Madeleine Heffernan
Madeleine Heffernan is an Explainer reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. She has also reported on education, city, business and consumer affairs for the publications.
- Explainer
- Middle East at war
‘We will hunt you down’: Is Pete Hegseth for real?
It’s been a busy year for Donald Trump’s unconventional pick for secretary of war. Now, with the war in Iran, he’s firmly in the spotlight. Where did he come from? How is he performing so far?
- Angus Holland and Madeleine Heffernan
Latest
- Explainer
- Petrol prices
The narrow strip of water off Iran affecting petrol prices
About a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG passes through the Strait of Hormuz every day. What happens when a war breaks out across it – and how does it affect petrol prices?
- Angus Holland, Jackson Graham and Madeleine Heffernan
- Explainer
- Health
Bunions, corns, plantar fasciitis: How to nail foot trouble before it’s too late
Some people get the “ick” over feet. Yet problems such as corns and callus are very common. Here’s what causes them as well as the painful condition known as “jogger’s heel”.
- Madeleine Heffernan
From stiff to sought-after: Australia’s ‘healthy addiction’ to golf
The sport’s growing popularity has extinguished calls for courses to be converted to housing or parkland, Golf Australia says.
- Madeleine Heffernan
The checkout challenge: How Melbourne’s retailers are battling a crime wave
Retail workers have been instructed to let thieves take what they want rather than risk a violent confrontation, but steps are being taken to counter rising crime.
- Madeleine Heffernan
We shop at ‘Temu in real life’. Are the products safe?
Panda Mart sells tens of thousands of discounted imported products, and faces legal action over safety concerns. Here’s what a product safety expert thinks of our 11 items for under $30.
- Madeleine Heffernan
‘How are we going to stay in contact?’ Teens wake to a social media-free world
Everyone under 16 is now forbidden from using social media platforms. Will it mean less screen time – or creative ways to get around the law?
- Nicole Precel and Madeleine Heffernan
Mosque to host community meeting after Islamophobic graffiti
An attack on a 21-year-old mosque in Hoppers Crossing has sparked political condemnation.
- Madeleine Heffernan
These common plastic items can’t be recycled, but everyone throws them in the wrong bin anyway
Federal government says it’s working to phase out single-use plastics and transform Australia’s packaging rules.
- Madeleine Heffernan
Offers open for fallen Derrimut Gym empire
Staff of the popular debt-riddled gym chain, who are still owed superannuation, were handed hope on Monday.
- Madeleine Heffernan, Sarah Danckert and Sophie Aubrey