Richard Ferguson

Lovely work by the Oz's @RichAFerguson on the importance of musicals having good songs in the second half (he doesn't mention Grease but it's second half is also strong). theaustralian.com.au/culture/why-th…

I drove down Sauchiehall Street today — at least for as far as I could go before it becomes a building site — for the first time in over a decade. It used to be world-famous, Glasgow’s equivalent of Oxford Street. It’s now a shambles and a disgrace to Scotlands biggest city. A national scandal. Glasgow City Council should be put into administration. It is clearly incapable of running a proud city which, after years of decline, had a 30-year renaissance from the late 1970s onwards. And is now in more serious decline than ever. So sad — and unnecessary.

Opinion: Sussan Ley had no alternative but to jump on the anti-net-zero train. If she hadn’t, her leadership was over | VIDEO ANALYSIS: bit.ly/3Xs9qaF

My @australian take on the King’s move to rid the House of Windsor of his loathsome brother Andrew once and for all. Is it all too late? theaustralian.com.au/world/brotherl…

Andrew Hastie quits Sussan Ley’s team over migration freeze-out - @australian exclusive from ⁦@Chambersgc⁩ and I theaustralian.com.au/nation/andrew-…

Their romance began at a beach swimming club, but now Louise Bryant shares the heartbreaking story of what happened when dementia stole her 56-year-old partner's brilliant mind: bit.ly/46qjQvG

Birkins, Rolex and a $400,000 mystery item: police raid on home of alleged Chinese spy A woman accused of spying on a Canberra Buddhist association was paid more than $200,000 by the Chinese government, and was taking instructions from a mysterious security official over encrypted messaging platform WeChat, federal police officers will allege. Officers executing a search warrant on the woman’s home last month located hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ­luxury goods, according to fresh court documents, including a Rolex watch receipt and large boxes of high-end handbags “that were too numerous to practicably count”. Police also found a receipt for a mystery item costing $400,000. The woman, who cannot be named due to a suppression order, is alleged to have been working as a “proxy” to covertly gather ­information for an official working for China’s security bureau about Canberra’s Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Association. Full story in The Australian: l.taus.au/C3U

‘Very successful attack’: US joins the war against Iran and strikes three nuclear sites @australian theaustralian.com.au/world/israelir…

The most powerful PM of the past two decades gets to work - all the latest from @australian on the extraordinary Labor landslide and Coalition nightmare theaustralian.com.au

Peter Dutton was the alleged target of a schoolboy’s terror plot - exclusive from Michael McKenna and Lydia Lynch @australian theaustralian.com.au/nation/brisban…

NEWSPOLL: Labor takes 51/49 two party preferred lead in first poll of the 2025 election campaign. theaustralian.com.au/nation/politic…

Secret submarine scandal: Collins lined up for lite-on refit, risking a major capability gap before the arrival of AUKUS nuclear boats - exclusive from @bennpackham @australian theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence…

A Darwin woman has been charged with murdering her abusive partner after allegedly stabbing him in the legs, as part of an extraordinary escalation of the Northern Territory’s domestic violence crisis. Maria Jimmy, 31, faced ­Darwin Local Court on Monday after being charged with the murder of her partner, Ethan Anzac, who had a violent history of crimes against women and was once branded a “bully and a coward” by a judge when he was being sentenced for rape. Police will allege Ms Jimmy, who has no prior criminal ­history, stabbed the 33-year-old twice in the back of his legs while in the presence of others in a suburb north of Darwin CBD on ­Friday night, causing him to bleed to death. Sources say she cooperated with police after being arrested at the scene, but police have no reliable witnesses due to the amount of alcohol consumed by those nearby. Police believe Mr Anzac was in breach of a domestic violence order protecting Ms Jimmy at the time of his alleged murder, which restricted him from going near her while drunk or causing any harm to her. Mr Anzac, who had previously been sentenced to a six-year, non-parole period in prison for a brutal rape, was most ­recently in court on January 17 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of contravening a DVO and two counts of aggravated ­assault. Full story: l.taus.au/JCw |

When you didn’t finish the movie

A man with a “massive domestic violence history”, banned from contacting his partner after allegedly threatening to kill her, is in custody following the death of the woman in Darwin. In what is now the third alleged case Territory police are treating as a possible domestic violence homicide in 2025, a 39-year-old man was arrested following the “suspicious” death of a woman, 40, on Monday morning. At the time of the woman’s death the man in custody was on bail for seven charges, six of which involved alleged violent offending. Full story: l.taus.au/BWF

Last minute cocktails for Teal MPs at Albanese's Lodge, as hung parliament looms - exclusive @chambersgc Rhiannon Down theaustralian.com.au/nation/teal-mp…

Albanese is now about as unpopular as Morrison before his 2022 loss, BUT Keating and Howard both went on to win with similar or worse approval ratings … theaustralian.com.au/commentary/ant…

Newspoll: LNP 51 - ALP 49, while Albanese suffers lowest approval levels since becoming PM theaustralian.com.au/nation/politic…

And congrats to our @Adam_Creighton as he embarks on his new @TheIPA adventure. You can still read Adam every week in @australian commentary section!

Very exciting to welcome new economics correspondent Matthew Cranston and new business editor Vesna Pojak to the @australian team! And congrats to yarn machine @perrybwilliams on being named our Chief Business Correspondent!