Sydney news

A manhunt is underway in Darwin after a convicted robber left a prison bus he had been driving and went on the run.

Victoria Police will lead a search of parkland in Bendigo as they continue to investigate the suspected death of Melton woman Simone Quinlan.

Police disrupt a multi-million-dollar cigarette smuggling operation in Sydney, involving corrupt waterfront officials, officers say.

A man is charged after allegedly abducting a woman at knifepoint and forcing her to use cannabis before raping her at a caravan park in north-west Tasmania.

A man believed to have been involved in nine petrol drive-offs worth more than $700 from a business at Smithfield, in Adelaide's north, is charged by police.

A driver who crashed his car during a police pursuit at Ingle Farm in Adelaide's north-east was allegedly under the influence of methamphetamine.

After 30 years of offering support to disadvantaged people in the region, the Hunter-based Samaritans Foundation has expanded into Sydney for the first time.

The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance says it is just beginning to scratch the surface of concerns raised by a Korean company's plans to build two new open cut mines in the region.

The Member for Parkes says a service that will help women affected by domestic violence in the western region is a step in the right direction.

The Federal Environment Department has raised concerns about a proposed modification at an Upper Hunter mine.

Liquor officials have responded to fears about escalating alcohol fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour in Morisset by rejecting a proposed bottle shop.

Trials of cashless welfare cards in South Australia's disadvantaged areas should not go ahead as there is no proof they will actually work, a lobby group says.

It is the end of an era in Newcastle today, with the closure of the Hamilton Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

The Lithgow City Council says public safety is being prioritised in a plan to overhaul the site of a local historic ruin.

A cyclist is in a critical condition in Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital, after he was hit by a car at Lake Macquarie.

Jennifer Williams is CEO of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. This week's soapbox topic delves into the world of music copyright.

Luke Beveridge has been named the AFL Coaches Association coach of the year after guiding the Western Bulldogs to sixth place in his first year in charge.

Socceroos midfielder Aaron Mooy has scored a second-half hat-trick to help Melbourne City advance to the FFA Cup semi-finals with a 5-0 win over Heidelberg United.

A Queensland detective allegedly told a Palm Island woman not to ask police for help if her partner raped or bashed her after riots 11 years ago, a trial into the death of Cameron Doomadgee hears.

The Northern Territory Planning Commission says it wants the public's thoughts before it develops new plans for future growth in Darwin's rural areas.

Justin Hodges will captain Brisbane in the NRL grand final against North Queensland after being cleared of a dangerous throw charge by the judiciary on Tuesday night.

A Melbourne court hears telephone intercepts of Amin Mohamed, accused of making preparations to travel to Syria to fight against the government of Bashar al-Assad, discussing his plans to look like a tourist in Istanbul.

There are fears rainfall could trigger an environmental catastrophe along the Queensland-NSW border and in the Murray-Darling Basin thanks to contaminated water in storage ponds at an abandoned silver mine.

Fencing off Australia's beaches from sharks with electric cables is one idea discussed at a summit in Sydney where experts try to develop ways to repel the predators and prevent attacks.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been wasted on a public relations campaign for the Perth Freight Link, critics of the project say.

A network of 10 ground stations around Australia are ready and waiting for the launch of NBN's satellite, Sky Muster, which leaves Earth on Thursday to improve services in rural and remote areas.

Central Queensland landlords are struggling amid the mining downturn as the region experiences one of the highest vacancy rates in the state, a real estate group says.

Researchers have sequenced the genome of Australia's most popular mango, the Kensington Pride, unlocking the path to better fruit.

A man charged over a mini-motorcycle crash that killed a woman in Melbourne's south is unlikely to be granted bail, a court hears.

Police ask the public to assist with an investigation into the theft of $200,000 worth of jewellery from a unit in Sydney's north shore.

Child protection workers in Tasmania's north will take industrial action from tomorrow, claiming their case loads are too high.

Hobart man Stephen John Gleeson, who bludgeoned his drinking buddy with an antique press iron, is jailed for five and a half years.

The Legal Practice Board of Western Australia reveals it is struggling to summon its main witness in the case against former Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney, who is fighting to have his law licence reinstated.

TasPorts is finalising the sale of the old Triabunna mill wharf on Tasmania's east coast to an unnamed buyer.

It's like a treasure hunt- but instead of trinkets, this weekend people will be scouring Mildura for pieces of art.

A body found in a dam near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory is so decomposed officers are unable to identify its age or gender.

Diabetes is at epidemic proportions, endocrinologists warn, with two out of three people being diabetic or pre-diabetic in some parts of Australia and 70 losing limbs to the disease every week.

Police are facing increased levels of violence on the frontline due to more people using the drug ice says a north Queensland Acting Superintendent.

A new memorial honouring two gold stealing detection unit officers murdered in the line of duty has been unveiled on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie.

A man jailed for a fatal hit and run outside the Canberra Hospital in 2012 died in custody of natural causes from a long standing lung condition, the ACT coroner finds.

For Lois Caleo, the pain of losing her son to AIDS 20 years ago is still so raw that the thought of seeing his story play out on the big screen in Holding the Man is unbearable.

One of Australia's largest livestock exporters Wellard says harsher penalties, including the suspension of an export licence, need to be applied to exporters and importers found to be disregarding ESCAS rules and regulations.

An elderly couple found dead in their Adelaide unit died of natural causes, a post-mortem examination reveals.

Gerard Sutton and Ben Cummins have been named as the referees for Sunday's NRL grand final between Brisbane and North Queensland at Sydney's Olympic stadium.

The former head coach of the WA Institute of Sport's cycling program massaged three teenagers for his own sexual gratification, the Perth District Court hears.

Parramatta Council gives its support for a $35 million redesign of public areas at Parramatta Square, including the creation of a central fountain, winding watercourse, art installations and green spaces.

Sixty-one South Australian police officers who have died on the job are remembered in a ceremony at the South Australian Police Academy, as part of National Police Remembrance Day.

Launceston Country Women's Association (CWA) shop in Launceston is celebrating 60 years of operation in 2015.

Sugar mills in the Mackay and Wide Bay Burnett regions are now well past the halfway mark of this year's crushing season.

North Queensland skipper Johnathan Thurston will not train until Thursday as he continues to recover from a corked calf in time for Sunday's NRL decider against Brisbane.