Sydney news

In a year dominated by trade issues, it was an onion-eating Prime Minister and two smuggled dogs that really stole the headlines.

An exclusion zone is set up around a north Queensland motel after what is believed to be a container of hydrochloric acid explodes.

A light plane is forced to make an emergency landing in Geraldton, about 400 kilometres north of Perth.

ABC Kimberley highlights some of the stories of 2015.

A Top End bird farm almost sells out of turkeys in the lead-up to Christmas.

Water carting will begin to the town of Pooncarie south of Broken Hill on Thursday, because of a delay in getting approval to use the town's newly constructed bore.

Children who are too frightened to sit with Santa Claus and have a photo taken are developing a good, natural fear of strangers, a senior occupational therapist says.

Charles Sturt University (CSU), based in regional New South Wales, has been ordered to reinstate one of its employees, after an unfair dismissal finding by the Fair Work Commission.

Police are searching for a gunman after a man was shot during an altercation in Melbourne's west last night.

Queensland underground coal mine operators are warned by the mining union to reduce their dust levels below the state's safety standard or face shut downs.

A shortage in the private stocks of the whooping cough vaccination leaves Queensland chemists unable to fill prescriptions.

Big regional New South Wales piggery, Blantyre Farms, is proposing to build a new $12m operation.

Lleyton Hewitt's Davis Cup captaincy debut will take place on home soil, with Kooyong selected to host Australia's first-round tie with the United States in March.

Newcastle residents say they warned about landslips at a Merewether construction site.

A man who was pulled from a burning vehicle on the Southern Expressway, in Adelaide's south, is rushed to the Flinders Medical Centre with critical injuries.

Four children are placed into care as police investigate a "heinous" case involving at least one child being detained at a property near Taree, on the NSW mid-north coast, housing an elaborate hydroponic drug set-up.

A financial executive from Sydney is charged with alleged frauds totalling more than $10 million over more than a decade.

Pasminco has been fined and officially cautioned by the state's environmental watchdog for breaching the licence conditions at its former lead smelter at Lake Macquarie.

A man who is still fighting for compensation over alleged abuse suffered at Melbourne's prestigious Xavier College in the 1970s turns to crowdfunding in an effort to establish a foundation to support other abuse victims.

The Deputy Premier Troy Grant is being asked to discuss the proposed merger between two of his local councils.

He's not Santa. But Melbourne man Jack Little has spent the past few decades travelling the world and returning with a sack full of toys.

A western council has expressed interest in resettling Syrian refugees to help stem its declining population.

The Newcastle Jets are excited about tonight's clash with ladder leaders, the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Lake Macquarie police have charged after he produced a gun in a reserve.

Hunter-based welfare organisation Samaritans says its annual Christmas Lunch in the Park will go ahead tomorrow.

The author of a report into the contamination at the Williamtown Air Force base has called for changes to the way governments address future environmental contaminations.

A 70-year-old nun camps outside Parliament House for 26 days in an effort to raise awareness about the plight of refugees on Nauru and Manus Island.

Canberra university students are being encouraged to study part of their degree overseas, in a bid to help with employment opportunities.

Lifeline Hunter is urging locals to use a new smartphone app to access health and community services.

The WA Department of Fisheries is investigating what caused the death of thousands of bait fish found washed up on a beach in the Pilbara.

An audit of an Aboriginal corporation in the Northern Territory's gulf country reveals its chief executive and human resources manager received almost $200,000 in excessive time-off-in-lieu payments.

The Sydney Sixers produce the biggest run chase in team history to beat the Melbourne Renegades by three wickets at Docklands Stadium.

A spinning weather system over the Top End brings heavy rain to Darwin and surrounds, with strong wind warnings and a flood watch for northern rivers.

Police say speed and alcohol appear to be factors in fatal north-west fatal crash which closed the Murchison Highway at Somerset.

Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick is one of the first people on the scene of a fatal head-on collision near Bundaberg.

WA Treasurer Mike Nahan vows to hold to CPI wages policy during election campaign as Government deals with worsening economy.

One of the state's biggest strawberry producers experiences a total crop wipe-out after severe storms swept through Queensland's Granite Belt.

ABC Local Radio Kimberley - Your local voice in 2016

The Sydney-Hobart is often described as the Mount Everest of yacht racing.This year, for the first time, two crews from mainland China will join another 107 crews in attempting to reach the finish line in Hobart and race organisers predict this is the beginning of many more Chinese teams to enter the prestigious race.

Teenagers who volunteer with the elderly in the lead up to Christmas provide important support for those who may otherwise face the holiday alone, according to a major care provider.

A motorist has a lucky escape after part of a tree falls onto his car as he is driving on a highway in WA's South West.

Twenty bottles of vintage Hermitage Grange are among $300,000 of stolen property uncovered by Melbourne police investigating a credit card scam.

Unions say they've lost confidence in the medical monitoring process as four more potential cases of black lung emerge.

WA's only specialist hospital for children will close one of its infant wards over the Christmas period.

A cotton and grain grower from Queensland's Central Darling Downs says 2015 has been the best year of farming at his place in 40 years.

The Department of Fisheries is investigating the death of thousands of bait fish found washed up on a beach in the Pilbara.

Commissioning is about to begin on an Australian first-of-a-kind $20 million solar thermal power station which could lead to billion dollar commercial operations in regional Australia and global demand for the technology.

Teenagers who volunteer with the elderly in the lead up to Christmas provide important support for those who may otherwise face the holiday alone, according to a major care provider.

A woman convicted of murdering her de-facto partner in Broome will spend at least 21 years in prison, after prosecutors successfully appealed against her initial sentence.

Cotton growers and agronomists in central Queensland aren't just growing commercial crops but also participating in a number of scientific trials to increase the yield and quality of their fibre.