Sydney news

The federal Environment Minister is asked to protect a sporting field in Moree due to its cultural significance.

A man charged over the murder of his partner, who was found stabbed to death in Cairns, will front a bedside court hearing today.

The Federal Government's plan to tax backpackers at 19 per cent is set for Senate review after passing House of Representatives.

An amber alert is issued by police searching for five children who were last seen at Home Hill in Queensland's north on Monday, and may be travelling in a car with Zane Smallwood (pictured).

A five-year-old boy is found wandering around a Hunter Valley property after surviving a car crash that killed three men, including the boy's father and grandfather.

Police speak to a man after a 30-year-old woman is found dead following a house fire at Guildford, in Sydney's west, overnight.

The Supreme Court jury in the trial of Gold Coast man Gable Tostee seeks clarification on a number of issues as deliberations resume into whether he is guilty of killing Tinder date Warriena Wright, who fell to her death from his 14th floor apartment.

Grave fears are held for a kayaker who went missing in Western Port Bay off Phillip Island on Sunday morning after a major air and sea search finds no trace of him.

The Specials, veterans of nearly four decades in the music industry, will join acts including The Waifs and the Philip Glass Ensemble at next year's Womadelaide festival.

South Australian police on discipline charges are able to prolong matters because of a system which lacks transparency, the acting police ombudsman claims.

Would you let a 10-year-old cut your hair? These kids wouldn't trust themselves to cut their own hairbut these brave strangers do.

A flamboyant peacock named Percival is helping a Queensland chicken farmer protect his hens from preying animals.

The Defence Department delays releasing results of water tests performed to see if chemicals from old firefighting foams are present in three areas in the Northern Territory.

The mayor of a Western Australian town in which a local high school is trashed over the weekend, and a riot erupted following the death of an Aboriginal teenager in August, has renewed calls for the Premier to join crisis talks next week.

Marine scientists surveying coal reefs off Western Australia's northern coast are concerned some may not recover from a "devastating" recent coral bleaching event.

Jim Molan, retired Major-General in the Australian Army, joins Leigh Sales to discuss the campaign to push Islamic State out of Mosul, Iraq.

Family First Senator Bob Day has resigned from parliament after the collapse of his property business.

A five-year-old boy found wandering at a property north of Scone in the NSW Hunter Valley leads rescue authorities to a car that had been driven over a cliff, killing three adults.

A man under investigation by federal authorities over allegations he helped struggling companies avoid paying tax on more than $20 million of income was previously accused of defrauding property investors of millions of dollars.

A man convicted of murder 16 years ago has appealed his conviction, arguing that the jury may have considered a key witness to be less reliable had they known of a PTSD diagnosis.

Nick Kyrgios is banned from the ATP Tour for eight weeks as a result of his conduct at the Shanghai Masters tournament last week, copping a $33,000 fine for good measure.

A Canberra man who wiped away tears during a sentencing hearing last week over his role in an armed crime spree is sentenced to more than two years in jail.

Retrieving old paper records for some Adelaide hospital patients could prove slow once storage moves off site, documents obtained under Freedom of Information suggest.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi says there is a possibility she will face a public hearing next year over allegations she failed to declare gifts and travel packages.

El Questro Wilderness Park pledges to rebuild Emma Gorge Resort ahead of the next tourist season.

About 11,000 properties are without power after damaging wind gusts hit south-east Queensland, following a severe thunderstorm warning issued by the weather bureau.

The Supreme Court jury in the Gable Tostee trial will resume deliberations on Tuesday morning as to whether he is guilty of killing Tinder date Warriena Wright, who fell to her death from his 14th floor apartment on Queensland's Gold Coast.

The Barnett Government comes under pressure from WA's most senior Liberal Party figure Norman Moore to resolve uncertainty over its plans to link Roe Highway to Fremantle.

A Mount Gambier paddleboarder tells of his shock after spotting a great white shark just 50 metres away from him in the water at an isolated south-east surfing beach.

A scheme which allegedly signed homeless people up as the directors of failing companies is under scrutiny by the ATO and AFP, with Philip Whiteman (pictured) accused of leaving former clients stuck in web of debt.

There have been seven economic reports released in as many days. Some of the results are good, some are just OK, and others are not so good, state political reporter Chris O'Brien writes.

The seaside town of Lancelin, north of Perth, is on track to break the world record for the longest off-road convoy.

A new report says the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is costing northern Victoria over half a billion dollars per year in lost production.

A Victorian man remains in a critical condition after overdosing on a mystery drug that affected 15 other people on the Gold Coast over the weekend.

A Queensland couple is breaking the mould and growing peaches commercially in the subtropics.

A dozen teenage girls from the Tiwi Islands get a rare glimpse inside the Essendon Football Club as part of a mentoring program to inspire young women across Australia.

More than 200 families hoping to move into their dream homes face an uncertain future after Family First senator Bob Day's building company collapsed.

While gardening was once seen as a domain for retired adults, three north Queensland green thumbs reflect on the fresh, young face of horticulture.

Hundreds of football and netball players converged on Bendigo for the Murrun Dhelk, Senior Indigenous Football and Netball Carnival.

A 'hovering cube' takes its place at the Australian National Botanic Gardens after the design was chosen for a new conservatory.

A 65-year-old Tasmanian man pleads not guilty to the gunshot murder of another man in the state's north-east.

Horticultural industry leaders say they are disappointed exploitation of working holiday makers is continuing to tarnish the reputation of their industry.

The 'snotty gobble' vine shows promise as a biological control for several Weeds of National Significance.

Two children with "significant disabilities" and two adults are found dead in a home in Sydney's north, in what police have described as a "horrific" event.

A man who tried to sexually assault a pregnant woman on a Brunswick bike path was using online pornography to try to control his deviant sexual urges, a court is told.

Victorian university students welcome some furry friends onto campuses as a way to deal with student stress.

Property may be the hottest investment game in town, but a leading Australian economist warns over-supplied inner-city apartment markets in Melbourne and Brisbane are about to become poor investment.

After years of drought, outback Queensland's sheep and wool industry begins to bounce back with producers putting out an urgent call for workers.

Scooter the sheepdog had an unusual lead-up to a major championship, going missing for three days before she was due to represent her country.

A father inspired by a recent Australian film holds a paper plane competition in Brisbane to encourage children to put down their laptops and connect.