Sydney news

Southerly winds forecast for today could cause flare-ups on the Pinery fireground in South Australia's mid-north, the CFS says.

Newcastle's bus and ferry drivers are calling on the Premier to ask the community what it wants when it comes to public transport.

In a year of celebration for women in racing, three-year-old Man Booker's 23 female co-owners certainly stand out from the crowd.

A Tasmanian logging company that harvests rare and expensive timbers from the bottom of man-made lakes and dams could expand its operations to north Queensland.

Public servants will receive a $1,300 cash bonus ahead of Christmas under a pay offer from the Queensland Government.

A Christmas tree made of recycled push bikes has sprung up in Lismore's CBD.

Three schools in northern New South Wales will have new water fountains installed as part of a plan to help improve oral health.

Public servants spend too much time stuck in one job and are missing out on the chance to broaden their horizons, according to the State of the Service report.

Bid now on a unique book of autographs signed by 2015's Conversation Hour guests, with all proceeds going to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

The unsuccessful foreign bidders for the Kidman and Co landholding are working on new bids with Australian investors which they hope to lodge before the end of the year, the ABC understands.

People can hand in weapons at police stations and firearms dealers across the state for the next seven months in a bid to reduce the number of unwanted and unregistered firearms.

The Bourke Shire Council says access to TAFE courses will be vital if plans proceed for a goat abattoir in the district.

Shares in Tasmanian baby formula company Bellamy's Organic spike after it announces a multi-million-dollar agreement with Fonterra Australia to increase production.

The Federal Liberal MP for Paterson Bob Baldwin has joined several of his coalition colleagues, criticising Muslim community leaders over their response to acts of terrorism.

Logan rates poorly compared to several Queensland-wide benchmarks: from the rate of smoking during pregnancy to the number of students who meet national minimum standards. So could a generational approach to tackling disadvantage turn the city around? Melanie Christiansen investigates.

Sydney FC's supporter group The Cove has said FFA is not right to demand wrongly banned fans find new evidence to clear their names.

A number of macadamia farms around Lismore suffered severe damage in the storm.

Dozens of home owners set to lose their properties to the WestConnex road project are hoping the Valuer General will give them a better price for their properties, as they look unlikely to agree on a figure with the State Government.

The project to lift levee banks in the Wagga Wagga CBD to full flood protection has missed out on state government funding.

The company behind a 130-bed aged care redevelopment at Bathurst isn't ruling out further expansions to cater for the ageing population.

A Hunter Valley community group is tipping a spike in family breakdowns if a recommendation to reject a local mine expansion is adopted by the state government.

Hunter Valley vets are reporting a drop off in the number of people getting their horses vaccinated for Hendra virus.

Three men are charged with attempted murder after an assault in Adelaide which left a 58-year-old man in a critical condition in hospital.

A village which is considered to be the gateway to Orange is set to be revamped.

Port Stephens police are urging the community to lock their cars after an increase in thefts from motor vehicles.

A country Victorian football club goes to ground after announcing the appointment of disgraced former AFL star Nick Stevens, who was found guilty of assaulting his ex-partner, as its senior coach.

Hunter Valley clergy abuse survivors and their families will gather for a silent vigil tonight, remembering people who have suffered at hands of religious institutions.

The future of student radio station Radio Adelaide is in doubt as the University of Adelaide releases a discussion paper looking at changing its funding model or closing it down.

Labor power-broker Peter Malinauskas will officially replace disgraced MLC Bernard Finnigan in a joint sitting of both houses in South Australian Parliament this morning.

The Senate is wasting no time conducting its probe into the Williamtown chemical contamination scandal, announcing the first hearing will take place this week.

The New South Wales Government says attracting experienced teachers to 10 of the western region's most isolated schools remains the biggest challenge in improving outcomes for pupils.

A man has been charged with firearm and domestic violence offences in Lake Macquarie.

It's time to go off the beaten tracks with regards to our bushrangers. No Ned Kelly, Ben Hall or even the Wild Colonial Boy. Historian Peter Macinnis reveals the alt history of Australia's highway bandits.
We meet the African known as 'Black Caesar', find out how Moondyne Joe was given a pardon for being good at escaping plus hear the tale of a Chinese bushranger called Sam Poo.

Results from a trial examining the literacy and numeracy skills of teaching students show about 10 per cent fail to meet required standards.

A lawyer for the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) admits the agency ignored its own policy regarding environmental offsets when approving the Roe 8 highway extension.

Lisa Scaffidi denies she threatened to resign, despite the Local Government Minister saying she signalled intentions to do so on Friday.

The floor and roof of a two-level shopfitters building collapses after an intense fire rips through the property in Sydney's south-east.

Patients can be shunted into "overflow areas" at all WA hospitals, the Health Department confirms, after another patient claims to have been kept in a gym room at Fiona Stanley Hospital.

A burst water main in the centre of Perth floods the area and slows peak hour traffic to a crawl.

A new teaching method being trialled in New South Wales, which incorporates games and physical theatre, is allowing each student a chance to shine in the classroom.

The family of a woman killed in Tasmania's north by a speeding driver affected by drugs and alcohol describe the effect of her death as "catastrophic".

Digital learning game The Voyage aims to get school children hooked on convict history by taking them on a virtual journey from London to Tasmania in the 1830s.

A former senior church official told a Brisbane victim of sexual abuse to "get on with his life" and keep the complaint of abuse to himself, a royal commission hears.

A man is in a critical condition after being assaulted by three men at the rear of a block of units in Adelaide.

St Kilda defender Hugh Goddard was rushed to hospital after he collapsed during a Sunshine Coast training camp.

An 83-year-old woman dies after being hit by a car at West Lakes in Adelaide. Traffic restrictions are in place as police investigate the crash.

Mitchell Johnson is retired, Mitchell Starc is hurt and Josh Hazlewood is sore - leaving Australia's selectors with some work to do before the Hobart Test.

Insurance losses from the deadly Pinery bushfire, which ravaged larges swathes of South Australia's Mid North last week, reach $75 million, as strong winds fan several bushfires across the state.

An emergency physician is calling for pill testing at music festivals after a 25-year-old woman's death from an an ecstasy overdose at Stereosonic.

A Townsville woman's experience with domestic violence has motivated her to donate to the ABC's Christmas Appeal to help other women who have suffered the same abuse.