Selected articles

Scroll down for Star Observer yarns.

Rubbish reason behind spate of midnight truck crashes

Kennedy Award winning article on the after dark movement of waste in from NSW to Qld, often in dodgy trucks, to gain millions via a tax break.

Sydney BLM protesters pepper sprayed

Kennedy Award nominated for best online news breaking, this piece featured on the spot reporting and images from the fracas between police and protesters at Sydney’s BLM rally,

Trio of drag queens prevent bashing, then bash bashers

Honour Award nominated piece about a man who was attacked on Sydney’s gay strip of Oxford Street only to be rescued by three hero drag queens.

Behind Sydney’s most mysterious door

Tens of thousands of people pass it every day, but where does it go? A look at the secrets and sleights of hand at Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building.

Name murdered mum’s friends refuse to say

Coronial inquest. A Sydney mum already faced “constant battles” before her husband decided to take her and her children’s lives.

Catastrophic decision that led to teen’s death

Court. The driver was so addled, that when a firey asked him how he was feeling after the deadly crash he replied, “woah, man this is tripping”.

Weird weather baffling scientists

A climate scientist has said she is “in shock” at Australia's start to summer which is refusing to play by the rules.

Australia’s overheating suburbs

City suburbs are becoming “heat continents”. But ritzy ‘burbs are keeping far cooler.

Common act sex workers can’t do

Red light red tape is making the lives of Queensland’s sex workers not only frustrating, but also unsafe.

Robbed and raped, stabbed and shot

The grim reality on the streets for Durban’s sex workers.

Symbol changing online dating

Just four key strokes long, the Aussie-invented symbol [+u] is cropping up on dating apps and it’s changing the scene.

Africa's highways where HIV is just one truck stop away

The spread of HIV in Africa can be traced along the continents motorways and major roads, from South Africa’s ports north.

Three words that came back to haunt Kraft

In an epic multimillion-dollar peanut butter battle, Kraft was felled by a small Aussie cheese firm partly due to just three words.

How drag extravaganza transformed outback town

A mining town is now known as much for for sequins and lippy as minerals.

Shabby suburban store that’s a secret Woolies

This Woolworths is so behind the times, it doesn’t even say Woolies on the store. It’s a quirk of history as to why it still exists.

Ten intense minutes that ended illegal rally

It took police just a few fraught minutes to end today’s outlawed Sydney Black Lives Matter rally but the tactics were described as “disgusting”.

Coles’ new plan for posh - and not so posh - suburbs

Some customers will now get a significantly less ritzy supermarket experience.

How to fix Sydney’s $3bn light rail fail

Opinion. Sydney thought it could beat Melbourne at its own tram game. It’s going to have to do a lot of fixing to make that happen.

Sad last days of iconic retailer in Australia

It was the overseas powerhouse supposed to take on and prosper against the likes of David Jones and Myer. It didn’t.

Inside world’s scariest skyscraper

It featured a 14-storey high pile of rubbish, rats the size of cats, sex work, drugs and dead bodies — now people can’t wait to move in.