Sydney news

Astronomers could soon be able to pinpoint the origin of mysterious fast radio bursts, after a new telescope in Western Australia detected one after just four days of searching.

Ten years after allegations of abuse and violence in the Indigenous community of Mutitjulu sparked the Northern Territory intervention, locals say very little has been achieved.

At least four businesses in a Brisbane bayside industrial estate suffer significant damage after a fire breaks out early this morning.

It has been a long road for everyone involved in the Sydney siege and the events that led to the December 2014 tragedy.

Twenty years ago the landmark Bringing Them Home inquiry revealed in harrowing detail what happened to the Stolen Generations. But dozens of its recommendations have been ignored - and there's never been a national compensation scheme. Today, stolen generations survivors will ask the Prime Minister to establish one.

Plans to build Australia's biggest coal mining operation are now on hold after the Queensland Government failed to agree on a royalties package. In a Cabinet meeting yesterday, the Queensland Government didn't decide whether to give the $21 billion project a 'royalties holiday' that had been proposed. In response the Adani board has delayed making its final investment decision on the project that the State Government deems 'vital for jobs'.

Some six months after fronting the campaign in South Australia for constitutional recognition of Indigenous people, Ngarrindjeri man Luke Taylor hopes momentum will surge following the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum this weekend.

A Tasmanian baby is in a serious but stable condition after contracting a rare strain of meningococcal disease, but authorities say there is no threat to the wider community.

Secret recordings have been released of Pauline Hanson's chief of staff outlining how One Nation could make money from next year's Queensland election. James Ashby insists it was only a suggestion and the proposal has been dumped. But Labor is asking Federal Police to look into the matter, while the Prime Minister says he's seeking advice from the AFP and Attorney-General.

The architect of the deadly Lindt Cafe siege had a long and documented history of dangerous behaviour.

Andrew Forrest talks about his $400 million gift to causes as diverse as cancer research and ending slavery. Malcolm Turnbull said it was the 'largest philanthropic gift' in Australia's history.

Former Prime Minister, John Howard, defends the Turnbull government's latest budget as a 'Menzies' budget, not 'Labor-light'.

The government's proposed bank levy and increase to the Medicare levy dominate the return to federal parliament after the budget.

Nathan Peats will make his State of Origin debut for the Blues after being named in NSW's squad in place of the injured Peter Wallace.

A high-ranking St John's Ambulance officer faces trial in South Australia's District Court accused of pursuing two underage cadets to engage in sexual activity.

A high-ranking St John Ambulance officer faces trial in South Australia's District Court accused of pursuing two underage cadets to engage in sexual activity.

A lawyer for Australian actress Rebel Wilson tells court she was fired from two Hollywood movies and could not get anymore film roles after magazine articles insinuated she was a serial liar.

Health authorities are urging passengers on a flight from Indonesia to Melbourne earlier this month to seek urgent medical attention after an unvaccinated child was diagnosed with measles.

A former One Nation candidate who fell out with the party over the cost of electoral material says James Ashby is "nasty stuff" and will bring Pauline Hanson down.

A well-known Australian artist's gallery has been destroyed by a fire in Lightning Ridge.

A sexual relationship with a student initiated by former St Michael's Collegiate School teacher Raynor Bartsch was a serious breach of trust, a sentencing judge says.

Anglican church leaders say that a proposal to close and sell an historic rural church is based on declining community support and a need to build church attendance in other areas of the parish.

Professor Mike Young, an Adelaide water reform expert who played a vocal role in the lead-up to the Murray Darling Basin Plan's implementation, says a similar scheme should be used to address climate change.

The world's first centre for studying the southern hemisphere's oceans is being set up in Hobart. Scientists from around the world will be recruited to study things such as how the oceans are absorbing carbon and how climate change is resulting in more severe droughts and flood on land.

Scientists and anglers hope the successful breeding in the wild of the endangered Macquarie perch signals an abundant comeback in the southern Murray Darling Basin.

A 22-year-old man who was involved in a police pursuit across New South Wales may have drowned in the Nepean River as he tried to escape, an inquest hears.

Klaus Neubert, who shot and killed his estranged wife in traffic in broad daylight in Hobart and injured her passenger, is sentenced to a total of 28 years for the crimes.

An increase in the number of baby dugongs on the Great Barrier Reef suggests seagrass ecosystems are recovering well after recent flood and cyclone events.

Supporters of a prominent anti-vaxxer whose young son with cerebral palsy was taken by police and family services launch an online petition to have him returned.

Are Queensland playing tricks with naming Johnathan Thurston as 18th man in their Origin I squad? Even Maroons favourite Billy Moore isn't sure, but he's backing Anthony Milford's ability.

Queensland man Francesco Marchetti dies of suspected altitude sickness while attempting to fulfil his "life goal of getting to the top of Mt Everest".

The Norwegian Government will redesign parts of the Global Seed Vault, after a record warm summer caused permafrost to melt and flood the entrance.

The alleged motive behind the triple murder of the McCulkin family is "ridiculous", with the defence lawyer of the accused instead pointing the finger at a violent husband.

A new $20 million research centre in Hobart reaffirms Australia's commitment to climate change science, in what CSIRO chief Larry Marshall says is not a strategic backflip.

The decision opens the way for fiery Titans hooker Nathan Peats to make his NSW debut in game one.

Less than 48 hours after the marriage of Ms Middleton, Melbourne bridal couturiers are already bracing for the "Pippa effect".

The council was buoyed by Ku-ring-gai's legal triumph against the NSW government.

The DPP was not subject to the same public inquisition as the police, the association's acting president says.

As AFL boss signals harsher punishments for jumper punching, tribunal offers Demon a one-match ban and fines two Roos in wake of heated clash.

A giant mural depicting a bulldog urinating on Senator Pauline Hanson is altered by a council in Melbourne's western suburbs, just one day after it was completed, after numerous complaints.

​Wallabies great George Smith says he will never turn his back on a Test recall if coach Michael Cheika comes knocking.

S&P Global Ratings downgraded the credit scores of more than 20 smaller financial institutions.

Dugong calf numbers, wiped out on the Great Barrier Reef six years ago, have recovered and are thriving, new research has found.

"They didn't ask us how we would cope ... they didn't seem to care."

The closure of one of Melbourne's busiest thoroughfares after a truck and tram crash is expected to create peak-hour chaos.

Scott Morrison's budget projections rely entirely on orthodox economic thinking about what drives wages. Unfortunately that orthodox thinking is demonstrably wrong.

Australia's peak Olympic body has welcomed a federal government blueprint which includes plans for a lottery to inject up to $50 million into sport in the country.

Speed limits to slow trucks on the Monash Freeway – introduced by Roads Minister Luke Donnellan​ to increase safety – have been dumped after VicRoads said they had made traffic conditions worse and increased aggression between car and freight drivers.

An Islamic bookstore owner jailed for sending money to foreign fighters in Syria will spend additional time behind bars for extortion.

Just who got their money's worth here?