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Opinion

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Opinion
Column 8

Will wax paper return to the fold?

And will Telstra ever fill the bill?

Latest

US President Donald Trump has confirmed a peace deal with Iran has been achieved.

The key dangers that threaten Trump’s peace terms with Iran

The US president said he went to war because Iran would not negotiate. Now he claims peace based on a negotiation with a regime he cannot defeat or control.

  • by David Crowe
The Dolphins are red-hot currently in the NRL.

Calls for a standalone Origin period get louder each year. Here’s the counterargument

Sure, there’s a good case for putting the NRL on hold during the interstate series. But the weekend’s action provided ammo for the other side of the debate.

  • by Malcolm Knox
Dominic and Helen Perrottet pictured in 2024 when they were a family of nine.
Opinion
Fertility

I am a mum of eight. This is why I chose to have a big family

The falling birth rate suggests many are asking why have any children at all, and yet Helen Perrottet chose to have eight. While the sacrifices are real, she says there are rewards that cannot easily be measured.

  • by Helen Perrottet
People gather by a coffee truck on the southern headland at Avalon Beach to watch the sunrise.

There’s no other place I’d rather be than the ‘insular peninsula’

The area gets inundated by visitors at holiday time. I don’t mind. We get this wonderful place to ourselves for most of the year.

  • by Vivien Robotham
Does Pauline Hanson have any policies up her sleeve?

Hanson’s comeback reflects poorly on our political leaders

History shows that when people are frustrated with established parties, they are willing to take risks.

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Surfers are resistant to shark warnings.
Editorial
Shark

Drone technology could be the answer to shark detection

Another attack in Sydney has increased the need for better early warning systems.

  • The Herald's View
The real-time effects of the policy to remove tax incentives including negative gearing are glaringly clear.

Two big banks have slashed their house price forecasts. The numbers are hair-raising

The signs are difficult to ignore: an avalanche of sellers, increasing levels of stale stock sitting on property portal shelves, and auction clearance rates wallowing around 50 per cent.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
GIF Api Koroisau dummy-half runs - Wests Tigers v Dolphins.

Cameron Smith’s biggest Origin II fear? Rugby league’s greatest ‘liar’

Kangaroos, Maroons and Storm great Smith is on edge as he explains how Api Koroisau has mastered the art of dummy half play.

  • by Dan Walsh

I couldn’t have named a single Socceroo before the weekend. But now, I’m their biggest fan

Come on! Jump aboard! There’s room for everyone on the Aussie World Cup bandwagon.

  • by Rita Glennon
Iran’s response to a war that Trump thought would be over in weeks, if not days, has embarrassed and weakened America in the eyes of the rest of the world and the nature of the agreement, if one is reached, is likely to confirm that opinion.

Trump’s deal will show how pointless his war was

Oil might soon flow through the Strait of Hormuz, but the damage done by the US president’s war will linger for a very long time.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz

Happy Birthday, Mr President. You’ve had a long, but low life

I’m the same age as Donald Trump. He’s done so much in his 80 years, almost all of it bad.

  • by Geoffrey Robertson
Benke

One Nation Express v Albanese’s ‘stable’ revolution: It will be a head-on crash

Australia’s political landscape is shifting fundamentally. Voters are yet to define how they want it to shape up.

  • by Sean Kelly
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Urgent wake-up call for political mainstream: Don’t ignore or dismiss angry voters

Voters are not just backing One Nation as the top party in Australia, but for the first time are also backing Pauline Hanson as preferred prime minister.

  • The Herald's View
Ashley Klein is scheduled to referee the second match of the Origin series on Wednesday night.
Opinion
NRL 2026

Klein should stand down from Origin duties following gambling revelations

As the NRL closes in on what it hopes will be a $4 billion broadcast rights deal, it is now dealing with unwanted attention.

  • by Roy Masters
Pauline Hanson is the nation’s preferred prime minister in the most recent Resolve Political Monitor.

Voters prefer Hanson as PM. Are they prepared for her to run the country?

According to the latest Resolve Political Monitor, that’s exactly what they are asking for.

  • by James Massola
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Opinion
Column 8

Kids are lacking the write stuff

They can’t even stick to the script.

World Cup gif.
Visual story
FIFA World Cup

Anatomy of the Socceroos’ stunners: How Irankunda and Metcalfe pulled off moments of magic

Two moments of pure quality put the Socceroos on the path to a famous victory. We break down exactly how the goals were scored.

  • by Emma Kemp
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Arguments for AUKUS just don’t hold any water

The government underestimates the extent to which its meek acceptance of the AUKUS deal contributes to its current unpopularity

The shark spotted by a drone in the moments after the attack at Coogee on Saturday.

We have the technology to prevent shark bites. Will we use it?

From drones, to smart drumlines and personal devices that deter attacks, we have better ways to keep swimmers and surfers safer, but we need to deploy them.

  • by Culum Brown
Nestory Irankunda celebrates his World Cup goal in Vancouver.

Popovic made some massive calls. It’s fair to say they paid off

Questions over the Socceroos coach only grew once the team to play Turkey was announced on Sunday. The result justified every move.

  • by Vince Rugari
Donald Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1990s but later fell out.

The spell of Jeffrey Epstein haunts the White House

After a week bristling with lurid revelations, it’s clear that no matter how much the US president wishes him away, Jeffrey Epstein is haunting Trump and is persisting as a national obsession.

  • by Maureen Dowd
The arena constructed for the UFC fight that is set to be held at the White House.

‘Sports guy’ Trump works to project strength with UFC bout as political woes mount

Trump will celebrate becoming an octogenarian as he hosts an extravagant UFC showcase on the White House South Lawn on Sunday night.

  • by Catherine Lucey
Trump claimed a deal would involve the Strait of Hormuz being reopened to international shipping traffic.

An unhappy birthday for Trump: His Iran deal – and presidency – on the brink

It’s Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Iran is yet to deliver his birthday gift, despite all his bluster.

  • by Bruce Wolpe
The new Siri will be available on any device that supports Apple Intelligence. For phones specifically, that’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, any version of iPhone 16 or 17, and iPhone Air.
Analysis
AI

AI-powered Siri is on the way – but is it worth using?

Siri AI might not win any awards for personality, but its focus on privacy and cross-app utility may make it a promising practical tool.

  • by Tim Biggs
John Main, a Benedictine monk, normalised meditation in the Christian tradition.
Opinion
Religion

The moment that changed my life

One very simple thing was all it took to change everything. That, and years of dedicat3d practice.

  • by Clare Boyd-Macrae
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For many Australians, the cost of having a child simply doesn’t add up.
Opinion
Budgeting

Think having a kid is ‘priceless’? Here’s what they really cost

It has become impossible to ignore that one of the main driving factors at play for people thinking about having children is the economics of it all.

  • by Victoria Devine
Deciding where to put your inheritance when you’re young can be a tricky decision.

I’m in my 30s and Dad is gifting me $50,000. What should I do with it?

Superannuation is often a good place to stash an early inheritance, but if you’re young, there are likely better places it could be put to use.

  • by Paul Benson
Drone footage taken of a shark off Coogee beach in Sydney on Saturday.
Analysis
Sharks

Shark bites are becoming more common – but a cull won’t work

With Saturday’s shark attack and a horror summer, it is hard as an ocean-loving Sydneysider not to feel under siege.

  • by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Australian school students are abandoning language learning.
Editorial
Schools

Language learning is the gift we must give our children

Learning a second language comes with cognitive and societal benefits, yet Australian students are abandoning language studies.

  • The Herald's View
Ashley Klein.

The NRL needs to stand down Ashley Klein from Origin

Plus, the selection of Roosters winger Mark Nawaqanitawase in the NSW side following the withdrawal of Bulldogs pair Stephen Crichton and Jacob Kiraz has left his club fuming.

  • by Danny Weidler

The misogyny coin buys less than it used to

Allegations of sexism no longer spark political movements. Voters’ focus is on something else.

  • by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Gwyneth Paltrow attends The 46th Annual New York Women in Film & Television “Muse” Awards’.

When Gwyneth gave off Melania vibes, the backlash was relentless. But was it fair?

The actor has fronted an ad campaign for Israeli real estate and declared herself an “independent”. People are outraged.

  • by Jacqueline Maley
real money image
Opinion
Hip pocket

How five minutes now can help net you a bigger tax refund

Treating your tax return as set-and-forget means you could be leaving easy deductions on the table.

  • by Dominic Powell

‘It’s a bloody good life, and cheap’: Where? On a riverboat in France

Can you escape the rat race and live an endless summer? These two Aussies are doing it.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
12 June 2026, SUN EXTRA - Social media case study. Social media ban. Six months in, is it working? Lara is a high school student who was kicked off social media.  Photo: Ruby Alexander.
Analysis
Social media

Australia banned under-16s from social media. The world is split on whether to follow

No platform has been fined and the rift between regulator and minister is in the open. How are our world-first social media laws faring?

  • by David Swan and Bronte Gossling
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A shortage of mental health workers has left patients with inadequate care.

Failures of mental health system is costing lives

The shortage of doctors and nurses leave patients in a vulnerable position.

Senior curator Shannon Biederman and Melbourne artist Nina Sanadze have been commissioned to transform the flower tributes from the Bondi shooting into a permanent exhibit/artwork.

Despite our pain, the Jewish community refuses to wallow in anger

Six months on from the Bondi massacre, Australia’s Jews are in the second stage of their mourning. Next, we will seek light to dispel the darkness.

  • by Alex Ryvchin
A woman walks past an anti-American mural on the wall of the former US embassy, now a museum, in Tehran, Iran on Friday.

Will Trump’s 39th Iran promise be another fanciful claim or the real deal?

The US president often makes public threats of a return to all-out war, only to later pull back dramatically. Then come grand statements – and yet no resolution emerges.

  • by Iona Cleave
The Wallabies celebrate a remarkable victory against South Africa in 2025. The July Tests will be another huge test.

The credibility of the Wallabies and Super Rugby goes on the line in July

The stakes for Australia, New Zealand and Super Rugby Pacific will be very high during the opening clashes in the new Nations Championship.

  • by Paul Cully
Anthony Albanese is getting ready to meet Donald Trump.
Opinion
AUKUS

Truth submerged? AUKUS will cost us $368 billion, so this is no time for secrecy

Secrecy in policy development is rarely justified – and it certainly isn’t for AUKUS, our eye-wateringly expensive defence deal with the US and UK.

  • by Carmen Lawrence
Craig McRae, Adam Kingsley, Chris Scott, Luke Beveridge and Chris Fagan all coach their AFL teams in different ways.
Opinion
AFL 2026

I’ve had coaches I’d run through walls for. These are the five questions Essendon, Carlton and Tassie should ask

Fans want hope. Boards want credibility. The media wants a headline. But the most important question any club looking for a new coach should ask is, what are their players looking for?

  • by Libby Birch
The Socceroos will have quite the number of politicians cheering them on in-person at the World Cup.

Toot-toot: All aboard the Socceroos bandwagon, diehards and all

Among the “Australian values” on our citizenship test is that 25-plus million of us become Socceroos tragics for a couple of weeks every fourth year, and then magically transform back to normal indifference as the bandwagon empties.

  • by Malcolm Knox
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Editorial
Family law

Parents paying a crushing price to protect their children from abuse

Legal aid fades even further away in Family Courts.

  • The Herald's View
Your credit card debt is probably the first place you’ll want to start.

Credit cards, loans or your mortgage: what should you pay off first?

When it comes to wiping off your debts, there are a few different ways to approach it, and some might work better for you than others.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Take a bit of time to look at your super situation before tax time rolls around.

Over 50? Use these seven ways to boost your super before July 1

The end of financial year is just two weeks away, but if you want to top up your super before then, you’ve got to act fast.

  • by Bec Wilson
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Letch
Opinion
One Nation

Like Trump, Hanson’s rise is beyond politics. That’s why she’ll be hard to stop

She plays the suffering outsider, yet she’s an insider now, and says she could be prime minister.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Gianni Infantino.

The World Cup has only just started, and FIFA has already suffered a humiliating defeat

The outrages are mounting for the world game’s governing body. All of which should have been foreseeable, and none of which have been addressed.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
There’s joy and redemption to be found at the local tip.
Opinion
Recycling

I went looking for a needle in a haystack, and I found so much more

There’s joy and redemption to be found at the local tip.

  • by Richard Glover
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Labor must hold firm to resist the One Nation surge

Truth-telling is not usually big on the political agenda – politicians telling porky pies are as normal as snouts in the trough