2+ week, 6+ day ago (437+ words) The AFL will introduce a wildcard weekend in the first week of finals for the 2026 season. In the latest change-up to the game for 2026, the top 10 teams at the end of the home-and-away season will now feature in September action. During the weekend that has hosted the pre-finals bye, seventh will host 10th and eighth will host ninth, with a place in an elimination final up for grabs. The move has been endorsed by club bosses and is a coup for the broadcasters, with two extra finals expected to attract sell-out crowds and added attention. Had the initiative been activated this year, it would have seen the Suns face Sydney for the right to take on Fremantle the next week, as well as Hawthorn play the Western Bulldogs, who missed the top eight by one game despite claiming 14 wins. Teams that…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (494+ words) For hundreds of years, news operations were funded via a largely unchanged revenue model. Consumers paid a small portion of the costs involved in journalism (or in the case of free-to-air broadcast media, nothing at all). The rest was paid by advertisers, who, in return for their investment, put their messages in front of those large audiences. It's a model that worked for everyone, but best of all for the consumers received " at low or no cost " the news they needed to be informed and active citizens. The rise of the internet disrupted that once-reliable business model as advertising revenue flowed elsewhere " largely into the pockets of tech behemoths who siphoned off those earnings. It's not an industry secret that journalism jobs have been lost as profits plunged. Newsrooms today look markedly different to 20 years ago. Tough decisions have been…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (410+ words) It's almost that time of the year again, so those Christmas movies are moving back up the most-watched charts. It's just as well The Family Stone is already sitting in fourth spot on the Netflix ranking, because news that a sequel might be on the way will surely trigger another round of nostalgia for the Diane Keaton-starring film. The 2005 movie's writer and director, Thomas Bezucha, told CNN he was working on a script for a follow-up. The Family Stone, as the name implies, is about members of the Stone family who reunite at Christmas time. They're tight-knit but not without scuffles and resentments. Led by matriarch Sybil (Keaton), there's also dad Kelly (Craig T. Nelson), sons Ben (Luke Wilson), Everett (Dermot Mulroney) and Thad (Tyrone Giordano), and daughters Amy (Rachel McAdams) and Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser). Everett brings home his girlfriend, Meredith…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (789+ words) Experts have warned it's a "no-brainer" that children will migrate to gaming apps like Roblox when Australia's under-16s social media ban is implemented in just three weeks. Nine platforms will become age restricted from December 10, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit and Kick. But Curtin University internet studies professor Tama Leaver warned children will either find their way around the restrictions or flood excluded gaming or messenger apps instead. "You can still engage with people through a lot of these gaming platforms, including Roblox," he said. "It's a no-brainer that kids are going to migrate to gaming platforms that are still there because there's some social affordances built in " You can still chat with people." While messaging and gaming apps remain exempt, eSafety has released guidance on the apps and sought assurances they would enhance age checks…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (1500+ words) Just now - 01:23 PM Anthony Albanese coy on extending energy rebates Just now - 01:21 PM ANZ's revamp costs leadership team $33.4m in lost bonuses 38 mins ago - 12:53 PM AGL offloads wind, solar investment for up to $750m 2 hours ago - 11:10 AM Albanese says international partners are urging Turkiye to drop their COP bid 2 hours ago - 11:04 AM PM labels Coalition "self-obsessed' ahead of high-stakes policy meetings 2 hours ago - 10:53 AM 2 hours ago - 10:48 AM Former SA Premier Jay Weatherill new High Commissioner to the UK 2 hours ago - 10:37 AM Anthony Albanese pays tribute to long-running radio host John Laws 2 hours ago - 10:32 AM PM marks one month until Australia's under-16s social media ban is implemented 4 hours ago - 09:25 AM Australia's most unsuccessful party loses another leader 6 hours ago - 07:10 AM Female MPs threatened after condemning neo-nazi protest 7 hours ago - 06:24 AM "Load of nonsense': PM slams Ley's Joy Division shirt remark 7 hours ago - 06:09 AM…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (606+ words) The country's spy boss has warned at least three countries are "willing and capable" to order assassination hits on Australian soil, possibly by using criminals for hire as Iran did to direct recent arson attacks here. In a wide-ranging speech ASIO director-general Mike Burgess has for the first time detailed the agency's international activities, including a recent operation where an officer disrupted a foreign intelligence plot to steal AUKUS and critical minerals secrets. Addressing the Lowy institute in Sydney on Tuesday night, Mr Burgess also revealed investigations are underway into acts of foreign interference that involve Moscow-controlled influencers in Australia who promote divisive messages on social media. "These state-sanctioned trolls are more than propaganda puppets; they want to turn hot-button issues into burning issues, tipping disagreement into division and division into violence." ASIO will ask law enforcement partners to determine…...

1+ week, 4+ hour ago (452+ words) Millions of Australians are set to benefit from a historic $16 billion cut to student debt in the coming weeks. About 100,000 will receive the "best text message ever" over this weekend from the Australian Taxation Office, informing them their Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts have been reduced by 20 percent. Education Minister Jason Clare described the move as the biggest reduction in student debt in Australia's history. "This will be $16 billion of debt wiped off the backs of young Australians," he said on Nine on Saturday. "For many young people just out of TAFE, university, or leaving home, this is a significant relief," Mr Clare said. Australians with university tuition loans, including HELP and HECS debts, are seeing their balances trimmed by 20 percent, backdated to June 1, 2025, prior to indexation. Someone with an average debt of $27,600 will have more than $5,500 wiped from…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (1386+ words) Scroll down for the latest news and updates. 23 mins ago - 10:23 AM Sussan Ley to face media this afternoon 33 mins ago - 10:14 AM Albanese Government accuses Liberal Party of taking Australia backwards on climate 1 hour ago - 09:38 AM Liberals dump zet zero: Ley to speak shortly 1 hour ago - 08:49 AM China lodges protest over ASIO chief's speech 3 hours ago - 07:38 AM PM's brutal assessment of Liberals after two election defeats 3 hours ago - 06:49 AM PM dodges question on lower power bills 4 hours ago - 06:34 AM 4 hours ago - 06:07 AM D-Day for Liberal climate policy: Another meeting looms 4 hours ago - 05:59 AM Victorian Premier signs Australia's first treaty Katina Curtis and 4+ more are reporting live. Now that the shadow ministry has made its decision, the next step in this drawn-out policy process is that three Liberals and three Nationals will work together on a Coalition policy plan. That will be…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (538+ words) NSW Liberal MPs chose former television journalist Kellie Sloane as their leader Friday morning, a switch expected to be followed by a slick public relations campaign designed to undermine Premier Chris Minns" nice-guy reputation. Liberal Party sources said Ms Sloane " who has never held ministerial rank " would use her three decades of media experience to draw attention to the opposition and portray Mr Minns as an overly cautious leader afraid to get interest groups off side. A short meeting of Liberal MPs Friday morning endorsed the 52-year-old as leader after less than three years in parliament " an easy decision given no one else stood for the position. Predecessor Mark Speakman resigned on Thursday after being told he had lost his colleagues" support. "There"s tremendous value in having a leader who hasn"t been a politician for an incredibly long…...

1+ week, 5+ hour ago (498+ words) Top End residents are assessing damage this morning and starting clean-up after a rough night of damaging winds and heavy rain as tropical cyclone Fina passed through. Emergency authorities had advised Darwin households on Friday to stay indoors or in emergency shelters until the all-clear was given. The category-three cyclone brought destructive winds and heavy rain to remote Tiwi Islands before hitting Darwin and surrounds on Saturday and Sunday. Winds gusted up to 100km/h at Darwin Airport overnight, the Bureau of Meteorology reported. Fina is currently tracking just northwest of Darwin, slowly moving away from the coast, where it is expected to strengthen into a category four system. Northern Territory Police incident controller Kirsten Engels urged residents to stay at home Friday, but heavy rain and strong winds kept most indoors regardless. Emergency shelters were open in Darwin, Palmerston, and…...