How The Age covered the biggest stories of the month

To say Victoria has been in the eye of a news cyclone over the past month would imply there was at least a moment of serenity.

It began as many families were winding down for school holidays in early July with one of the most confronting stories in recent memory: allegations that childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was to be charged with sexually abusing babies and toddlers at a centre where he worked. Brown is facing 73 charges, including rape. He faced court this week and the investigation is ongoing.

These allegations not only horrified the nation, but triggered serious questions about the nation’s child protection systems and what can only be described as the reckless indifference of governments in that space. Noel Towell reported this week on the former commissioner for children and young people’s warning three years ago that “children would be abused” if the Victorian government did not properly fund the Reportable Conduct Scheme that failed to act on red flags raised about the accused paedophile.

Our journalists have also looked closely at the investigations into Brown and the conduct of the companies that employed him to work at many facilities around Melbourne. Sherryn Groch, Caroline Schelle and Carla Jaeger – who have covered this saga with sensitivity, clarity and determination – last week revealed that Brown had been fired from at least three childcare centres before he was arrested, and brought to light crucial details of his past that were missed by regulators and childcare providers. Yesterday, Nicole Precel reported that male childcare workers were being turned away from centres in the aftermath of the Brown allegations. Today, Colin Kruger and Elias Visontay examine the corporate history of Affinity, one of the for-profit childcare providers that employed Brown.

Erin Patterson arrives at court in Morwell in May.Credit: AFP

On July 7, the attention of our subscribers was firmly fixed on a court in Morwell, where Erin Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder, after poisoning her in-laws, the local pastor and his wife with death cap mushrooms hidden in a beef Wellington. Erin Pearson, who tirelessly and meticulously covered the marathon trial for The Age, described an unflinching Patterson as the four guilty verdicts were read out by the jury foreperson.

Crime reporter Marta Pascual Juanola was also stationed at Morwell for the trial. Her interview with Dr Chris Webster, who treated the victims after the poisoning, was one of the most compelling pieces published in the aftermath of the verdicts. Photographer Jason South was also there to capture every moment. This story contains a gallery of some of his best work throughout the trial, plus South’s telling of how an AFP photographer captured the famous images of Patterson being driven away from the courtroom. Below is one of my favourite pictures from the trial, showing prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers in this eerie scene.

Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers, SC, walks through fog on June 10.Credit: Jason South

John Silvester was at his analytical best with this piece on how Patterson needed to jump 10 hurdles with her defence and stumbled at every one. And only this morning, Chris Vedelago broke the news of an investigation by the state’s Juries Commissioner into the way the jury in the so-called mushroom case was protected from outside influence during its deliberations.

Then there were the chaotic and disturbing events of July 4, when police allege 34-year-old Angelo Loras tried to torch an East Melbourne synagogue. On the same night, though there is no suggestion the events are connected, a group of about 20 people stormed into an Israeli restaurant in Hardware Lane, trashing the place and chanting at diners. Groch and Vedelago’s look at the group behind it is illuminating. Meanwhile in Greensborough on the same night, a company that manufactures parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter used by Israel, as Jaeger reported, was vandalised and cars outside were set alight.

Hannah Hammoud and Cassandra Morgan’s coverage of the highly distressing crash that killed the grandparents of a two-year-old boy in Wantirna South was simultaneously sensitive and heartbreaking. Police say the driver of the car, a 91-year-old woman, suffered only minor injuries. After the crash, she continued driving for nearly 200 metres, smashing through a playground fence before stopping against a bench. Two weeks after the crash, she was interviewed on Friday and released pending further inquiries. Police have not laid any charges.

Outside of Melbourne, there’s been plenty of politics to cover. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in China, and our intrepid chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal was there to report every step. Federal parliament resumed this week to news of our exclusive Resolve poll showing support for the Coalition had slumped even further since Labor’s dominant victory at the May election.

Member for Dickson Ali France (left) and member for Melbourne Sarah Witty.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Our recently graduated trainee Brittany Busch, now based in Canberra, and her legendary Age colleague Tony Wright brought you news of the maiden speeches of Ali France and Sarah Witty, the two new Labor MPs who defeated Liberal leader Peter Dutton and Greens leader Adam Bandt, respectively.

If there’s a story you want us to cover, send me a suggestion: [e-mail]