Follow live

Lobby groups tell Victorian inquiry legitimate churches could be caught up in any proposed crackdown on coercive practices

The Adelaide artist, who has faced vitriol for his work exploring national identity, covers city walls with his striking designs (and pranks) before protests

MP tells supporters he won’t run for his seat of New England and is ‘free to now consider all options’

‘Australia’s bravest sausage dog’, who was lost in the wild for more than 500 days, now has an ambassadorial role, merchandise and an Australian Story episode * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast World-famous dachshund Valerie, who was lost in the wild for more than 500 days, now has merchandise, an ambassadorial role, a public relations representative and a spot on Australian Story. In November 2023 Valerie’s owners, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, were visiting Kangaroo Island in South Australia with Valerie in tow. But she escaped from her pen and bolted. Continue reading...

Members were told on Tuesday the mixed dining trial was over three months earlier than planned The men-only Melbourne Savage Club has pulled the pin on allowing women to lunch there two days a week – but has left its exclusive doors open to potential future female participation. Under the “Female Dining Initiative”, the private club trialled mixed dining on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. “Lady guests” were allowed to have a pre-lunch tipple in the Social Room and lunch in the Dining Room. Continue reading...

The wartime British PM was due to receive a monotreme named after him, which mysteriously died en route from Australia. But before Winston, there was Splash

An analysis of flood maps shows that several buildings, including those where children were sleeping, were in known hazard zones. A $5 million expansion in 2019 did nothing to alleviate the problem.

Most of the time, men just don’t seem to think about whether or not they’re scaring a woman on her own in the dark

A US panel’s decision not to recommend the preservative thiomersal won’t affect vaccine availability in Australia, say experts. But it will stoke dangerous anti-vax sentiment

Falling attendance at club’s dining rooms is ‘uneconomic and dispiriting for staff members’, president says, as six-month trial starts

The ABC’s storied panel show is ending after 18 years – but its polarising topics and infamous arguments will live on in Australia’s collective memory

Representatives around the country say third parties sent abusive messages after they were targeted for their stance on abortion

Dutch academic says an ‘unlikely story about a mad heretic’ has been repeated for 400 years – and poses an alternative