Sydney news

Colin Abbott loves living in the Perth Hills and says if a bushfire breaks out, his first priority is to evacuatebut if that fails, he'll head to his bunker.

When a Canberra woman found a glossy magazine purported to be from a travel group in her mailbox, she tried her luck at the two scratchie cards enclosed. But her 'winnings' of $US190,000 kicked off weeks of turmoil.

Conserving money to pass onto their children is no longer a high priority for today's seniors, a new survey finds.

Riding a plastic bull almost every day, Marshall Woods is possibly the outback's biggest rodeo fanatic.

For the first time, the Northern Land Council is formally talking about devolving some of its powers and functions to an Aboriginal community corporation, which one traditional owner hopes will result in economic development and jobs on country.

The cost of living in Australia's cities is driving people to share a room with strangers, but these precarious living arrangements hardly qualify as a home, writes Christian Tietz.

A Brisbane private school launches an observatory fitted with telescopes so advanced they can be operated from anywhere in the world.

Throw away the angry anonymous letter. There are better, more diplomatic ways to handle things next time your neighbour's dog wakes the baby with its barking.

A ban on developers' council donations should include alcohol and tobacco companies but exclude trade unions, a Queensland political expert says.

Emily is a six-year-old sheep farmer and a model of how children can learn to be financially responsible.

An electronic music festival pioneered in Poland that has since spread around the world will be held as a standalone event in Adelaide later this year.

There are hundreds of old, abandoned grain silos along railway lines in regional Australia, some a century old, but could new life be breathed into them?

Another two senior SA Health bureaucrats quit, continuing a revolving door at the helm of South Australias public hospital network which has included the loss of a health minister and mental health minister.

A collection of knives, a garrotte and a notebook containing a list of torture methods are among the items seized from the home of two women accused of murdering a teenager with autism, WA's Supreme Court is told.

A event against same-sex marriage, at which Cory Bernardi is due to speak, is without a Hobart venue after the casino cancelled its booking and UTAS refused to take it, campaigners claim.

A Logan City Councillor is urging Mayor Luke Smith to step down in the wake of an ongoing Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into donation disclosures in Queensland.

Executives from the gold sector join forces to raise the stakes in the row over a planned 50 per cent increase in royalties, warning of job losses and mine closures if the WA budget measure goes ahead.

A 51-year-old woman becomes the first West Australian to be criminally convicted of unlawful wounding over a dog attack, after her two Staffordshire bull terriers savaged a nine-year-old girl at a Perth park, causing serious injuries.

The State Opposition is not ruling out taking a policy of removing poker machines from pubs and clubs to the 2018 state election, with Labor's Josh Willie saying "all options are on the table".

A man who secretly filmed co-workers and up the skirts of customers at a Sydney supermarket apologises to his victims, saying his is still trying to understand why he did it.

More than 50 jobs are set to go from an iron ore mine in South Australia's Middleback Ranges near Whyalla, according to the CFMEU, which is still waiting to hear why.

Days after the hasty exit of Tony Popovic from the Wanderers, the outcome of the Socceroos' World Cup qualification clash against Syria could have an even greater impact on Australia's coaching ranks.

An Australian male health company which promised to help men lose weight and increase their libido through testosterone "restoration" treatments is fined $127,500 for unlawful advertising.

Champagne corks are popping at the Sydney Polo Club, which has avoided a major organisational headache and been granted 11th-hour permission to host the World Polo Championships.

The father of a man who was fatally bashed in Adelaide's northern suburbs earlier this year makes a tearful plea for information about his son's death.

A Canberra man who said large quantities of cocaine, ice and MDMA found at his house were for personal use, is convicted of drug trafficking in the ACT Supreme Court.

Two south-east Queensland mayors avoid prosecution despite allegedly breaching the Local Government Election Act, as the Crime and Corruption Commission chairman says public perception of councils is "on the nose".

The Coalition for Marriage is suddenly left without a venue two days out from a same-sex marriage No campaign event, after Wrest Point Casino cancels its booking with little explanation.

The NT Government is being urged not to wait for the release of the royal commission's findings to make urgent reforms to the child-protection system.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is confident efficiencies can deliver more than 600 gigalitres of water back to consumptive use, as SA Water Minister Ian Hunter refuses to sign-off until environmental water is delivered.

EPA Victoria is warning people not to eat animals caught in a Gippsland wetland due to elevated levels of a toxic chemical once used in firefighting foam.

Living through The Great Depression, hiding out from Japanese soldiers, and hitting multiple hole-in-ones, David Curry has led an extraordinary life.

The CCTV link will be up and running in time for the Ashes Test in December, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says.

One of Australia's biggest rail haulage firms has unveiled plans for a $50 million freight terminal at Parkes in New South Wales.

Michael Diamond appeals gun charges.

There's no disputing the Sydney Opera House is a beloved cultural icon, but the matter of how to preserve its condition and status is less straightforward.

A senior bikie and North Sydney gym manager fronts Wollongong court charged with stealing clients' personal details to create fake mobile phone accounts.

About 13,000 megalitres of water will rush into the Snowy River today for its annual environmental flush, but without an independent monitor the waterway is still at risk of regressing to sludge, one group warns.

Former Gold Coast mayoral candidate Penny Toland is facing prosecution for allegedly failing to declare more than $30,000 in donations and gifts from a union, as the Crime and Corruption Commission delivers its report into non-compliance with the Local Government Electoral Act.

An accused murderer hears demons in his head commanding him to "attack the prosecutor", his Supreme Court murder trial is told, as the jury is asked to decide whether the 23-year-old is fit to continue.

Victoria's Employment Minister Wade Noonan announces he will stand down from Daniel Andrews' Cabinet.

Were you left feeling inspired by disgraced deputy mayor Salim Mehajer's wedding extravaganza? Well the king of lavish is now offering his services to brides and grooms-to-be with the announcement of his own wedding planning business.

Victorian police are keeping an open mind about finding Melbourne marathoner Elisa Curry alive she went missing four days ago from her family holiday home on the Great Ocean Road, possibly during a run.

Vincenzo Mule is sentenced to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing a four-year-old girl and five-year-old boy he coaxed from a North Perth childcare centre, in a case the judge describes as "abhorrent and reprehensible".

Adelaide councillors voice their concern and outrage after bike-share company ofo launches in the city.

Claire Polosak is about to become the first female umpire to stand in a men's first-class domestic match in Australia when NSW takes on the Cricket Australia XI in Sydney.

A group of clock and watch makers grab the opportunity to see inside Launceston's clock tower with the enthusiasm you would expect from people fascinated by how things work.

Trent Firth fromthe watch and clockmakers of Australia

The mechanism that runs the clock in Launceston

The date stamp on the Launceston clock