Morning Edition newsletter
Our guide to the most important stories, analysis and insights.
Trial by Water podcast
A new investigative podcast about one of Australia’s most controversial cases.
Sunday Life
Indulge in the best ‘me time’ reading with our new digital magazine edition.
The university vowed not to spy on students. Now it’s using tracking data to punish them
Human rights experts have raised concerns over Melbourne University’s use of tracking technology to identify students staging a pro-Palestinian sit-in on campus.
Exclusive
Victorian budget
Melbourne Water borrowed money from the state government – to pay a state government bill
Melbourne Water had to borrow from the state to pay a bigger-than-expected land tax bill in a cash merry-go-round.
The reasons the inflation fight is far from over
Australia’s inflation rate has been falling for more than 18 months, but rent and insurance inflation are among the household essentials bucking that trend.
Explainer
US Votes 2024
‘I screwed up’: When is a leader too old to lead?
Joe Biden’s recent halting debate against a blustering rival caused panic in some quarters. But does it mean he should throw in the re-election towel?
Vicki had a 4-year-wait for a knee op. She’s had to go interstate for help
Anger is boiling over in Albury-Wodonga, where the waiting list for planned surgery is already the worst in regional Victoria.
Israeli strike kills 16 at Gaza school, military says it targeted gunmen
The Israeli military says it took precautions to minimise risk to civilians before it targeted the gunmen’s hideout but Hamas denies its fighters were there.
Popyrin’s bold bid to defeat Djokovic falls short, Demon walks into next round
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin put up an almighty fight against seven-time champ Novak Djokovic. Alex de Minaur found life much easier as he advanced to the second week of the tournament.
AFL Briefing
AFL 2024
Petracca in hospital with appendicitis; Collingwood’s heavy injury cost from prime-time defeat
Melbourne star Christian Petracca’s recent run of bad luck has continued with the 28-year-old admitted to hospital on Saturday night with appendicitis.
It’s not just Greg Norman: Saudis sign raft of Aussies in sport splurge
Pouring billions into golf, football and now the Olympics, the oil-rich Gulf state is pressing ahead with ambitious plans despite accusations of sportswashing.
Opinion
Real life
How Red Symons stumped the bloke who stole his guitar 50 years ago
It was in Brunswick Street that my house was burgled. I was robbed of a heavy black Les Paul Custom. I’d expected the fate of that guitar to remain unknown, and then someone asked me for change.
Red Symons
Flâneur
‘You hid your identity’: Why Tasma Walton’s Indigenous past was a mystery for years
In her latest role, the 50-year-old star of The Twelve goes on a journey of identity not unlike the one she’s taken in real life.
‘Fighting a losing battle’: Melbourne suburbs where rents have soared
Tenants are searching far and wide for their next home as rents in several suburbs spiralled 20 per cent or more in a year.
Opinion
Ageing
Boomer or bust? No, leaders like Biden and Trump should know when to bow out
Since the US presidential debate, discussions of the dangers of gerontocracy have moved from the abstract to the horribly real.
Jacqueline Maley
Columnist and senior journalist
Updated
Fire
Baby among three children dead in house fire, man in custody
Three children are dead and a man is in custody after a house fire in Sydney’s west. Several others are in hospital.
‘Which one’s the loudest?’: Robert’s doctor delivers the best medicine – in a Porsche
The 46-year-old mechanic had a final wish before cancer takes him. His sports car loving oncologist granted it.
Opinion
Culture wars
Australia will lose if Payman’s identity politics triumphs
The senator’s passionate politics renders compromise unpalatable. The last thing Australia needs is this type of politics.
Parnell Palme McGuinness
Columnist and communications adviser
Opinion
Interest rates
Boomers, don’t say you had it worse, even if you mean well
Victoria Devine
Money columnist
WEEKEND READS
‘Do it’: Funny girl Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the serious step she took with her mum
From Seinfeld and Veep to a hit podcast and new choices with her 87-year-old mother, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is rolling with a fast-changing industry – and world.
Hospital mulls axing elective surgery as budget crisis sparks fears of waiting list blowouts
Looming health cuts threaten to blow elective surgery waiting lists out, and force more people to take out private health insurance.
Victoria
Updated
Crime
Murder probe launched after woman’s body found at Melbourne tip
Police believe the woman’s remains were inside a bin that was picked up outside a property in Coolaroo on Tuesday and taken to Epping.
From tobacco factory to artistry, this suburb is the southside’s northside
Creatives, breweries, patisseries and young families are springing up in the suburb’s once-gritty industrial precinct, which used to be home to soft drink manufacturers and big tobacco companies.
Employers spruik workplace wellbeing services. But who is picking up the phone?
More workers are accessing their company’s Employee Assistance Program, but psychologists and researchers have questioned whether the system is working.
Ulli helped raise Mzuri. Years later, the gorilla recognised her on a zoo visit
Legendary primate keeper Ulli Weiher is marking five decades working at Melbourne Zoo. She says every day is different.
TGA to review warnings after young father’s supplement death
The medicines’ regulator will reconsider warnings for some cold and flu tablets, after a young father died from a severe allergic reaction last month.
AFL 2024
AFL Briefing
Petracca in hospital with appendicitis; Collingwood’s heavy injury cost from prime-time defeat
Melbourne star Christian Petracca’s recent run of bad luck has continued with the 28-year-old admitted to hospital on Saturday night with appendicitis.
‘Got to keep an open mind’: Scott happy to move Geelong’s chess pieces around
Geelong coach Chris Scott said he will keep an open mind on how they should use their best players for the remainder of the season after the Cats returned to the top four with a strong win.
Politics
The six weeks that turned Fatima Payman’s rift with Labor into a chasm
Fatima Payman was a quiet backbencher for her first two years in the Senate. But for the past six weeks the former union official has become a household name.
Business
The dirty secret of Australia’s green energy transition
Renewable energy, storage and transmission lines will get Australia most of the way to banishing coal from the grid. But not the whole way, officials warn.
World
Updated
US Votes 2024
‘Trying to push me out of the race’: Joe Biden rejects calls for him to step aside
A fired-up Biden made it clear he would not back down, telling supporters: ‘I’m not going to let a 90-minute debate wipe out 3½ years of work.’
Opinion
Will Fatima Payman become the Pauline Hanson of the left? That’s up to her
Peter Hartcher
Political and international editor
Explore
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Property
This home passed in at $1.27 million. The sole bidder paid an extra $45,000 to buy it
The renovated Victorian-style property passed in at auction before selling to a downsizer from a neighbouring suburb.
Our favourite 14 homes for sale in Victoria right now
Looking for your next home? From a modular home with mountain views to a modern executive townhouse, we’ve got you covered.
Good Food
Lifestyle
Chloroform, popcorn, cigarette butts: The weird and wonderful world of niche perfume
Consumers are eschewing mainstream fragrances in favour of unique scents that tell a story.
Culture
This beautiful memoir beats with a radically open heart
Ailsa Piper’s salts her sorrow with spiritual longing in this subtle book about living with grief.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Popyrin pushes Djoker again, but leaves Demon as only Aussie standing at Wimbledon
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin put up an almighty fight against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, while Alex de Minaur found life much easier as he advanced to the second week of the tournament.
‘Got to keep an open mind’: Scott happy to move Geelong’s chess pieces around
Geelong coach Chris Scott said he will keep an open mind on how they should use their best players for the remainder of the season after the Cats returned to the top four with a strong win.
GWS surge past Carlton for defining win: Angry Hardwick drops the F-Bomb
GWS will charge into the back end of their AFL finals bid with confidence after fighting back from 39 points down against Carlton to win. In Perth, Fremantle overpowered a Shai Bolton-inspired Richmond to post a 51-point victory.
Analysis
European Championships
Robotinho predicts the result of the quarter-finals at Euro 2024
We’re reaching the pointy end of the Euros and a weekend where some big names will fall. Will Spain and France march on, how far can Turkey go, and can England bore their way through, again? The answers are all here.
Robotinho and Mark Stehle
Analysis
Wimbledon
A sporting colossus and ‘the most important tournament in tennis’: What sets the AO and Wimbledon apart
One Melbourne ex-pat calls Wimbledon and the Australian Open “the two best sporting events in the world”. Here’s what separates them from the pack, and what they can teach each other.
Analysis
AFL 2024
Easy Pies, raging Dons: How handling of Merrett, Daicos showed contrasting mindsets
The space – and lack of close-up attention – permitted to Zach Merrett was the complete reverse of how the Bombers dealt with the similarly destructive powers of Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos.
Analysis
Paris 2024
‘We have to earn it’: How Opals, Boomers could realise their Paris medal dreams
Australia will head to Paris with dreams of stunning the USA and winning gold. But with world basketball growing ever-stronger, the Opals and Boomers will be tested like never before.
Have Your Say
A convicted child rapist will compete at the Paris Olympics. Where is the outrage?
The Dutch Olympic Committee has selected a beach volleyball player who served prison time after pleading guilty to rape charges. The IOC will not overrule his participation.
