Most Young Australians who Smoke are Buying Illegally, Studies Find

More than half of Australians aged 18–24 who smoke are purchasing illegal tobacco products, making young adults the most active black-market age group at the same time as their smoking rates fall to r

Public Hospital Doctors Strike for the First Time in Two Decades

Doctors at several major hospitals across Melbourne went on strike on Friday last week, marking the first public health system strike in 20 years.

AI-Generated "Slop" is Going Mainstream—and Platforms Aren't Stopping It

A cartoon fruit series generated entirely by artificial intelligence has become one of TikTok's most-watched properties of 2026, prompting researchers and critics to warn that platforms are systematic

Universities to be Required to Prove Action Against Antisemitism

Content Warning: discussions of racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia; references to violence

Smart Glasses Pose a Risk to Women and Girls in Public and Educational Settings, Experts Warn

The recent rise of smart glasses on the market has experts concerned that policymakers will fail to keep up with new technologies to mitigate harm. With instances of deepfake image-based abuse on the

News Article

Batman By-Election Coverage

Michael Fowler, Ashleigh Barraclough, Jesse Paris-Jourdan, Esther Le Couteur, Martin Ditmann, Alain Nguyen, Maggy Liu, Ruby Perryman, Lucy Williams, Yan Zhuang, Jasper MacCuspie, Lily Miniken, Wing Kuang

<p>Welcome to Farrago’s coverage of the Batman by-election. </p>

News

Welcome to Farrago’s coverage of the Batman by-election. A by-election was triggered in the seat of Batman due to the resignation of Labor MP David Feeney, who was caught up in the citizenship saga. The Batman electorate is in Melbourne’s north, and includes the suburbs of Alphington, Clifton Hill, Fairfield, Kingsbury, Northcote, Preston, Reservoir, and Thornbury; and parts of Bundoora, Coburg North, Macleod, and Thomastown. The two main candidates in the race are Alex Bhathal of the Greens and Ged Kearney of Labor. We’ll be uploading content throughout the week, so keep an eye on this page.

The Batman team consists of Ashleigh Barraclough, Jesse Paris-Jourdan, Monique O’Rafferty, Esther Le Couteur, Martin Ditmann, Alain Nguyen, Maggy Liu, Ruby Perryman, Lucy Williams, Yan Zhuang, Jasper MacCuspie, Lily Miniken, Wing Kuang, Michael Fowler, Lloyd Connolly, Hugh Shanahan (Polity) and Finbar Piper (Polity).

We’ve collaborated with Polity for our coverage of the Batman by-election. Polity is a new student-run media organisation, which aims to challenge readers’ consumption patterns, and take them outside of their echo-chambers. You can see more of their work at Polity.online.

Key issues: Education
12 March 2018