To most Melburnians, seagulls are pests: scavengers to be shooed, netted, spiked off our rooftops. But their circling, their claim to the scraps of a city that pushed them to its edges, tells a deeper story. Luisa Bonazzoli reports.

A daytime pyrotechnics display from internationally-renowned artist Cai Guo-Qiang, in collaboration with outdoor brand Arc’teryx, has offended Tibetan locals and drawn controversy across China. Sihan Ren and Di Wang report.

Every month, a group of crafters get together at a different local pub to yarn about yarn, life, and more. This collective is breaking stereotypes and showing that crafting doesn’t have to be done alone. Maxine Ford reports.

In October, Allan Browne’s music held a special place at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, despite his death 10 years ago. It is a testament to the community that upholds the legend of live jazz culture. Siena Kinkela reports.

As young Filipinos recently flooded the streets of downtown Manila in protest, one symbol stood out. Erielle Sudario (@cutiejea.bsky.social) reports. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/jai...

The koalas of French Island are starving. Once a conservation safe haven, the island’s habitat has been stripped bare by unmanaged population growth, with some critics calling for a controversial koala culling program. Ashleigh Wyss reports. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/eat...

Labubus are one of 2025’s trendiest and most sought-after toys, but rising demand has resulted in a surge of the dolls’ counterfeit cousin known as “Lafufus”. These fakes are prompting safety warnings from overseas jurisdictions and CHOICE safety experts. Ashleigh Wyss reports.

While the Pacific frequently makes headlines due to geopolitical tensions, Pacific perspectives are harder to find. With regional journalists facing increasing challenges, industry veterans urge the Australian media to overcome its “shameful” neglect of the region. Ashleigh Wyss Reports.

The Human Rights Commissioner says delays to AI regulation are causing “real harms,” while new research shows the role of AI in recruitment is embedding discrimination. Sarah Jensz reports on urgent calls to regulate the new tech frontier. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/law...

Homeschooling in Australia surged after the lockdowns on the COVID 19 pandemic. Advocates emphasise its flexibility and more personalised education experience, but is it really a better alternative for students? Our reporters Heyan Mu and Wenlin Li look at the pros and cons of this growing trend.

The controversial French bill to ban female athletes from wearing religious symbols, including the Muslim headscarf, in any sporting event or competition, is yet to pass the National Assembly but, as Yixin Tian, Alipriya Biswas, Zhen Zhou and Jiakai Liang report, the issue has divided a nation.

Sydney Harbour’s worst maritime tragedy killed three generations of one family. Ava Morrison reports in the latest of our occasional series visiting the Melbourne General Cemetery, Graveyard Shift: Every Body Has A Story.

Alfred Hart’s expertise in poultry helped Melbourne families eat, farmers export and women find financial independence. August Mikleus reports in latest of our occasional series visiting the Melbourne General Cemetery, Graveyard Shift: Every body has a story.

Graveyard Shift: Every Body Has a Story. The doyenne of Melbourne’s hospitality scene for almost 40 years is remembered for anticipating fusion dining trends, training a generation of taste-makers and staff, and her contributions to the arts and food journalism. Siena Kinkela reports.

A Pacific COP hosted in Australia would provide ‘a moment for those with most power in the world to listen to those with least power’, Fiji’s Deputy PM tells a Melbourne audience. Shayal Devi reports.

As the Albanese government prepares to set its 2035 emissions target and pursue its bid to host COP 31, there’s an opportunity for Labor to power up climate ambition. But so far, there’s little sign it will seize it, warns former independent MP Zoe Daniel. Ashleigh Wyss reports.

Every Sunday evening, Emily Hu comes to Melbourne’s St Kilda Beach with a canvas and invites passers-by to draw on it with a simple question: “What do you love?” Yaqian Zhan reports on a woman on a mission to use art to help people confront their emotions and identify what they care about most.

As Melbourne’s suburbs continue to rise by both population and crowded skyline, open green space is rapidly becoming a luxury. In Box Hill, a patch of grass once home to a historic brickworks is at the centre of a growing community push against another high rise monolith. Shixin Wang reports.

Matcha, the emerald jewel of Japan, has become an increasingly popular menu item in Melbourne. But the quality being served up remains hit and miss in a market where cafes and consumers still have a lot to learn about how to serve and appreciate this ancient green brew. Claudia Goundar reports.

In Melbourne’s rapidly developing inner west Footscray Maker Lab, a not-for-profit, volunteer organisation, provides a creative space for more than 40 artists. However, the future of this rare collective hangs in the balance, as pressures from developers grow. Yihan Chen reports.

Even in winter, Melbourne’s St Kilda Beach remains a place where people swim, fish and play. As official water quality monitoring pauses for the winter, replaced by twice daily water quality forecasts, beachgoers must decide for themselves if the water is safe. Photo essay by Kimberlie Chu

In Melbourne, a tiny Chinese choir uses songs to weave a sense of belonging and warmth. As Yuxi Luo reports, the Melbourne Chinese Choir has been going for more than 30 years and, for the members of this group, rehearsals are not just for performance but also a chance to build community connections.

Nestled on High Street in the northern Melbourne suburb or Preston, Lucchini Cakes & Cafe is a living archive of a changing community. For over five decades, three generations of the Lucchini family have shaped the bakery into a neighbourhood landmark. A photo essay by Ulysses Zhou.

Jo Chandler @jochandler.bsky.social has been awarded a prestigious Varuna Climate Fellowship for 2025 - extended to writers whose work explores climate change and the environment. The fellowship offers a week-long residency at Varuna, Australia’s National Writers’ House in the Blue Mountains.

A new government department was meant to help Victorians access public information including their own. Instead, it’s made freedom-of-information harder, longer and more annoying. Katherine Everest investigates.

In West Footscray, a humble secondhand store has become a lifeline for the local community. But after a wave of thefts locals are stepping up to protect what they call their economic sanctuary. In this photo essay, Jiahui Zhou explores how this shop brings a community together.

The Merri Creek is a green oasis in Melbourne’s north, a place to stroll, run, ride and recharge. Have you ever wondered who’s taking care of it? Friends of Merri Creek is a volunteer group working to maintain the creek for all to enjoy. A photo essay by Ruby Perryman.

Morwell’s buzz from the ‘trial of the century’ of accused murderer Erin Patterson has made some locals winners, a few losers, and most unfazed – apart from the difficulty of finding a parking spot. Larissa Sutherland reports on a small Victorian town struggling to turn around a long-term decline.

Carli Reeve is part of a grassroots movement gathering data, asking questions about the environmental implications of seismic surveys, in particular on little penguin colonies, and urging a national moratorium on the practice. Theoné van der Merwe reports. Co-published with @crikey.com.au

Frustrated with what they describe as the Australian Government’s failure to protect them from catastrophic global heating, a group of young Australians are taking their concerns to the United Nations. If Canberra won’t listen, they say, perhaps Geneva will. @ashleighwyss.bsky.social reports.

As the toll of native animals killed on Victorian roads rises, a petition calling for a $2 vehicle registration levy aims to provide more consistent funding to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation services across the state. Ashleigh Wyss reports. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/vic...

Despite the Coalition’s election shellacking, the party is not over for Liberal campus clubs. Ellen Cutler reports. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/par...

Chinese Australians have an increasing influence on Australian politics. But experts say it is too often characterised in sweeping terms that lock out engagement on issues such as #climatechange. Theoné van der Merwe reports. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/cli...

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Love the art but loathe the artist? A Melbourne Writers Festival panel wrestles with cancel culture and the question of whether it’s possible to support creators whose transgressions overshadow their popularity. Larissa Sutherland reports. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/int...

Critics say bans on ‘disruptive’ protests are inconsistent with the clash of ideas at the heart of academic life, and the campus as a site for historic protests on conscription and future staff industrial action. Lucinda Reilly reports.

Against the tide of commentary about disengaged and disinterested Gen Zs, Laura Mayne is 23, in her second term as a local councillor, and urging more young people to claim a seat, and some power, in their communities. @ashleighwyss.bsky.social. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/it-...

Neighbourhoods in the electorate of Menzies may look like models of middle-class suburban comfort, but housing is a concern for young voters, and they find little comfort in the policies of the major parties. Larissa Sutherland and Ashleigh Wyss report. www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/dow...

Climate anxiety is rising but political priority for climate is down as the business of getting by preoccupies Gen Z voters. Theoné van der Merwe reports

All grown up but facing a deeply uncertain future, Gen Z is jaded, distracted and decoupled from old politics. It’s also not to be underestimated as a defining force in a seat like Menzies Ellen Cutler, Claudia Goundar and @ashleighwyss.bsky.social report.

Our election reporting project co-published with @crikey.com.au Gen Z is jaded, distracted and decoupled from old politics. It’s also not to be underestimated as a defining force in a seat like Menzies.

One year ago the PM declared violence against women a “national crisis”. Women continue to be killed at a rate of one per week. But until a spate of killings in the past two weeks, the issue has rarely surfaced in the current federal election campaign. @ashleighwyss.bsky.social reports.

Could legalising cannabis emerge as a sleeper issue in the election or for a re-elected minority Labor government? A look at the experience in Canada overseas what legal recreational use might look like. Georgie Preston reports from Québec City.

Box Hill’s Chinatown has become a political hotspot as candidates battle for the so-called Chinese Australian vote. Closer scrutiny reveals a diverse community of cynics, believers and generational divide. Yaxian Huang, Hanqi Shao and Chi Qi report.

Speaking in Melbourne, exiled Russian independent journalist @zygaro.bsky.social has delivered an intimate account of the weaponisation of disinformation and media repression in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Today, living in the US, he says “I have a great feeling of deja vu”. Ashleigh Wyss reports.

In the latest edition of The Monthly, @jochandler.bsky.social chandler explores the moments that tip ordinary people from the sidelines into frontline protests and investigates whether grassroots movements on environment and climate might be gaining momentum

A big night for the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the 2025 Quills! Congratulations to Brendan Kearns for taking home the Victorian Student Journalist of the Year award for his powerful investigation in The Australian, “Energy drink companies using unis to get students ‘hooked’”.

Mikhail Zygar, the exiled founder of Russia's only independent television news channel, will deliver this year's A N Smith Lecture in Journalism on Monday, 31 March, from 6:45 pm to 7:45 pm AEDT at the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre. Reserve your free ticket below.

On a flying visit to Melbourne, Guardian global editor-in-chief Katherine Viner talks about eroding public trust in established news organisations, fuelled by Trumpism and billionaire interference, and what might be done about it. Ashleigh Wyss reports.

Last July, the Australian Government introduced “world-leading” bans on the sale of vapes. But in the months since the restrictions came into place, they appear to have had a limited impact. Ricky Sproule and Alipriya Biswas report.