Sydney news

No charges will be laid after a toddler was found wandering alone near a busy road on the Gold Coast on Friday.

Adelaide Strikers will focus on the fundamentals of fielding after securing an impressive opening-round win over Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.

The families of eight children stabbed to death in a Cairns home are gathering in the far north Queensland city to mark the first anniversary of the tragedy and to thank the community.

A woman is taken to hospital in a critical condition after she was injured in a fire, possibly caused by a kerosene lamp, in the backyard of a home at Kings Langley in Sydney's west.

Ox-heart tomato salad and grilled prawns, followed by mud crabs with corn polenta and sauce

A former Williamtown resident who moved out of a declared contamination zone several years ago says financial hardships may force his family to move back to the area.

Federal environment officials have been told a massive flying fox population in Blackbutt Reserve could be severely impacted by the final stage of Newcastle's inner-city bypass.

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter says Newcastle and Port Stephens Councils need to start talking sooner rather than later, now they're set to merge.

The New South Wales environmental watchdog says BP Australia is working to significantly reduce emissions from its Newcastle bulk fuel storage terminal.

Victoria's emergency services are at a heightened level as parts of the Victoria, including Melbourne, are headed top 40 degrees Celsius, with strong winds forecast.

All Northern Territory government agencies have been ordered to audit bookings made through disgraced travel agent Alexandra "Xana" Kamitsis and her business Latitude Travel, the Chief Minister's Department says.

The Adelaide Strikers beat the Melbourne Stars by 19 runs after setting a daunting first-innings total at the Adelaide Oval.

The Newcastle Jets play out a goalless draw with Adelaide United at Hunter Stadium.

Thousands have turned out to protest against the downgrading of a murder conviction against Gerard Baden-Clay to a charge of manslaughter. Baden-Clay killed his wife and mother of three, Allison, but the Appeals court has questioned whether there was pre-meditation.

A man will spend at least 19 years behind bars after using an electrical cord to choke to death a Perth man whom he thought had a $10,000 bounty on him.

Same-sex romance, Carol, has been nominated for 5 Golden Globes and is creating a lot of 'Oscar buzz'. Before it's Australian opening, Cate Blanchett sat down with 7.30 to discuss her leading role and why she's baffled by the opposition to marriage equality.

A young Melbourne woman has won a landmark case against QBE, which refused to give her travel insurance because she had suffered depression.

The founder of Australia's first barbershop chorus is set to retire after 30 years of spreading Christmas cheer to Western Australian audiences.

The mother of a baby girl found on her own at Elanora on the Gold Coast this afternoon is located.

The medals of Australia's most decorated war nurse, and the only survivor of the Bangka Island massacre, are donated to the Australian War Memorial.

The mother of a baby girl found on her own at Elanora on the Gold Coast this afternoon is located.

A monsoon trough in the Gulf of Carpentaria is expected to strengthen over the coming days with the Bureau of Meteorology raising the likelihood it could form into a cyclone by early next week.

More than 2,000 people gather in Brisbane's CBD to protest against the downgrading of Gerard Baden-Clay's conviction for murdering his wife Allison, with Daniel Morcombe's father Bruce telling the crowd: "The laws must change".

One month of from the bushfires that claimed the lives of four people north of Esperance, the Curnow family says the events of November 17 are never far from their minds.

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest buys a mansion in one of Perth's most exclusive suburbs for a vastly-reduced price tag after the 81-year-old owner agreed to settle following a public dispute over the contract.

Adventurous holidaymakers heading to the Goldfields over summer have a new spot to stay, with the formal opening of a new set of campgrounds.

The Tasmanian Government announces the first recipients of funding designed to create new manufacturing jobs in the north-west as Caterpillar workers are laid off.

The ACT coroner finds the death of a woman who had just delivered twins at Calvary Hospital was the result of the failure of her obstetrician to deliver appropriate care.

Extreme fire danger warnings are issued for parts of South Australia as temperatures are forecast to hit the mid-40s on Saturday ahead of a change.

The locality of Blackmans Flat, near Lithgow in central-west New South Wales, once home to a small community, no longer exists after the coal and power industry developed and residents moved out.

North Queensland grandmother Virginia McGrath has been catching and relocating snakes for more than half a century.

Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor guarantees former captain Robbie Farah the starting hooker position as Aaron Woods is named skipper for 2016.

A 21-year-old Melbourne woman who challenged QBE for failing to honour her travel insurance says she hopes her court victory will prevent others being discriminated against for having a mental illness.

Four more properties in the Top End have been found to be growing banana plants, inside the Banana Freckle quarantine red zones.

Olympic kayaking silver medallist Nathan Baggaley is to spend at least two years and three months in jail for manufacturing a marketable quantity of the party drug 2-CB and conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine.

The last 19 Queensland-based employees of one of the world's largest train companies will finish work today as its Maryborough manufacturing base closes, after nearly four decades in operation.

Five people from different industries share their experiences of living in dry conditions.

Bundaberg artist Terri Lewis sells one of her abstract artworks to the Australian Consulate-General in Italy.

It looks and sounds like many other regional towns across Australia. But like many, Collie struggles to cope with effects of drugs.

There is a "serious possibility" a fire burning at Mount Clear on the ACT border could head towards properties and towns east of the blaze, ACT Rural Fire Service warns.

As Adelaide sizzles through its third day of a severe heatwave, keepers at Adelaide Zoo are doing their best to keep animals cool.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder mayor John Bowler is forced to address potential conflicts of interest over a rushed vote about the Kalgoorlie Golf Course clubhouse.

Four friends are planning to play every hole on every golf course in Tasmania in just one month to raise money and awareness of mental health.

Carts fore a cause

A bid by three Aboriginal families from Bowraville in mid-north New South Wales to get justice for their murdered children has been dealt a blow.

Hundreds of people turn out in Brisbane's CBD to rally against the downgrading of Gerard Baden-Clay's conviction for murdering his wife Allison.

A Newcastle man who hit his twin brother over the head with an electric guitar, fracturing his skull, is sentenced to three years in jail.

Authorities announce a total fire ban across Victoria on Saturday, as Melbourne swelters through its second day of high temperatures.

Police catch up with an alleged sheep thief, after a man is accused of stealing, shearing and reselling more than 100 animals.

There is a "serious possibility" a fire burning at Mount Clear on the ACT border could head towards properties and towns east of the blaze, ACT Rural Fire Service warns.