Sydney news

Cooler temperatures are expected across southern and south-east Queensland today after heat records tumbled across the state on Sunday.

A Central Australian cattle station has swapped its vintage windmills for a more modern and efficient technology in solar power.

The opening of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital might come before this year's flu season but talks will continue about the hospital's eventual cost, Health Minister Jack Snelling says.

A north-west Queensland grazier says having his Flinders River irrigation application blocked is an opportunity gone begging.

Melbourne motorists are told to expect traffic delays as taxi drivers plan to block both ends of the Bolte Bridge to protest against industry reforms introduced by the Victorian Government.

A man, 52, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving after an alleged hit-and-run that killed a toddler in Dover Gardens in Adelaide's south overnight.

Most of the small community of Uarbry has been wiped out by a bushfire burning near Dunedoo, residents say, as the New South Wales Rural Fire Service continues to battle blazes across the state.

Lupin flakes could join quinoa, kale and chia as the next super food embraced by health conscious consumers. High in protein and fibre, they're mostly used as animal food at the moment but a company in Western Australia wants to bring them to market for human consumption.

A Top End trial of genetically modified bananas will begin in a few months after a five-year trial received approval from the gene technology regulator.

Firefighters battling several blazes around New South Wales expect to get some relief today, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a cool change for much of the state.

Sydney couple Claudine and Dave Fitzgibbon were facing the difficult decision to proceed with a pregnancy after another spina bifida diagnosis or to terminate, but then doctors offered a glimmer of hope.

A major fire near Dunedoo in the state's central west has threatened homes and properties, burning tens of thousands of hectares of land, and forcing people to flee to nearby towns. Residents of the small township of Uarbry say nine out of 12 houses there have been destroyed.

Several fires are still out of control in New South Wales, as authorities spent the night battling emergencies. A major fire near Dunedoo threatened home and properties, burning tens of thousands of hectares of land and forced people to flee to nearby towns.

When you think of Canberra, it's unlikely the ocean springs to mind.

Obesity affects almost a quarter of Australians, but help can be almost impossible to find, health specialists say.

Properties are destroyed, a man is flown to Sydney with severe burns and a firefighter sustains serious injuries as NSW RFS issues emergency warnings for blazes at Dondingalong and Kains Flat.

Melbourne City becomes the first club to win consecutive W-League titles after beating Perth Glory 2-0 in the grand final at Perth Oval.

The Chiefs take out the inaugural Brisbane Global Rugby Tens title, beating the Crusaders 12-5 in Sunday's final.

Irish striker Roy O'Donovan is the hero for Central Coast, with his double giving the Mariners a 2-0 away win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

A nine-year-old boy has drowned and a man and another child are in hospital after an incident at a beach in Tin Can Bay on Queensland's Fraser Coast.

A 35-year-old motorbike rider is airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition after a high-speed, single-vehicle crash at a race track in western Sydney.

A boy drowns and a man and a child are in a critical condition after the children come off an inflatable ring at a beach on Queensland's Fraser Coast.

Authorities are searching for a couple aged in their 70s after a car they hired is found in a carpark at Trephina Gorge, about 85 kilometres east of Alice Springs

There are fears for a 74-year-old Esperance man whose car was found abandoned under a flooded bridge this morning, with floodwaters already claiming the life of another man trying to cross a road near the town.

Police are investigating after two children fall out of a window at an apartment block in Sydney's west.

Extreme heat is nothing new for Birdsville locals, where the afternoon temperature has not dipped below 41 degrees Celsius since Australia Day.

Adelaide Festival show The Secret River will use a quarry as its backdrop, even if that risks performances being cancelled in bad weather.

Hot weather records tumble across parts of south-east Queensland amid a relentless heatwave, including Toowoomba which is experiencing 40 degrees Celsius for the first time.

Michael Gunner rejects calls to prohibit police from use tasers against children, saying officers should not be held back from carrying out their duty.

The Australian Wooden Boat Festival is in full swing on the Hobart waterfront with young and old revelling in the salty atmosphere, including 88-year-old sailing legend Peter Mounsey.

Several properties are damaged by bushfires and more are under threat as the NSW RFS issues an emergency warning for blazes at Leadville near Dunedoo, and Beachwood, 50 kilometres west of Port Macquarie.

A big wool processing firm in Adelaide is shutting down at times because spot power prices hit $13,000, compared with $10 at times of low demand.

A search is underway in Central Australia for a 76-year-old German tourist and his wife after a hire car believed to be rented by the couple was found on Friday.

The Tiwi Bombers call on Michael Solomon to resign for "publicly embarrassing" the cash-strapped side.

A Coburg man is charged with murder following the death of a 73-year-old man in Melbourne's north.

Legal action has ended over the delayed Royal Adelaide Hospital build, the South Australian Government says, and construction should finish in March.

A public spat between two of Australia's most senior sports officials, John Coates and John Wylie, at Nitro Athletics has insiders fearing the pair may never be able to work together again.

WA Police find the body of a man whose car was washed away after trying to cross a flooded road near the town of Esperance on Saturday, while three people remain missing near Lake Grace.

Some passengers on a stranded luxury cruise ship that was towed back to Melbourne express their frustrations over disrupted travel plans, while others have taken the delay in their stride.

The Northern Territory will be a small but crucial part of the United States' pivot towards Asia over the coming years, and local businesses are hoping to profit from a growing Defence spend.

A man is charged over the death of a 69-year-old man who was the victim of an alleged one-punch attack at a hotel near Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

Just days after a deliberate fire is lit at home in Woodville West, an arsonist strikes again, causing extensive damage to the property currently on sale.

New opportunities for women from Indigenous and multicultural backgrounds to play football at an elite level are giving rise to an ambition to make it to the top.

Teenage turtles like Cliff are lucky to be rescued, because many others like him are dying after eating hidden plastic pollution in Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River.

Two children are in a critical condition in hospital after falling out of a window at an apartment block in Sydney's west.

Actor Matt Day wins the top gong at the Tropfest short film festival for his turn behind the camera on, The Mother Situation, which takes a comical look at the link between soaring Sydney house prices and euthanasia.

Temperatures are tipped to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in many places across Queensland, with authorities urging people to cancel outdoor activities like bushwalking and be wary of the increased fire risk.

Men aged 40 and over account for 75 per cent of all motorbike deaths in Queensland, with the latest police figures challenging the notion that young men are the biggest risk.

The rippled stone of the outback Flinders Ranges used to be an ocean floor and scientists are now documenting fossils they hope will lead to World Heritage listing of the region.

There are fears for a man in his late 60s missing after he was swept away in floodwaters in the West Australian town of Esperance.