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Opinion

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Bernard Foley says he still aspires to play for the Wallabies.
Analysis
Wallabies

Sherrin the love: How sessions at Swans HQ has a Wallabies veteran ready for duty

Japan-based playmaker Bernard Foley says he is still highly motivated to play for his country and to help Australia’s young no.10s.

  • by Iain Payten

Latest

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Republic debate arrives with King and Queen

The King’s visit has once again raised discussion about Australia becoming a republic.

Pride of Jenni owner Tony Ottobre.
Blinkers On
Horse racing

‘A little bit cheeky’: The 100-1 tactic that might have cost Pride Of Jenni’s owners $2 million

Colourful owner Tony Ottobre questioned whether a rival jockey’s ride was designed to beat his wonder mare, while Jamie Kah was robbed of a chance to ride in The Everest at the starting gates.

  • by Danny Russell
Liberal candidate Georgia Ryburn ahead of Saturday’s byelection.

When it rains it pours, and right now it feels like the NSW Liberal Party is drowning

The most interesting part of this byelection is what it means for Mark Speakman, for whom 2024 has oscillated between horror and vaudeville.

  • by Michael McGowan
Australia’s birth rate has declined again, to 1.5 babies per woman.
Opinion
Parenting

Why ‘one-and-done’ families like mine are becoming the new normal

The news that our national birth rate is plummeting is concerning, but it’s no surprise to single-child families like mine.

  • by Caroline Zielinski
Soon-to-be independent MP Jacqui Scruby.

Heartland blues continue for the Liberals

Making political assumptions based on one byelection result is asking for trouble. But there are lessons for the Liberals in Pittwater.

  • by The Herald's View
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Aresna Villaneuva/AP

The King loves Australia but his next stop’s the big one (and China will be watching)

In Samoa, assembled nations will decide the Commonwealth’s next secretary-general. It will be one of three Africans whose countries are beneficiaries of China’s largesse

  • by George Brandis
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No need for nuclear power

Generations of engineers, scientists and economists have been technology neutral but most have found that nuclear power in Australia would be too expensive

Nathan Cleary
Analysis
Wallabies

Man who made Suaalii a multimillionaire urges rugby to throw chequebook at Cleary

Former Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan wants to see the Penrith superstar wearing a Wallabies jersey at the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

  • by Danny Weidler
Pro-life supporters outside the US Supreme Court in Washington last week. The issue will play a role in the US election.
Opinion
Abortion

Abortion is decriminalised Australia-wide. Why the hell are we debating it again?

It is a flare sent up in the political atmosphere to communicate a set of right-wing values with the control of female bodies at their centre.

  • by Jacqueline Maley

Kamala is running as a ‘no-brainer’. What if voters object to the idea they have no brain?

The polls are so tight in the US that three weeks might be enough for Kamala Harris to work out what she stands for and deliver a Democrat victory.

  • by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Buying a house isn’t as simple as turning up to an auction with your deposit.
Opinion
Hip pocket

Less is more: How to downsize your life to free up cash

Downsizing is a potential salve for the country’s festering housing crisis, but not enough of us are doing it. This is what you need to know.

  • by Dominic Powell

The most moving story about the Queen you’ve never heard but must see

Not only did Marion Crawford devote 17 years to the two princesses, but she sacrificed the possibility of having children of her own.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Dolphins frolic in Port Phillip Bay.
Opinion
Religion

Frolicking dolphins a reminder to make the most of life’s wondrous moments

Mother Teresa’s advice was to be happy in the moment. None of us are assured of tomorrow. All we have is now.

  • by Melissa Coburn
Sale Discount Promotion Deduction Man Planning Concept It isn't for everyone, but some make good money in the online real estate game

Dirty pricing tricks getting flamed is long overdue

It’s time to get back to a world where we don’t have to swear a blood oath to cancel a gym membership or name our firstborn after a Marvel character just to cancel a streaming subscription.

  • by Victoria Devine
X

Forget tradies. It’s the kids who’ll suffer if cash disappears

Digital payments make money scarily psychologically disposable, with cash still the best way to help young minds learn how to spend wisely.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
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Donald Trump at a campaign event in Detroit on Friday, watching a video of opponent Kamal Harris.

Why the heck isn’t Kamala Harris running away with this election?

In many ways, it’s because in the US political parties no longer serve the function they used to. Now, they are better seen as religious organisations.

  • by David Brooks

In the cutthroat suburban cafe scene, the opening of a new option presents a tricky choice for loyal locals.
Opinion
Cafe

Hot cup of guilt: I love my local cafe, but the new one two doors down is better

The best thing is the new place doesn’t give you the bathroom key attached to a giant spatula.

  • by Thomas Mitchell
Thousands of North Korean soldiers are reportedly joining the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

North Korean troops fighting for Russia is worldwide wake-up call

Vladimir Putin leaning on Kim Jong-un for troops would give Russia access to more than 1 million fighters. This war may very soon belong to everyone.

  • by Rob Harris
Tane Edmed is worthy of consideration for a Wallabies berth.

Suaalii, Edmed just the players to freshen up Wallabies’ tour squad

There has been progress in 2024, but the Wallabies remain a work in progress as a Lions tour nears.

  • by Paul Cully
A convict been whipped for stealling *****.
Old Sydney Town at Gosford. August 22, 1976. (Photo by Nigel Scot McNeil/Fairfax Media).
Opinion
Spectrum

They’d make a flogging: The case to re-open Old Sydney Town

It was 1976 when the theme park based on Australian colonial history came to life.

  • by Richard Glover
King Charles III might just visit the races on Saturday.

King Charles III at the races? It’s 2024, not 1964. We should be beyond caring

Debasing ourselves in front of visiting English people should have gone with the end of being a colony.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Accused of murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Opinion
Crime

Were the Menendez brothers monsters or monstered? Young boys need the answer

The justice system has a chance to examine whether bias against men who survive rape prevents them getting a fair hearing.

  • by Julia Baird
The changes will remove some valuable supports for children of donors.
Opinion
Fertility

I used a sperm donor for my son. Why is the government abandoning us?

Would a stranger care about my beloved child who had been created with our shared genes? My counsellor understood my anxieties: “Most women think they’re meeting George Clooney.”

  • by Alexandra Collier
History worth reviving: the tram on Parramatta Road, Leichhardt, in 1946 and Venice’s famed bell tower, the Campanile of St Mark, which collapsed in 1902 but was rebuilt by 1912.
Opinion
Trams

Sydney’s surprise resemblance to Venice has a lesson for us all

Venice’s brutal modernisers did not want to rebuild their collapsed bell tower. The city persevered, as should Sydney with its long-lost people movers, the trams.

  • by Antone Martinho-Truswell
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is New Zealand’s biggest-ever home-made box office earner.
Opinion
Wellbeing

We are the wilderpeople: The great kiwi tradition of ‘going bush’

Tom Phillips will not be remembered as a hero. However, spending time in the bush with children – when done safely and responsibly – will continue to be celebrated.

  • by Debbie Jamieson
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Noni B owner Mosaic Brands is in a trading halt.

The rich investors losing money on Katies, Noni B operator

Will the billionaires behind the Spotlight group be the White Knight that Mosaic Brands needs?

  • by Anne Hyland
Essendon list boss Matt Rosa.
Analysis
AFL 2024

A three-year plan: Why the Bombers didn’t hunt anyone this trade period

Essendon’s reticence to chase players this trade period wasn’t a sudden decision the club made in late September or October – it was the beginning of a three-year strategy.

  • by Jake Niall
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Hamas has been beheaded but will the fighting cease?

The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar opens a new door to peace talks.

  • The Herald's View
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Beware the rabbit holes of misinformation

Waleed Aly reminds us of a need to be sceptical of any story that confirms narratives we already believe.

Yahya Sinwar talks during a rally in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip in 2011.

Images shared online of Sinwar, dead in the rubble, may increase support for Hamas

For Hamas, his loss is a serious setback, analysts say, but the group has survived the assassinations of multiple leaders over the decades.

  • by Claire Parker and Hazem Balousha
Not as easy as you think  . . . Mal Meninga trains the Kangaroos.
Opinion
Australia

Give me a break ... Ponga was just saying what the rest of us were thinking

Whatever they say, the code’s bosses put international rugby league on a third tier beneath the NRL and Origin, leaving Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga to pick up the pieces.

  • by Malcolm Knox
The Southern Aurora in 1962, one of the world’s great sleeper trains at the time.
Tony Wright’s Column
Rail

What paralysis of intellect? Australia on the rails

Sleeper carriages can be the most romantic aspect of travel, not to mention being booked out months in advance. So why are they to be banished on the Melbourne-Sydney route? 

  • by Tony Wright
Governor-General Samantha Mostyn meets King Charles at Buckingham Palace in May.

Monarchists warn our G-G not to mention the R word to the King. What royal fools

They’ve got a “watching brief” on Samantha Mostyn, but I have news for the Australian Monarchist League: no one cares too much about you or the monarchy.

  • by Jenna Price
What Google Search looked like at launch, in 1998.

Are we ready for an internet with no Google search?

Twenty-five years ago, Google’s minimalist search engine was a revelation. What would happen if the US government moved to break up its dominance?

  • by David Swan
Where kilometres count: The Scruby campaign meets the Ryburn campaign in Pittwater.

‘Nastiest attack in 30 years’: On Sydney’s insular peninsula, every kilometre counts

Independent teal candidate Jacqui Scruby and Liberal opponent Georgia Ryburn are two successful women battling it out to represent Pittwater. It seems all anyone can talk about is where Ryburn lives.

  • by Max Maddison
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What advice would you have for your younger self?
Opinion
Real life

Buy shares, take a swim, and all the other things I’d tell my younger self

When I look back at photos of my sweet chubby teenage face it’s like I’m looking at an entirely different person. Imagine if you could turn back time and give that person some advice.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
The Cats unveil their recruit Bailey Smith.
Analysis
AFL 2024

What went wrong for high-profile Dog Bailey Smith to become a Cat?

Bailey Smith appeared the perfect player for the low-profile Bulldogs - he was talented, marketable, young and quick. But something went wrong. Why did this cool cat cool on the Dogs and become a Cat?

  • by Michael Gleeson

It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the death of Hamas’ leader

Netanyahu has long wanted to show that he is a historic figure. Well, this is his moment.

  • by Thomas L. Friedman
Gmail

Australians send and receive 8.1 billion emails a day. Most of them are a waste of time

Australia ranks tenth in the world when it comes to how many emails we produce, with 8.1 billion circulated every day. And it’s a big blind spot for us.

  • by Tim Duggan

Is Australia immune to America’s misinformation crisis? I’m not confident

All democracies rely on some sense of shared information that makes deliberation possible. It would be unwise to look at the US and not see ourselves.

  • by Waleed Aly
Joko Widodo speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new hotel.

He rose on a platform of hope and change. He leaves with his nation’s democracy diminished

Joko Widodo is handing over the world’s third-largest democracy to his chosen successor on Sunday.

  • by Zach Hope
A bank account is considered ‘dormant’ or ‘inactive’ in Australia when there’s been no activity for seven years.

How your old, dormant bank accounts can cost you big

Saving that unused account for a rainy day? You might want to think twice about that.

  • by Caterina Hrysomallis
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Opinion
Column 8

A warning set in stone

And the search for a souvenir covfefe mug.

The Giants are in hot water over an end-of-season party.

Moral police? Too sensitive? Sorry, but jokes about sexual assault are never OK

Some are saying what happens in a private setting is no business of the AFL. But the Giants players who dressed up as “controversial couples” deserve to be punished.

  • by Peter Ryan
Women’s groups say UFC fights glorify violence.

Cage fighting’s glorification of violence should not be taxpayer-funded

The Minns government wants more Ultimate Fighting Championship events in Sydney but faces criticism from women’s safety advocates and anti-violence campaigners

  • The Herald's View
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Police restrain fans gathering outside the hotel.

Teenagers sobbed, fans consoled each other and Liam Payne was given a final standing ovation

It was bizarre to read that the former One Direction star had died after falling from the third floor while I was sitting on the balcony of a nearby hotel, reports Tom Decent from Buenos Aires.

  • by Tom Decent
Denise Bowden, CEO of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, signing the Uluru Statement from the Heart 2017.

Voting No only served to celebrate ignorance

The Voice referendum came from long years of government consultation with Aboriginal communities and leaders, culminating in the Uluru Statement from the Heart

Generic Nine entertainment, 9, Building at Docklands. 29th March 2021 The Age News Picture by JOE ARMAO

It’s ‘dirty washing day’: Nine’s cultural entrails laid bare

Having become its own headline, the media company has adopted the same strategic playbook followed by so many scandal-affected corporations.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Racing is again in a state of turbulence in Victoria.

Group 1 ‘con job’: Why racing chiefs are under the pump

Suddenly, horse racing in Victoria is back where it was 12 months ago, with unhappy shareholders threatening a revolt on the eve of the spring carnival.

  • by Danny Russell