The Age photos of the week 8 August 2021

1/21

Mike Falls, left, and his son, Mike Falls jnr, owners of Shortstop Jet Charter with their vintage DC-3 â€˜Gooney Birdâ€™ airliner that dates from 1945 at Essendon Fields Airport. The airport will celebrate it's centenary with an open day on October 9 that will feature stalls, displays, aircraft demonstrations and maybe even joy flights in the classic airliner.Credit:Jason South

2/21

This week, for the first time, about 30 helmeted honeyeaters - one of Victoriaâ€™s faunal emblems - was transferred to a remote patch of bushland in an attempt to establish a second wild population of this critically-endangered bird. These helmeted honeyeaters are part of a nationally-significant experiment under way in dense bushland east of Warburton, near the confluence of the Oâ€™Shannassy River and Yarra Rivers. Credit:Joe Armao

3/21

Artist Reko Rennieâ€™s latest film celebrates the cityâ€™s western suburbs. The film is shot in the western suburbs, particularly Footscray, where Rennie grew up.Credit:Justin McManus

4/21

Balmoral K-12 Community College principal Jo Amott with year 2 students Charli Simons, Billy Ferguson and Quinn Weaver. The school is one of three small town state schools in the Wimmera that have decided to pool resources such as teachers and share events like formals to try to break the spiral of decline.Credit:Erin Jonasson

5/21

Homelessness organisations warn that young homeless people are falling through the gaps, with many existing homelessness services geared towards adults. Formerly homeless youth Luis Montero with his son Andre. Credit:Chris Hopkins

6/21

Freelance photographer Darren James is one of many Victorian â€œmicro-businessesâ€ that have slipped through the cracks. A state government hotline for struggling small operators has been taking more than 180 calls a day on average since it was launched on July 23 with more public servants being drafted in to work the phones.Credit:Eddie Jim

7/21

'At some point in time we have to live with COVID and maybe the Tokyo Olympics have been a good occasion to show that we can do so' says Akira Shinkai, Japanese-Australian retail manager of Tanto in Melbourne. Credit:Justin McManus

8/21

Coming to screens near you: Ling Ang, Chris Pang and Al Cossar demonstrate some of the many ways MIFF will reach audiences this year. The hybrid festival had originally been slated to start in cinemas on August 5, running until the 15th, with an online component to start on the 14th and run to the 22nd. But that has now been flipped on its head: the virtual festival (which has been expanded, with around 30 more films, including another four features fresh from Cannes) will run August 5-22, and the in-cinema festival will run August 12-22 (with regional screenings August 13-15 and 20-22).Credit:Jason South

9/21

The pandemic has forced St Ali owner Salvatore Malatesta evolve his business. Originally founded in 2005 as a coffee brand, St Ali is forging a new reputation as a specialty grocer that makes its own food products and has hired a food scientist. Using those learnings, it now acts as an incubator for other Victorian businesses, offering lab testing, packaging assistance and advice on health and safety standards.Credit:Luis Ascui

10/21

Jewish Museum education programs officer Alice Freeman with students from East Preston Islamic College. A museum program involving Jewish and Islamic students is designed to break down stereotypes they might have and help them understand what they have in common.Credit:Scott McNaughton

11/21

11-year-old Levi Wroe trains with Jason Whateley at Olympic boxer Harry Garside's home gym, Pure Boxing in Ringwood. Credit:Joe Armao

12/21

Sam Jinks makes hyperreal sculptures of the human form, so anatomically correct itâ€™s like peering into a mirror. Each work takes months to complete: from the first sketch to clay model, from resolved maquette to hand-painted resin mold.Credit:Justin McManus

13/21

Harleen Singh was inspired by then-prime minister Julia Gillard to dream of becoming PM. Having seen poor treatment of women in Australian politics sheâ€™s become an activist for change.Credit:Joe Armao

14/21

Ellie Gurgiel, husband Josh and daughters Maisie, 4, and Cleo, 18 months. Ellie Gurgiel decided to seek a nanny ahead of her return to work from parental leave in June. Agencies are struggling to find enough nannies to meet the demand, with some placing three times as many nannies into homes than they did before the pandemic.Credit:Joe Armao

15/21

Natalie Nalesnyik was sexually abused by her former gymnastics coach when she was a child. She is now one of three women who have launched, or is preparing to launch, legal action against Gymnastics Victoria and Gymnastics Australia in the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking compensation for their abuse by the same coach.Credit:Jason South

16/21

There's a new tortilla trend in town: cheesy, hulking birria tacos designed to be dipped in soup and requiring multiple napkins. Dingo Ate My Taco co-founder Katherine Simkins who only started making birria tacos so she could enjoy them herself. Credit:Scott McNaughton

17/21

Employers have scored a major win in the High Court after it effectively shut down what could have been a pathway for long-term casuals to claim they were part-time or full-time workers with rights including paid leave. Sam Shayler, manager of The Herbert Cafe in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote, was not opposed to casual staff eventually getting leave entitlements but said small businesses had little ability to shoulder the costs because of the pandemic.Credit:Jason South

18/21

Timmy Rubin did not agree with the way her community was portrayed in Netflix reality show My Unorthodox Life. Credit:Penny Stephens

19/21

Jahan Dhruve, 10, with his mum Nirali and brother Vihaan, 8. Jahan said Thursdayâ€™s snap lockdown meant he didnâ€™t get to say goodbye to his friends. Credit:Scott McNaughton

20/21

Jodhi McMahon is a cervical cancer survivor. Medical experts are calling on the federal government to introduce universal access to self-collection for cervical screening, a move they say would cement Australiaâ€™s position as the global leader in the quest to eliminate cervical cancer.Credit:Chris Hopkins