Sydney news

With few wool producers left in the outback town of Hughenden, a shearing display offers tourists a glimpse of the once flourishing industry.

Medical professionals are concerned changes to how codeine-based medications can be accessed from February 2018 are not being effectively communicated to patients.

A Sunshine Coast woman leaves the corporate world for chemical free flower farming.

Police will offer a $100,000 reward in a bid to solve the decades-old murder of Lynette White, who was stabbed to death in a "frenzied attack" at her Sydney flat.

Two officials are demoted in round 21 for their part in the decision not to send off Sia Soliola for his hit on Billy Slater, but lead referee Matt Cecchin escapes sanction.

When Sydney company Bondi Wash applied to trademark its name in the US, it was prevented from doing so because of the similarity to international fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch's existing rights over the name.

The Federal Government has nominated a woman previously on the board of an irrigators' lobby group to a key Murray-Darling Basin role, South Australia's Water Minister says, accusing the Deputy Prime Minister of undermining the water plan.

Three weeks after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, and with the United States reportedly expecting another launch soon, there is little doubt Exercise Talisman Sabre served as much more than training drills between allies.

After becoming the first playwright to win the Victorian Prize for Literature, Darwin writer Mary Anne Butler has returned to the Top End for the world premiere of her new play.

Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic, is due to front a Melbourne court for the first time today as he fights historical sexual offence charges.

Despite Australia "punching above its weight" in artificial intelligence research, the country trails the US and China in implementing the technology into the business sector, an expert says.

Scores of supporters welcome Queensland sailor Lisa Blair back into Australia, capping off her 184-day journey around Antarctica.

Australia's most prominent Indigenous music artist Dr G Yunupingu dies aged 46, and is mourned by family and friends as a "genius and wonderful human being".

Canberra Raiders player Sia Soliola says he "respects and accepts" his punishment for a tackle on Melbourne Storm star Billy Slater that he admits was both "high and late".

It is understood a deadly island tiger snake seized by Tasmanian authorities had been illegally advertised for sale, but despite earlier fears, Tasmanian authorities say there is "no information to indicate a second snake is on the loose".

WA Premier Mark McGowan says he is considering introducing a South Australian-style bank tax, as the Labor Government looks to grapple with mounting debt while paying for its election commitments.

Lucky and Emma Price are just like any new parents - happy, proud and tired. But the story of how this couple met and came to start a family is anything but ordinary. New father Lucky started life as Eliza, the youngest of four girls.

The Kimberley town of Broome has experienced boom times based on tourism and pearling, but its fortunes have dipped in recent years, with a stalled local economy leading to a string of shop closures.

Aboriginal leader Stephen Goldsmith, who was instrumental in reviving his community's language and culture, is remembered for his passion and warmth.

Three years since Darwin's $520 million jail opened, a coroner has said it beggars belief that a prison designed and constructed in the 21st century could contain such classic hanging points as ceiling fans, with nothing to mitigate against the risk. An inquest into the 2015 suicide of an inmate determined that load sensitive mechanisms can be installed on ceiling fans so they can't support the weight of a body.

HIV-positive men are familiar with the stigma surrounding the perceived risks of transmission with sexual partners who do not have the virus, but a new study finds gay men who are on daily anti-retroviral treatment that makes the virus undetectable do not transmit the virus.

A pre-season injury forces Newcastle Knights utility Rory Kostjasyn to retire from rugby league, after he copped an arm to the throat during training in January.

"We are all human. The only difference between them and me is who we were born to love." Those were the words a teacher used to tell her assembled school she was gay.

Michael Robotham worked for 14 years as a newspaper journalist in Sydney, America and Britain.

Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth is hit with a contamination scare after dust-coated surgical instrument trays are found in the theatre preparation area, with families of 370 patients alerted about the issue.

On a flight from New York in 1989, Sheila found herself sitting next to a brilliant physicist named Michael.

The beaches of WA's south-west play host to vast numbers of ocean oddities following weeks of large surf and strong wind.

It is understood a deadly island tiger snake seized by Tasmanian authorities had been illegally advertised for sale, but despite earlier fears, Tasmanian authorities say there is "no information to indicate a second snake is on the loose".

Fears are raised about the impact proposed salmon farms could have on calving southern right whales on Tasmania's east coast.

South Australian ambulance workers back away from taking industrial action after a deal is struck for a working group to review rostering and staff levels.

The NSW Heritage Minister's decision not to list the iconic Sirius building in Sydney on the heritage register was invalid and of no legal effect, a court rules.

Food giant Heinz rejects accusations its Little Kids Shredz range misleads the public about the product's nutritional value, telling the Federal Court it's clearly stated that they are "tasty treats" for "toddlers on the go".

Police are now treating an incident in Melbourne's bayside suburbs as a mental health issue, after initially responding to reports a person may have been holding two others hostage.

SA's Water Minister launches a scathing attack of the New South Wales Government's conduct of Murray-Darling Basin water management and repeats calls for a judicial inquiry.

Two years ago, after more than three decades in medicine, Dr Ian McPhee experienced a role reversal: he became the patient. He speaks about coming to grips with a rare form of cancer, and how it changed his life.

A man left devastated after his wife and daughter were killed in an Angel Flight crash in 2011 is demanding safety be improved after another fatal charity flight accident.

The NSW Government commits to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan while announcing it will conduct an inquiry into allegations broadcast in an ABC Four Corners investigation on Monday night.

Port Adelaide's injured dynamo Chad Wingard could be out for the next month with a bad ankle sprain, as his AFL club fights for a finals spot.

A 42-year-old man is charged with the murder of Rebecca Gascoigne, whose body was found in the boot of a car on the Mitchell Freeway 10 days ago, after a massive police hunt.

International students are targeted in racist flyers found at two Melbourne universities, sparking anger and shock from one student who found a poster that threatened Chinese students with deportation if they entered the building.

Media outlets fight a courtroom battle seeking the right to name the first Australian man facing charges of advocating terrorism.

Queensland's chief scientist Suzanne Miller is stood aside after being charged with fraud by the Crime and Corruption Commission in relation to a private health insurance claim worth $45,000.

A Northern Territory mango farmer says his trees have produced so much fruit he has had to prop up the branches to stop them breaking off.

Unions have begun what they promise to be an orchestrated campaign against former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett and the Crown Casino over job cuts to a number gaming technicians.

A Royal rumour is prompting fits of laughter at a small South Australian council.

A man is hit and killed by a garbage truck on the NSW Central Coast, with the driver left "significantly traumatised" as the men had become good friends over the years.

The owner of a Canberra bakery is fined $19,000 after live cockroaches were found in the food preparation area, which had reportedly not been cleaned for more than a month.

One of Australia's largest egg producers, Snowdale Holdings, is ordered to pay more than $1 million in fines and court costs for falsely selling products as free-range, with the fine described as the biggest ever for a breach of its kind in Australia.

A South Australia grower is reaping the benefits of ugly yuzu fruit as the unique citrus proves to be a hit with Aussie foodies.

A world-renowned American animal scientist, who is also a prominent autism spokesperson, creates car parking chaos in rural South Australia.