The ‘earthquake’ election that shook Australia
Niki Savva’s book Earthquake is a damning account of the election that shook Australia, writes MARK KENNY.
- Politics
- Politics
Debt spiral: the year Labor screwed Canberra
"On average, net debt rose by more than $5 million a day, every day, including weekends and public holidays, and Easter and Christmas!" If you read only one of JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED's columns this year – this one will shock you!
- Arts & Entertainment
It’s all about telling stories, says interpretation winner
Canberra-Queanbeyan designer and 3-D storyteller Caolán Mitchell has been awarded the Georgie Waterman Career Achievement Award for his impact and innovative approach to the unusual professional field of interpretation.
- Politics
Antisemitism crisis: Albanese found wanting
Regardless of whether massacre was preventable, Albanese has been found wanting in meeting antisemitism crisis, writes political columnist MICHELLE GRATTAN.
- Politics
Labor’s debt drain calls while Libs fight each other
"The Canberra Liberals spent the year gnawing on their own bones, becoming less and less relevant." political columnist MICHAEL MOORE shares an unvarnished review of the local year in politics.
- Opinion
We must call out the grandstanding that antisemitism is on the rise
"If a passing greengrocer has the guts to risk his life at Bondi beach then I should risk being called names for writing a few cautionary words," says columnist HUGH SELBY.
- Opinion
Classic failure: Microsoft digs deep and sinks
"Having spent far too many hours getting nowhere, I pushed the button to renew the software. I am able to write this article which maybe means I am re-signed to a program I don’t want." Columnist HUGH SELBY continues his tilt at Microsoft.
- Lifestyle
An expert’s pick of the best summer board games
An expert’s pick of the best board games to play (and gift) this summer
- Lifestyle
No-fuss fern that’s a real survivor
Indoor or outdoor, gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON features a no-fuss fern with an "amazing steel-blue colour".
Update
Gun crackdown detailed as police ready Bondi charges
A snap sitting of parliament is expected to pass firearm caps and other urgent changes as emotions remain high in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
News
Australia mourns as Israeli ambassador visits Bondi
As the Jewish community mourns the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack Israel's ambassador has visited the site, as Australia considers tighter gun laws.
Update
‘Guilty’: mushroom cook convicted of triple murder
Mushroom cook Erin Patterson intentionally poisoned four members of her estranged husband's family, a jury has found after a week of deliberations.
News
Coroner finds cop who shot indigenous teen a racist
A coroner has found the death of a 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man in a remote community was avoidable, and the former police officer who shot him was racist.
Update
Few clues to motive in ‘horrifying’ Bondi rampage
NSW Premier Chris Minns says women were targeted in the Bondi Junction mass stabbing but lengthy inquiries to come may never conclusively find a motive.
Bondi terror accused faces 59 charges
Teen loses car after hitting 67 clicks above the speed limit
Short-term gain, long-term pain in budget update
Police recover stolen property from teen’s home
Tom Silvagni jailed for six years after raping woman
Fleeing man charged with assaulting pregnant ex-partner
Lifestyle
Murdering horse thief or victim of police persecution?
"Kelly himself is often quoted as saying,'Such is life', just before he was hanged but this is debatable." Historians ROSS FITZGERALD & DICK WHITAKER reflect on the endless legend that was Ned Kelly.
Lifestyle
Can you trust sunscreens? Here’s how to choose a safe one
Most of us know sunscreen is a key way to protect areas of our skin not easily covered by clothes from excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation. But it’s been a rough year for sunscreens, says KATIE LEE.
Opinion
Old statue of violence tests modern double standards
"Raised voices destroy the bliss. He is yelling. She is whimpering. There they are. She is on the ground and he has just kicked her. It’s quite obvious." What do you do, asks columnist HUGH SELBY, writing from Tokyo.
News
Bondi terror accused faces 59 charges
Accused murderer Naveed Akram is facing a court hearing from his hospital bed charged with 59 offences over the Bondi Beach shootings which killed 15 people
Police
Teen loses car after hitting 67 clicks above the speed limit
An 18-year-old P-plater, who was not displaying his P-plates, has lost his vehicle and was suspended from driving after he was caught driving 67km/h over the speed limit.
The economy
Short-term gain, long-term pain in budget update
For the first time in eight years, the net impact of the government's decisions improved the federal bottom line - but medium-term forecasts are less rosy.
Update
Gun crackdown detailed as police ready Bondi charges
A snap sitting of parliament is expected to pass firearm caps and other urgent changes as emotions remain high in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
Police
Police recover stolen property from teen’s home
Suspected stolen property has been recovered by police from a home in O’Connor following the arrest of a 16-year-old girl last week.
National news
Tom Silvagni jailed for six years after raping woman
Tom Silvagni, the youngest son of AFL great Stephen and television identity Jo, has been sentenced to jail after being convicted of rape.
Police
Fleeing man charged with assaulting pregnant ex-partner
A 22-year-old man was arrested at Canberra Airport on Tuesday evening after allegedly strangling his pregnant former partner at her home earlier that afternoon.
Update
Take personal responsibility for Bondi deaths, PM told
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing blistering criticism over the government's response to anti-Semitism in the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting.
Politics
France flags laws to ban social media for children
French President Emmanuel Macron has flagged an Australian-style law banning social media for children under 16.
Daily Puzzles
Niki Savva’s book Earthquake is a damning account of the election that shook Australia, writes MARK KENNY.
"On average, net debt rose by more than $5 million a day, every day, including weekends and public holidays, and Easter and Christmas!" If you read only one of JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED's columns this year – this one will shock you!
Antisemitism crisis: Albanese found wanting
Labor’s debt drain calls while Libs fight each other
Pollies are as good as teens in getting around rules
Revealed: dismal failure hides behind the gloss
Wells’ spendathon revelations make for awkward timing
Independent eyes hold government to account
Views
Bondi letters: The people who allowed hatred to fester
CityNews readers have their say on the consequences of the Bondi shooting massacre.
Letters
Who ever wanted disruption and cost of the tram?
This is our last letters column for this year. Thank you to all our many new and regular correspondents. The lively, passionate and often provocative opinions we publish keep the editor on his toes! So one final time for 2025...
Opinion
We must call out the grandstanding that antisemitism is on the rise
"If a passing greengrocer has the guts to risk his life at Bondi beach then I should risk being called names for writing a few cautionary words," says columnist HUGH SELBY.
Opinion
Classic failure: Microsoft digs deep and sinks
"Having spent far too many hours getting nowhere, I pushed the button to renew the software. I am able to write this article which maybe means I am re-signed to a program I don’t want." Columnist HUGH SELBY continues his tilt at Microsoft.
Opinion
Come back, Bill Gates, Microsoft needs a human like you!
"Microsoft cannot accept or process a new subscription until the existing one has been exhausted... Their mighty software has a glaringly stupid glitch." Columnist HUGH SELBY goes searching for humans to fix his software problem.
Opinion
‘Human’ story triumphs in telling Christian history
"Delving into pre-Christian sources for historical evidence is a difficult and dangerous game since the believers assert their right to censor and alter anything that doesn’t conform to the party line," writes columnist ROBERT MACKLIN.
Opinion
KEEPING UP THE ACT
"Santa" has written a special Christmas postcard to all his Labor MLAs at Trammany Hall, telling them to be good while daddy's away! KEEPING UP THE ACT's got a copy of it...
Opinion
Let go, splurge into excess and self-indulgence
"It was a lightbulb moment to realise that small children get it right. Christmas is when they are spoiled rotten by Santa, parents and other relatives… but the payoff is what’s under the tree," writes a nostalgic HUGH SELBY.
Opinion
When a lease is varied, the community should benefit
"It needs to be demonstrated why paying 75 per cent of the increase in land value from a lease change is not sufficient incentive to encourage the desired development outcomes," writes planning columnist MIKE QUIRK.
Arts
It’s all about telling stories, says interpretation winner
Canberra-Queanbeyan designer and 3-D storyteller Caolán Mitchell has been awarded the Georgie Waterman Career Achievement Award for his impact and innovative approach to the unusual professional field of interpretation.
Music
Celebrated soprano to sing at Hawker carols
The annual Hawker Carols celebration on Christmas Eve will once again feature celebrated Australian soprano Lorina Gore.
Theatre
Q season promises year of ‘delicious’ entertainment
Patrons of The Q can comfortably expect a year of delicious entertainment if artistic director Jordan Best’s announcement of the 2026 theatre season on Monday evening was anything to go by.
Music
Flautist in the running for national award
Canberra flautist Sally Walker has been nominated for Limelight magazine’s Artist of the Year this year – the only Canberra artist and the only wind player in the line-up.
Photography
Intimate exhibitions portray connection across generations
BRIAN ROPE reviews two complementary, but different photo exhibitions.
Arts & Entertainment
Gallery showing for video portrait of soccer team
HELEN MUSA rounds up all sorts of arts news in her latest Art in the City column.
Dance
Young choreographers step into the spotlight
MICHELLE POTTER reviews the Emerging Choreographers Program 2025 by Quantum Leap Australia.
Music
Choir’s ‘true celebration’ of Handel’s music
LEN POWER reviews A Handel Celebration, a performance by the Canberra Choral Society.
Exhibitions
Museum opens its Korean wave
The Canberra-only exhibition, Hallyu! The Korean Wave is now open at the National Museum.
Lifestyle
An expert’s pick of the best summer board games
An expert’s pick of the best board games to play (and gift) this summer
Gardening
No-fuss fern that’s a real survivor
Indoor or outdoor, gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON features a no-fuss fern with an "amazing steel-blue colour".
Wine
Review bottles come with a taste of the past
"The Tahbilk winery is renowned for its marsanne. Despite origins in the Northern Rhone district of France, Tahbilk has the world’s largest single holding of marsanne, which was first planted in 1927," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
History
Murdering horse thief or victim of police persecution?
"Kelly himself is often quoted as saying,'Such is life', just before he was hanged but this is debatable." Historians ROSS FITZGERALD & DICK WHITAKER reflect on the endless legend that was Ned Kelly.
Lifestyle
How to keep winter clothes safely stored over summer
Putting away your winter clothes? Moths and chemical reactions are the enemies of natural fibre – but there are easy ways to keep your clothes safe over summer, says NISA SALIM
Health & Fitness
Can you trust sunscreens? Here’s how to choose a safe one
Most of us know sunscreen is a key way to protect areas of our skin not easily covered by clothes from excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation. But it’s been a rough year for sunscreens, says KATIE LEE.
Gardening
Get netting, it’s good for fruit
With warmer weather, most fruit trees will begin to ripen in the next few months and will need protection from the birds and wildlife, says gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON.
Wine
Living the dream of making good wine in a top spot
Marina and John Sekoranja are the beneficiaries of a dream that was built from the desire to produce good wine in beautiful surroundings. Wine columnist RICHARD CALVER has been out to McKellar Ridge.
Dining
Moody and mysterious, but baffling service
With a large, illuminated devil’s fork mounted on the wall behind the long bar, Vice, on Odgers Lane, Civic, is moody and mysterious, says dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON.
