Sydney news

A $13 million project to construct luxury accommodation along the Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing trail, proposed by Parks Victoria, will ruin its natural beauty, opponents say.

Wild Oats XI is ahead of rival Perpetual LOYAL as the fleet heads into Bass Strait in the 72nd Sydney to Hobart yacht race, with 24 boats at or ahead of record pace.

Rural doctor shortages are exacerbated over the Christmas and New Year period when many regional areas can be left without a doctor, sometimes for weeks on end, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia says.

Wild Oats XI claims the first-day lead of the 72nd Sydney to Hobart yacht race after an eventful start in Sydney Harbour.

Just as Pakistan needs a solid batting partnership, Australia will aim to drive home its advantage early on day two at the MCG.

A 64-year-old man is pinned down by a car and assaulted during an incident in Goulburn in southern New South Wales on Christmas Day.

A 64-year-old man is pinned down by a car and assaulted during an incident in Goulburn in southern New South Wales on Christmas Day.

The body of a 27-year-old man who disappeared while swimming with a friend in the Kangaroo River near Bendeela in New South Wales is found.

The Melbourne Stars have crossed Bass Strait for a seven-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes to open their BBL season.

League leader Sydney FC thump bottom-side Adelaide United 4-0 in Adelaide as the Sky Blues' rampant A-League march continues apace.

A toddler dies in hospital nearly a week after she and her twin brother were found unconscious in a pool in Sydney's north-west.

The Jets twice come from behind to seal a 2-2 A-League Boxing Day draw with Wellington Phoenix and secure their top-six spot.

The search for a missing 78-year-old Perth man who disappeared five days ago is stepped up in bushland north of the city, near where his car was found bogged and abandoned.

A man drowns while trying to save two girls at Wooli Beach near Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales north coast.

When a child walks for the first time it is a moment of great joy, but one Sydney family is yet to experience that with their four-year-old daughter Isabella, who has a form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia.

Australia ends the first day of a rain-affected Boxing Day Test with its nose marginally in front of Pakistan at the MCG.

A major search is underway for a 25-year-old man who went missing while canoeing in the Kangaroo River near Bundeela in the Shoalhaven region of NSW.

Perth shoppers flock to the annual Boxing Day sales where West Australians are predicted to part with $226 million after spending less than interstate counterparts in the lead-up to Christmas.

Wild Oats XI reclaims the first-day lead of the 72nd Sydney to Hobart yacht race after an eventful start in Sydney Harbour.

Australia strikes twice in each of the first two sessions at the MCG before rain erases the final session on Boxing Day. Look back at how it unfolded in our live blog.

The Federal Government has not notified the family of a Sudanese refugee from Manus Island who died in a Brisbane hospital on Christmas Eve, a refugee advocate says.

Heavy rain that has sparked damaging flash floods and widespread evacuations in Central Australia is being described as a once-in-a-half-century weather event by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Shoppers hunting down a Boxing Day bargain in Tasmania are expected to put $53 million through the tills, boosting what has been a quieter-than-normal Christmas for retailers.

A 37-year-old man dies after falling off off a boat and then being struck by it, west of Rottnest Island off Perth, despite desperate efforts to save him.

The fleet is on its way to Constitution Dock as the 72nd Sydney to Hobart yacht race gets under way on Sydney Harbour.

Virtual reality technology gives visitors at the National Museum of Australia the chance to dive deeper into the works of nature filmmaker Sir David Attenborough, with some urged to take sick bags on their tour.

Lost and a long way from home, an adult male Australian fur seal makes its way into the suburbs of Launceston, about 50 kilometres from the sea, and climbs onto a vehicle parked in a driveway, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

A Gold Coast man who died in a hit-and-run early this morning had been trying to help his neighbours after a violent home invasion at Broadbeach Waters, police say.

An allegedly drunk driver who hit and seriously injured a nine-year-old boy south of Brisbane is questioned by police and released without being charged.

Three people walk away with minor injuries after a serious car crash which leaves a trail of destruction along a Mount Lawley street in Perth's north-eastern suburbs.

Steve Smith tells Grandstand that his concerns over Australia's damaging losing streak sparked a stronger leadership approach as Test skipper.

A man, found lying unconscious on a footpath in Sydney's west, dies at the scene from serious injuries leaving police to piece together what happened.

Lost and a long way from home, an adult male Australian fur seal makes its way into the suburbs of Launceston, about 50 kilometres from the sea, and climbs onto a vehicle parked in a driveway, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

Yachting clubs across Australia are attempting to become more welcoming and accessible in an effort to get the next generation on board.

Catholic parishes in country dioceses are forced to slash popular masses due to a shortage of priests as the Church struggles to find its next generation of priests.

The sightings of dozens sharks at popular spots along Victoria's surf coast sees swimmers ordered out of the water at Fairhaven beach along the Great Ocean Road.

Virtually all the town services of outback Leigh Creek will come under new controls from next month, with mining now gone but hopes that tourism might be a way forward for the community.

There are fears for a 78-year-old man who was last seen leaving his Perth home five days ago, with a large search continuing in bushland north of the city, near where his abandoned car was found.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe says train services in south-east Queensland are running as scheduled today, and that he has ordered an investigation after 235 services were cancelled on Christmas Day.

South Australian policy that restricts Boxing Day sales to Adelaide's CBD, the airport, country areas and Glenelg "makes no sense" and should be overturned to be in line with other states, the state Liberal Party says.