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The 50-metre ‘missing link’ fix that will open new cross-city tram routes
For almost a century, two sections of Melbourne’s sprawling tram network have passed tantalisingly close together outside Queen Victoria Market, but never joined. That is to change.
Stoush over $13.7b tax credits threatens to stall flagship budget policy
Labor will be forced into talks with the Greens over new curbs on coal and gas in a bid to salvage the $13.7 billion tax credits in its “made in Australia” budget plan, after the Coalition rubbished the new measure.
Budget’s $22b boost puts Australia ‘back in race’ for green energy spending
The CEOs of Australia’s largest critical minerals companies have backed a $22 billion budget boost, in support that fuels a clash with the Coalition.
Shocking photos that reveal the reality of the housing crisis
Rents have skyrocketed, and rent assistance is set to go up in response. Even so, it’s slim pickings.
Scott Morrison met with Donald Trump in New York, says former president faces a ‘pile on’
The former prime minister has come to the former US president’s defence, describing the challenges the Republican faces in the US as a “pile on”.
Political football: FIFA to vote on push to expel Israel
A push to expel Israel from international football has opened a new schism in Australia, which plans to abstain from the vote despite the urging of former Socceroo Craig Foster.
‘For all the other non-grandparents out there: you are not alone’
The pain of childlessness is well documented. But it can hit all over again when friends gush about their grandchildren.
Opinion
Sunday Life
I gave an Airbnb home just four stars. Apparently that’s a fail
It’s bad enough that every service we use, every restaurant, plumber, grocer or app, demands praise like a needy toddler, but it has to be five stars or death.
Jo Stanley
Columnist
ABC is ‘too bland’: What chairman Kim Williams ‘tells’ friends in private
Meeting notes from a catch up with Aunty’s supporter group makes for very interesting reading.
Updated
World politics
Slovak PM in ‘extraordinarily serious’ condition after assassination attempt
Robert Fico was rushed to hospital after he was shot five times in the stomach, arm and leg. A suspect has been detained.
Updated
Protests
Four dead in New Caledonia riots, France declares state of emergency
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government was closely monitoring the situation and urged Australians to stay safe.
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.
Exclusive
Victorian Parliament
More than 100,000 Victorians now have a digital licence. But there’s a hiccup
More than 100,000 Victorians have downloaded the new licences, but they can’t be used everywhere.
Breaking
Women’s Asian Cup
Victoria to miss out when Matildas chase Asian Cup glory on home soil in 2026
Australia was the only AFC member nation to submit a bid to host the tournament with matches to be played in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.
Politics, punk and race: The new TV series examining Britain’s volatile 80s
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight goes back to the 1980s of his adolescence in his new series This Town, inspired by the rise of the 2Tone music genre.
The world’s 10 most ridiculous statues
Around the world there are statues notable for their grace, elegance and dignity. Then there are these … from public urination to stroppy tantrums.
Celebrity Sydney chef to bring French bistro flair to this underserved end of Melbourne
Busy chef and empire builder Luke Mangan is returning to his culinary roots (as well as his hometown) for a tried-and-true restaurant formula: the bistro.
Federal Budget 2024
Opinion
For younger Australians, this budget falls woefully short
In the lead-up to the budget, younger Australians were hopeful for real cost-of-living relief. Instead, we’ve been left with little to celebrate.
Ryan Bourke
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.
Victoria
They sold the bike to pay for their dad’s funeral. But 12 years later, it came back
It was one of those ideas families talk about but don’t often carry out. If they could make it work, it would end years of regret.
Man allegedly lured to his death after $150,000 necklace ‘burglary’
A woman accused of luring a Colombian man to his death has been granted bailed after a judge found the case against her was “relatively weak”.
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.
AFL 2024
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.
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.
Politics
‘This is a genocide’: Labor senator breaks with government over Gaza
Labor senator Fatima Payman also used the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, which Anthony Albanese has criticised as provocative.
Business
ASX set to rise as Wall Street jumps after inflation finally slows
US stocks are heading toward records with hopes that inflation is finally heading back in the right direction after its discouraging start to the year.
Opinion
Mergers & acquisitions
Diamonds for sale: Inside the plan to crash BHP’s $64 billion party
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
Opinion
Federal budget
Coalition slams the billionaires’ budget as miners cheer
Elizabeth Knight
Business columnist
World
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.
Opinion
If the US election were held today, Trump would win
Bruce Wolpe
Senior fellow at the US Studies Centre and former political staffer
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Property
Six of our favourite luxury homes for sale right now
From an idyllic rural retreat to a modern home with in-ground trampoline, we’ve rounded up our pick of the bunch.
‘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.
Good Food
Lifestyle
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.
Culture
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.
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.