Sydney news

Aboriginal artist Laurel Nannup's recent foray into public art has seen her work exposed to audiences far greater than she ever imagined - and she is not alone, thanks to a successful Perth program.

A man will face court over his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar ice syndicate that was uncovered last month when police pulled over a man for talking on his mobile phone.

Seven months after the town of Yarloop was razed by fire it has reopened to the public.

An ambitious project to relocate dozens of Western Swap Tortoises from Perth to the South West hopes to secure of future of the animal, which is Australia's most endangered reptile.

A toddler was the youngest person on stage at the University of Tasmania's mid-year graduation ceremony in Hobart.

The head of the Alice Springs Women's Shelter says her organisation was never approached about a coronial inquest into the deaths of two indigenous women, despite them being clients of the shelter.

Workers embroiled in a wage dispute at a coal mine in Western Australia's South West are handed a reprieve after fighting moves to slash their pay by up to 43 per cent.

One of Australia's most senior Anglican's has admitted he didn't act on complaint of a paedophile ring operating in the Newcastle diocese, which he led for more than a decade.Roger Herft said he regretted he had not been more alert to what was going on.

Police warn businesses about a network of criminals carrying out a sophisticated system of credit card fraud in the state.

The fight to eradicate the Asian honey bee threat in north Queensland is taking a more creative twist - with helium balloons booby-trapped with pheromones being brought in to draw out the unwanted pest.

A family violence victim whose abusive ex-partner was mistakenly released two weeks early from Tasmania's Risdon Prison speaks of dysfunction in the justice system.

The National Association of Community Legal Centres is still hoping to convince the Federal Government to wind back a planned 30 per cent funding cut due to take effect next year.

Workers embroiled in a wage dispute at a coal mine in Western Australia's South West are handed a reprieve after fighting moves to slash their pay by up to 43 per cent.

The industrial dispute surrounding Victoria's Country Fire Authority has dragged on for more than 1,200 days.

Renowned Australian fashion designer Toni Maticevski's twenty-year career is being celebrated in an exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery.

As Sri Lanka takes firm but slow steps towards ethnic and national reconciliation, there's a local effort underway in Australia.

The fire-ravaged West Australian town of Yarloop has re-opened to the public, seven months after it was levelled by bushfire. The inferno reduced 181 buildings to rubble and killed two people. Road blocks have been lifted in a bid to kick-start the reconstruction process, and residents say it's a major step in the healing process.

Plans to install an eco-friendly shark barrier off the NSW north coast are scrapped due to interference from rough sea conditions.

Counter-terrorism officers are investigating whether $27 million in Commonwealth childcare subsidies has been diverted overseas. Already a child care business in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba has been raided and The Australian Federal Police have charged two men with fraud.

An Anglican Archbishop has told the Child Abuse Royal Commission that he failed to respond effectively to claims a priest in the Newcastle region was a prolific paedophile. Archbishop Roger Herft was the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle for more than a decade. During that period he heard numerous allegations against the local priest Peter Rushton.

Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith wins a Federal Court appeal allowing him to continue selling his Ozemite-branded yeast extract spread.

A survey of school teachers finds the overwhelming majority are against plans to lower the school starting age from four to three-and-a-half.

The best way to end the working week. This week Richard is joined by Tommy Dean, Wendy Harmer and James O'Loghlin.

Cricket Australia hopes a nationwide search for elite female athletes will bring champions from other sports into the game.

Traditional owners in the Kakadu National Park are working with the rangers to reduce the number of damaging hot fires.

Residents of Salmon Gums say a multi-million dollar Royalties for Regions-backed phone tower struggles to provide coverage beyond the town site.

Despite her severe disability, Eleanor Beidatsch's dream of attending a dinosaur dig has come true.

The 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan is commemorated with screenings of an Australian film released just four years after the end of the Vietnam war.

A man accused of killing his partner in Darwin three years ago told police he kept her on a short leash and paid her cash wages, the NT Supreme Court hears.

Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick discovers incorrectly labelled gas outlets during checks ordered after a gas mix-up resulted in the death of a newborn baby.

For Claire Bockner the Adelaide foothills are her place of sanctuary, especially after having grown up in one of the largest cities in the world.

A regional Queensland schoolgirl raises thousands of dollars for children living with alopecia, even donating her own long hair to the cause.

Catholic priest and former police chaplain John Patrick Casey is found not guilty of 16 charges relating to the sexual abuse of children in northern New South Wales in the mid 1980s.

A Hong Kong man caught up in the largest-ever seizure of methylamphetamine in Western Australia was used as "cannon fodder" for a large drug syndicate,a Perth court is told.

A former director of collapsed white goods company Kleenmaid is sentenced to nine years' jail after being found guilty of fraud and insolvent trading.

One of Australia's most senior Anglicans, the Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft, tells a royal commission he would not report child sexual abuse allegations if he did not know the name of the alleged victim.

Bowe Maddigan pleads guilty to murdering and sexually assaulting Zoe Buttigieg, 11, who was found dead after her mother held a marathon drinking and cannabis-smoking session at her Wangaratta home.

A teenager charged over the death of Mason Jet Lee at at home in Caboolture is released on bail.

A unique mentoring program helping victims of domestic violence gain new skills is being hailed a success.

Bangarra Dance Theatre is celebrating a new generation of Indigenous talent with three shows in one for its latest production, which starts its Brisbane season tonight.

The Federal Opposition calls on Attorney-General George Brandis to respect the decision of the Federal Court and not spend more taxpayer funds in the long-running dispute over access to his ministerial diary.

A former Perth taxi driver who had to be extradited from India to face prosecution is sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail over the sexual and indecent assault of two female passengers.

Police had no grounds to arrest Liam Humbles on drug offences five months before he shot dead teenager Lewis McPherson in Adelaide, a coronial inquest hears.

Changes designed to protect subcontractors on State Government construction projects do not go far enough and should be extended to major works, the West Australian Opposition warns.

The letter Mr Crowden received from NASA

Jim Crowden in his Devonport home

Devonport man Jim Crowden is convinced a mystery object still exists 30 years on.

A cardboard example of what Mr Crowden said he saw in 1985

A study into the impact of healthcare costs on patients with chronic illnesses reveals that a quarter regularly skip treatments they can not afford.

A western region council applies to have recent rain declared a natural disaster after it caused more than $1 million of damage.