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Good Weekend Talks
In-depth conversations with the people fascinating Australians right now.
Life in the ’Burbs
Has your suburb featured in our popular column? Check the interactive map
Hundreds want this milk bar to open for dinner. Council may not agree
James and Cat Laskie’s popular Barton Milk Bar has attracted a host of famous faces since it opened in this affluent area six years ago.
Premier flags equal opportunity path to work-from-home proposal
Victoria’s equal opportunity laws will be considered as a way to deliver Premier Jacinta Allan’s pledge to enshrine working from home as a legal right.
Analysis
ALP
On Labor’s pitch for working from home, Allan finds her cause
The Victorian government’s work-from-home pledge is light on detail, but the politics are devilishly clever.
Locals aghast after heritage-listed bridge restoration axed
Councils say they are too expensive to be restored. But residents insist it is worth fighting and paying for these heritage structures.
Welcome to Country culture wars a ‘dry gully’, PM tells Garma Festival
Anthony Albanese said the government must repay and build trust with Indigenous Australians, announcing $75 million for Native Title holders.
Live
AFL 2025
Horror injury news for Hawks’ flag hopes; ominous Sydney skies loom over Swans, Bombers at SCG
Hawthorn has confirmed Will Day is out of the rest of the season after injuring his foot on Friday night. Follow our live coverage of today’s AFL matches and news.
Latest live posts
LoadingA mid-season competition: Footy’s next frontier, or AFLX 2.0?
There is an appetite for change at AFL House, but is a mid-season competition the right innovation for footy, and why is it suddenly on the league’s agenda?
Dolphins disaster: Australia bomb out in heats of mixed 4x100m freestyle relay
Australia rested superstars Mollie O’Callaghan and Kyle Chalmers to allow them to freshen up for Saturday night’s final. There was one problem: they failed to qualify.
Graphic content
Good Weekend
‘Consent angels’, ‘female energy’: How swinging has changed
More people – including “unicorn” single women – are checking out the nation’s sex parties. One stalwart’s top tip for the curious: practise saying “no”.
The social media ban is set to begin in December. Will it work?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s social media ban faces major hurdles, including the spectre of lawsuits, privacy concerns and whether the change will actually work.
Investigation
AUKUS
The former PM, ministers and military brass cashing in on Australia’s defence bonanza
With billions of dollars in AUKUS spending looming, the rush to join defence contractors and advisory firms has never been greater.
The rarest of rare books and letters on show at Melbourne fair
The largest rare book fair in the southern hemisphere remains one of Melbourne’s best-kept literary secrets.
This supermodel took fashion by storm. She’s fake
She looks uncannily authentic, but has no name, demands no pay and can change outfits in a click. And she’s rocked the fashion world since appearing in the pages of Vogue.
Epstein accomplice quietly moved to ‘luxury prison’
The family of Virginia Giuffre – the American-Australian woman who was among Jeffrey Epstein’s most well-known accusers – said the justice system was “failing victims”.
One of the world’s most isolated places is the ultimate cruise destination
Forget Greenland, Svalbard and Antarctica. Getting to this island isn’t easy, but it outclasses all those destinations.
Recipe collection
Baking
10 lovely loaf cakes to bake this weekend
Use your old loaf tin to bake something beautiful. Adam Liaw’s new almond loaf cake with butterscotch topping is a golden place to start.
shorts
WEEKEND READS
She’s delighted audiences for decades. Now Szubanski joins an elite list
Magda Szubanski, who has been diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, will be honoured on Sunday night.
Why this veteran photographer still believes in the power of the image
In 1984, Steve McCurry took a picture of an Afghan girl that stunned the world. Even now, he says, a single frame can change everything.
Victoria
Premier warns demonstrators ahead of Melbourne bridge protest
Anyone who intends to disrupt emergency services during Sunday’s protest will be dealt with swiftly by police, said Jacinta Allan.
The Melbourne invention that changed McDonald’s
An award-winning author has been to Macca’s outlets in over 50 countries – here’s what makes our stores stand out (for good and bad).
Labor pledges right to work from home two days a week
The government expects to pass the laws next year, setting the stage for the 2026 state poll as the first major policy announcement to be debated in an election year.
‘The souls I have taken’: Baby-faced gangster wore his heart on his sleeve
Slain underworld figure Athan Boursinos displayed his criminal bona fides etched on his skin for all to see.
Exclusive
Healthcare
Patients face ‘agonising’ nine-month wait for cancer diagnosis
Sherri received a positive result from a take-home bowel cancer test in October. But the mother of two had to wait until this week to have a colonoscopy at her local public hospital.
AFL 2025
Opinion
The fractured football club behind Melbourne’s eight seconds of madness
Caroline Wilson
Football columnist for The Age
Famous names and exciting prospects: We name the top 25 prospects for this year’s AFL draft
Some familiar surnames are expected to be called out at the top of this year’s AFL national draft.
Collingwood’s star recruit was struggling. How Shooter, D-Mac and Fly came to the rescue
He was the biggest signing of the off-season. But Dan Houston’s first season in black and white hasn’t been easy.
Politics
Updated
Courts
NSW Supreme Court green lights pro-Palestine march on Harbour Bridge
The bridge will be closed in both directions between 11.30am and 4pm on Sunday, with tens of thousands expected to walk across the global landmark.
Business
Analysis
Software
Tech bros, or broken? Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes face greatest test
They’re two of Australia’s wealthiest people and they have big ideas for the nation’s future. But should we listen?
World
Cheesed off: Swiss meltdown over Trump’s ‘incomprehensible’ tariff whack
Switzerland’s brand-name suppliers of luxury watches, jewellery, cheese and chocolate are reeling after a 39 per cent tariff was slapped on their exports to the US.
Opinion
Explore
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Property
Where you should have bought a house in Melbourne 13 years ago
Bayside home sellers made a median profit of $608,000, the highest gain across all Melbourne local government areas, as buyers chase space, schools and lifestyle.
Our 11 favourite homes for sale in Victoria right now
Looking for your next home? From a pretty 1880s Victorian with heritage details to a classic country estate, we’ve rounded up our top picks.
Good Food
Lifestyle
The move that has killed off Friday night drinks
For countless generations, workers celebrated the end of the week by heading to the local watering hole.
Culture
Opinion
The Verdict
It’s about time someone said it: paparazzi are artists and heroes
Let’s say grazie to paparazzi.
Robert Moran
Spectrum Deputy Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
Traveller
Drivedrive
From Our Partners
Sport
Live
AFL 2025
AFL Saturday LIVE: Horror injury news for Hawks’ flag hopes; ominous Sydney skies loom over Swans, Bombers; Suns lead Tigers
The Suns and Tigers are battling in the Gold Coast sun while the Swans and Bombers face off in Sydney. Tonight there’s a massive clash between 2023 grand finalists Collingwood and Brisbane Lions at the MCG. Follow along live.
‘Bring it in quickly’: The story behind the speech that inspired one of Australian netball’s greatest comebacks
Simone McKinnis stunned the netball world in May by announcing that she would resign at the end of the season. Her players adore her. Here’s how she conjured an unbelievable revival.
Dolphins disaster: Australia bomb out in heats of mixed 4x100m freestyle relay
Australia rested superstars Mollie O’Callaghan and Kyle Chalmers to allow them to freshen up for Saturday night’s final. There was one problem: they failed to qualify.
Opinion
AFL 2025
The fractured football club behind Melbourne’s eight seconds of madness
Three star players could leave and the future of many off-field leaders is unclear. Inside the leadership vacuum at the Demons.
Caroline Wilson
Football columnist for The Age
A mid-season competition: Footy’s next frontier, or AFLX 2.0?
There is an appetite for change at AFL House, but is a mid-season competition the right innovation for footy, and why is it suddenly on the league’s agenda?
Ginnivan takes on Adelaide Oval crowd, but Crows have the last laugh with stunning win
The Crows were too good for the Hawks and scored a memorable win at Adelaide Oval. Follow along for all the major moments and reactions.
Famous names and exciting prospects: We name the top 25 prospects for this year’s AFL draft
Some familiar surnames are expected to be called out at the top of this year’s AFL national draft.
Have Your Say
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Find out what it means, Benny
Ben Stokes’ actions during the fourth Test against India certainly did not respect the spirit of the game.
Darren Kane
Sports Columnist
