Sydney desk

Filed from the Sydney desk — including multi-city pieces that also ran elsewhere.

Finance · 1 October 2026

RBA’s New Rate Riddle: Higher Prices, Lower Jobs – The Market Participants’ Favorite Paradox

Vera Chen, Sydney desk

When the Reserve Bank of Australia nudges interest rates up, the price of a litre of petrol surges, but unemployment remains flat. Market participants are left wondering whether the real inflation driver is the gas pump…

Sports · 1 October 2026

Foster's Strip‑down: City’s $1.7 billion Bungle Leaves Aussie Legend in a Tumble

Frank Bollard, Melbourne desk

Craig Foster tore up a Manchester City shirt in a fiery protest after a $1.7 billion scandal hit the Premier League, sparking a storm of memes and a council‑led inquiry that might finally clean up the game.

Finance · 1 October 2026

Victorian Mortgage Helpline Goes Dark as Rates Bite

Vera Chen, Sydney desk

The Victorian government’s free mortgage‑stress support service has temporarily shut its doors amid a surge in interest rates, leaving homeowners scrambling for guidance while market participants eye the next rate hi…

Politics · 1 October 2026

Ink‑Stained Councillors: How the City’s Cartoonists Turned Bureaucracy into a Sketchbook

Mabel Crowe, Sydney desk

Sydney’s leading cartoonists have taken a bemused look at local politics, rendering council debates as a series of absurd sketches that expose the art of bureaucratic performance.

Finance · 1 October 2026

ASX Slides While Wall Street Clings to Gains – Inflation’s Unexpected Lightness Leaves Market Participants Confused

Vera Chen, Sydney desk

When August inflation figures arrive with a gentler uptick, the ASX drops in a quiet slump while U.S. stocks rise, puzzling market participants on why Aussie shares and American ones move in opposite directions.

Politics · 1 October 2026

Canberra in Crisis: Minns’ Grenade, Chalmers’ Bank Split Denial—Albanese Watches from the Sidelines

Rex Blister, Sydney desk

In a day that could have been straight out of a political drama, NSW Premier Minns lobbed a grenade at the Australian capital, while Treasurer Chalmers brushed off rumours of a split with bank chief Michele Bullock, leav…

Technology · 1 October 2026

Beer for the Skeptical: Sydney Start‑Up Founder Swears Off AI Doom After 1.4 Trillion‑Dollar Valuation

Ash Park, Sydney desk

After warning about AI doom, a Sydney entrepreneur finds the $1.4 trillion valuation of OpenAI turns sceptics into beer‑promising fans.

Technology · 30 September 2026

The Banal Truth: Rogue Software Is Just Bureaucracy With a Faster Boot Sequence

Ash Park, Sydney desk

Sydney's tech sector is once again gripped by the fear that autonomous software will rebel, a panic that critics argue is merely a misunderstanding of corporate quarterly targets. The real threat isn't a digital uprising…

Business · 30 September 2026

Alaska’s Hawaiian Fleet Rewrites Pacific Rules, Eyes Sydney for Europe‑Asia Expansion

Vera Chen, Sydney desk

After a 2024 takeover, Alaska Airlines re‑assigned Hawaiian’s 787s to trans‑Atlantic routes, sparking speculation that Sydney‑bound travellers could soon hop on a Hawaiian‑Alaska hybrid flight to Europe or Asia…