Weekend Australian Articles
Freelance Journalist of the Year
2025 West Australian Media Awards
“Ros Thomas shone a forensic and compassionate light on four important contemporary issues: chronic loneliness, dementia, suicide and prescription drugs. Her deeply affecting and nationally significant features (two of them exclusives) were beautifully written and demonstrated extensive research, contextual understanding and a deep empathy and care for her interview subjects.”
- Judges’ Citations
Cry for Help
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published February 28, 2026
It’s an exhausting, isolating and relentless job to parent a profoundly autistic child. No wonder some families reach a breaking point.
We Don’t Need No Education
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published February 7, 2026
Cheating with Artificial Intelligence is now rampant at universities. Is it the death knell for higher education?
Special Delivery
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published December 5, 2025
After 30 years of the same postie round, Ivan Eliopulos has some funny stories…
Painting Determination
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published November 22, 2025
“I’m not painting flowers, I’m painting determination”
Only the toughest plants can survive in Western Australia’s outback. For artist Philippa Nikulinsky, they’re an inspiration.
Love Machine
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published November 8, 2025
'I created him as an experiment - but now I'm in love with my AI chatbot.'
Alaina is all AI loved up. Anton is newly AI single. Everywhere online, Replika's matchmaking software is playing cupid between human and digital avatars - but the results are mixed (and often disturbing).
Wisdom of Ages
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published October 18, 2025
People in their nineties often feel ignored by society. But these two characters have plenty to say about living well – and making the final years count.
Salt in the Wounds
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published September 27, 2025
Undertaking an epic 1000km hike helped an Aussie couple to rebound from life’s hard knocks. But there’s a sting in their tale.
The Kids Are Not Alright
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published August 16, 2025
The Smartphone generation want our help. It’s time to listen.
Together, Apart
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published June 7, 2025
It’s a hellish sort of limbo for the loved ones of dementia patients.
‘Ozempic helped me lose 40kg – and my social life?’
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published May 31, 2025
What if Ozempic didn’t just kill your appetite? What if it left you fundamentally changed, unable to experience desire in the same way again? At the weight-loss medication frontier, something weird is happening.
Includes an exclusive Australian news story and in-depth feature
A Matter of Life and Death
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published April 5, 2025
Perth mum Nicole Watts shares her extraordinary and brave story of motherhood and mental illness. What’s it like for her to parent while living on the edge?
All By Myself
The Australian Weekend Magazine
Published February 15, 2025
In a world of 8.2 billion people, there’s an epidemic of loneliness. What’s causing it - and can it be solved?