Sydney news

Art conservators reveal how they have spent dozens of hours fitting elaborate dresses worth up to $30,000 to custom-made mannequins for an Art Gallery of SA exhibition.

South Australia will allow video evidence to be used in domestic violence court proceedings, while increasing penalties for a range of related offences, as part of another attempt to address the problem.

Legendary producer Ric Birch admits the operator behind iconic Commonwealth Games mascot Matilda was a little spaced out during the Brisbane 1982 opening ceremony.

They're not the biggest or prettiest trees, but Tasmania's King Billy pines are among the oldest, with lots to tell us about our world.

Nepal's first female helicopter captain shares what it's like to fly in some of the most challenging conditions in the world.

Peer-to-peer car sharing means renting a vehicle from an individual, not a company. One council in Melbourne's north wants to encourage the practice and has set aside parking spaces to accommodate the car-share model.

Victorian police meet to find ways to protect, promote and preserve the wellbeing of staff, after two officers took their lives last month.

Bruce Kamau scores twice as Melbourne City kicks off the new A-League season with a professional 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar.

A group of about 30 protesters voice their objection to the University of Tasmania hosting a Coalition for Marriage rally against same-sex marriage in Hobart.

The head of TasTAFE acknowledges staff frustration over the suppression of an audit into the training provider, in an internal memo obtained by the ABC.

A group of about 30 protesters voice their objection to the University of Tasmania hosting a Coalition for Marriage rally against same-sex marriage in Hobart.

Searching for clues

A woman gave a supermarket co-worker graphic details of how she murdered Perth teenager Aaron Pajich, and sounded excited when she talked about it, WA's Supreme Court is told.

The A-League kicks off in some style tonight as Melbourne City take on the Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park. Follow all the action in our live A-League ScoreCentre.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk joins hundreds of family and friends of Indigenous leader Dr Evelyn Scott AO at a state funeral in Townsville, where mourners are told she was a fighter "who never forgot where she came from".

One side of the tracks has brick homes with pools and watered lawns. Just 100 metres to the other side, generations have lived in an pre-war bush block labelled a "shantytown" with no water, sewerage or roads, underlining two-tier disadvantage in peri-urban Australia.

A teenager armed with a small axe and a man believed to be in his 20s rob a Canberra service station, in the latest aggravated hold-up in Canberra in the past few weeks.

Activists shroud a prized Picasso painting in a black veil at the National Gallery of Victoria in protest at its contract with Wilson Security, which is also involved in running the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres.

Tasmanian's prison service is ignoring the health needs of its longest serving inmate, declared "dangerous criminal" Jamie McCrossen, and denying him access to justice, says Supreme Court Justice Helen Wood.

Supporters of same-sex marriage aiming to stage a peaceful protest at a Coalition For Marriage rally at Hobart's university have cancelled their plan as they could not get a permit.

New research predicts Sydney and Melbourne will face 50C days by the middle of the century. But what would they look like?

One side of the tracks has brick homes with pools and watered lawns. Just 100 metres to the other side, generations have lived in an pre-war bush block labelled a "shantytown" with no water, sewerage or roads, underlining two-tier disadvantage in peri-urban Australia.

A woman gave a work colleague graphic details of how she murdered Perth teenager Aaron Pajich, and sounded excited when she talked about it, WA's Supreme Court is told.

Queensland's Attorney-General orders the reopening of an inquest into the 1986 disappearance of Sharron Phillips after police reveal they have identified a man believed responsible for her murder.

There are fears a 200-year-old boab tree, visited by tourists in the remote Kimberley, may split in two.

Supercars series leader Scott McLaughlin could not quite match his record-breaking practice run, but still topped qualifying to claim provisional pole position at the Bathurst 1000.

A 30-year-old backpacker on his way home from night out was almost hit by a car before getting into a fight with its driver and being fatally stabbed in the back and stomach, Queensland police say.

Senior federal and state ministers Christian Porter and Rita Saffioti clash over rail funding in an uncomfortable Perth media conference, reminiscent of SA Premier Jay Weatherill's infamous stoush with Josh Frydenberg.

Vanishing, but no doubt dead rabbits a mystery on Victoria's largest nature reserve.

Far west landholders and water advocates say authorities are making a mistake releasing water from the Menindee Lakes downstream as dry conditions persists.

Katherine public pool closes until further notice after elevated levels of the potentially toxic chemicals PFAS were found there.

The first national gun amnesty in more than 20 years collects more than 50,000 illegal firearms, including 16,000 from Queenslanders.

The father of Jared Olsen, who died after having an adverse reaction to a powerful drug at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, believes there will be more deaths if problems highlighted by a coronial inquest are not addressed.

Electricians working on a $200 million renovation at the Sydney Opera House walk off the job over safety fears following asbestos tests.

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti and Federal Social Services Minister Christian Porter clash over Metronet funding while standing side-by-side during an uncomfortable media event reminiscent of SA Premier Jay Weatherill's infamous stoush with Josh Frydenberg.

Key crossbench senator Nick Xenophon announces he will leave the national political scene and run for South Australian Parliament to fix a "broken political system back home".

Mango lovers relaxtropical Cyclone Debbie came and went without causing too much damage to your favourite fruit.

A Tasmanian high school is aiming to be a renewable energy hub after winning a $133,000 international competition.

Nick Xenophon's return to SA politics signals what may become a populist revolt in the stateand what happens in SA has a way of happening to the rest of the country eventually, writes Royce Kurmelovs.

A father labelled a "sicko" for changing his infant daughter's nappy in a parents' room at a Queensland shopping centre was a victim of indirect sexual discrimination, a lawyer says.

Police also found 350 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside buckets of plaster.

Australian Federal Police find almost four tonnes of the drug precursor ephedrine - enough to make up to $3.5 billion of methamphetamine - hidden in green tea bottles sent from Thailand.

William Charles Bates, the man who led the campaign that saw the first national park in New South Wales returned to traditional owners has died at the age of 66.

Nick Xenophon has announced he will be leaving the Senate to run in SA's electionand the move will have the major parties feeling nervous.

An aerial shark spotting and emergency service that has been operating on the New South Wales coast since 1999 has had its charity status revoked by the national regulator.

Sharron Phillips went missing in May 1986 at Wacol, south-west of Brisbane, and police suspect she was murdered. Ms Phillips' body has never been found. Now more than 30 years later, Queensland police name Raymond Peter Mulvihill responsible for her suspected murder.

The Australian Horticultural Exporters' and Importers' Association defends the first-ever arrival of dragon fruit from Vietnam.

The daughter of a woman killed in Melbourne's west a decade ago says it was "obvious someone was trying to mess with her" in the days before her murder, as police offer a $1 million reward for information.

Police reveal they have identified a taxi driver believed responsible for the 1986 murder of 20-year-old fruit shop assistant Sharron Phillips, but he died in 2002.

Central Queensland teacher Nicholas Blevin returns to his homeland, Zimbabwe, to offer an alternative to poaching.