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Opinion

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Felise Kaufusi composite

Of course Ashley Klein got it right with Felise Kaufusi sin bin

The Queensland veteran had Junior Paulo’s head between his legs, following three set restarts in as many minutes. If that wasn’t a professional foul, what is?

  • by Andrew Webster

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Mounted Police patrol the streets of Fairfield during Sydney’s 2021 COVID-19 lockdown. It is one year since citywide restrictions were imposed to stop the spread of the Delta variant.

Lockdown anniversary a reminder we must learn from pandemic

The time has come for a thorough and wide-ranging inquiry into Australia’s pandemic response.

  • The Herald's View
Protestors calling for abortion law reform march to Sydney Town Hall,  November 20, 1971.

From the Archives, 1973: Whose life, whose body, whose right?

Almost 50 years ago, debate was raging in Australia following the Roe v Wade decision. The Herald spoke to those for, and against, abortion law reform.

  • by Staff reporter
Independent candidate Sophie Scamps at a polling booth in Narraweena.

Albanese’s crossbench staffing cuts about politics, not fairness

Cuts to the staffing allocation of crossbench MPs is a slap in the face for newly elected independents and a setback for good governance and cultural renewal in Canberra.

  • by Sophie Scamps
Clubbing is back, tell your millennial mates.
Opinion
Beyonce

Calling all Millennials to the dance floor as Beyonce and Drake announce return of clubbing

Bust out the Deep Heat and prepare to move your ailing body.

  • by Thomas Mitchell
Vladimir Putin has used the cover of his special military operation in Ukraine to finally snuff out any domestic political opposition.

Russia’s financial lifeline faces a new threat

Russia continues to find ways to sell its oil and fund the war in Ukraine despite the West’s best efforts to strangle its revenues. But a new plan is being hatched.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
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Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is tackled by Siosifa Talakai.

Fittler’s perfect tactics against fractured Maroons

NSW won in Perth, but the greatest weapon in the Queensland arsenal is the chip on their shoulder; their entrenched need to avenge NSW insults, relish adversity and triumph over injustice. And they will use all of them in the decider.

  • by Roy Masters
Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese goes to Europe to talk about Ukraine but with China on his mind

Australians must not dismiss Russia’s war in Ukraine as something that does not affect them.

  • by Rob Harris
The Amazon Echo of five years ago was a comparatively limited device.
Opinion
Gadgets

Amazon has gone too far as it bids to resurrect the dead

Not content with chasing the elixir for eternal youth, Silicon Valley is now trying to cheat death.

  • by James Titcomb
FIA has banned trans athleses from competing
Opinion
LGBTQ

Fair game: Targeting trans athletes is unsporting and cruel

Sporting codes should continue to take an inclusive, proportionate and evidence-based approach, rather than imposing blunt and harmful bans.

  • by Anna Brown
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is planning for a multi-term government.
Opinion
Inflation

Has business learnt its lesson from climate wars?

What is being said on wages mirrors business’s approach to defeating the mining tax and carbon price – actual data was brushed aside in favour of false claims.

  • by Sean Kelly
Not living in the 70’s

‘Boomer fantasy’: Why fears of 1970s-style stagflation are indeed misplaced

Only a Boomer who hasn’t been paying attention could worry about a wage-price rise spiral.

  • by Ross Gittins
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Analysis
Census

Five things you should know about this year’s census

The national survey gives the most detailed snapshot of our society, showing us who we are, where we live and much more.

  • by Craig Butt
The waiter suggests we share a portion as they are substantial, but then order more if we want. Stupidly, we agree.
Opinion
Eating out

The gall of them: No mercy for poor service

A rare visit to an esteemed French city eatery left this Sydneysider underwhelmed at what passes for fine dining service.

  • by Patricia Tod
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Letters
Letters

Independent MP will now struggle to represent me

It’s hard to know what to make of the kerfuffle surrounding the proposed reduction in adviser numbers for parliamentary crossbenchers

In the Herald

In the Herald: June 27, 1968

A bullet-proof enclosure will be built to protect Sirhan Sirhan and possibly the Judge and jury at his trial.

  • by Stephanie Bull
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Brian To’o celebrates with Panthers teammate Nathan Cleary.

Go west, we’ll do just fine: Fittler makes all right moves with series on line

By the time Brad Fittler got onto the plane for Perth, he had assembled a line-up that turned this State of Origin match into Penrith versus Queensland.

  • by Malcolm Knox
Nathan Cleary celebrates a second-half try as NSW streak away.

Talk of NSW demise proves much ado about Nathan

Since the narrow loss to Queensland in game one, there’s been much hand wringing and furious tweeting about the parlous state of rugby league in our fair state.

  • by Andrew Webster
Column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
Column 8

Failure to fail the taste test

What’s a manual?

Dion Prestia is helped from the field in the clash against the Cats.
Opinion
AFL 2022

Four Points: Stewart’s strife, and takeouts as top sides tangle

Geelong star Tom Stewart’s direct referral to the tribunal was correct, but the grading of the offence was wrong.

  • by Michael Gleeson
Greenwich has ushered through two divisive bills – the decriminalisation of abortion and the legalisation of voluntary assisted dying.
Opinion
Abortion

Abortion should never again be criminalised in NSW

Decriminalising abortion was one of the most important decisions in the history of NSW, and it must be safeguarded forever.

  • by Andrew Constance
Agustin Carstens says that when ‘With wages chasing prices, and prices chasing wages, a damaging and self-reinforcing increase in inflation can follow.’
Opinion
Inflation

Decisive action needed to stop inflation juggernaut

Hitting the monetary brakes might be jarring to the economy. But with inflation soaring it is worth it if it prevents an even sharper slowdown – or worse, a crash – down the road.

  • by Agustin Carstens
Protests have erupted in the US after the overturning of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court.
Opinion
Abortion

US abortion case shows we cannot take reproductive rights for granted

The right to an abortion in Australia is legally protected – but that protection depends on a political system that shows bipartisan support for reproductive rights.

  • by Rosalind Dixon
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Editorial
Abortion

Abortion decision deepens cultural divide between US and Australia

The decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 judgment known as Roe v Wade is a worrying sign on many levels.

  • The Herald's View
If we are serious about giving working women choices, governments need to also be willing to support them in the choice of staying at home in the early years.
Opinion
Childcare

Let’s help new mothers decide if they want to rush back to work

We’ve seen a bipartisan rush to throw taxpayer money at childcare, but no real debate about whether it is a good idea to get mothers back into the workforce so quickly.

  • by Roshena Campbell
Justice Clarence Thomas.
Opinion
Abortion

The radical reign of Clarence Thomas

Over the past three decades, I have witnessed a dismal saga of opportunism, fanaticism, mendacity, concupiscence, hypocrisy and cowardice.

  • by Maureen Dowd
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Simon Chapman

‘If you want to change the world, answer your phone’: Simon Chapman on public advocacy

Professor Simon Chapman is a powerful advocate for anti-smoking legislation, gun control and the virtues of renewable energy.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
(L-R) Torri Huske of Team United States, Mollie O’Callaghan of Team Australia and Sarah Sjostrom of Team Sweden compete in the Women’s 100m Freestyle Final.
Opinion
LGBTQ

FINA ruling transformational, but for women it’s just the beginning

FINA is standing up for fairness, not discrimination. But the controversy reminds us of the dearth of research into women’s physiology and sport.

  • by Parnell Palme McGuinness
To Victor go the spoils: Roosters forward Victory Radley is loving life in camp with the NSW team in Perth in the lead-up to the second Origin clash.

Victor Radley channels Maroons great to land Blues spot

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. That’s how the Sydney Roosters forward got into the NSW squad.

  • by Danny Weidler
Opinion
Income tax

6 tax-busting ways to boost your return

It’s not too late. Here are some last-minute strategies to cut a looming tax bill, or boost your return.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Illustration: Reg Lynch

Sally McManus has pulled the ‘OK Boomer’ card on Phil Lowe. Is it fair?

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus accused Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe of “living in Boomer fantasy land”. Industrial relations are back, baby!

  • by Jacqueline Maley
Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell.

The power behind the PM – who are Labor’s powerbrokers in government?

Who are the people who wield power behind the scenes in the Albanese government?

  • by James Massola
The flags of NSW and Australia atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Ensign for the times: Forget the new flagpole, we need a new flag

Even NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet can’t explain why it costs $25 million to place a third flagpole atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge - so perhaps it is time we dropped the state flag altogether.

  • by Helen Pitt

9 resolutions for the new financial year (and how to stick to them)

It’s winter now, and a bit of cosying up with your personal finances is in order as we approach the new financial year.

  • by Jessica Irvine
Michael O’Brien
Opinion
Death

Melbourne’s ‘best funeral ever’, complete with marching musicians

A New Orleans-style funeral march, musicians playing and mourners walking behind the hearse, is not something you expect to see in downtown Fitzroy.

  • by Kerrie O'Brien
Teachers with specific skills should be able to apply for specialist roles with significantly higher salaries.
Letters
Letters

Premier needs to listen and learn

We now have a premier who wants to be known as “the education premier”. How about consulting those who do the job every day, premier?

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Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens, with Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Editorial
Adam Bandt

Greens must remember why they hold balance of power

After snaring three new lower house seats at the federal election and seizing the balance of power in the Senate, the Australian Greens find themselves wielding more power and influence than ever before.

  • The Herald's View
More young people are deserting traditional super funds in favour of creating their own SMSF.
Analysis
SMSFs

Millennials want more control of retirement savings

Millennials want more control over their retirement savings and are establishing self-managed super funds in ever-increasing numbers, to broaden their investments into a wider range of asset classes than superannuation funds traditionally offer.

  • by John Collett
Gas-fired energy in Germany. A gas supply crunch is boosting the cost of producing power.
Analysis
Renewables

Germany is finding it’s not easy being green

The country previously closed several coal-fired power plants. Now its new government has been mugged by the reality of Russian threats to cut the gas it needs.

  • by Rob Harris
Ruffled: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, looks at traditional dancers performing during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda.
Analysis
UK politics

Boris Johnson’s losing streak follows him all the way to Kigali

The British Prime Minister badges himself as a winner but he clocked a trifecta of losses in a single day.

  • by Latika Bourke
Sydney’s property prices remain far higher than in Melbourne

Sold home to cash in on record prices: Where can we park the money?

If you are planning to buy another property within months, then maybe you should simply place your money in a guaranteed six-month bank term deposit.

  • by George Cochrane
Lia Thomas will be unable to compete against women in international competition under the new FINA guidelines.

How FINA decided testosterone can’t be ignored in the pool

Can the biological advantage that comes from male puberty be entirely surrendered? The FINA position is that, in swimming, it can’t.

  • by Chip Le Grand
People are jack of credit cards and keen to shift to a less onerous form of BNPL.
Opinion
BNPL

Nobbling Afterpay would stifle competition and protect bank profits

Regulators should think twice before they seek to discourage Afterpay and other buy now, pay later operators.

  • by Ross Gittins
Penrith celebrate a try.

Cashed-up Panthers getting taxpayer millions doesn’t add up

Premier, any chance we the people could have an explanation for why we are paying for a new stadium for the benefit of a team backed by a rich club?

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Boris Johnson skipped a Conservative conference in England’s north to pay his second visit to Ukrainian President  Volodymyr Zelensky since the invasion began.

Problems at home? Get to Kyiv and be photographed with Zelensky

World leaders, celebrities and other groupies are heading to Ukraine to bask in the presence of the country’s seemingly indomitable leader.

  • by Ed Cumming
Illustration: Dionne Gain

China thaw? It’s from the freezer to the fridge for Albanese government

Labor shares much of the analysis of the outgoing Morrison government about China but has very different ideas about how to tackle it.

  • by Richard McGregor
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Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack star in the comedy Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.
Opinion
Body image

Hate your beautifully imperfect body? Worry less, dance more

Many of us - particularly women - spend a lifetime seeing our bodies as problems, or sources of embarrassment, shame, sin and guilt. Don’t waste your time.

  • by Julia Baird
Kangaroos’ coach David Noble apologised to the group for the spray he delivered after round three
Analysis
AFL 2022

The trouble at North: why club chiefs should be nervous

That Geoff Walsh has been commandeered back to North Melbourne to conduct a month-long review of the underperforming football club does not bode well for David Noble and his future there.

  • by Caroline Wilson
Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has been appointed to the plum role of US trade commissioner.

Top of the heap: why Barilaro’s the perfect choice to be our man in New York

Barnaby Joyce once described fellow National John Barilaro as “grating and pushy”. These are just the qualities we’d expect of an envoy sent to New York.

  • by Malcolm Knox
The late Ross Pickard, whose wake last year was interrupted when a neighbour called in police and they demanded the only two guests leave the home.

My father’s rudely interrupted wake: a lesson in the dignities we sacrificed

We rightly gave up freedoms during the pandemic, but we jettisoned some humanity along the way. We need to be better next time.

  • by Nicholas Pickard