Sydney news

Australian 100m and 200m backstroke world champion Mitch Larkin knows he will be the target in Rio, but he plans to give rivals something to chase at next week's Olympic trials.

Regional business groups offer a compromise with the Federal Government to avoid significant tax increase on backpacker workers.

Northern Australia's banana prawn season starts tomorrow with most trawlers heading straight to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

A Sydney council bans its mayor from speaking on its behalfthe latest move in a long-running and bitter internal power struggle.

Yancoal Australia is attempting to keep its options open by applying to consolidate two of its current mining leases in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

A third person is charged in connection with the discovery of a body in a disused mine at Whroo in Victoria's north earlier this month.

A man is killed and a woman is taken to hospital with a punctured sternum after the Hornsby attack, which one witness described as "pretty messed up".

A Sydney council bans its mayor from speaking on its behalfthe latest move in a long-running and bitter internal power struggle.

A man and a woman are arrested over the Caulfield shooting, involving what police said was a high-powered weapon.

A man is expected to be charged with the stabbing murder of a 63-year-old woman at Kensington Park in Adelaide's eastern suburbs.

Tasmanian crews resume the search for a bushwalker missing since Tuesday near Queenstown on the west coast.

The Canberra Liberals unveil their public transport election pitch, designed around a new "Rapid" network of buses.

A Canberra man who pleaded guilty to murdering his ex-girlfriend Daniela D'Addario and transporting her body in the boot of a car has admitted other offences.

Newcastle-based wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley said he could not have dreamed of a better lead up to this year's Rio Paralympics.

Three people are being treated for gunshot wounds in Sydney's north-west.

A man suffers a serious injury to his thigh after being attacked by a shark at Kiama, near Wollongong.

A man suffers a serious injury to his thigh after being attacked by a shark at Kiama, near Wollongong.

A woman has been stabbed to death at Kensington Park, in Adelaide's eastern suburbs. Police say a man has been detained.

A Canberra man who pleaded guilty to killing his ex-girlfriend Daniela D'Addario and transporting her body in the boot of a car admits to raping her and other offences.

A battle over the latest plans to breathe new life into the old Balmain Tigers site at Rozelle in Sydney's inner west ends up in court.

Tim Fischer, Australia's former deputy prime minister, is fit and well despite having to spend the night in bushland in north-eastern Victoria with only an apple to keep him going.

The NT Government's multi-million-dollar redevelopment of the Chan building is under scrutiny after its own architect raised concerns about its cost and design.

Prisoners at Darwin's corrections facility say vocational training courses are helping them develop skills for life on the outside.

Two security guards will be employed to watch over the troubled Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School in Western Australia following a first term plagued by behavioural issues and violence.

A nurse working in a remote area of Western Australia resigns after becoming increasingly concerned for her personal safety following the killing of SA nurse Gayle Woodford.

The NSW Land and Environment Court hears a landmark appeal that could set a precedent for restricting mining companies' access rights over individual properties.

The domestic violence campaigner and 2015 Australian of the Year joins the overwhelmingly supportive response to Victoria's Royal Commission into Family Violence, with many groups marking the report as an historic opportunity to fix a broken system.

A victim support service in South Australia challenges the State Government to follow Victoria's lead and overhaul its family violence support system.

Researchers in Melbourne have made a breakthrough in understanding the body's immune response to the influenza virus, which could pave the way for a universal flu vaccine that provides lifelong immunity against all strains of flu.

A "jealous, possessive and controlling" man brutally beat his ex-partner and had sex with her before leaving her naked on a mattress in the hallway of her home, a Perth murder trial is told.

Repairs are underway to ensure Yarloop's war memorial will be ready for Anzac Day.

Demolition begins in the fire-ravaged West Australian town of Yarloop two months after much of it was destroyed by flames.

Advances in DNA technology lead to the arrest and charging of a man over the sexual assault of an 83-year-old Sydney woman 26 years ago.

Are you one of our regular students for Self Improvement Wednesday? Each week, you get to learn something new - that's our Self Improvement pledge.

Workers laid off from Cockatoo Coal's Baralaba coal operation in central Queensland seven weeks ago are yet to be paid their entitlements.

The Australian Masters will not be held this year, with tournament organiser IMG saying it would reassess the event as it revamps its golf business.

A new variety of insect-resistant leucaena is almost ready for the commercial market, with two growers in central Queensland growing the crop for seed.

A warrant is issued for a man who allegedly resisted arrest and rammed two police cars before speeding off and later dumping his car in Melbourne's CBD.

Townsville's RSPCA shelter is upgrading security following a break-in during which more than 30 animals were released.

Gold Coast City Council is seeking new powers to stop camping overnight on the Southport Spit.

Do birds have emotions? Do they feel happiness and sadness and, if so, how do they express this?What has been your observations of birds around you?Michael Pavlich explored this with Gisela Kaplan, who is the author of 'Bird Minds'and Adjunct Professor, School of Science & Technology at the University of New England

Some canola is up and machinery is moving as seeding commences in the Central Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

A motorcyclist who was attacked after being knocked off his bike by a rope tied across a street in Perth's CBD did not want a young offender to go into juvenile detention, the Children's Court is told.

Are we losing the war on drugs? Why?

Three Muslim girls are left shaken by what Victorian police describe as a "sickening attack" by a group of youths in a Geelong park during which they were also racially vilified.

What has your town or district done to display its history - are there markers or monuments?

WA police followed a vehicle driven by a 14-year-old at speeds of up to 100kph.

Rebecca Maddern, the newly announced co-host of The AFL Footy Show, says positive reactions have outweighed the negative, as fans take to social media to comment on her addition to the male-dominated program.

A group of 30 Indonesian beef professionals are in Queensland's outback to study beef production systems.

We look at the life of the Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei.