Sydney news

The Defence Department confirms the death of an Australian solider who is believed to have been struck by a tree branch while travelling in an armoured vehicle during a training drill near Rockhampton.

A group of theatre organ enthusiasts brings one of Australia's rarest musical treasures out of retirement for its birthday party in Ballarat.

A team led by the Australian National University solves the mystery behind the world's largest and most active volcanoes in Hawaii.

One of Australia's oldest markets, famous for its dim sims and fresh seafood, celebrates 150 years of giving people who immigrated to Australia a chance to start a new life in Melbourne.

It is a career that sees families through one of the most joyous occasions of their lives, made more challenging by doing it thousands of feet in the air.

A 19-year-old university student has died after contracting meningococcal disease in Ballarat, west of Melbourne.

Live cattle numbers to Indonesia slow as Australian cattle prices remain high.

Mangoes from India have been exported to Australia for the first time, with around 400 trays landing in Sydney this week.

The AOC presidential election has been fierce and unforgiving but regardless whether it is John Coates or Danni Roche, the winner will have a huge challenge on their hands.

Meet Pierro, the racehorse that took out a Triple Crown as a two-year-old and is now worth $60,000 a pop as a stud.

A last-minute call-up will see the return of the biggest surname in Aussie motorsport, with the grandson of late F1 champion Sir Jack Brabham set to make his Supercars debut in Perth this weekend.

For a country that's been at war for the past six years, it may come as a surprise that Syria still has a film industry.

Declan von Dietze is looking forward to a hot shower and a good night's sleep after setting the fastest officially recorded time for riding WA's Munda Biddi trail, going end-to-end in just over four days.

Australian Olympic shooting champion Michael Diamond is banned from using a gun for the next 10 years after being found guilty of firearms and drink-driving offences.

Embattled Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates will spearhead a bid for Brisbane to host the 2028 or 2032 Olympic Games if he is re-elected on Saturday.

We had a massive response to our story last night on people still homeless in Murwillumbah, NSW, four weeks after the floods. One viewer was so moved by the plight of mother-of-five Michelle Campbell that he's offered to pay three-quarters of her rent for the next 12 months.

John Coates joins 7.30 live to discuss his fight to retain the top job at the AOC.

For almost three decades John Coates has been one of the most powerful backroom operators in sport as president of the Australian Olympic Committee. But for the past few weeks he's been at the centre of a very public battle to keep his job, facing his first-ever challenge for the presidency.

The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister is calling on the Queensland Government to intervene in the case of a terminally ill man sentenced to prison for driving offences.

A woman who produced cannabis oil for terminally ill people faces court in Adelaide on drug charges, but says she "didn't hurt anybody" and "didn't try to break the law".

Fairfax's CEO flags more cost savings as a media analyst warns of a future where journalism has far less diversity and there is a lack of fact-checking.

Poor confidence and a lack of qualifications are some of the reasons why Bundaberg is Australia's dole capital.

A Melbourne man who hated his ex-wife with "white hot passion" stabbed her to death as she tried to secure her share of their assets, despite an intervention order meant to protect her, a court is told.

A Bunbury driver allegedly brandishes a tomahawk before threatening two women, following them in their car and attacking a 72-year-old good Samaritan who came to their aid.

An anonymous donor agrees to pay a large portion of the rent of a homeless single mother of five over the next 12 months, after hearing her story on the ABC's 7.30 program.

Despite the National Firearms Agreement in response to the Port Arthur Massacre, there is no one national gun law and no single age at which a child can use a firearm.

A Sydney judge finds Luke Lazarus not guilty of the sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman at the back of his father's Kings Cross nightclub in May 2013.

A lifelong love of birds leads a central Queensland man to start a retirement home for feathered friends whose owners have passed away or moved into aged care.

Poor weather conditions delay the Australian table grape harvest, leading to low prices.

Death cap mushrooms are spouting across Victoria, and would-be foragers need to stay away, the state's health agencies warn.

A regional WA council says an onerous natural disaster relief system will cost Australian taxpayers millions of dollars.

Whyalla diver and former steelworks employee Tony Bramley is unusually placed within his community, and can see a debate on a Queensland coal mine proposal from both sides of the fence.

A Sydney judge finds Luke Lazarus not guilty of the sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman at the back of his father's Kings Cross nightclub in May 2013.

Zero-waste is the unofficial catch-cry of the Waste 2017 conference in Coffs Harbour, as countries share their tips for reducing waste.

It's been 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published, but it might never have happened if it weren't for publisher Nigel Newton's daughter.

A Bunbury man who allegedly used a tomahawk to attack an elderly man and his own car has his case adjourned on safety grounds after refusing to face court.

In a sign of the recovery underway in the mining industry, an index of Australia's second-hand mining and civil fleet finds they have increased in value by 41 per cent.

The annual City-Country clash may be coming to an end, but the NRL owes it to kids in regional towns to keep bringing footy to them.

Independent politician Gerry Wood has linked the Northern Territory's $269 million drop in Commonwealth revenue to the number of abortions in the jurisdiction.

A new artwork in a Canberra park honours the life and legacy of Ngunnawal elder Violet Bulger.

A Tasmanian man whose mother-in-law drowned at a Hobart beach did not act in "haste" to go to her aid, but did not contribute to her death, a coroner finds.

A former Darwin fire commander escapes jail time after pleading guilty to possessing videos of child abuse, some of which were in the worst category.

A $74 million deal between Adani and a troubled South Australian steelworks will have no influence over whether the Indian conglomerate is awarded a taxpayer-funded loan for a railway, the Federal Government says.

Graziers are warned of a serious fire risk in central Australia as grasses dry out following significant recent rainfall.

Police in Western Australia's remote Kimberley region have had an unusual prisoner in their cells after taking a 1.5 metre freshwater crocodile into custody.

A young boy on a New South Wales beach finds a message in a bottle that was dropped into the Pacific Ocean more than 4,000 kilometres away.

A dairy farmer has ploughed a blunt message to Australia's largest milk processor, the embattled Murray Goulburn, into a 10-acre paddock.

The company behind a proposed $2 billion quarry on the Gold Coast is considering its options after a Queensland court backed Gold Coast City Council's decision to reject the quarry.

Hundreds of new defence technology jobs will be created at SAAB's Adelaide office, as it undergoes a $40 million office expansion to meet demand, the company says.

Pastoral leases Victory Downs, Mt Cavenagh, Mulga Park and Umbeara will be under native title as of today, totalling an area of 12,000 square kilometres.