Sydney news

More Australian businesses are investing in solar power than ever before.

Stone fruit orchards in the mid-north are having a challenging start to the summer harvest after an unusually wet spring across South Australia.

Neighbours say they were woken by screams for help after a man fell from a rock face at the Mary Booth Reserve at Kirribilli on Sydney's North Shore.

It's officiallast year Sydney and a large strip of the NSW coast sweltered through the hottest year on record, according to the weather bureau, but flooding also left its mark on the state.

Despite warmer than average weather across South Australia, parts of the state had their wettest year on record in 2016, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's annual snapshot of the nation's climate.

Emergency services continue their search for a 60-year-old man who is missing in floodwaters in far north Queensland.

A man accused of setting 40 poker machines alight at a hotel south of Brisbane last night is due to face court today.

Anne Young will never forget the night when more than 20 weak and tired horses arrived at her property last April, but today many of them are strong enough to be re-homed.

A wayward fur sealdubbed 'Lou-seal' by policethat made headlines after climbing onto on a car in suburban Tasmania has a history of run-ins with authorities.

Tasmania's doctors' lobby is concerned about the impact of a downgrade of one of the Launceston General Hospital's teaching accreditations.

A group of migrants who regularly get together for a game of table tennis share some stories about the challenges they faced integrating in Australia.

England T20 cricket captain Eoin Morgan carries Sydney Thunder to a dramatic BBL season-saving win against the Melbourne Stars in his final appearance of this season's tournament.

CCTV shows the moment three bandits brandishing a handgun, machete and hammer rob a jewellery store in broad daylight in Melbourne's south-east.

A search is underway for a man last seen being swept away under a rail bridge by floodwaters north of Atherton in far north Queensland.

A West Australian man is charged with sexual assault after allegedly tying his stepdaughter to a car seat and attacking her during a driving lesson.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe gives his strongest indication yet that more heads will roll at Queensland Rail over the driver shortage, saying he believes further change in management is needed.

"Offensive" material about West Papua displayed at an Australian Special Forces base prompts Indonesia's defence chief to cut military cooperation, throwing future joint exercises into doubt.

A local council in Western Australia is suspended amid a corruption probe and alleged financial mismanagement, with the Local Government Minister questioning whether councillors understand their roles and responsibilities.

Kangaroo Island is in desperate need of more tourist accommodation especially in light of another endorsement by Lonely Planet, the local mayor says.

The suicide of Will Carrigan, 24, prompted his parents to start a campaign in their rural community to introduce what is known as 'positive education' to help young people with mental illness.

A Victorian woman faces court charged with murder after allegedly setting her partner alight at a home in Bendigo last year.

The critically-acclaimed play Prize Fighter was written by a Congolese-Australian who used his own life as inspiration. It's about a Congolese orphan who moves to Brisbane and takes up boxing, and it opens this week as part of the Sydney Festival.

Workers at Alcoa's Portland aluminium smelter are offered more annual leave as local anxiety grows about the plants uncertain future.

The drownings of two Adelaide boys a year ago should have prompted better beach safety measures for migrants, including dedicated swimming lessons, a community group says.

The former One Nation senator and his wife have lashed out at the media over its handling of yesterday's fracas outside a Perth court.

Police arrest a man and release footage of another following a hit-and-run that killed cyclist Jason McCormack on New Year's Eve.

Indonesia brings military cooperation with Australia to a halt after one of its Special Forces instructors is offended by training material on display in Perth. The ADF wrote to Indonesian officials about the offensive material in November.

He will not admit that Test cricket is easy, but Peter Handscomb says he has enjoyed learning as much as he can about the game as he continues to pile on the runs.

Serena Williams loses to compatriot Madison Brengle and sister Venus succumbs to an arm injury as the Australian Open warm-up event in Auckland loses a lot of glamour.

A man is arrested and charged following a bizarre home invasion at Donvale, in Melbourne's east last week, where he was allegedly found sleeping in a lounge room and threatened a woman with a knife.

Irate Port Augusta residents have confronted the South Australian Environment Minister over ash dust which is blanketing their town. Heavy rain last week has caused the ash from the former Port Augusta power station to blow across the area, prompting an outcry from residents over health concerns. Now Senator Nick Xenophon has revealed documents which show ash stockpiles are even too dangerous for landfill.

A new hybrid operating theatre in Queensland will be the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere when it opens on the Sunshine Coast in April.

The controversial Senator Rod Culleton has spoken for the first time following a bizarre incident outside a Perth court yesterday. The Senator fell when another man tried to serve documents on him. He claims it was a callous act, and that police are investigating other threats against the Senator. Despite the Senator facing a number of challenges to his Senate position, he says he's got no plans to step down.

Four years on from the Dunalley fires, the Government says Tasmania is better equipped than ever to combat bushfires.

Australia declares at 8-538 before Pakistan begins to mount a comeback, going to stumps on 2-126. See how the action unfolded in our blog.

Peter Handscomb's second Test century sees Australia pile on the pain for Pakistan after a huge first innings at the SCG.

Rangers catch a 2.3-metre saltwater crocodile posing a hazard for golfers in north Queensland, but it might not be the one they were after.

Residents wearing face masks heckle SA's Environment Minister, demanding an end to a dust problem emanating from Port Augusta's former power station.

Queensland horse trainer Ben Currie says he will appeal against a $9,000 penalty imposed after one of his horses, Party Till Dawn, tested positive to methamphetamine.

A Queensland horse trainer Ben Currie says he will appeal a $9,000 penalty imposed after one of his horses, Party Till Dawn, tested positive to methamphetamine.

A Queensland mother says a Cancer Council children's sunscreen gave her baby a "horrible rash" which saw him hospitalised for two nights.

A man in his 50s dies after getting into trouble in the water at an Ocean Grove beach, on Victoria's south-west coast.

WA Labor's decision to commit to scrapping the Roe 8 project will have far-reaching impacts and debate around the proposed heavy haulage route will form a large part of the looming state election campaign.

Police say the third suspicious fire at a Bankstown business with links to corrupt former politician Eddie Obeid had several ignition points.

While the company behind the Hills Hoist announced this week that it was selling the rights to the iconic rotary clothesline, its firm place in Australian backyard culture remains.

The Queensland Government's Drought Relief Assistance Scheme provides record levels of subsidy to the state's livestock industry in the past three years.

A woman is charged with murder over the death of a man who suffered serious burns in a Bendigo house fire last year.

Sheep producers are concerned the low rabbit population will cause trouble come lambing because of hungry foxes.

A man could have been dead for several days inside the Cairns Botanic Gardens before an "associate" discovered his body behind a large disused water tank, police in far north Queensland say.

The devastating prawn virus white spot disease spreads to another Queensland farm, with claims the outbreak is affecting the livelihoods of more than 100 families.