia to remove a portrait of her from an exhibition by Archibald Prize-winning Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira.
Updated
World politics
Slovak PM in ‘life-threatening’ condition after assassination attempt
Robert Fico was rushed to hospital after he was shot and wounded on Wednesday in the town of Handlova. A suspect has been detained.
Three dead in New Caledonia as riots rage after Paris approves voting change
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government was closely monitoring the situation and urged Australians to stay safe.
Starfish can clone themselves. Now, a fossil found caught in the act shows how long this has been going on
A recently discovered fossil in Germany provides first-ever evidence for the phenomenon.
Federal Budget 2024
The three-minute budget: Everything you need to know
Labor has unveiled its economic plan for the next four years and beyond. Here is a quick rundown of the essentials.
Analysis
Are you a winner or loser in this budget?
Your guide to who gained the most – and who missed out – in Jim Chalmers’ third federal budget.
Victoria
Officials were told this tree was home to an endangered animal. They cut it down anyway
Conservationists are furious after they warned the government about the presence of greater gliders and Leadbeater’s possums in trees identified for removal.
Keffiyeh scarf effectively banned from floor of Victorian parliament
The development comes a week after a Greens MP was asked to leave the chamber for refusing to take off her keffiyeh scarf, commonly worn to show support for Palestine.
Exclusive
Investigations
Luxury nest of Aussie bikies accused of running a drug cartel exposed by leak
A mega-leak of property records reveals how suspected drug traffickers and other criminals call the United Arab Emirates a safe haven as the Gulf state looks the other way.
Pro-Palestine protesters splash red paint on deputy premier’s office
Ben Carroll’s Niddrie office was defaced in a spate of vandalism that also targeted Seven and the ABC, before protesters halted Melbourne’s peak-hour traffic.
Victoria’s GST windfall could be short-lived
While billions of dollars will flow to infrastructure projects and bulk-billing clinics, the state’s GST take remains the same.
AFL 2024
Exclusive
Revealed: Saints’ massive offer to make Carlton star one of the AFL’s richest players
Carlton’s superstar defender is set to become one of the highest-paid players in the league after St Kilda informally pitched him a bumper multi-year deal.
AFL off to the races? League could build ovals in middle of Moonee Valley
The AFL could build two new football ovals in the centre of Moonee Valley racecourse under a long-term lease agreement that would help the league keep up with the sport’s growing demands.
Politics
High voltage: The $300 power play Chalmers says will fight inflation
Economists warn that budget spending could pressure the RBA to keep interest rates higher, longer.
Business
Sumo slammed by data breach, as energy and internet customers have details leaked
Thousands of customers have had their credit scores and other personal information posted online as the flood of national data breaches grows.
Opinion
Federal budget
Coalition slams the billionaires’ budget as miners cheer
Elizabeth Knight
Business columnist
Opinion
Ask an expert
If I drop to part-time, can I use super to top up my income?
Noel Whittaker
Money columnist
World
Updated
World politics
A rare changing of the guard in Singapore as the ‘miracle’ hits turbulence
Lawrence Wong inherits an overachieving middle power famed for its prosperity; a beacon of stability and open trade. But the nation has problems too.
Opinion
If the US election were held today, Trump would win
Bruce Wolpe
Senior fellow at the US Studies Centre and former political staffer
Diamonds for sale: Inside the plan to crash BHP’s $64 billion party
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
Why the Treasurer needed to throw women some sugar
Jacqueline Maley
Columnist and senior journalist
Explore
Got a news tip?
Share information with our journalists securely and confidentially. Learn more
Property
‘Love it out here’: What it costs to live in Melbourne’s top suburbs for wellbeing
The wellbeing factor of suburbs has been measured on indicators such as health, environment, jobs and income. But it comes at a price.
Melbourne suburbs with the most distressed property sales
Financial strain has caused some Melbourne homeowners to reach a tipping point and list their home for urgent sale.
Good Food
Lifestyle
Golden goals on Fashion Week day two as designers switch it up to chase customers
On the second day of Australian Fashion Week, the Matildas’ favourite off-pitch brand stepped out of its comfort zone.
Culture
Schoolboys ranked this smart young woman. Her response is thrilling
As a student, Emmanuelle Mattana faced the kind of schoolboy misogyny that made headlines last week. Her play, Trophy Boys, might just make a difference.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Talented forward out as injury toll mounts for Blues ahead of Friday night blockbuster
Talented Carlton forward Jack Martin has injured a calf and will miss Friday night’s huge game against premiership favourites Sydney.
One in 10 AFL players ignore concussion symptoms
Some AFL players admitted they did not report their concussion symptoms because they feared being left out at the selection table and missing out on contract incentives.
Watch: The unremarkable Sandown race that was referred to betting investigators
This is the footage of the last 150 metres of a low-profile race at an unremarkable, barely attended Sandown meeting in the winter of 2022 that caught the stewards’ eye – and, after questioning the jockey and trainer, was referred to racing’s betting intelligence unit.
Australian Winter Olympics flag bearer banned for sexual misconduct with a minor
Brendan Kerry, who was an Australian flag bearer at the Beijing Winter Olympics, has been barred from US figure skating after an investigation led by the country’s peak sports abuse authority.
Money Talks
AFL 2024
The list-demographics sweet spot fuelling the high-flying Bombers in 2024
We should have seen Essendon’s uprising coming – and the reason why helps explain two other fringe Melbourne-based finals contenders not meeting external expectations.
Boycott threat by cricket’s biggest states forces women’s T20 change
Australia’s two most populous cricket states, Victoria and New South Wales, considered boycotting a new women’s Twenty20 tournament and playing matches among themselves before reaching a compromise with Cricket Australia on the competition format for this season.
How the Hawks helped Bateman through the darkest point of his life
Chance Bateman is no stranger to racism in football, but it’s also where he has found a deep sense of belonging. It’s why he in honoured to have helped design Hawthorn’s Indigenous guernsey this year.
Have Your Say
Revealed: Saints’ massive offer to make Weitering one of the richest players in the AFL
Carlton’s superstar defender is set to become one of the highest-paid players in the AFL after St Kilda informally pitched him a bumper multi-year deal.
