More than 1500 casual outside-school care workers have lost their jobs and dozens of services face closure as the sector struggles under continuous coronavirus lockdowns.

The man said he couldn’t sleep after he checked the winning numbers on his Powerball lottery ticket late on Thursday night.

NSW will tighten the rules around the singles bubble and people exercising, a popular market in Melbourne’s inner south is a venue of concern and vaccine hesitancy has fallen in Queensland.

Daily life in Sydney as NSW reported 390 new local COVID-19 cases, the highest daily case total since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The week in photos from the award winning Sydney Morning Herald and Financial review photographers.

The bone has been collected for pathology testing, which will determine whether it is from a human body. 

The canned food giant received a number of threats after announcing it would mandate COVID-19 vaccinations, but is confident its products are safe.

A friend of Mr Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife is expected to give evidence for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in his defamation case against them.

A golf driving range approved for Balnarring has come to symbolise the debate over Melbourne’s green wedges, which are now under review.

Police continue searching for clues as to what led to a violent daylight stabbing death of a man in Sydney’s inner west on Friday. 

A young man who narrowly missed hitting a police officer, pedestrians and cyclists as he sped a car through central Melbourne will be released after nine months in jail.

Herald letter writers tell us how to stay positive in Sydney’s extended lockdown and provide the essential pandemic playlist.

Australia is the only liberal democracy in the world that doesn’t have comprehensive legislation covering people’s rights.

Lawyers for the media outlets have a copy of the ABC’s full written defence to Christian Porter’s defamation claim, but most of the document is not in the public domain.

Dubbo has recorded 17 new cases and a further two in Walgett, bringing the cluster to a total of 25 which authorities say is expected to grow.

A former Christian college teacher charged with 70 sexual assault offences including the alleged rape of a former student has been remanded in custody after facing a fresh charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

When his young son was dumped by a monster wave at Sydney’s Bronte beach, this erstwhile New Yorker was intrigued by what happened next.

The Barranbinya man and ABC sports presenter discusses why he thinks about death regularly, the struggles he faced at the end of his AFL career, and feeling a sense of responsibility as a voice for the Indigenous community.

Today on Please Explain, executive editor Tory Maguire joins Nathanael Cooper to explore the role the media plays in disseminating critical information.

Want to chat? We’d love to hear from you. Send your letters to goodweekend@goodweekend.com.au.

The startling speed of vaccine deployment in this pandemic should spur growth in Australia’s capacity and that should happen where the chance of success is greatest.

Trinity Grammar teacher Alexander Simpson repeatedly asked police posing as a 13-year-old girl to send him photos of her breasts.

Canterbury-Bankstown still has the highest number of cases for a Sydney local government area, but there has been stabilisation. Nearly 400 people are currently in NSW hospitals because of COVID-19.

Western Australia will place its harshest measures yet on travellers from COVID-infected states, including having to prove they have received at least one vaccine dose.

AstraZeneca will be available to Victorian adults at all 50 state-run vaccination hubs in a bid to deliver a new target of 1 million vaccines in the next five weeks.

How does Australia’s border compare to the rest of the world, is it in line with the science, and what does the law say about shutting citizens out (and in)?

Shanks, also known as Friendlyjordies, is being sued in the Federal Court over two videos he published on his YouTube channel last year.

The veteran was seemingly trying to avoid two weeks in Queensland quarantine when returning home from locked down Sydney by stopping in Byron, then part of the border bubble.

The man from Mount Isa, 575 kilometres north-west of the scene, faced court on Friday. The death toll now stands at 41.

As he cuddles the chook he tells his curious guests about the method he used to rob drug dealers - a scene that appears nearly verbatim in the movie.

A memory from Rwanda consigns to crackpottery the argument that a decision not to vaccinate during an emergency is a “freedom”.

Senior Constable Neil Punchard was sentenced to two months’ jail, wholly suspended, for nine counts of computer hacking.

The City of Melbourne embarked on a three-year campaign to drive possums out of a Carlton park, before commissioning an artist to create a holographic projection of a ghostly possum in one of the remaining trees.

Queensland recorded several new cases of coronavirus on Friday, as the state urges NSW to outline its plan to contain its own outbreak.

We can probably reach a vaccination level high enough to keep the community safe without having to go further down the road of compulsion.

Kristian Radovanovic,19, has been charged after allegedly travelling with his father from Sydney to Byron Bay.

Every year, Good Weekend publishes definitive stories on the people, places and issues that matter to Australians. Here, we revisit some of our reader favourites from the first half of 2021.

Here, we revisit some of our favourite Dicey Topics interviews from the first half of 2021, where Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private.

The craft brewing sector is one of the hardest to crack, but one WA brewer is going great guns, thanks to a worthy marketing campaign and unique use of native ingredients.

The women, aged 20 and 21, who have since tested positive to COVID-19 have been charged with allegedly breaching public health orders.

More than 560 public transport workers are currently in COVID isolation across NSW, with the state government warning Sydneysiders to prepare for the risk of widespread disruptions.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing pressure from Victorian Liberals to ramp up plans for Australia’s first mRNA vaccine manufacturing hub, as the campaign for the federal government to choose Victoria as the preferred location intensifies.

Coercion is not an option for people who refuse to be vaccinated. But there are some jobs and activities for which vaccination can justifiably be required,

Like all Victorians, Chris Cheers was weary and frustrated when lockdown number six was announced. But he’s got some strategies for how we can cope.

The Chief Health Officer has given much reassurance to the people of locked-down south-west Sydney - because she knows us well.

A list of workers authorised to leave locked-down local government areas includes animal carers, but not ministers of religion.

The NSW government will offer $1500 a fortnight in support for up to three months to council workers whose jobs are affected by lockdowns.

Eli Solomon will have to face a rare medical treatment alone after WA authorities rejected his wife’s application. Fiona Stanley Hospital is the only facility offering the treatment he needs.

Exemptions for the rich and powerful, restrictions by the police and army for the weaker and poorer. The land of the fair go, gone.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today’s interactive superquiz and target.