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Opinion

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Despite the banks’ vast mortgage portfolios,
Opinion
Home loans

Why bankers aren’t popping champagne despite rising house prices

With a rising number of people unable to get into the housing market, the big four banks are worried that a mortgage boom is unlikely to have legs.

  • by Clancy Yeates

Latest

Johnathan Thurston

The Maroons lost three men in five minutes. This is how they found a way to win

One player in the bin. No interchanges left. And still behind by two. This is the inside story of the chaos and carnage that defined a famous Queensland win.

  • by Dan Walsh
NFTs have seen significant price falls in the last 12 months after gaining significant popularity at the start of 2022.

Bought an NFT last year? The Tax Office wants to know

The tax treatment of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are now on the radar of the Australian Tax Office.

  • by Nicole Buckler
SHANGHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 02: (CHINA OUT) China's first self-developed large passenger jetliner C919 is presented after it rolled off the production line at Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd on November 2, 2015 in Shanghai, China. The C919 jet developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2016.. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images) China's C919 airliner
Opinion
Aviation

China’s dream of ruling the skies is problematic

China’s homemade passenger jet has finally made its debut after a 16-year odyssey. It is a key part of a big much bigger plan.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn and her brother Max, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is not a crime, so why was my brother treated like a criminal?

I love my brother and hope we can see this condition for what it is, rather than a projection of our worst fears.

  • by Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former US President Donald Trump.

Turkey’s election shows why Trump could win in 2024

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s victory disproves the election slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid”. God, tradition, values, identity, culture and resentments also move voters.

  • by Bret Stephens
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Australia has a complex relationship with China.

China doesn’t want a war – it has better ways to achieve its goals

Australia’s portrayal of China in hawkish terms goes beyond the language used by other regional countries, whose proximity would lead them to feel more threatened than us.

  • by Colin Heseltine
Queensland celebrate a remarkable victory in Adelaide.

Dirty dozen: 12-man Maroons produce another Origin miracle in City of Churches

NSW’s mood was as dark as their jumpers after they let another State of Origin match slip from their grasp in Adelaide.

  • by Malcolm Knox
Hawthorn president Andy Gowers speaks to the media on Wednesday.
Analysis
AFL 2023

The AFL agreement does not mean this Hawthorn saga is over

Although the deal extracted the AFL from the imbroglio, everyone immediately knew, not least of all Hawthorn, that the saga was not over.

  • by Peter Ryan
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announces the raising of the Warragamba Dam last October.

Perrottet could tap out by Christmas. There must be something in the water

The Liberals were on board with the Sydney Water anti-privatisation push, but once it became clear the all-powerful crossbench was not playing along, they voted with Labor.

  • by Alexandra Smith
Bryan Johnson, 45, with his 17-year-old son Talmage.
Opinion
Ageing

Taking the blood of your 17-year-old son? Anti-ageing has gone too far

If you’re swapping blood with your teen son, snorting stem cells and counting the erections you have every night, your obsession with youth needs checking.

  • by Sarah Berry
For many people, there is shame around sexual intimacy and periods.

Time to leave shame at the bedroom door. Period.

Yes period sex is messy, but it’s also human. It’s time to move past the shame and look at how to enjoy sex at all times of the month.

  • by Katrina Marson
Maroons players celebrate one of Selwyn Cobbo’s two tries in Adelaide.

Little niggle but Maroons show more fight than Blues in series opener

Queensland won the match 26-18, although precisely how is anyone’s guess when you consider how much went against them at Adelaide Oval.

  • by Andrew Webster
Column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
Column 8

Fractured fare tale

Scratch the chopstick debate.

Jason Ryles was the front-runner for the Dragons job.
Analysis
NRL 2023

Dark day for Dragons as Ryles rejects offer, sponsor walks away

With Jason Ryles turning his back on a four-year deal to coach the Dragons, two of his old teammates are in the frame again. But a phone call suggests all hope is not lost for Shane Flanagan.

  • by Adrian Proszenko and Adam Pengilly
Matt Romania holds an ultrasound image of his first child.
Opinion
Grief

We lost our baby. I wasn’t sure how a man should deal with it

We had reached the “12-week milestone”. We had heard the heartbeat and had seen the ultrasound pictures of Baby Romania. Then our world was shattered in an instant.

  • by Matt Romania
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Melbourne city’s Airbnb numbers have jumped back as the vacancy rate continues to tighten.

Yes, we need more housing, but we also need stricter building regulations

Letter writers applaud the NSW Productivity Commissioner’s support for increased density, but there are plenty of caveats.

PwC acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins says while investigations are under way, the company knows enough about what went wrong to take immediate action.

PwC’s self-immolation prompts concern the fire has spread

A corrupt culture could permeate the outsourcing of federal government work to the consultant industry and we are powerless to prevent it

  • The Herald's View
Moscow drone attack.

Moscow drone strike spells trouble in the air for Putin

The success of the Ukrainians’ own drone program should not come as a surprise, given the country’s proud aeronautical heritage and advanced industrial base.

  • by Jimmy Rushton
Biden

‘Money illusion’: America’s Faustian Pact with runaway debt is coming due

The putative accord between the White House and Congress does not even try to address the larger threat to the world’s largest economy. Sacred entitlements remain untouchable.

  • by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
RBA governor Philip Lowe settles in for what may have been his last Senate estimates appearance.

Lowe keeps his critics at bay in what could be his last Senate grilling

RBA governor Philip Lowe has come under fire for months. But at what might have been his last parliamentary appearance, he went out with more whimper than bang.

  • by Shane Wright

Opera? It’s really just Home and Away with music

The best way to disguise the banality of the plot is to sing it in a language no one understands.

  • by Anson Cameron
Elon Musk.

‘You can’t hide’: Elon Musk’s latest move could see Twitter banned in Europe

Twitter is facing massive fines or a complete ban on operating in Europe as it snubs legislation requiring big tech platforms to reduce the risk of disinformation and harmful content.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Tom Trbojevic sets up a try for Latrell Mitchell

Centres of excellence: Is the Blues’ most effective tactic still alive without Latrell?

NSW had to ditch a planned move named ‘Latrell’ for obvious reasons. So does one of the most devastating Origin tactics in recent times go the same way?

  • by Dan Walsh
Josh Addo-Carr, Reece Walsh, Tom Trbojevic, Cameron Munster and Cameron Murray.

State of Origin I tips: Experts analyse the series opener

The Blues have a point to prove after letting last year’s series slip. After an injury-ravaged build-up, will they have what it takes to draw first blood in Adelaide?

December of the most expensive month for flying overseas, economy return
Analysis
Air travel

How to save hundreds of dollars on your airfares

New data from travel search engine KAYAK shows big savings can be made if you are prepared to be flexible on your time of travel.

  • by John Collett
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Diving in to the world of investing can be daunting, but there’s no need to be a perfectionist.

Why ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist in investment, but progress does

There’s no such thing as a perfect investment portfolio, or a perfect budget, or a perfect savings system, but you can only learn from experience.

  • by Paridhi Jain
While in a black-and-white, emotionless setting, some solutions can be fairly straightforward, the challenge comes in the complexity of us as individuals.

Why money isn’t always about dollars and sense

While in a black-and-white, emotionless setting, some solutions can be fairly straightforward, the challenge comes in the complexity of us as individuals.

  • by Paul Benson
Coal power plants near Beijing in September. China is preparing to build more of them.
Analysis
Investing

How competing superpowers can be an investor’s friend

Ultimately, geopolitical tension is no reason for investors to rush for the exit. In fact, it might even be an opportunity.

  • by Cameron Gleeson
A crackdown on people setting up SMSFs to illegally access their retirement savings has prevented hundreds of millions of dollars from being withdrawn.

Should I take money from my super to pay off a high-interest loan?

Withdrawing money from your super, paying off the loan and reducing your interest should give you certainty and hopefully save you money.

  • by Noel Whittaker
Tevita Pangai jnr, Nathan Cleary, Daly Cherry-Evans and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

Queensland will be slippery customers ... but I’m tipping Blues to rain supreme

The forecast wet conditions look set to be a major factor in the Origin opener, and the winner will be the team which adapts best. Here’s how they should play it.

  • by Andrew Johns
Last year’s floods in NSW and Queensland were the most expensive extreme weather insurance event in Australian history.

Minister warns insurers over ‘unfair’ premiums in disaster hotspots

The insurance giants are the latest big companies attracting unwanted government attention over some of their prices.

  • by Clancy Yeates

Accountants were boring until the government paid them billions to do its job

Should public services be delivered by the private sector? Based on the PwC scandal, the answer is a resounding no.

  • by Ross Gittins
Queues forming outside Marrickville's new vegan bakery-cafe Miss Sina.
For Good Food, Sep 12, 2022
Opinion
City life

If you buy a house near a pub, don’t complain about the noise

Dear NIMBYs, if you really want peace and quiet, please don’t live near pubs and then try to ruin the fun for the rest of us.

  • by Elizabeth Barry
What does David Koch’s departure mean for Australian breakfast news?

What David Koch’s departure means for Australian TV’s breakfast wars

Now that David Koch has left Sunrise, who will fill his shoes? And will the show remain the heavy-hitter of breakfast television?

  • by Neil McMahon
In the Herald

In the Herald: May 31, 1954

Challenge to Labour leaders, conductor wants X-rays of singers’ head, and prayer-wheels turn for Hillary.

  • by Jacqui Martinez
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Column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
Column 8

A themculean task

But it’s good to know our number’s not up.

The real referendum question is ‘How smart do I want my country to be?’

Vote for a connection to the longest continuous intelligence lab on Earth.

  • by Jack Manning Bancroft
Carl Lentz tarnished the Hillsong brand following a series of alleged sexual indiscretions.
Opinion
Religion

The Hillsong experiment is over. Christianity was never meant to be cool

When I was a teenager, I joined Christian City Church. We were young, affluent and #blessed. Every girl (and maybe a few guys) wanted to marry Joel Houston, Hillsong founder Brian Houston’s son.

  • by Cherie Gilmour
James Packer exited Crown Resorts with a $3 billion payout last year.

Blackstone closer to closing books on Crown liabilities after hefty fine

Regulatory uncertainty was the biggest gamble Blackstone took when it acquired Crown Resorts for $8.9 billion cash last year.

  • by Colin Kruger
The ATO and ASIC will be grilled about the PwC scandal in estimates this week.

PwC must give back every cent paid by the government

The behaviour of accounting behemoth PwC reveals a problem much larger than that of trust and accountability.

Feral pigs produce carbon emissions equal to over a million cars every year, new modelling has shown.
Editorial
Cars

Reign of the car must end if road toll is to be reduced

Australians enthusiastically continue to buy more new vehicles and build new freeways and tunnels but the stubborn road toll demands a change in thinking.

  • The Herald's View
Queensland’s Connor Vest receives medical assistance on Friday.

Reds livid over referee after Vest’s broken neck

A blunder over Connor Vest’s broken neck will have the Queensland Reds questioning whether one match official is fit to adjudicate at the World Cup.

  • by Wayne Smith
Latrell Mitchell is out of Origin I.

Hammer blow of Latrell injury could turn into a knockout for NSW

So much of NSW’s hopes in Origin I focused on the South Sydney fullback.

  • by Andrew Webster
Bailey Smith was banned for two matches in 2022.
Opinion
Hair

Can we please find a vaccine for the mullet pandemic

We don’t seem to be talking about the most troubling thing to come out of our brush with total annihilation - the resurgence of the mangey mullet.

  • by Hannah Vanderheide
Geelong came hard but fell short against the Giants, a result that might sum up their season.
Analysis
AFL 2023

‘We want to take games off those teams’: In danger of missing finals, Geelong have gone from hunted to hunter

The defending premiers are on the ropes as they sit outside the eight after 11 rounds, but they’re maintaining a positive spin on their situation.

  • by Peter Ryan
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Patrick Cripps leads the Blues off the field after the loss against Sydney.
Analysis
AFL 2023

There are two games being played at Carlton. Here’s why it’s a problem

The board, like the football department, has to have a clarity of thought and unity of purpose with their analysis and that presently feels painfully absent.

  • by Michael Gleeson
PwC will survive this scandal, but the damage will be immense.

PwC had one product to sell. Turns out it wasn’t a good one

PwC is trying desperately to head off what could be a global crisis for the firm’s network of affiliated businesses, but the damage has already been done.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Artificial intelligence has hit the headlines with investors likely weighing up the pros and cons of investing in AI companies
Analysis
Investing

Investors warned off AI ‘gold rush’ as Nvidia shares soar

Tech investments can produce stellar returns, but investors need to tread carefully as the sector has a habit of getting ahead of itself.

  • by John Collett
Some major banks have recently cut mortgage cashbacks and raised interest rates new customers.
Analysis
Home loans

Is the age of bumper home loan cashbacks over?

There have recently been signs that red-hot mortgage competition may be coming off the boil - or at least that’s what banks would like to see.

  • by Clancy Yeates