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Housing crisis
Leaked proposal’s sweeping changes to appeal height limits, overlooking rules
Residents’ right to challenge developments in their street would be severely curtailed and basic standards for new projects will be redrawn under a significant proposed overhaul of the state’s planning rules.
Sarah’s mum starved herself to death. It was the only legal way to go
Wendy Mitchell spent a decade educating people about living with dementia. Now her daughter wants to tell us about how she died, and why it didn’t have to be that way.
Inside story
Political leadership
How the PM’s captain’s call to stop a culture war blew up in his face
An early Sunday morning message to Labor MPs about a gender and sexuality question in the 2026 census opened up a disastrous political week for the government.
Why Brand Petracca has been blamed for the Demon’s rift with his club
Since his future first came into question three weeks ago, we have learnt more about Christian Petracca’s black bean noodles and pesto chicken melt than where he wants to play next year.
These AFL coaches can win the flag. They don’t get the respect they deserve
Fans and football insiders with no skin in this finals game relish the prospect of the AFL’s oldest coach, Chris Fagan, holding up the premiership cup.
Exclusive
AFL
Dons skipper has his say after Stringer, Laverde denied contract extensions
The meeting between Zach Merrett and coach Brad Scott came a day after Stringer and Laverde met the club to discuss their futures.
He’s our newest gold medal champion, and he eats nothing but burritos
The medals have rained on Team Australia at the velodrome, with Paralympic debutant Korey Boddington winning gold barely a year after he first took up cycling.
‘I see scars’: Mel’s long and costly battle to restore her breasts – and identity
After undergoing mastectomies, breast cancer patients face years-long waits in the public system for “medically necessary” reconstructive surgery – or crippling out-of-pocket costs in the private system.
Melbourne’s urban fringe suburb that used to be known as ‘Tradie Town’
No one knows how Diamond Creek got its name but the locals have a favourite story: about a bull who met his end near the water.
‘I cry in the pantry’: Missy Higgins nailed teenage angst – now for midlife woes
Mining her adolescent pain propelled Higgins into the hearts of music fans 20 years ago. Following her marriage breakdown, she’s reconnecting through song.
‘Way more people trying to sell’: Where Melbourne home owners are selling now
An oversupply of housing stock paired with softened property values has created an ideal spring market for buyers.
Opinion
Climate crisis
Why Australia may no longer be ‘God’s country’, according to Ajay Banga. Amen
In stark contrast to his predecessor at the World Bank, the new president is a warrior in the cause of confronting climate change.
Peter Hartcher
Political and international editor
Barrister allegedly ran drug trafficking operation from his bay-view apartment
Police uncovered hundreds of erectile dysfunction tablets, an array of drugs and an imitation penis at Anthony Grant’s 16th-floor apartment, a court heard.
24 hours of Trump: QAnon tributes, vulgar jokes and selling pieces of his suit
A burst of activity by the former US president was a snapshot of the chaos that has defined his political career.
CFMEU official attends key Labor meeting, sparking political influence fears
Despite the scandal-plagued union being suspended from the ALP, party insiders worry they are still trying to influence factional negotiations and membership recruitment.
Forget brat and tradwife, here are the real fashion trends for spring
The experts have singled out three key trends for a fresh style start, as the march towards summer begins.
Meet the crew crazy enough to open a free live music venue in 2024
A shared passion for live music and country pubs has driven the new owners of the Punters Club to relaunch the Brunswick Street venue.
Modern Guru
Good Weekend
Walked a mate’s dog, but didn’t scoop the poop … Am I still a good friend?
Ask yourself the age-old philosophical question, suggests the Modern Guru: if a poop falls in an empty park and nobody is around to see it, did it really fall?
Paris Paralympics
Tom nearly died at the last Paralympics. Now he’s a gold medallist
Australia has its first gold medal of the Paralympics courtesy of swimmer Tom Gallagher, who took an unexpected trip to hospital three years ago after racing in Tokyo.
French impressions: Australia’s athletes as you’ve never seen them
An award-winning photographer, a film camera, and Australia’s Olympian and Paralympian athletes as you’ve never seen them before.
Victoria
GPS tracker fitted on a Bunnings ute helped solve Gary the gorilla heist
A man who stole a 20-kilogram life-size gorilla statue from a retirement home and hid it in a backyard was traced using a GPS tracker in the Bunnings ute he had hired.
Nelomie did everything to protect herself. Her estranged husband killed her anyway
A judge has suggested family violence offenders be forced to wear ankle bracelets after the axe murder of a mother in front of her children.
Music promoters awarded $2.84m over cancelled Robbie Williams concert
The concert was to be a part of the 2020 Australian Grand Prix weekend, but it and the race were cancelled as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take off.
It’s a 29-hectare parcel of land, and it could be the secret to getting trucks out of the inner west
Making the site available to shipping companies is expected to drive down truck movements across inner-west suburbs.
Updated
Crime
Newborn baby boy found injured outside Melbourne home
Officers are investigating and a woman is under police guard after a newborn baby was found injured outside a home in Melbourne’s south-east.
WEEKEND READS
Tony Wright’s Column
Stranded, stressed … then blown away by an act of kindness
She’s the oldest player in history. How this former Tillies captain does it at 44
At 44, Melissa Barbieri is a veteran of the game, an anomaly in a sport where the median age of retirement for professional female footballers is 26.
Analysis
A killer dumped his third victim in the ocean. It would’ve worked if the tide didn’t turn
Having disposed of his second victim in one of Victoria’s bays John Leslie Coombes saw no reason why it wouldn’t work again.
Politics
The Melbourne suburbs the rich have fled
New figures show some of the better-off suburbs of Melbourne have shed thousands of residents since the pandemic.
Business
Exclusive
Start-ups
‘We have a lot of issues’: Billionaire tech boss lifts lid on staff turnover
Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang says a lack of resources means he can’t compete with the likes of Canva or Atlassian in work perks.
World
Judge orders Musk’s X immediately shut down in Brazil
The move is the latest chapter in an ongoing feud between Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Elon Musk.
Opinion
My tearful farewell to my son cast new light on the foreign student ‘industry’
Malcolm Knox
Journalist, author and columnist
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Property
Thirteen of the best properties for sale in Victoria
Looking for your next home in Victoria? Here’s a baker’s dozen of great properties, from Dromana to Mildura.
‘More bang for your buck’: Where you can tree change for $618,000
“Your typical buyer there can sell their house, come down here and buy something probably nicer and still have $1 million in their pockets to play with.”
Good Food
Recipe collection
Recipes
A dozen cracking cafe-style egg recipes to cook this weekend
Lifestyle
‘A very sad day’: Dion Lee to wind up after failure to find saviour
After three months of searching for a buyer, the troubled business, once the pinnacle of Australian fashion, will close permanently.
Opinion
Feminism
I’ve never sent a naked selfie. There’s no shame in a little shame
Cherie Gilmour
Freelance writer
Culture
There’s a new generation of cinema lovers. If only they knew how to behave
We get it, you love movies. Now please stop making it a competition and let us enjoy the cinema in peace.
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Exclusive
AFL 2024
Dons skipper has his say after Stringer, Laverde denied contract extensions
The meeting between Zach Merrett and coach Brad Scott came a day after Stringer and Laverde met the club to discuss their futures.
Analysis
AFL 2024
The Bulldogs won the flag from outside the top four in 2016. Is this the year another team does it?
In the tightest season ever, many pundits think the teams in the bottom four of the eight are as good a chance of winning the flag as those in the top four. But are they really?
These AFL coaches can win the flag. They don’t get the respect they deserve
Chris Fagan and Ken Hinkley continue to deliver for the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide, but the criticism never ends.
Brand Petracca has been blamed for Demon’s rift with club. What exactly is it?
Since his future first came into question three weeks ago, we have learnt more about Christian Petracca’s black bean noodles and pesto chicken melt than where he wants to play next year.
Pucovski’s bad news is actually good news
Sad as it is that Will Pucovski’s immensely promising cricket career appears to be over, there is a silver lining.
‘What are we aiming for?’ Players want to know the plan for AFLW to explode
The AFLW season starts tonight, but where is the competition headed? We spoke to players, coaches, and administrators, including the new AFLW boss, and asked, what should it look like by 2030?
Concussions rule Will Pucovski out for entire season
Will Pucovski is yet to medically retire from concussion according to officials, but a decision to end his troubled career is expected before the start of the season.
Have Your Say
September heat: This is who is under the most pressure in the finals
These six men face the toughest task of all – staying composed when the heat is on in finals and delivering when it matters most in September.
Kane Cornes
AFL columnist
