Sax Institute is recruiting for 18 and Up, an intergenerational study of wellbeing and ageing that follows its landmark 45 and Up study

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Researchers hope to better understand the drivers of major health challenges facing younger people, such as mental illness and rising cancer rates, through the recruitment of 100,000 people for Australia’s largest intergenerational study of wellbeing and ageing.

The independent and not-for-profit research institute the Sax Institute on Thursday launched the 18 and Up study, which will follow the health of those aged 18 to 45 throughout their lives.

Victorian court of appeal rules Patterson should be jailed for life with no parole over deadly beef wellington lunch that killed three people

• Erin Patterson mushroom murders appeal – live updates

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Erin Patterson has lost her bid to overturn her convictions and been resentenced to life behind bars with no chance of release, as Victoria’s highest court handed down its decision on two appeals regarding her triple murder case.

The court of appeal ruled on the two appeals on Friday, after justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard arguments from her legal team and prosecutors in August.

A once-confidential letter says child sexual abuser might implicate senior church officials if allowed near ‘the legal arena’ upon his release from jail

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Lawyers from a leading law firm for the Marist Brothers have been subpoenaed to explain a once-confidential document showing they advised the Catholic order to keep a serial offender out of “the legal arena”, suggesting he was too honest and might implicate senior church officials.

The offender was “regrettably up front” about his interactions with senior leadership, and could not be trusted to heed “suggestions” about “not dumping on others excessively”, the document says.

‘Miracle’ cache of letters written by French scientist who died in ill-fated La Pérouse mission give personal account of 1785 voyage

As he prepared to climb the scaffolding to be publicly executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, Louis XVI is reported to have asked: “Is there news of Monsieur de la Pérouse?”

He was referring to Jean-François de Galaup, the count of Pérouse, a naval officer and navigator whom the French king had dispatched in 1785 on a round-the-world scientific mission to rival discoveries made by the English explorer Captain James Cook.

Pauline Hanson says Anthony Albanese made ‘unsolicited’ offer of adviser with $200,000 salary to one of her MPs

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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, offered the One Nation MP David Farley an additional staff member in what the party has called an “unsolicited” move, made in an attempt to win over the new politician using taxpayer funds.

In a statement posted on social media, Pauline Hanson claimed the move, which would cost taxpayers as much as $200,000 in additional salary, was an attempt to “exert undue political influence” over politicians.

Prime minister vows not to slash health and education funding amid political problem over handling of economy

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Anthony Albanese has ruled out major cuts to health, education and essential services in December’s mid-year budget update, but conceded savings are required as Labor struggles to curb accelerating inflation.

Amid growing pressure from within Labor’s own ranks, as well as from the opposition and business, Albanese said the Coalition was hypocritical in not supporting existing savings proposals, including the government’s plan to reduce the private health insurance rebate for people over 65.

Richard Norton, 75, went into cardiac arrest in March 2025 after injecting prescribed but unapproved CJC1295 and ipamorelin

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The death of an Australian actor after injecting unapproved peptides could result in tougher restrictions on the substances.

Richard Norton, 75, an experienced film industry fight choreographer, stuntman and martial artist, went into cardiac arrest in March 2025 after injecting a prescribed but unapproved peptide.

Vana-Reese Schuster-Togiatau was injured during the shooting outside Fitzy’s Loganholme pub on Saturday

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Potential gang involvement in the fatal drive-by shooting of a 19-year-old woman is being investigated by Queensland police.

Vana-Reese Schuster-Togiatau, from Jimboomba, was hit in the head and neck when masked gunmen opened fire into a crowd outside Fitzy’s Loganholme, a pub in Logan, south of Brisbane, on Saturday night.

Official’s controversial September request for Senate hearing footage to not be shared on social media has been heavily criticised

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The secretary of the defence department approved a senior official’s controversial idea to tell a Senate hearing that footage of public servants giving evidence should not be shared on social media because it could invite online bullying and raise national security concerns.

Emails obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information reveal deputy secretary Celia Perkins’ planned request to the parliamentary inquiry was flagged with the offices of deputy prime minister Richard Marles and assistant defence minister Peter Khalil, and received the backing of department secretary Meghan Quinn.

Trial hears accused told police he wasn’t ‘avoiding them’ in three-minute call before he turned himself in after allegedly murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

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A police officer accused of a double murder told police he was not avoiding them despite vanishing for days after the incident, a Sydney court has heard.

The court heard police attempted to contact Beau Lamarre-Condon after the alleged murders, with a colleague messaging him on Instagram: “Hey hun … can you please contact the crime manager at eastern suburbs asap when you get a chance?”

Concerns raised about appointment of former federal senator, Amanda Stoker, who has previously supported the rights of people accused of sexual assault

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Women’s safety advocates have raised concerns about the appointment of rightwing Queensland MP Amanda Stoker as the state’s minister for the prevention of domestic violence in light of her resurfaced statements that people should not “blindly” believe women who make allegations of violence.

Stoker, who was appointed to the role on Saturday, argued in a 2023 article that the recent push to believe complaints “rather than carefully assess[ing] relevant evidence” would harm innocent defendants.

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Nothing done to stop planting weapons on dead Afghans, ADF inspector says, as ‘breakdown of command’ allowed ‘egregious behaviour’

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Some Australian SAS officers knew that soldiers under their command were using “throwdowns” – planting weapons on dead Afghan civilians to portray them as combatants – but did nothing to stop the unlawful practice, a previously unpublished military report has said.

Posted online this week, the executive summary of a 2021 investigation into the “cultural context” of the special operations command by the inspector general of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) is scathing about the “breakdown of command” and the erosion of military discipline during special forces operations in Afghanistan, which “resulted in episodes of potential and actual egregious behaviour”.

Bush Heritage hopes to buy Wooroora station, which links wet sclerophyll forest and savanna woodland and is home to 12 endangered species

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A majestic tract of land in far north Queensland that links wet tropics and world heritage rainforest, and contains headwaters that flow to the Great Barrier Reef, could be bought and protected by Christmas, after a conservation group raised more than $19m in private donations to buy the cattle station.

Wooroora spans more than 20,000 hectares of largely intact wet sclerophyll forest and savanna woodland on the lands of the Jirrbal people about 100km south-west of Cairns – and borders Bush Heritage’s existing 43,575-hectare Yourka Reserve in one of the most biodiverse regions in Australia.

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Gas reservation policy set for lower house vote today

Australia’s domestic gas reservation is set to be debated and voted on in the lower house today.

Rather than international base companies, determining through algorithms what Australians receive, it empowers people themselves to determine what you receive on your devices, so that you should have that control.

This isn’t about government having a greater role. It’s about people having a greater role, having more control themselves, and it’s deserving of support of this parliament.

NSW government imposes water restrictions after Menindee water volumes fall below 2021 levels

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Water levels at the Menindee Lakes in western New South Wales have fallen to their lowest point in five years, prompting the state government to impose upstream water use restrictions as experts warn of potential mass fish deaths over summer.

Combined volume at the Menindee Lakes fell below 480 gigalitres earlier this month, the first time since 2021.

As USS Colorado showcases the program in Perth, retired admiral Peter Briggs says personnel is one of the ‘huge issues’ it faces

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Australia faces an uphill battle to recruit and train enough naval personnel to serve on submarines planned for the future fleet of nuclear-powered vessels under the controversial $368bn Aukus deal, a retired admiral has warned.

As the Virginia-class submarine USS Colorado arrived at HMAS Stirling south of Perth on Tuesday for a month of routine maintenance and to help build Australian expertise, retired admiral Peter Briggs said more people needed to be enrolled in the navy’s submarine program.

Tony Blair’s former spokesperson says attacks on UK MPs did not bring about lasting cultural change and overheated rhetoric quickly returned to politics

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Tony Blair’s former communications guru, Alastair Campbell, says the UK political system was too quick to revert to overheated rhetoric and polarisation after attacks on MPs, urging politicians to “re-win the argument for democratic politics”.

More than a week after independent MP Helen Haines was allegedly targeted in an attack outside her electorate office in northern Victoria, causing her to lose both legs, Campbell said the tenor of political debate in Australia should better reflect Haines’ own approach.

As next week’s all but certain rate rise looms, there is one thing we can all agree on: the end of war in the Middle East can’t come soon enough

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Jim Chalmers is blaming the latest shocking inflation figures on the worsening Middle East conflict, and he has a point.

The trouble is, voters aren’t buying what the treasurer is selling.

Labor government under pressure to create social media watchdog as new online safety standards bill passes lower house

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The federal government wants to ban AI chatbots which seek to create “emotional intimacy” after prime minister Anthony Albanese raised the alarm in a heartfelt speech about children treating these agents as their “best friend”.

But Labor is coming under increasing pressure to empower the telecommunications ombudsman to become a watchdog for social media and AI to give Australians an external complaints mechanism and allow the “naming and shaming” of big tech.

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National trust of Victoria award celebrates much-loved arboreal icons while calling for protection of green spaces

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For more than 160 years, a humble ginkgo tree raised from seed in Geelong’s botanic gardens has been the backdrop to “countless local love stories”. Standing beneath it is the most popular spot to get married at the park, its branches forming the backdrop of many wedding photos.

Now, in addition to being the largest ginkgo biloba in the state – and possibly Australia – at a whopping 20 metres tall, it has a new claim to fame. The much-adored Geelong icon has been crowned Victoria’s tree of the year.