Sydney news

As Eurovision fans wait to find out who will represent Australia at this year's song contest, we take a look back at past Aussie effortsfrom a novelty half-time performance featuring Michelangelo's David in a pair of speedos, to Dami Im's near win last year.

A far north Queensland man faces multiple counts of rape, strangulation and deprivation of liberty after being found hiding in a car being driven by his alleged victim, held against her will for several weeks.

Pedestrian traffic lights depicting female figures will be installed at a Melbourne CBD intersection as part of a lobby group's push for gender equality.

Palmerston residents voice concerns that the NT Government's plans to curb a recent spike in youth crime will take too long and the issue must be dealt with immediately.

Professional tattoo artists are concerned large numbers of amateur tattooists are operating outside strict industry regulations, buying inferior equipment online and putting people's health at risk.

Jessica Clifford is ABC Illawarra's Shoalhaven-based journalist.

Pauline Hanson's deal with the West Australian Liberals has left many voters feeling undecided about how to vote in the upcoming election, with some saying they are now "put off" by the deal.

Researchers record an alarming drop in native animal numbers on the Northern Territory's remote Melville Island, with feral cats and fires blamed for the decline.

"Nobody warned me" are words that resonate with many new mums. And, as some women share with the ABC, that's especially true when you're depressed, wetting yourself at every sneeze and feeling inadequate against idealistic images of motherhood on Instagram.

The value of Australia's agricultural sector is tipped to break another record this financial year, peaking at $63.8 billion.

Queensland police charge a man with murdering Brisbane chef Patrick Willemyns, whose body was found by a neighbour in his Karana Downs apartment on Monday afternoon.

Young women make up almost half of Australian Agricultural Company's rookie recruits for its Northern Territory and Queensland cattle stations.

A non-profit group working to reduce harm caused by alcohol hopes to renew a push for 3:00am last drinks in Canberra once the results of a new study on emergency ward visits are known.

Federal Labor is backing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's call for more power to limit airport price increases after a report shows passengers payed up to $1.6 billion too much for airport access over the past decade.

Cyclone Blanche is downgraded to a tropical low after crossing the West Australian coast as a category-two storm, with rain expected to continue in the Kimberley this week.

Almost a year ago, the city of Orange in the central west of New South Wales lost one of its major industries and employers. Lateline's John Stewart checked back in with some of the workers who were mde redundant, to find out what they're doing now.

Jeremy Fernandez speaks to economic geographer at the Australian Catholic University Dr Sally Weller about the future for towns near the Hazelwood power station.

Lateline's David Lipson travelled to Morwell to meet a family with three generations of Hazelwood power station workers, as they consider life after the plant closes down.

A former manager at the soon-to-close Hazelwood power station is "devastated" after coaxing new recruits to the plant with claims it would be operating for another five to 10 years.

This weekend voters in WA head to the polls, with Liberal Premier Colin Barnett expected to lose office. WA Labor leader Mark McGowan joins 7.30 to discuss his party's chances.

Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis joins 7.30 to discuss how she's fighting for gender equality on film and TV.

A range of views on fracking from industry, locals, environmentalists and land councils in the NT are presented to an inquiry panel.

Doctor Chamari Liyanage, who went to prison for killing her abusive husband in 2014, tells her story exclusively to 7.30.

A well-travelled wooden tent is once again being assembled in Hobart as part of Tasmania's Ten Days on the Island festival.

Police say there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was discovered at a home in Karana Downs, in Brisbane's outer-west this afternoon.

The residents of the Pappinbarra Valley on the New South Wales mid north coast are rallying together to help rebuild after the devastating fires in February.

Three members of the far right United Patriots Front have faced court charged with serious religious vilification for a mock beheading stunt at an anti-mosque protest in Bendigo in 2015. It's believed to be the first high-profile criminal case prosecuted under Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act. The men say they have a right to freedom of speech and protest and that they will fight the charges.

Procedures at Darwin's private and public hospitals are under scrutiny, after a woman was left for 36 hours with a post-surgery complication. The woman died from multiple organ failure in May 2015. Nurses involved have told the coroner they didn't have specific training for work in the private hospital's high dependency unit.

There are growing calls for the New South Wales Government to fix derelict and run-down public housing properties, as the state's waiting list passes 60,000 people.

Pauline Hanson tells concerned voters on the WA election campaign trail One Nation's preference deal with the Liberals is only a recommendation and can be ignored.

The Oscar-winning actress accuses Hollywood of exporting a "not-very-good image of women", and is working behind the scenes to bring gender balance to American films and TV shows

The family of a man who allegedly murdered his twin brother at Willunga, south of Adelaide, describes the pair as "best friends" who are "so loved".

Five farmers in the Bothwell area have each bought a fire engine as they expect extensive blazes to strike again, drawing praise from the Tasmania Fire Service.

A judge issues a stern warning to a Canberra man, saying "don't make a fool of me", after allowing him out of jail for drug rehabilitation.

After lengthy construction delays and legal bickering, the doors of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital have been thrown open for a first look at the facility.

The Bundaberg region in Queensland has been drought-declared after suffering through its hottest summer since 1897.

Senior doctors at The Tweed Hospital on the NSW far north coast say patients are being forced to go across the border to Queensland because the facility is at breaking point.

A man will face charges including causing death by dangerous driving after an Adelaide pedestrian dies in hospital, two days after an alleged hit-and-run in the CBD.

A former Canberra daycare worker is found guilty of taking indecent images of two women visiting the centre where he worked.

The Prime Minister accepts an apology from his Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, who failed to disclose an investment property on time due to an "inadvertent oversight".

The police case against Gordon Wood over the death of his model girlfriend Catherine Byrne was "completely without malice", the Supreme Court hears.

The Gatwick Hotel in St Kilda is closing down in four months due to pressure from politicians and police, the owners say.

Gold Coast beachgoers have found giant stinging jellyfish swimming in local waters and washing up on the beaches.

Gold Coast Titans star fullback Jarryd Hayne takes to social media to complain about being fined by senior players for his poor approach to training and lack of team commitment.

A painter credited with bringing abstract impressionism to Australian audiences, Adelaide-born Sydney Ball, dies aged 83.

A patient at Darwin Private Hospital who died following elective surgery waited 36-hours before receiving appropriate treatment for a complication, a coronial inquest in Darwin hears.

Chamari Liyanage doesn't look like a woman who endured years of abuse and then bludgeoned her husband to death with a mallet. But that's exactly why she's telling her story.

The FFA says there is no room yet for A-League expansion, but a Chinese-backed group says its ready to go with a bid for Southern Sydney.

The first person to be charged under Queensland's new one-punch laws is sentenced to just under six years' jail for killing an Ipswich man, who he says "did not deserve to die".

A man found dead north of Brisbane was tortured in an Esky, had a finger broken or possibly cut off, and had honey put on his genitals before he was killed, a Brisbane court hears.