Victorians will enter a snap five-day lockdown at 11.59pm on Thursday, Sydney is bracing for more COVID-19 cases tomorrow and Prime Minister Scott Morrison remains on the defensive after Victoria accused him of being the ‘Prime Minister for NSW’.

Former Saint Matt Parker will make his Richmond debut against Brisbane on Friday night in Jack Riewoldt’s milestone 300th game.

Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the state will enter its fifth lockdown from midnight as the state revealed two additional COVID-19 cases and three Chadstone shopping centre outlets were added as exposure sites.

The virus is moving so fast that the scale of the most recent lockdowns will be difficult to predict and has forced changes to emergency relief payments.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will speak to New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe before Saturday’s decider about France’s tactics after the tackle.

Premier Daniel Andrews will hold a press conference later on Thursday with new coronavirus restrictions set to be imposed on Victoria, including a possible lockdown, after the state’s outbreak expanded to 16 cases.

Authorities should take care not to remove “attack” from the lexicon used to describe incidents between sharks and humans, according to Dave Pearson, a spokesman for the Bite Club representing bite victims.

Readers applauded Ash Barty not only for her victory but for her sportsmanship, saying she’d made all Australians proud. Others also celebrated Dylan Alcott’s win in the quad wheelchair singles final.

Under the streamlined arrangements, people who have lost work hours will receive payments once a lockdown extends past seven days, backdated to cover work lost during the first week.

Staff will be allowed to trade away penalty rates, overtime and allowances for higher wages as part of an industry attempt to simplify pay rules.

Use our interactive map to see where your 5km lockdown limit finishes from any address.

Andrew Bruce failed to properly look at the criminal history of Anthony Sampieri before the rapist went on to assault a seven-year-old girl, a magistrate found.

Tom Sherry was starting out his career when I Am Power arrived at his stable in Ireland, and now the pair joined forces again Down Under.

A late-season winning run has Oscar Zulu ready to break Rain Affair’s BOBS record.

Greg Hickman will look to make it two out of three Midways as Epic Dan and Get The Idea get the chance to join Our Bellagio Miss as a winner in the new series.

The latest COVID-19 outbreaks in Melbourne have prompted new restrictions. Here’s a list of the new rules.

Millions of dollars allegedly extracted from Westpac in a $360 million fraud likely flowed into overseas entities controlled by soccer identity Bill Papas,

A man who sexually assaulted four women in public places had difficulty adjusting to social interactions with women when he moved to Australia, his lawyer has told a court.

Competition tsar Rod Sims says any attempt by National Australia Bank to buy Citi’s retail bank will be subject to strictest scrutiny.

Some schools will begin their HSC trials as early as next week despite concerns of COVID-19 transmission.

Fifty years ago, a junior Australian diplomat learned about Henry Kissinger’s covert mission to Beijing. What happened next had real consequences in Canberra.

Charlotte Caslick found it difficult to celebrate her selection for the Toyko Games. Her priority was long-time teammate and friend Ellia Green.

Powerful midfielder Charlie Rowbottom, the sister of Sydney men’s player James, is strongly considering nominating for the Queensland draft pool.

The Amazon basin, one of the planet’s largest stores of carbon, is beginning to release more carbon-dioxide to the atmosphere than it absorbs as deforestation and fires spread, potentially accelerating global warming.

Sergio Silvagni, who died on Thursday, won two premierships, all Carlton hearts – and a new cohort of fans to the game of footy.

Indonesia has entered the “worst case scenario” as the Delta strain wreaks havoc, recording more new COVID-19 cases than any country in the world.

Everything you need to know to find a winner at the mid-north coast meeting.

Sydney Airport’s board has left the door open to a higher bid for the company, despite rejecting a $22 billion offer from superannuation giants.

“Rattle his bones over the stones” was a clue. But the family researcher was flummoxed over the next line which hinted at cause of death.

Jamil Hopoate is awaiting sentence over the incident in December when police allege he struck his partner in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

Anthony Albanese has shown he is not afraid to take on the more extreme elements of his party by stamping out a damaging debate.

But Andy Penn, who also chairs the federal government’s ​​cyber-security industry advisory committee, says the degree of responsibility should depend on the significance of the company’s products or services.

The Tasmanian writer has won the “Wimbledon” of literary awards for her seventh novel The Labyrinth.

The Stokes father-and-son tag team didn’t need this level of ownership to exert control over the building materials company but it’s paid for it anyway.

Top epidemiologists say the random nature of COVID-19 makes it hard to know if Victoria’s small outbreak will lead to sustained infections or simply peter out.

The Opposition Leader has slammed a Labor motion backed by former NSW premier Bob Carr calling for a boycott of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

Trent Barrett has drawn a line in the sand with one of his players caught up in a biosecurity breach, leaving him in Sydney as the Bulldogs relocated to Queensland.

Venues including Westfield Carindale, the Brisbane airport, and sites across Aspley, Annerley, Ascot, Stones Corner and the Sunshine Coast are the latest places of concern for Queensland contact tracers.

Joseph Dean Geiger was charged as an accessory after the fact to murder over the death of 16-year-old Larissa Beilby.

A new book by Washington Post journalists claims General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made plans to block any possible Trump coup attempt.

It would be reprehensible if the Queensland Premier attended an IOC session in Japan while calling for the number of arrivals into Australia to be slashed.

As Origin III proved, reports of Queensland’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

Artist Thea Perkins honours her grandfather Charlie Perkins in a powerful work that shows both his cheekiness and his bolshiness.

Players and club staff are preparing for the prospect of being away for several weeks after the AFL sent seven teams north to play games in Queensland.

Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza delivers a tour de force performance in this thriller that doubles as cringe comedy.

It’s your last chance to party! the DJ shouted to the crowd at the after-party. How prophetic.

It has taken until game four but Australia are finally on the board - but only after holding off a late charge by the West Indies to scrape home by four runs.

My friend’s marriage nearly ended in an airport car park. There are some tests that no union can withstand, and a protracted stretch of multi-level car park searching is one of them.

Woodside is seeking to sell stakes in its giant Scarborough gas field off the coast of WA and an oil project in Senegal as prices of the fossil fuels rebound.

Richard John Stanley QC is often described as the pre-eminent jury advocate of his generation.