Babylonian promises for the new year.

If you need prawns for the New Year’s Eve barbeque or are just looking for a bargain, fear not, here’s a guide to what’s open over the new year period.

Federal politicians have criticised protesters after a fire damaged the 100-year-old front doors of Old Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday.

Some of our best photos of the year and top stories by The Age photographers 2021, the year in pictures.

The rules kept changing, and festival-goers - including one with COVID-19 - claim safety breaches and a communication breakdown put the community at risk.

If – like about 50,000 people in NSW since Christmas – you test positive to COVID-19, this is what the experts say you should do next.

The NSW president of the Australian Medical Association says hospitalisation and ICU figures do not show the full impact of the virus on our health system.

Some Sydneysiders needing to take a test have been relying on social media to find locations that are not overwhelmed and shops with rapid antigen tests in stock.

Large-scale New Year’s events are forging ahead despite coronavirus fears and revellers abandoning their plans in droves.

An expression of interest form for businesses suggests the government will reimburse businesses that give up tests they have already purchased for use in NSW’s free program.

Governments must stop trying to manage the pandemic as a public relations exercise and start preparing serious plans.

The gangs-focused Raptor Squad allegedly seized $1 million worth of drugs and a pistol after stopping and searching the two men.

Maxwell’s conviction is significant and sends a sobering signal to other enablers that they can and will be held accountable.

A large fire has engulfed a property at a marine workshop that has spread to a neighbouring property at Fern Bay in Sydney’s inner west.

Experts have predicted Queensland will report up to 12,000 cases by January 5.

Premier Mark McGowan said an unvaccinated 27-year-old man was a close contact of an existing case, who shared a bathroom with him.

Thousands of police officers will patrol the state this New Year’s Eve, and some will have extra search powers to target anyone carrying weapons.

Many of the harbour’s best viewing areas are ticketed this year, but there are still plenty of spots for the early birds who are prepared to line up.

Heading out over the New Year period? Here’s the most up-to-date information on where you can go, what you can do – and how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

There’s no lockdown, no density limits, restaurants are open and tickets to fireworks zones in the city are sold out. Yet some Victorians are living by their own restrictions for New Year’s Eve and beyond.

Travellers arriving in Sydney would only be required to take a rapid antigen test, under changes agreed to at national cabinet today.

Hopes of finding a woman who was swept off rocks near a coastal walk in Victoria’s south coast were fading on Thursday night after more than eight hours of fruitless searching.

Both states were already deemed ‘high risk’, which already stops all travel into WA except for those with exemptions granted by WA Police. 

Joining those hours-long testing queues when you are not a priority is making our hard job harder.

Proposals include a requirement for employers to check that an employee’s electronic devices have not been installed with tracking, listening or other surveillance devices

It’s the problem no one really wants to think about too much. But can anything be done to reduce roadkill as development expands? And what can you do to keep animals safe if you’re out driving this summer?

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard says in the next few weeks most Queenslanders will either be infected or know someone who is.

There are 63 COVID-19 patients in NSW intensive care units and one new death, as the country’s leaders meet to redefine close contacts and discuss the use of rapid antigen tests.

With thousands of Queenslanders now infected with COVID-19, Dr John Gerrard has implored people to recover at home where possible.

Doctors say patients will be forced to pay higher prices or travel hundreds of kilometres to continue their consults.

Western Australian GPs are preparing to shoulder an increasing caseload of patients with long-COVID symptoms when the state borders open in February amid a warning people need to take the illness seriously.

Details of the Victorian government’s plan to dole out free rapid antigen tests have been revealed as the national cabinet debates a new definition of close contacts.

Therapy-speak, psychobabble …  whatever you call it, it’s become part of the 20-something conversation.

The aircraft will begin flying on January 1 and will replace the current fleet operated out of the Mascot airbase by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The NSW Premier writes we’ll always put safety first, but with high vaccination rates the nature of the challenge has changed - and so must we.

The Premier discouraged people from getting PCR tests unless they have symptoms, but most people standing in the rain have good reason to be here.

The government is likely to establish facilities across the state to hand out tests where people will be asked to display basic ID and detail why they require an at-home kit.

Australian cricketers have spoken up about racism in the sport, however, unlike the UK there have been no inquiries, reports or Prime Ministerial statements.

Whether it’s a mug, a T-shirt or a chat you’re after, a new CBD store called The Anxiety Shop is out to raise awareness of mental illness.

What a joy to read an economics guru’s take on the pursuit of happiness. Look no further for an ideal New Year’s resolution than Ross Gittins’ insightful conclusion that the way to be happy is to concentrate on making other people happy.

Rosewall hints at retirement, rock ‘imprisons’ nuclear waste, and Dames and obstacles.

50 years ago, most of the statues in Centennial Park were removed after being damaged by vandals or considered obsolete.

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

WA’s potential community outbreak exposure sites have extended to Bunbury after the Premier revealed they may never find 16 people at the Perth Mess Hall super-spreader event.

Police allege the 25-year-old was not known to the family and broke into the girl’s Ellenbrook home just after midnight on December 27 in an ‘opportunistic’ crime.

Palm Island has taken delivery of a “temporary morgue” as Queensland Health braces for outbreaks in Indigenous communities.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll’s favourite holiday memories are seeing the joy in her children’s faces as they unwrap presents, but now she tells Brisbane Times she spends her break watching corny holiday movies with her daughter...

Not looking forward to the days of air rage.

A tropical low moving across far north Queensland that threatens to dump 300 millimetres of rain in 24 hours could also dampen spirits in Brisbane on New Year’s Eve.

Supporters have defended the $120-million upgrade to the speed monitoring network after the number of fines issued to motorists almost doubled year-on-year.