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Brandon Jack played 28 AFL games over five seasons for the Sydney Swans and has just published his second book.
Opinion
Literature

Young men have stopped reading books – and these are the reasons why

New data shows just 10 per cent of young men read books these days. And an industry that likes to play it safe isn’t helping matters.

  • by Brandon Jack

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Riders pass silos on Kororoit Creek Road, Williamstown North in the 2014 MS Melbourne Cycle.

My suburb is the unglamorous sibling of a seaside gem. But we’re still better

I can’t imagine growing up in a fabulous house by the postcard-pretty beach. Instead, there was something freeing in our quiet spaciousness.

  • by Gareth Morgan
Nowhere to hide: Astronomer chief executive Andy Byron and chief people officer Kristin Cabot, scrambled to hide their faces at a Coldplay concert.
Opinion
Workplace

Coldplay ‘kiss cam’ lifts the lid on an astronomically common issue

Romance in the office happens all the time, but it’s what you do about it that matters.

  • by Tim Duggan
US President Donald Trump greets supporters during a dinner for Republican senators in the White House last week.

Trump has survived many scandals, but the Epstein story poses a new test

The MAGA base has rallied as it sees him under attack. The White House is trying to change the subject.

  • by Natalie Allison
Lachlan Galvin celebrates his match-winning play.
Analysis
NRL 2025

The good, the bad and other Galvin play Canterbury should treasure

Lachlan Galvin’s match-winner in his first outing as an NRL No.7 stole the show. But the signs were just as promising an hour earlier.

  • by Dan Walsh
A crocodile.
Opinion
Wildlife

Noosa reptile sighting might be a croc, but I’ve been up close with the real thing

Residents of Noosa are in a lather over reports of a visiting reptile. They need to get a grip.

  • by Margot Saville
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Rupert Murdoch.

Murdoch has picked a side – but not the one we expected

The media magnate’s gamble appears way more considered and one that shows he can read the room better than Elon Musk.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Brennan Cox of the Dockers handballs under pressure from Jamie Elliott of the Magpies.
Opinion
AFL 2025

How the Dockers dodged Collingwood’s tackling tactic to bring home four points

In the dying minutes of Sunday’s nail-biter, Collingwood implemented a new strategy to swing the game their way. But the Dockers changed tack too.

  • by Paddy Sweeney
Xi Jinping and his senior ministers are worried about imbalances in supply and demand and overcapacity in some industrie

The home-grown threat to China that has rattled Xi Jinping

Donald Trump’s trade war is not the only thing on Xi Jinping’s mind.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
The Bulldogs have embraced artificial intelligence.

Could AI change rugby league? The revolution has already begun

Canterbury’s climb up the ladder has come at a time when the NRL club has become one of the first to embrace artificial intelligence. Is it a coincidence?

  • by Adrian Proszenko
Tim Tszyu finished the fight on his stool.
Analysis
World Boxing

When it comes to selling the Tszyu dream, it’s ‘No más’

After finishing a world title fight on his stool, asking punters to part with $70 to watch Tim Tszyu embark on another comeback is an almost impossible sell.

  • by Adrian Proszenko
Contenders: The ladder has nine teams in the hunt, but the ladder doesn’t tell the full story.
Opinion
AFL 2025

The ladder lies. These are the true indicators of finals form

Nine teams are still in the hunt, but how they’re building – or scrambling – towards September tells a different story. These are the trump cards, red flags and fixture implications of a crucial final six weeks.

  • by Libby Birch
Warren Buffett, arguably the most successful investor of all time, has a reputation for being preternaturally gifted at foreseeing market trends.

Warren Buffett has set alarm bells ringing on Wall Street

The legendary investor is not convinced the good times are going to last.

  • by Melissa Lawford
Roger Tuivasa-Scheck
Opinion
NRL 2025

Rebel rugby raid on stars as real as a PNG corruption scandal

Rebel rugby competition R360 needs to sign 200 players by September, and NRL stars are in its sights at the same time rugby league needs even more players as it expands from 17 to 19 teams

  • by Neil Breen
Getting the timing right on a divorce can be the key to future financial happiness.

House prices and divorces are linked, but not in the way you think

The divorce rate is the lowest since the introduction of the Family Law Act, and house prices have risen steeply in five years. What’s the connection?

  • by Stephen Whelan and Luke Hartigan
Illustration

PM must begin to address his legacy – what will he leave us?

If Albanese wants to leave something permanent behind, he will soon have to tell us what will stay and what must change.

  • by Sean Kelly
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said all proposals for improving productivity at the productivity roundtable next month must involve no net cost to the budget.

How Chalmers can square the budget circle despite stagnant productivity

Repairing the budget and improving productivity aren’t easy, but there are measures the treasurer can look at that offer less political risk.

  • by Ross Gittins
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

The Liberal Party faces electoral mountain, but there is one bright spot for Sussan Ley

The return of the new parliament will highlight the disaster that was the May 3 election for the Coalition. But it will also focus voters’ minds on Labor.

  • by Shane Wright
Ella Fowler carries a sign as she and other anti-Trump, anti-fascism protesters march as part of the “Good Trouble Lives On” national day of action, in Chicago.

Trump protesters have a dream for a better America

Democrats are staging anti-Trump protests across the US. But the MAGA reaction to the Epstein case may end up inflicting more damage.

  • by Bruce Wolpe
The US president said the reports were “untruthful” and relied on sources that “probably don’t even exist”.

Trump promised to bring down the deep state. To MAGA loyalists, he’s joined it

The president has trafficked in conspiracy theories for years. Now that dark whirlpool has sucked him down, and he can no longer control the Epstein madness.

  • by Maureen Dowd
Tom Lynagh
The view from England
British & Irish Lions

Un-Australian, tepid and toothless. Wallabies slammed over first Test performance

It wasn’t just a gulf in class between the Lions and the Wallabies - it was a chasm. And a whitewash is on the cards.

  • by Oliver Brown
Kalyn and Andre Ponga in Newcastle.
Opinion
NRL 2025

The special Ponga father-son bond at the heart of an unusual league family

Kalyn Ponga and his family are very wary of outsiders, but today we can provide an insight into how they operate in a way that few others do.

  • by Danny Weidler
Many pieces of pumpkin – there is dignity in choosing.
Opinion
Religion

The courage of those suffering can be devastating

This meal is the simplest part of my week because the needs are so present and so clear. There is simply this: a room filled with people who are hungry and who, for a moment, are home.

  • by Alexandra Sangster
In February, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock called the prospect of consecutive cuts “unrealistic”.

Why do we keep expecting rate cuts, even when the RBA tells us not to?

Holding out hope for something that we’ve been told is unlikely to happen is, psychologically speaking, only human. But it’s unfair to get grumpy with the RBA about it.

  • by Victoria Devine
You might get better returns with your money in an accumulation account, but you’ll take on more risk.

I’m retiring soon. Should I keep my defined benefit scheme?

As a general rule of thumb, anyone with a defined benefit super fund would normally hang onto it for dear life. But sometimes the returns can be underwhelming.

  • by Paul Benson
“I, like many mothers, knew in my gut - my womb, perhaps - that the baby should not be far from me.”
Opinion
Childcare

Women are planning a revolution. It will benefit everyone

Families are stretched to breaking point, but there are solutions.

  • by Parnell Palme McGuinness
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As a barrister, there was one question I desperately wanted to ask Erin Patterson

Erin Patterson had 400 books in her home, and not one was devoted to mushrooms. But I desperately want to ask her about a different book.

  • by Rachel Doyle
Shaping your kids into adults who deploy money strategically will change their lives.
Opinion
Hip pocket

How to teach your kids about money, without making it boring

Young people are falling behind when it comes to financial literacy. These simple tools will help you to improve your kids’ money smarts.

  • by Dominic Powell
John Parry hits a hole-in-one at the British Open.
Analysis
British Open

Magic on 13: This golfer has hit 10 career aces. This one was his best

The first hole-in-one of the British Open has landed — a moment of magic that sent the Royal Portrush crowd into raptures and added a spark to a cool, overcast day.

  • by Sam McClure
Suaalii charges forward.

The agony, the ecstasy and the comeback that nearly was

All up, how great were our blokes under that Lions’ onslaught? Instead of shutting up shop, the Wallabies kept throwing everything they had — and then some.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Cramming into an unfamiliar house with a collection of strangers on a Saturday morning is a great way to become the worst version of yourself.

Want to ruin your weekend and make a bunch of enemies? Attend an open home

Cramming into an unfamiliar house with a collection of strangers on a Saturday morning is a great way to become the worst version of yourself.

  • by Thomas Mitchell
Shannon Murphy attends the 2025 Kering Women In Motion Awards and Cannes Film Festival Presidential Dinner at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Place de la Castre on May 18, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) .

Dying For Sex has earned this talented Australian an Emmy nod

Shannon Murphy’s high school teacher urged her to pursue drama as a career. It was sound advice.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
How high is he really flying? David Corenswet as the latest incarnation of Superman.
Opinion
Cinema

Superman’s real-life kryptonite: The incredible shrinking cinema business

My wife and I went to the movies, only to be bombarded by ad after ad for 20 minutes – ad nauseam. No wonder this industry is in trouble.

  • by Bill Wyman
There;s no point asking the driver to turn up the air con on a London bus - there isn’t any.
Opinion
London

‘A sardine can in the Sahara’: In London, the heat is on

After reporting on federal politics from Canberra for 20 years, our new Europe correspondent finds a city sweltering through the effects of climate change.

  • by David Crowe
Ellis Genge playing for the British and Irish Lions
Opinion
Wallabies

Pantomime villains: Why the Lions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea

From boardroom standoffs to sideline sledges, here are four reasons why the Lions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

  • by Jonathan Drennan
Captains Maro Itoje and Harry Wilson  ahead of the first Test in Brisbane.

Why the Lions have a 16-point advantage against the Wallabies

How the Wallabies compare to the British and Irish Lions ahead of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.

  • by Paul Cully
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Ready to rip … Nick Champion de Crespigny.

Here’s why the Wallabies can shock the Lions

Everyone’s writing off the Wallabies apart from me. Here are the reasons to believe.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Forget the King’s English, Aussie English is far more complex and nuanced.
Opinion
Language

Do Australians have the best possible version of English?

For a start, there are the many varieties of the word “mate”, ranging from the convivial to the downright threatening.

  • by Richard Glover
For first home buyers, negotiating with agents and navigating auctions can be stressful and unnerving.
Opinion
Budgeting

Buying your first home? Here’s how to get the best deal

For first home buyers, negotiating with agents and navigating auctions can be stressful and unnerving.

  • by Abdullah Nouh
Hidden fees are a fact of life in our financial system, and some of them are even more egregious than credit card surcharges.
Opinion
Bank fees

Forget card surcharges, these three invisible fees are costing us more

Hidden fees are a fact of life in our financial system, and some of them are even more egregious than credit card surcharges.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon

Xi whiz! Australia’s finally maturing as an international player

When it comes to foreign affairs, the Albanese government is still too inert. But there are positive signs of emerging maturity in how this country deals with fickle friends and friendly foes.

  • by Peter Hartcher
West Coast young gun Harley Reid.
Opinion
AFL 2025

Getting a read on Harley: What the Eagles ace can learn from a Hawks legend

Harley Reid looks like a man, and plays with the skill, power and talent that draws comparisons to Patty Dangerfield. The difference is he is still a kid, while Dangerfield has three kids.

  • by Michael Gleeson
Pohio Adams Architects selected “Obleco”, the French glass block embedded with a raised circle that adds depth and texture as well as increasing privacy.

There was plenty of scope for things to go wrong for this home reno

The tired old Edwardian was in Melbourne, the architect was Sydney-based, and the client was also an architect. What could possibly go wrong?

  • by Stephen Crafti
Anthony Albanese at the Great Wall of China this week.

Albanese’s China challenge: balancing trade and values

Traversing what is arguably Australia’s most complex relationship, the prime minister said the right things at the right times.

  • The Age's View
Cameron Smith  on the 18th green during day one of the British Open.
Opinion
World golf

Greg Norman was right, the World Golf Rankings mean nothing

Golf’s major tournaments will have their importance eroded if the Official World Golf Rankings don’t start including LIV golf events.

  • by Darren Kane

Once Labor’s great white hope, Latham’s now just a black Mark

Just over 20 years ago, he almost became prime minister. How did that happen?

  • by Malcolm Knox
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England's Jofra Archer, right, celebrates the dismissal of India's Washington Sundar.

Have England turned nasty in pursuit of the Ashes?

From a battery of fast bowlers to premeditated sledging, Lord’s told us that England will do whatever it takes to win the urn.

  • by Daniel Brettig
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, pictured here in Shanghai this week, has a rare opportunity to achieve long-term goals when Parliament resumes next week.

The opportunity Labor has not had this century and won’t have again

Unlike almost all of his recent predecessors, Anthony Albanese isn’t looking over his shoulder at who’s plotting to oust him. That opens up a world of possibility when parliament meets next week.

  • by Nick Bonyhady
UK politician Robert Jenrick confronts a man who failed to pay on the London Underground.
Analysis
Social media

Why isn’t there a single social media-savvy MP in Parliament?

Most Australian politicians don’t make social media a priority. That carries long-term risks.

  • by Nick Bonyhady

To defend our democracy, PM must disavow and abandon Segal report

Combating antisemitism is a noble mission, but Jillian Segal’s report risks stoking it.

  • by Richard Flanagan

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/opinion