Sydney news

Kanowna is the last place you would expect to find two gravestones covered in Japanese characters; but the fact they are there at all is down to the work of local historians.

Many farming families in the central-west of NSW are being forced to tear up their crops as record low rain pushes them past tipping point and prompts some serious soul-searching.

Cancer can be a lonely and isolating journey, but in Sydney a group of patients and survivors are coming together each week to share the burden and colour the chaos away.

A hand-reared deer called Heidi loves spending time with her best bud Tonka, playing chasey, eating grass and chewing on sticks together.

Richard Wassell lost the use of one arm after suffering a stroke while serving in the Australian Navybut after taking up indoor rowing, he is now among the Australian military veterans competing at the Invictus Games in Toronto starting this weekend.

With a crowded craft beer market leaving many to innovate, one SA brewer is filtering his product through fossil-rich shale more than 500 million years old.

An outraged tweet from Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi over a primary school's fundraising drive results in nearly $150,000 being raisedfar exceeding the school's original target of $900.

With interest in space surging ahead of the International Astronautical Congress, NASA is spruiking its message to young scientists and students in Adelaide.

Had a 'ruff' day? Giving your dog a good rub down could alleviate your stress while helping your furry friend bounce back from injury.

It's crunch time for the final four AFL flag contenderswhat key questions must they answer in this weekend's prelim finals?

Almost six months to the day since Tropical Cyclone Debbie hit north Queensland, the region is poised for the arrival of another force of natureBritish superstar Elton John.

An outraged tweet from Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi over a primary school's fundraising drive results in more than $140,000 being raisedfar exceeding the school's original target of $900.

Former prime minister and prominent same-sex marriage no vote campaigner Tony Abbott says he suffered a "very slightly swollen lip" after being headbutted outside a private event in Hobart, adding it is indicative of how "ugly this debate is getting".

An outraged tweet from Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi over a primary school's fundraising drive results in more than $120,000 being raisedfar exceeding the school's original target of $900.

A gay NSW Nationals candidate should not have been subjected to questions about his partner and personal history at a preselection meeting, the party's leader and Deputy Premier John Barilaro says.

A Perth dog owner receives a note threatening to poison the family dog if it doesn't stop barking, in a week in which the RSPCA says five pets were poisoned in Western Australia, one fatally.

SA Labor is continuing to make overtures to jilted MP Frances Bedford, who quit after losing preselection, with Modbury Hospital looming as a key piece of the puzzle.

A bureaucratic blunder by the SA Health Department may have impacted more than a dozen criminal cases involving suspected child abuse victims.

The owners of a Tasmanian pizza shop alter the meaning of an No campaign billboard next to their business, a day after a Hobart hotel distanced itself from a similar advertisement atop its premises.

Former RSL NSW chief executive Chris Perrin confesses to being "careless" and failing to act on concerns from staff members that former president Don Rowe was abusing his corporate credit card.

The image of a girl in wheat fields at sunset adorning the silos of a regional South Australian town, and celebrating the local farming heritage, is expected to provide an economic boost.

Dumped pet goldfish are found in Australian estuaries, prompting fears the fishwhich are highly adaptive and can grow to 2 kilogramscould make their way into connected river systems and kill off native species.

As SA looks to develop its space industries, Premier Jay Weatherill urges the Prime Minister to announce the creation of an Australian space agency ahead of next week's international convention in Adelaide.

Jesse Earl Langlands is sentenced to three years in prison for a violent carjacking, of which his lawyer says he has no recollection, as evidenced by the fact "he went Christmas shopping the next morning".

The validity of the same-sex marriage survey has been called into question by Federal MP Warren Snowdon as NT Police are informed of alleged mail tampering in remote Gunbalanya community.

A doctor specialising in geriatrics urges people to look at their lifestyle choices.

Tasmanian MP Nic Street reprimands colleagues who warned "homosexual roleplaying" would be taught in schools if same sex marriage becomes legal, saying as a child he once played a sheep in a play but he has not felt compelled to "leap the fence ... and munch the grass".

Thousands of Port Macquarie residents have signed a petition to remove buried whale carcass so the local council is considering options ahead of school holidays.

A 4,500-kilometre journey might seem like a tall order for a 16-month-oldbut juvenile giraffe Ellie has crossed the Nullarbor and is getting used to her new home at Perth Zoo.

An unemployed father of three from Bundaberg says the inability to withdraw money once he is given a cashless welfare card in lieu of Centrelink payments will prevent him from providing properly for his family and visiting relatives interstate.

An outraged tweet from Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi over a primary school's fundraising drive results in more than $60,000 being raisedfar exceeding the school's original target of $900.

From a video store that is now a computer coding hub, to an 100-year-old cinema that is a unique tourist attraction, regional businesses are evolving with technology.

Crops in NSW are rapidly deteriorating as the big dry stretches into its fourth month.

A Liberal National Party MP is caught on camera muttering "this f***ing..."then stopping himselfat a press conference with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after a question is asked about the number of female politicians in the party's ranks.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts admits to signing a form declaring him a British citizen, but tells the High Court he did so without actually reading the document.

A flesh-eating bacteria usually associated with tropical parts of Africa, which leads to weeping wounds, is becoming more common on the Mornington Peninsula, and sufferersincluding a 13-year-old girlare calling for more research.

Statistics reveal Melbourne, Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters are dominating the NRL like Canterbury, Canberra and Manly did in the 1980s and 1990s.

Farmers in southern Queensland say the decision to build the Melbourne-to-Brisbane route through a floodplain could be "catastrophic" and the consultation process lacked transparency.

A man is sentenced to 12 months in prison for illegally marrying a 14-year-old bride in an Islamic wedding in Melbourne last year.

Melbourne man Mussie Debresay, who was found guilty killing his girlfriend's toddler, has his manslaughter conviction quashed by Victoria's Court of Appeal.

Half of the clubs in the AFL confirm their support for same-sex marriage as the football world debates the league's strong push for a Yes vote, which one former premier and ex-club president says is unfair on fans.

The legal requirement for transgender children to receive court approval before they can begin hormone treatment is being challenged by a 17-year-old, who is calling for a "recalibration of the court's power".

Take a peak inside the pouch of the world's friendliest animal, with a baby quokka born far away from its native West Australian home Rottnest Island.

The call of the Darling River has wooed Tony Prichard 12 times in his life. He has seen many things change and much stay the same on Australia's third-longest waterway.

An outraged tweet from Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi over a primary school's fundraising drive has resulted in $45,000 being raisedfar exceeding the school's original target of $900.

A new farming scholarship aims to help women accelerate to top positions within rural industries, in an attempt to combat wage inequality in the agricultural sector.

Advisors to ministers in Colin Barnett's government received taxpayer-funded payouts of up to $288,000 each after the March state election, it is revealedwith Premier Mark McGowan calling the figures unprecedented.

ACT Liberal Mark Parton clarifies his comments yesterday that heterosexual white males over 30 are overlooked and reads out emails from supporters complaining that men "pay too much tax".

Staff working for Labor MP Khalil Eideh are put on indefinite leave and the locks are changed at his office, as an investigation continues into alleged rorting of the politician's printing entitlements.

Another injury blow for the Crows, with forward Mitch McGovern joining Brodie Smith on the sidelines ahead of the preliminary final against Geelong.