Sydney news

Firefighters are assessing the damage to cars and properties after a spectacular blaze destroyed six fuel tankers and sent exploding gas cylinders flying on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula.

Backyard gardens and keeping pets under control are important ways to help protect vulnerable native species, a conservation organisation says.

Bushy the bushfire wallaby is his name and keeping rural and remote children and their families safe from dangerous wildfires is his game.

The case of a man who was accidentally convicted of a crime committed by someone else with the same name raises the questionhow often are mistaken identities slipping through the court system?

While swags and corned beef are the usual order of the northern Australian mustering camp, one grazier hopes to use her camp as a holiday destination with a difference.

An inkwell made by a digger from scavenged materials found in the trenches of World War I is held by his 95-year-old son for the very first time.

An art exhibition by a former doctor jailed for the manslaughter of her husband highlights the subject of family violence.

Jockey John Letts is one of this country's most distinguished jockeys and had his closest shave on the track more than 40 years ago, when he stopped breathing after a fall.

As the old RAH closes after more than 170 years and moves to its new home further along North Terrace, we look back at the moments that helped define the hospital's history.

The company developing stage two of the Kimberley's Ord Irrigation Scheme gets this year's harvest off to a very "healthy" start.

The man well known for making his fortune through iron ore mining, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, has turned his attention on home-station, Minderoo, to fruit and vegetables.

Mitchell business owners are upset at the scrapping of plans for a light rail stop in their suburb despite feeling the sting of ongoing construction works.

Both sides of the same-sex marriage debate are holding their breath awaiting the High Court's decision on the postal survey this afternoon. But the emotion of the debate was largely missing from the two-day hearing.

The Chinese-Australia businessman is challenging strict parole conditions put on him by the Government after his release from jail for fraud and embezzlement.

The High Court will deliver its decision this afternoon on whether a voluntary postal survey on same-sex marriage will go ahead.

It's our centenary and we are officially old.

The latest national account figures show that the economy is picking up, growing by 1.8 per cent for the year, and Scott Morrison says there are even better days ahead. But before that happens Australians are likely to be side-swiped by rising electricity prices.

Disability advocates who say Hobart's Parliament Square development discriminates against people with mobility issues are taking the matter to the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal.

The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction where the personal details of under-18s can be made public, and former police officer Colleen Gwynne said the practice is harmful, makes children more likely to reoffend, and that it has to stop.

Indigenous dialysis patients say too many people are dying lonely deaths away from their families because they cannot be treated in their home communities.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi is seeking to have her 18-month suspension put on hold pending the outcome of an appealwith a hearing scheduled in the Court of Appeal on Thursday morning.

A man threatens an ABC journalist and cameraman saying he would "smash" them, in a confrontation outside a Melbourne printing business that has been linked to fraud allegations made in Parliament involving Labor MPs' printing budgets.

Melbourne teenager Patrick Cronin was trying to pull his friend away from a brawl outside a bar in Melbourne's north-east when it is alleged he was fatally punched, a court is told.

In remote parts of Australia just one in 10 Indigenous school students meet the minimum national standard for reading and writing, according to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

The NT news team gives a behind the scenes look at the logistical challenges of providing multiplatform coverage of the Garma Festival at an isolated bush location.

As the saying goes: when the team wins, congratulate the players; when the team loses, blame the coach. Jen Browning visits the Rabbitohs after the sacking of Michael Maguire.

Australia's pearling industry gets a significant tick of approval for sustainability.

The National Party membership will use its federal conference this weekend to pressure politicians to finalise energy policy, and to push for more coal-fired power stations in regional areas.

Jamaican-born mine manager and former investment banker Cecile Thaxter is first woman to run WA's most famous gold mine.

The NT Chief Minister seeks clarification from Barnaby Joyce about a jobs deal that would see a multi-million-dollar biosecurity facility moved from Geelong to Darwin.

A Victorian coroner finds the actions of staff at a Ballarat mental health unit contributed to the death of a 25-year-old Wendouree man.

Rabbit show jumping is a bit of a novelty sport in which the competitors can create a cheer with a hop, a skip and a jump.

The High Court will deliver its decision tomorrow afternoon on whether a voluntary postal survey on same-sex marriage will go ahead.

The head of the state's chemical testing centre warns schools are also at risk of the same lead contamination in water pipes that has delayed the opening of the new $1.2 million hospital.

Clinton Pryor's year-long journey to Canberra has ended in a rare audience with the Prime Minister, but he walks away frustrated.

It's time to sell up and move on as a 93-year-old publican puts her remote pub on the market.

When the historic Post Office clock at Orange in regional NSW stoppedthen restartedit highlighted the importance they play in the life of many regional communities.

A jury wastes no time convicting two men over the death of Lynette Daley, who died after a violent sex act on a beach in NSW on Australia Day in 2011.

The Labor Party tries to bring chaos to Question Time by focusing on Barnaby Joyce's citizenship status, distracting from the Government's lines on energy policy.

Victoria's Road Safety Camera Commissioner says the State Government should consider changing mandatory license suspension laws.

Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue slams the argument of those opposing the same-sex marriage survey in the High Court as a "misconception".

Police arrest a man for allegedly hiding a revolver in a garden bed at a childcare centre in 2013.

Take a look beyond the obvious candidates for the stars of September in the AFL, and you have the secret weapons of the remaining flag contenders.

Join us as we go behind the scenes of the ghost train and haunted hotel at the Royal Adelaide Show and talk to those who make a living by scaring the daylights out of people.

The ACT's chief police officer reveals a sharp increase in violent robberies after two masked bandits armed with a machete slashed a Canberra store manager's face on Tuesday night.

The collapse of an otherwise healthy teenager in a hospital toilet and his inability to walk out unassisted should have been red flags to staff who discharged him, an inquest hears.

A trio of amphibious boats will soon be cruising around one of Victoria's most scenic national parks in a controversial plan that has angered conservation groups.

Serious allegations of fraud levelled at Labor MPs are being investigated by the Victorian Parliament, after claims the unnamed group rorted printing allowances to help branch stacking.

Chef-turned-shearer Phil Outtram has doubled his heritage breed free-range pig production in just three years.

The family of several people injured by gatecrashers at a Lower Eyre Peninsula party say it is part of a disturbing trend for the region.