Sydney news

Victoria Police consider advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding whether or not to charge Catholic Cardinal George Pell over sexual assault allegations from the late 1970s, which he strenuously denies.

The Government is under pressure to pass new gun smuggling legislation after the ABC revealed a syndicate smuggled more than 130 high-powered handguns into Australia through the post.

A third helicopter is called in to help search for a missing ultralight plane 15 kilometres west of Murwillumbah.

From afar the story of Quintis's plummeting share price reads like a movie scriptso-called activist investors attacking an outback-based companybut for Kununurra farmer and Quintis shareholder Fritz Bolten it's reality.

Amid concerns that species are disappearing and recreational fishing is in decline, the Northern Territory Government is under increasing pressure from marine conservationists, fisherman and tourism operators to protect the Top End's coastal environment.

Brisbane's rental market is one of the country's toughest for low-income earners, the latest affordability index shows.

Federal Court proceedings are delaying the removal of a 3,000-tonne wave energy generator that sank off the coast of Carrickalinga, south of Adelaide, more than three years ago.

Australia's spiralling house prices are putting pressure on the rental market, forcing low-income earners to the outer suburbs while potential buyers save for a deposit, a peak advocacy group says.

Dozens of firefighters battle a large blaze at a wooden pallet factory at Para Hills West in Adelaide's northern suburbs.

A man is charged with murder after the death of a 37-year-old who was found lying on a driveway in Wagga Wagga with a serious injury to his left thigh.

Monique's early childhood was the sort of experience that might have broken most kids. Now 19, she found a loving home with a relative when she was nine. It's called kinship care, and it's the fastest growing form of care for children who can't live at home.

Meet 97-year-old Holocaust survivor, Eddie Jaku. He says his revenge is to live and enjoy life. And now he's sharing his incredible story with Australian school children.

An investor who lost $8 million in a mining company connected to former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid is granted a retrial of his case against a company director.

Former Treasury secretary and now NAB chairman, Ken Henry, says the government's proposed bank levy will be bad for the economy.

A Northern Territory business owner targeted by the ransomware WannaCry says he has lost 17,000 pieces of data as a result of the attack.

A light plane is missing in far northern New South Wales and authorities are preparing to continue their search efforts into the evening.

Parts of Queensland affected by Tropical Cyclone Debbie just over a month ago are bracing for another big wet weather event, with widespread rainfall totals up to 200 millimetres forecast for much of the coast between Wednesday and Friday.

Pope Francis has appoints Father Michael Morrissey as bishop for Geraldton, Australia's largest Catholic diocese.

More than 600 Brisbane council buses will receive new emergency exits to improve safety following recommendations made in an independent report into the death of bus driver Manmeet Alisher last year.

Whatever the truth of the sledging of Marc Murphy at Docklands, the AFL must end the old adage of what happens on the field, stays on the field, David Mark writes.

A $2.4 million project including the planting of 20,000 trees is underway in a Lockyer Valley creek to prevent a repeat of the massive devastation to farm land and waterways caused by the 2011 Queensland floods.

Passengers could catch a train between Sydney and Canberra on the existing tracks in under three hours if ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has his way.

Most communities don't want to be a dumping ground, but one shire is planning to establish a major landfill site for waste from across the metropolitan area.

Five-eighth Mitchell Moses will be at Parramatta for the next two-and-a-half seasons, after Wests Tigers grant him an immediate release.

Charles Sturt University medical researchers investigate the health benefits of coloured rice.

The captain of a much-loved dolphin cruise boat that sank on its way from South Australia to Victoria this afternoon describes the moment as "heartbreaking".

Police are considering murder charges after a man's death in suburban Wagga Wagga.

A mother of two said it was difficult to access donated breastmilk to feed her newborn after giving birth a month premature so she could begin cancer treatment.

The Commonwealth's Naval Shipbuilding Plan is just another dud deal for Western Australia, the Minister for Defence Issues Paul Papalia says, adding the state's federal Liberal MPs need to do more for the state.

A music teacher says his fetish for stockings is to blame for his indecent filming of dozens of young students over a three-year period, but prosecutors say he deserves a substantial jail term.

A man who fatally punched another man outside a 21st birthday party in Sydney's west in 2014 was not acting in self-defence, according to prosecutors.

A staff member has been sacked over alleged abuse at the government-run Oakden mental health facility, South Australia's Mental Health Minister reveals.

A Sunshine Coast-born Australian Army soldier killed during a training exercise earlier this month is farewelled by 500 mourners, as he is remembered as an "outstanding cavalry soldier" always having a laugh with his mates.

Four men are rescued from the MV Port Princess as the boat sinks off the south-east coast of South Australia during a voyage from Port Adelaide bound for Melbourne.

Almost 800 homeowners across south-east Queensland have had work completed by a plumbing-electrical contractor who installed hot water systems with a potentially toxic solder product.

Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz dubs the CFMEU the "wrecking ball" after it threatens industrial action on a Hobart hotel site, saying it will hurt job creation.

Aboriginal traditional burning practices are incorporated into forest fire management in central Victoria.

The Palais Theatre, which has seen the likes of The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones and ballet grace its stage, reopens its doors after a $26 million makeover that saved the iconic venue's life.

Former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid and his son Moses fail to delay their committal hearing for charges laid over a coal licence.

Men can now don the latest designer threads without being spurned and that is causing unprecedented growth in the global menswear market, fashion experts say.

Naval oranges and mandarins growing near Moora in Western Australia will soon be on the shelves of Asian supermarkets, as well as local vendors.

CJ and Jim Flanagan discuss Alien Covenant and the huge career of Sir Ridely Scott.

A Canberra man who used a homemade gun to shoot his victim in the leg during a neighbourhood dispute is sentenced to more than two years' jail.

The Tasmanian Opposition seizes on TasPorts' reluctance to support Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding, as the dispute over King Island's shipping service escalates.

A haunting Yolngu songline from the Manggalili clan of north-east Arnhem Land runs through the electronic score to the Sydney Dance Company's latest production.

One of Australia's largest beef producers is fined $200,000 for failings that led to the death of one of its workers when a metal pole fell from a faulty bobcat.

Despite policy measures to support stay-at-home dads, experts say just 4 per cent of fathers in two-parent households are their children's primary carers, as it becomes increasingly unaffordable for families to live on one income.

A crew member aboard a pearl boat when Jarrod Hampton drowned while drift diving off WA's Kimberley coast describes witnessing his friend lifeless in the water, but says he never felt unsafe collecting pearl shells.

Five Australian Red Cross aid workers are awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, recognised for exceptional courage and devotion to the sick, wounded or disabled in conflict and disaster zones.

Canberra man Kingsley Omosigho is dedicated to teaching his son the language and culture of his forebears.