Good Weekend: top features of 2019

'I’m still coming to terms with what I’ve been through … I cry every day'

He shot to fame via Skyhooks, Hey Hey It’s Saturday and breakfast radio. In March 2019 - when this story by Peter Wilmoth was published - Red Symons was recovering from two brutal years in which he lost his marriage, his job and his eldest son.

Grace Irvine had mesh surgery. Now, walking any more than a short distance for her, is like having a "cheese grater" in her vagina.Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen

The 'eight-minute' cure: how transvaginal mesh sentenced thousands of women to a life of pain

Up to 18,000 Australian women have suffered mild to horrific complications from the insertion of transvaginal mesh devices. How did the health system let them down so badly? Amanda Hooton and Joanne McCarthy won the RANZCOG media award for excellence and were finalists in the Walkley Awards for feature writing for this story.

Far northern NSW is a honeypot for health and wellness seekers, yet one local intensive care specialist says, “I’ve seen more vaccine-preventable diseases since working in the Northern Rivers than I saw in 10 years of working in remote Aboriginal communities.” Credit: Paul Harris

How one hippie town became the anti-vaxxer capital of Australia

Anti-vaccination fervour has taken off around the globe, with dire consequences for public health. Ground zero for this kind of thinking in Australia is Mullumbimby, where as writer Tim Elliott discovered, it’s best not to discuss it.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has said the country needs to do better on jobs and on wages growth.Credit: Louie Douvis

'What's going wrong with Australia?': RBA chief Philip Lowe fears the economy's time is up

He catches public transport to the office and if anyone asks, says he works in a bank. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe may be low-key by nature, but his calls for bosses to grant workers a decent pay rise have thrust him firmly into the spotlight. Peter Hartcher sat down with Lowe in September to talk about the state of our economy.

On March 15, Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people and injured 49 others at their place of worship in Christchurch, New Zealand. Credit: Jason South, Facebook

White-bred terrorist: the making of a killer

In March, a 28-year-old loner from small-town NSW committed New Zealand's worst mass shooting. Paving his path to the devastation: the dark online world of white supremacists. By Nick O'Malley, Tim Barlass and Patrick Begley.

This man helped raise two girls – one of whom is his biological child – with a lesbian couple. When the women planned to move to NZ, he took a stand.Credit: James Brickwood

'What makes a father?': the sperm donor who asked the courts to answer this question tells his story

It was a landmark legal ruling with potentially dramatic ramifications for sperm donors, and the women who use them to have children. The man behind this case told Greg Callaghan why he took his battle all the way to the High Court.

"Bob and I enjoyed mature love," writes Blanche d’Alpuget. "How lucky we were to have this time together."Credit: Harold David. Hair and make-up by Kimberley Forbes

'He wanted to go ... I came to accept it': Blanche d'Alpuget on life after Bob

As Bob Hawke’s lover, biographer and, eventually, second wife, Blanche d’Alpuget endured slurs aplenty – yet their marriage lasted almost a quarter of a century. Six months after the former PM’s passing, the author told Amanda Hooton why she is ready to write the next chapter of her life.

Gillion McLachlan: "No one likes change – full stop – so my role, my responsibility, is to make the right level of change and bring people with me."Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan: 'Cultural leadership is one of the most difficult parts of the job'

He runs the country’s biggest sporting code, and the growth stats are impressive. But for AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, the thorny soft-power issues such as racism and sexism are proving harder graft. He spoke to Konrad Marshall about all things AFL in September.

Julia Gillard today. “I am eternally grateful for the fact that it’s different – it’s really rich and varied, what I do now.”Credit: James Brickwood

Julia Gillard's global warming: life after politics

Touring African schools with Rihanna. Standing ovations here and abroad. Australia’s first female prime minister has crafted a new life with a focus on girls’ education and empowerment - and it’s proving a potent mix in the #MeToo era. Jacqueline Maley wrote on Gillard's life after politics in July.

Some traditionally right-leaning voters are joining locals in Sydney’s Warringah in turning against their long-time federal Liberal MP.Credit: James Brickwood

Is Tony Abbott's time up?

At the beginning of this year something extraordinary happened in one of Sydney’s richest electorates, as fired-up locals join forces with one goal: to boot the former prime minister out of Federal Parliament. Jane Cadzow met with Tony Abbott and his dissenters in Warringah.

Hakeem al-Araibi: “I not angry about Federal Police, because they work in Australia, and I love Australia.”Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen

'I was crying inside': Melbourne soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi on the bungle that landed him in a Thai jail

A bureaucratic bungle landed the Australian refugee soccer player in a Bangkok prison last November. An extraordinary campaign by friends old and new secured his freedom. James Massola spoke to Hakeem al-Araibi and Craig Foster for this exclusive feature in April.

This case will be a key legal test for how the parent-school relationship is conducted in the age of social media. Illustration by Sam Bennett Credit:

The new school bullies aren’t children – they’re parents

Furious Facebook posts, abusive emails, school sit-ins, menacing behaviour: the bullying of staff by parents is becoming increasingly common and can have devastating consequences. By Melissa Fyfe and Henrietta Cook.

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