Bundjalung man Ashley Moran has a personal connection to the track and says the multiday hike will give walkers a new appreciation of the area’s significance

The American British author on pet peeves, the perils of fantasy dinner parties, and revisiting The Short History of Everything two decades later * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email You did a whole book on Australia, and have travelled here a bit since – what’s the number one tip or recommendation you’d give someone coming for the first time? Get out and walk! I mean, maybe not through the outback, but if you’re in any of the cities, walk. I do that wherever I go. And I love to just go off and explore without knowing where I’m going, without a map or any preconceived ideas. I think it’s the best way to discover a place, and it has the great virtue that if you turn a corner – say in Sydney – and there’s suddenly the Harbour Bridge, you feel as if you’ve discovered it. There’s a real feeling of exhilaration, I think, in that. But also, you discover little cafes and hidden corners and odds and ends. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 by Bill Bryson is out now through Penguin. The author is touring Australia and New Zealand in February 2026 with the live show The Best of Bill Bryson Continue reading...

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Climate groups call backflip a ‘disaster’ while moderate Liberals worry about impact on winning back urban electorates Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says his party’s decision to dump a net zero target shows it “does not take climate change seriously”, accusing the opposition of “a Trumpian campaign against renewables.” But while moderate sources are alarmed about the impact on winning back or retaining urban electorates, and climate groups called the backflip a “disaster”, the Liberal decision to scrap their own 2050 target and unwind Labor’s 2035 and renewable energy pledges has been praised by conservative MPs and campaigners. Continue reading...

What the Tesla tycoon wants his billions can’t buy: being able to get a true laugh As I’ve written before, the world is being burnt down around us by some of the biggest losers in history. It is painful to watch. In difficult times like these, it is important to try to find silver linings. For me, the brightest of these linings shines from Elon Musk, who is one of the worst contributors to today’s “world vibe”. He has an unbelievable amount of money, and therefore power. He has the president’s bandaged ear. He bought Twitter, made it horrible, and now spends a concerning amount of time on there, like a guy who brought alcohol for the party so you have to let him hang out. Then they said, look, wait a second. We both just ate a pile of shit and we don’t have any more extra money. We both just gave the $100 back to me and we both ate a pile of shit. This doesn’t make any sense. And they said, no, no, but think of the economy, because that’s $200 in the economy, basically, eating shit would count as a job. Continue reading...

Did you know you can ask your GP for an indefinite referral – so you don’t need a new one every year? Or ask to be sent for free to a public hospital clinic? Here are ways to keep costs down * $1,000 for a one-hour appointment: why are fees for Australia’s specialist doctors skyrocketing? Guardian Australia readers have described facing prohibitive costs, along with limited access, when trying to see medical specialists. Even GPs say referring to other specialists can be difficult to navigate, so it’s little wonder patients are confused about how to access affordable care. The Consumers Health Forum and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners say gaps in understanding of the health system contribute to Australians missing out on care or paying too much for it. They have called for greater health literacy, especially around Medicare. $1,000 for a one-hour appointment: why are fees for Australia’s specialist doctors skyrocketing? Continue reading...

Australia stopped buying fuel directly from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine but has imported more than 3m tonnes of its oil products since 2023 * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Millions of tonnes of Russian oil have been traded through a port part-owned by Macquarie Bank and potentially sold on to Australian businesses, new data shows. The identification of a new link between Australia and the trade in Russian-origin products exposes further gaps in government sanctions, as Australia lags Europe and UK in tightening import rules. Continue reading...

The main thing you need to know about ‘six seven’ is that you do not in fact need to know what it means * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...