Real Footy newsletter
News, results and analysis of the weekend’s big games.
Mini Crossword
How quickly can you solve our new pocket-sized puzzle?
Good Food - Eating Out
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
Exclusive
Health
‘We have learnt nothing’: Local public health units set up during COVID at risk
The Victorian government refuses to guarantee the future of local public health units that were crucial to the state’s pandemic fight, igniting concerns about more budget cuts to an already stretched health service.
Opinion
Trump's White House
‘What’s he doing here?’ Trump-Musk bromance shows signs of faltering
The appearance of cracks in the world’s most famous bromance, between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, had an inevitability to it.
Elizabeth Knight
Business columnist
Opinion
Australia votes
Why little lies are more of a big problem for Dutton than Albanese
We all know politicians gild the lily, but little lies come with a big cost in the throes of a tight election campaign.
David Crowe
Chief political correspondent
Michael bought what he thought was cocaine. Two hours later, four people were dead
A coroner has found the four friends died of an overdose of nitazines, synthetic opioids 100 times stronger than heroin.
‘Hard to be a landlord in Victoria’: Hamer addresses property controversy
Liberal candidate for Kooyong Amelia Hamer has publicly addressed the controversy over her property portfolio for the first time.
Live
AFL 2025
The Magpies thumped the Lions at the Gabba, and this incident could make things worse for the premiers
The Magpies made a statement, dominating the Lions on their own turf on the Thursday night stage.
Bells Beach, a history: Australian Crawl, brawls and a brooding beast
The world’s longest-running surf contest was once sponsored by a rock band and is held at an icy cold break that surfing greats love to hate.
Updated
AFL 2025
Noah Balta is back to face the Suns: AFL experts’ tips and teams for round six
The key-position Tiger is poised to return this weekend, despite awaiting sentencing for assault. Here are the teams for round six.
Pay dirt: Landfills fight for lucrative soil contracts
Rising landfill levies and a slowdown in construction have sparked instability within Victoria’s waste industry as operators warn of aggressive tactics and the financial collapse of some recycling and reuse companies.
Chalmers splits hairs on negative gearing to back up Albanese
The treasurer insisted he had asked for analysis, not modelling, which Peter Dutton used to claim Labor had a secret plan to change negative gearing rules.
It’s now easy to see the shadow Donald Trump is casting on the election campaign
Two weeks out from voters lining up at the ballot box, what’s being billed as a slip of the tongue has seemingly derailed the Coalition’s strategy.
What is stagflation, and why are we talking about it again?
The US President’s tariff war has brought back fears of stagnation and inflation, but why is it sending gold prices through the roof?
Israel to keep troops in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely. What does that mean?
Israel says it needs to hold on to the zones to prevent future attacks, but the takeovers appear to meet the dictionary definition of military occupation.
After 14 years as Vera, Brenda Blethyn finds out why she got the role
As DCI Vera Stanhope hangs up her sludge-coloured hat, her creator, crime writer Ann Cleeves, lets the actor who played her in on a secret.
Egg freezing is on the rise: ‘Fertility insurance’, or a risky lottery?
The number of Australian women freezing their eggs is skyrocketing – but the proportion who actually use them is surprising.
FEDERAL ELECTION 2025
Swastika drawn on Liberal corflute of Indigenous candidate at home of MP David Southwick
Southwick, who is Jewish and campaigns against antisemitism, said the vandalism on the poster was “very confronting”.
Exclusive
Teals called slanted polls ‘an affront to democracy’. Climate 200 uses them
Listen to a call obtained by this masthead that delivers praise of teal Zoe Daniel and tarnishes her opponents under the banner of a survey.
Resolve Political Monitor
Stay up to date with the latest polling
Victoria
‘Disappointing’: VicTrack takes over station beautification program
Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria ran the Stationeers volunteers for 30 years – until a government agency quietly took over a few weeks ago.
Harry Dutton’s big win a lesson for Victorian Liberals who think they might do a Bradbury
There is little evidence that a party which has malingered in opposition for all but four years this century is ready to start making a compelling case for change.
Exclusive
Suburban Rail Loop
The contracts that reveal what happens if the SRL is cancelled
Scrapping the Suburban Rail Loop would mean shelling out billions of dollars in compensation – unless the state can prove one thing.
How ‘Australia’s worst school’ transformed after public low point
Two determined principals dramatically turned around the culture of a school where student and educators’ physical and mental health, plus academic records, had been plummeting.
Carlton manager under investigation after staff complaints
The club confirmed it was dealing with a “management matter” that has also caught the attention of the AFL’s integrity unit.
WEEKEND READS
Tony Wright’s Column
Time for the nation to wake up to Trump’s America
‘In that moment, everything changed’: Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel’s teenage grief
The TV journalist turned teal MP on the drift from the two-party system, struggling to keep fit – and the day she lost her innocence.
What made Mahalia Barnes say yes to Jesus Christ Superstar
Barnes has been surrounded by music her whole life, but it took a very particular set of circumstances for her to take on her first musical.
Politics
Dutton has gone all in on his gas plan. The Constitution might kill it
Peter Dutton’s gas scheme could spark a High Court battle with fossil fuel giants, as legal experts warn the policy could be discriminatory.
Business
BHP boss says China holds key to the world avoiding recession
The Chinese demand driving resource giant BHP’s output of Australia’s largest commodity export, iron ore, will fade as President Donald Trump’s tariffs reduce global growth.
Opinion
Federal Reserve
Trump’s tariffs a threat to inflation, jobs: Powell
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
World
Israel to keep troops in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely. What does that mean?
Israel says it needs to hold on to the zones to prevent future attacks, but the takeovers appear to meet the dictionary definition of military occupation.
Opinion
‘The knives are out’: Dutton has to win over voters, and win back his party
Niki Savva
Award-winning political commentator and author
Explore
Got a news tip?
Share information with our journalists securely and confidentially. Learn more
Property
As Melbourne house prices spike to $1.03 million, this is where they’ve risen most
Home buyers hoping to snap up a bargain during the market downturn have been given a reality check as the latest data shows prices rebounding in popular inner suburbs.
Glenda was a teacher who made a schoolgirl cry. Then she tried one change
They’d had it with teaching. It was partly chemistry, partly Dorothy the Dinosaur that led Glenda and Jennifer into their new careers.
Good Food
Lifestyle
‘It has exploded’: Why so many adults are getting braces
Once a teenage treatment for misaligned teeth, dental stabilisers have increased in demand among adults in recent years. But is it worth it, and what are the risks?
Culture
The six shows everyone is streaming this week
This week’s picks include John Hamm’s first lead since Mad Men, the return of Hacks and a Steven Soderbergh medical drama.
Opinion
WordPlay
Could this be the best science story of 2025?
David Astle
Crossword compiler and ABC Radio Melbourne presenter
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Live
AFL 2025
The Magpies just thumped the Lions at the Gabba, and this incident could make matters worse for the premiers
Collingwood have made a statement, thumping Brisbane Lions by 52 points on their own turf on the Thursday night stage at the Gabba.
Opinion
AFL 2025
Why these three words might be the most beautiful cliche in footy
Within the very full basket of football cliches, one diamond, for me at least, shines a little brighter than the rest. You’ve heard it a million times from players or coaches and you’d be forgiven for tuning out. But it deserves a more considered hearing.
Bob Murphy
Former Western Bulldogs captain
AFL Briefing
AFL 2025
Investigation not impacting Blues players, says Voss; Beveridge rules out coaching move to Dees
Carlton coach Michael Voss says an internal investigation into a manager at the club is not impacting on his team, which will head into the Good Friday clash against North Melbourne with just one win for the season.
Analysis
AFL 2025
Patrick Cripps is bullish about the Blues. Is he crazy? Here’s what the evidence says
Patrick Cripps is bullish about the Blues’ hopes for the rest of the season but, heading into the Good Friday clash against North Melbourne, is he right to feel they can make a charge? We take a look.
Analysis
Europa League
A ‘noble death’ seems inevitable for Postecoglou at Tottenham
It speaks to the dark, oppressive cloud of negativity that has settled over Spurs that most people seem to have totally discounted any possibility that they could still win a European trophy.
The Hawks were ‘close to death’. These are the people who brought them back from the brink
Petty politics have been set side as the Hawks prepare to move to their new training base, the Kennedy Community Centre, at Dingley in Melbourne’s south-east.
Carlton manager under investigation after staff complaints
The club confirmed it was dealing with a “management matter” that has also caught the attention of the AFL’s integrity unit.
Have Your Say
‘Unsustainable ... and getting worse’: More belt-tightening on way for A-League clubs
The A-League’s salary cap is being overhauled out of concern from head office over the financial sustainability of clubs - but their proposed changes have enraged the player’s union.
