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Opinion

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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

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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
Councillor Steve Christou says he has not read the book he wants to ban from council libraries.

Book ban uncovers uncomfortable truths for Labor in Sydney’s west

The decision of a Labor councillor to vote in favour of a motion to ban books about same-sex parenting has created a headache for the ALP in western Sydney.

  • by Alexandra Smith
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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
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“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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Opinion
Column 8

Falling for the Chalmers offensive

Hot boy in the house (of representatives).

This book prompted complaints from parents, councillor Steve Christou said.

Ban on same-sex books is morally and legally wrong

It is not for any local government to censor library content.

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
This book prompted complaints from parents, councillor Steve Christou said.
Editorial
Education

Same-sex families don’t just belong in Newtown: they belong everywhere

The ugly topic of censorship made an unwelcome return to the headlines this week.

  • The Herald's View
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
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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
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
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
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
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Opinion
Column 8

Savvy reader saves Savva’s syntax

Catastrophise that!

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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
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
Trump’s in a pickle.

Trump re-election could lead to civil war in the US

America has a political system that, after 250 years, is no longer fit for purpose. Donald Trump wants to blow it all up.

Jim Chalmers said this is not the time for budget austerity.

Chalmers’ challenge: Hard-headed budget discipline

Australia’s debt-laden households need the treasurer to keep federal spending in check.

  • The Herald's View
Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Reserve Bank delivers a hospital pass of problems to Chalmers

Jim Chalmers, a Brisbane Broncos fanatic, will wonder what hit him after the Reserve Bank signalled higher interest rates for longer.

  • by Shane Wright
AGL profit outlook is looking better.
Opinion
Renewables

Not everyone will celebrate AGL’s improved profit outlook

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, energy companies have large targets on their backs, along with supermarkets, banks and airlines.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
The world is stocking up on gold.

Gold fever: Why China and the rest of the world are stocking up

The gold price is behaving very strangely, but there is a simple explanation.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Boys from Yarra Valley Grammar have been expelled for ranking girls in categories on a chat group.
Opinion
Sexism

Not all men abuse women. But is this how it starts?

If you don’t understand the journey from deeming someone “unrapable” to perpetrating abuse, you don’t understand what happens to women in this nation of ours.

  • by Jenna Price
David Fifita is a man in demand.
Analysis
NRL 2024

Panthers or Roosters? Why David Fifita is weighing up Titanic decision

As the deadline for a decision looms, we weigh up the best option for the NRL’s most in-demand man, David Fifita.

  • by Adrian Proszenko
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The government is in the middle of regulating buy now, pay later products like Afterpay and Zip.
Analysis
BNPL

Critics warn changes to buy now, pay later don’t go far enough

Until now, these wildly popular facilities like Afterpay and Zip have slipped through the cracks of the National Credit Code. But that is soon to change.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Vladimir Putin with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller. Russian gas revenues have dried up.

Vladimir Putin humiliated as his gas empire crumbles

Vladimir Putin is throwing everything he has got at ramping up Russia’s war machine. But it does not include one previously reliable source of cash.

  • by Tim Wallace
Jackson Topine, Keith Titmuss and Lloyd Perrett.
Opinion
NRL 2024

Prophecy that ‘doctors and lawyers’ will rule NRL is coming true

The death of Manly player Keith Titmuss and separate lawsuits brought by Jackson Topine and Lloyd Perrett raise serious questions for the game.

  • by Andrew Webster
Illustration by Dionne Gain

Trumpeting a terrible vision: What awaits if Biden loses … or even wins?

Donald Trump has outlined his manifesto for a second term, and it’s a disquieting smorgasbord of retribution and paranoia.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar look dejected after the Bulldogs’ shock loss to the Hawks.
Analysis
AFL 2024

Not a top-four team: How rival recruiters really rate the Bulldogs’ list

It’s hard to get a handle on Bevo’s Bulldogs. List managers polled by The Age point to top-end talent, but a wobbly defence and a one-paced midfield.

  • by Peter Ryan
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Education Jason Clare.
Opinion
HECS

Until Labor arrests the ballooning cost of uni, students are still being short-changed

It remains to be seen how much difference a sometimes-reduced rate of indexation is going to make. Certainly, some. But the root of the problem remains.

  • by Rachel Withers
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Opinion
Column 8

Stuck between a rock and a hard bake

While pranksters get the better of Ezra.

Planning Minister Paul Scully on Monday.

Solutions to housing need to be more realistic

The NSW government’s “theoretical capacity” model sounds suspiciously like wishful thinking. The housing problem requires realistic and real-time solutions – a factor not evident in the planning so far.

NSW Premier Chris Minns announces the funding package on Monday.

NSW has long trailed Victoria on tackling domestic violence. Can we finally catch up?

The Minns government says its emergency funding package is the first step in tackling violence against women.

  • by Alexandra Smith
Qantas has admitted that it misled its customers in serious respects, says the ACCC
Opinion
Aviation

How Qantas pulled off a soft landing on phantom flights

While the airline is up for $120 million in fines and compensation, Qantas could have ended up paying a far heavier price for its so-called “ghost flights”.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
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NSW senator Andrew Bragg and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Coalition’s super-for-housing policy would only help wealthier homebuyers

The Coalition’s plan to allow Australians to use their super for housing would disproportionately help wealthier people buy more expensive homes.

  • by Brendan Coates and Joey Moloney
NSW Premier Chris Minns.

‘All options’ were on the table to tackle DV, but now the most obvious one is off

The Herald agrees with the premier that immediate action is needed, but he and cabinet have missed a moment to do something with generational consequences.

  • The Herald's View
The Central Coast Mariners taking on Al  Ahed.
Analysis
ACL

After Asian triumph, the Mariners are one trophy away from Australia’s GOAT conversation

Ten years after the Wanderers lifted the AFC Champions League trophy, the Gosford-based Mariners have sealed another remarkable achievement. Now an unprecedented treble beckons.

  • by Vince Rugari
The United Steelworkers is urging US regulators to scrutinise Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel.

The $23 billion deal that shines a light on a big threat to China

The takeover of US Steel is turning into a political nightmare, and the effects could be widespread.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz