Sydney news

Queensland's newest railway is up and operational, with the $1 billion Redcliffe Peninsula Line north of Brisbane opening for its first day of service today.

Alcoa is yet to secure a power contract for its Portland smelter, less than a month out from the current contract's expiry.

South Australian horse breeder Jasmin Battye has barely slept since floodwaters swamped her Buckland Park property, destroying thousands of dollars worth of equipment and damaging handcrafted stables.

A "mystery player" has come to the short-term rescue of three Western Australian dairy farmers looking for a new home for their milk.

The son of world water speed record holder Ken Warby is attempting to break his father's world record.

Widespread flooding through the Northern Adelaide Plains horticulture region increases the damage bill for SA's agriculture.

Reigning Supercars champion Mark Winterbottom has not given up hope on defending his touring car title ahead of this weekend's Bathurst 1000.

Travis Cloke is so desperate to move from Collingwood to the Western Bulldogs that he is willing to take a huge pay cut to help get the deal done.

Tuggeranong means "cold place" in the Ngunnawal language and many voters in the ACT's Brindabella electorate believe their treatment by successive governments has indeed been frosty. From rubbish to housing development and the town centre, here's the local issues that matter to voters.

Despite police and the coroner concluding a woman died of an accidental prescription drug overdose, the Commonwealth Bank's insurance arm decides she had taken her own life and refuses a life insurance payout.

A Brisbane woman says she is touched by support from the public after thieves steal precious jewellery designed by her late sister Courtney Harris, the founder of Angle Diamond Dot.

The Redfern All Blacks take out the New South Wales Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout for the second year in a row in a celebration described by federal MP Linda Burney as a modern-day corroboree.

When the Ford motor company closes the doors on its manufacturing plant in Geelong next Friday, 90 years of Australian motoring history will end. Lateline's Hamish Fitzsimmons takes a look back at the history of Ford and the future of its workers.

Oh the nerd nerd nerd, nerd is the word...

Flood warnings remain in force across Tasmania's north after heavy rain, but so far property has been spared from any damage.

Cancer patients in Darwin are going to have to wait up to 18 months to access a PET scanner promised by politicians during the federal election campaign.

Positron emission tomography scans are used to diagnose and detect a host of diseases and are particularly useful for patients with cancer, heart disease, epilepsy and other neurological diseases.

Ayoung Brisbane opera singerhas recorded an album for charity while battling one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

Two brothers who beat a stranger unconscious in a "savage attack" near a Melbourne nightclub are spared jail due to their youth and low risk of reoffending.

A Rochedale South house loses its roof and a building in Kelvin Grove is damaged by a severe thunderstorm and accompanying strong winds, which also left up to 10,000 properties without power at its peak.

When opera singer Matt Hirst was diagnosed with brain cancer he decided to record an album to raise money for brain cancer research.

Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon joins Leigh Sales to discuss his team's grand final win on the weekend.

Could the Donald Trump tax revelations be the turning point in the US presidential campaign? Professor Simon Jackman from the US Studies Centre joins Leigh Sales to discuss the issue.

The Commonwealth Bank's insurance arm ignored the findings of police and the coroner and refused a payout for a woman who died of an accidental prescription drug overdose because it decided she had taken her own life.

Australia's army of grey nomads is growing, with 150 vans of all shapes and sizes converging on Geraldton in WA for the annual motorhome rally.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge apologises to fans after "tired" players do not show up to premiership celebrations in Ballarat.

Five men - including three alleged bikies - are released on bail following an appearance in a far north Queensland court charged over a wild nightclub brawl in Cairns over the weekend.

A two-year-old boy is fighting for his life in a Brisbane hospital a week after being bitten three times by one of the deadliest snakes in the world while collecting eggs at his parents' property in central Queensland.

Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan admits polarising figure Andrew Fifita has some "issues" he needs to deal with and says the NRL club needs to closely monitor his welfare.

In a crowded shed on the outskirts of Darwin, burly men, retired high school teachers and the long-term unemployed make new homes for native birds and possums.

More than 18,000 days since the club played its first game, the Shark's chase for rugby league's ultimate prize is finally over, and fans and players are making sure they celebrate it well.

A 27-year-old Perth mother is sentenced to eight years' jail for the unlawful killing of her 11-month-old baby son, whose cause of death was a traumatic brain injury.

A dog is shot dead by Queensland police after it attacked police dog Bravo (pictured) during an arrest on the Gold Coast.

Former top jockey Danny Nikolic tells a VCAT hearing his attitude to authority has "completely changed" and his licence should be returned, but lawyers for Racing Victoria accuse him of being "evasive".

A woman is facing charges of assaulting police after allegedly throwing a running chainsaw in the direction of two officers in Tasmania.

Deakin University will retain its Warrnambool campus, but will cut staff and course offerings under new changes.

A north-west Tasmanian man appeals against his 21-year prison sentence for murdering his neighbour on Christmas Day four years ago, insisting he acted in self-defence.

Doctors are warning of ethical complexities if a couple with Down syndrome seek assisted reproductive technology. A Queensland couple, Michael Cox and Taylor Anderton, are planning to start a family, but the couple's parents fear they lack the skills to raise children. Disability advocates argue that they should have the same rights as others in the community.

A 20-year-old Sydney man is charged with murder and denied bail after police allege he stabbed his father to death in an argument over time spent on a computer.

Ambulances are called to the Star Casino in Sydney 173 times a year on average since 2011, with suicide attempts and overdoses among the reasons, freedom of information documents show.

An Ipswich landholder lodges a $4 million compensation claim with Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads saying he has not been compensated for part of his property which was resumed in 2008 to build a major road project.

Peak vegetable industry body AUSVEG says the sale of Australia's largest fresh potato supplier should give growers confidence after months of uncertainty.

Relentless rain on sodden paddocks prevents Tasmanian farmers from planting spring crops.

The NSW Government says the north coast will be the priority area for smart drum lines after a teenager was recently attacked by a shark.

The opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula line puts the spotlight on two other funding arguments between the Queensland and federal governmentsBrisbane's Cross River Rail and an upgrade of the M1 motorway south of Brisbane.

A $2 levy on all taxi and rideshare trips to fund further assistance for the taxi industry is under consideration, Western Australia's Transport Minister admits.

Educators converge in north Queensland to investigate what Australia can learn from Finland, Norway and Mexico.

A Mornington woman denies setting fire to a unit in Hobart's eastern suburbs, where a body was discovered two weeks ago.

A perfect spring brings Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden to full colour.

Vireya