Sydney news

A biological war is being waged in strawberry fields and it has created a booming business in predatory bugs.

Queensland Parliament votes against the idea of splitting the state in two, with the LNP joining with Labor to defeat the motion 82 to 3.

Riverland jobseeker Garry Wilson hits the road in his quest for truck driving work, putting up signs and waiting in truck stops in the hope someone will give him a chance.

After a life-saving lung transplant, a cryptic letter set Carolyn Boyd off on a treasure hunt that led to a remarkable friendship.

Hundreds of healthy trees are being felled in the Great Ocean Road hamlets of Wye River and Separation Creek in an over-zealous state campaign to remove fire affected trees, some residents say.

A pregnant woman is assaulted by a group of masked men who were carrying an axe, a baseball bat and a hammer as she walked down a street in Melbourne's south east, and could be linked to an earlier carjacking, police say.

A four-month police operation cracks an alleged drug supply ring operating in Canberra and Queanbeyan, and seizes an estimated $100,000 worth of the drug ice along with illegal weapons including replica handguns.

The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer says the Government has had a successful week, passing over $11 billion in budget repair measures in the House of Representatives. She says that the modified changes to superannuation still delivers 'on the policy intent' and states that discussions with backbenchers over proposed legislation is 'what a prudent and responsible government does do'.

The blame game about funding for the Brownhill Creek flood mitigation plan re-ignites with an Adelaide council describing the State Government's funding commitment as "ridiculous".

Authorities are keeping a close watch on the Avoca River at Charlton, in Victoria's north-west, with floodwaters expected to peak later today, while a farmer remains missing after his ute was swept away in the south-west.

A not-for-profit organisation is seeing huge success in boosting the numbers of girls entering an Australian competition to develop smartphone applications.

Although a big fan of the film which popularised the Parkes Radio Telescope story, Ambassador John Berry wants Australians to know more about their country's modern-day contributions to space.

The party promises to spend $100 million for infrastructure upgrades in Canberra's schools if it is re-elected next month.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has operation on left leg after freak training accident requires 30 stitches.

The Mid West Port Authority says the financial predicament of its biggest customer will not place the Geraldton Port at risk.

Corrective Services NSW launches an investigation after a mobile phone, thought to belong to Brothers 4 Life founder Bassam Hamzy, is found in the state's most secure prison.

Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos praises the party room after the government announces changes to its contentious super policy.

The sale and redevelopment of the East Perth power station site appears to be on hold indefinitely, with the WA Government struggling to find a company willing to bankroll the relocation of the Western Power station switchyard.

Perth police have confirmed non-lethal bean bag rounds were fired during an operation in the city's inner north.

A large chunk of one of Darwin's oldest Indigenous communities could be turned into a multi-million-dollar shopping centre, as part of a development proposal to get it out of financial strife.

The entrance of Bagot Community in Darwin.

Shopping centre proposed for the Indigenous community Bagot.

Rezoning proposals for Indigenous community Bagot, with a shopping centre site proposed for the right site.

The Australian Psychological Society issues a landmark formal apology to Indigenous Australians, saying it has failed Aboriginal patients in the past.

The Fair Work Commission finds an airport baggage handler in Perth was unfairly sacked on suspicion of being an Islamic State supporter.

Mine owner and former politician Clive Palmer arrived at court all smiles this morning, just as news broke that he was trying to throw out a hearing on the collapse of his company, Queensland Nickel. Mr Palmer had his third day of grilling in the Federal Court over his role in the lead-up to the company's collapse in January this year. But today, his lawyers got him a High Court injunction hearing to block the probing.

The Turnbull government has finally buckled on its much debated superannuation policy after months of criticism from both inside and outside the government that it was unfair and retrospective.

Queensland Parliament votes against the idea of splitting the state in two, with the LNP joining with Labor to defeat the motion 82 to 3.

Robert Forster on his friend and creative partner in The Go-Betweens, Grant McLennan.Friends musician Allan Zavod and scientist Alan Finkel on collaborating on a musical work.And new music from Deborah Conway.

Organisers of WA's first major contemporary dance festival hope the event will showcase local talent and encourage dancers to stay put.

A bus carrying dozens of passengers that burst into flames on the Sydney Harbour Bridge has caused traffic chaos during peak hour.

The Barnett Government hopes to generate about $1.4 billion from the partial privatisation of Keystart loan book.

Dramatic video shows a police pursuit in Perth, which ends in the capture of an alleged armed robber who escaped from custody in Fremantle before hijacking a car and crashing it in Mandurah.

After suffering a stoke at the age of seven, the doctors said Macy-Lee Smedley may never walk again. After proving them wrong she has dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete.

After Neill Duncan had his arm amputated due to cancer, he and his family never imagined he would play saxophone again, let alone in the Abbey Road studios.

A burning bus is causing gridlock on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak hour. Authorities are warning motorists to avoid the area.

A new documentary film explores a group of Melbourne students in the 1970s who took a stand for gay pride when homosexuality was criminalised.

An unpublished IBAC report recommends sweeping changes to the Victoria Police's complaints handling process, as a legal centre in Melbourne reveals that of 51 assault complaints it filed against officers, just one was upheld.

Victoria's Country Fire Authority will rely on constitutional powers to prove its controversial workplace deal for paid firefighters is lawful, in a case which could set a precedent for organisations in other states.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs scoop up Robbie Farah on a two-year deal, ending the New South Wales hooker's long-running feud with the Wests Tigers.

First there was a lamb ad billed as Australia's most diverse ever, then a wheelchair athlete featured in a catalogue for a major clothing chain, and now a young boy from regional New South Wales is the new face of diversity in advertising.

A Sydney man who admitted to preparing for an act of terrorism decided not to bomb a Shiite prayer hall because someone was inside, a court hears.

There are fears plastic debris from a failed shark barrier trial on the New South Wales far north coast will harm marine life.

Parramatta five-eighth Corey Norman has his drug possession conviction overturned in the Sydney District Court.

In response to a cluster of youth suicides earlier in the year, the remote WA northern goldfields town of Leonora is drawing on international research, and a can-do local attitude to improve life experience in the region.

On week two of the AFL finals, the underdog always looms most dangerously. Can the Bulldogs or Crows stun the Hawks or the Swans this weekend?

Dismayed and frustrated Tasmanian farmers travel to Canberra in the latest attempt to convince the Federal Government to dump its controversial backpacker tax.

A mobile coffee cart is helping to upskill and reintegrate Townsville's at-risk young people.

Proposed new laws to move 17-year-olds out of Queensland's adult jails are so complex that courts will have to decide which minors to deal with under the youth justice system, Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath admits.

A powerful video denouncing domestic violence will be aired in venues including sports and RSL clubs across New South Wales, in a bid to urge victims to come forward.