Sydney news

New research being undertaken in Queensland could hold the key to controlling parasitic pests in a variety of fruit and vegetable crops.

There are concerns for the future of hundreds of small wine businesses across Australia if the Federal Government moves to scrap a generous rebate paid to producers.

The latest data on the academic performance of Australian schools reveals "signs of improvement across the country", the national curriculum authority says.

Recent sightings of rare birds has the twitching community looking towards Western Australia as the go-to venue for a spot of birdwatching.

The mining workers union has accused management at the Mount Arthur coal mine in the Hunter Valley of failing to operate the mine effectively in the wake of dramatic job cuts.

Mining company Perilya has confirmed it is talking to workers about redundancies and expects to cut the workforce at its Broken Hill operations in far west New South Wales.

A former state Labor politician says Western Australia's above average gender pay gap figures reflect a culture, not the state's resources industry.

Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association will meet in the state's south today over concerns about too few staff at the new Riverina Rural Referral Hospital in Wagga Wagga.

Two people are arrested after a man is found lying in a driveway at Surry Hills with stab wounds to his neck.

The chairman of a community committee focused on a southern New South Wales pulp and paper mill has told the ABC he does not think there is an immediate danger.

A Senate inquiry into the contamination of land and groundwater from toxic fire fighting foam will today turn its attention to Oakey, on Queensland's Darling Downs. The chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, have been detected in groundwater beneath the Army Aviation Centre in Oakey - prompting a ban on drinking bore water, and blood tests for residents living in the affected area.

A woman suffers a punctured lung after her housemate tries to sexually assault her and then stabs her in her Sydney bedroom, police say.

The suicide of a young Aboriginal girl has sent shock waves through Western Australia's Kimberley region. The ten year old died at the weekend in a small Aboriginal community near Derby. It comes just months after the Federal Government established a specialist flying squad to tackle the high rate of Indigenous suicides in Western Australia.

Prominent Cape York Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson speaks out against the tightening of Queensland's tree clearing laws, arguing the changes could hurt Indigenous people trying to break out of poverty.

The first day of Delia Lawrie's latest appeal in the long-running Stella Maris dispute hears it was "hardly surprising" an inquiry set up by one government to investigate the previous government would prompt "political responses".

Tiny gobble guts fish eating hundreds of baby prawns at a time have been identified as a potential hurdle in attempts to restock Perth rivers with the crustacean.

A WA support worker says the apparent suicide of a 10-year-old girl is a tragedy that needs to be "heard across the nation", as planning continues for an inquest into similar recent deaths in the region.

The first day of Delia Lawrie's latest appeal in the long-running Stella Maris dispute hears it was "hardly surprising" an inquiry set up by one government to investigate the previous government would prompt "political responses".

Amanda Whitley, the founder of the hugely successful HerCanberra, is named ACT Woman of the Year for her work with the community.

The former head of Families SA tells a royal commission the organisation was "under siege" and was often more concerned with protecting its reputation than the safety of children.

Australia has fallen short of winning back an international long-range target shooting trophy after losing to Great Britain at the Match Rifle Championships in northern Tasmania.

A man dies after his car hits a tree off Melbourne's Peninsula Link Freeway and bursts into flames.

A transport company is fined $75,000 after a worker was struck in the head by the tailgate of a trailer in January 2013.

A former colleague of convicted paedophile dance teacher Grant Davies details how she fought for nine years to alert authorities to the danger posed by him.

Tiny gobble guts fish eating hundreds of baby prawns at a time have been identified as a major hurdle in attempts to restock Perth rivers with the crustacean.

The organisers of an NT International Women's Day event were worried the women who needed it most would not be able to attend, so they took the event to them.

A brilliant century from captain Travis Head has spearheaded South Australia to a stunning one-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Western Australia at the WACA ground in Perth to keep its hopes of making the final flickering.

Community groups welcome West Australian state government review into drones for aerial pest spray control.

A former Adelaide childcare worker changes his plea and admits to having sex with a 13-year-old boy after grooming him through Facebook.

A banking slip belonging to a slain Queensland grandmother was allegedly altered by her accused murdered to be increased by thousands of dollars, a Supreme Court hears.

As much at the whim of trends as the fashion industry, nursery owners and plant breeders work hard to ensure they have the next trendy plant available for their customers at the right price.

Melbourne General Cemetery will get an $80,000 restoration after a number of significant graves fall into disrepair.

The image of a Mildura baby is adorning the walls of a Brunswick art gallery as part of the Sydney Road Street Festival.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett expects a close contest in the state seat of Perth after City of Vincent Mayor John Carey announced his intention to seek Labor preselection.

Wellington Phoenix has made its first major move since securing a long-term place in the A-League, signing All Whites star Kosta Barbarouses from Melbourne Victory.

Passion and plot are part of a romance writer's craft, but for a group of women in central west New South Wales, the supportive female friendships they have developed through their writing are just as important.

Daddy Cool guitarist Ross Hannaford dies aged 65, months after a sell-out benefit concert to raise money for his battle with cancer.

A Liberal MP joins forces with a Greens MP to introduce a bill aimed at recognising same-sex marriages from overseas.

More than 90 per cent of regional Victorian train services will return to normal in a fortnight after being plagued by mass cancellations, disruption and delays.

As a small business owner, psychology graduate, and soon-to-be Australias first and only aerials competitor in the World Championships of Performing Arts, Kayleigh McMullen is no ordinary 22-year-old.

A 16-kilometre stretch of the Gold Coast has officially been declared the eighth World Surfing Reserve.

There are high hopes that a new type of boat mooring will conserve seagrass species in Lake Macquarie.

Eleven youth suicides in 12 months have prompted a series of crisis meetings in the northern New South Wales city of Grafton.

As Joan Atherton Hooper digs through the case files for her father's murder in 1939 - files that have been closed for 75 years - there is one question on her mind: Was the killer acting alone, or was her mother behind the murder as part of a bid for freedom?

Daddy Cool guitarist Ross Hannaford has died aged 65, after a battle with cancer.

A Melbourne teenager shot dead after stabbing police had "reached breaking point" due to harassment from his parents and ASIO officers, an inquest hears.

Space enthusiasts will be given a behind-the-scenes look at the trials, tribulations and key discoveries of the Rosetta mission at the World Science Festival in Brisbane.

Two businesses in the central Queensland town of Blackwater have closed in the last week as the township continues to struggle amidst the mining downturn.

Cheap seats to longer viable for cross-country service, as owners put faith in big spending foreign travellers.

Figures show there were nearly 80 police pursuits across NSW in 2013 and 2014 with eight in the Hunter Valley.