James Gino Salerno, who was once based in the Adelaide Hills, is jailed for at least eight years for repeatedly sexually abusing a teenage member of the group. His victim says other girls still in the cult "can sleep easy now".

An Australian region larger than Texas has lost its only commercial television news reporter, sparking an outcry from former employees, community leaders and viewers.

A finishing school for western ringtail possums is not about airs and graces it's about helping orphaned possums get used to fending for themselves.

Tasmania's Electoral Commission has determined the newest member of the state's House of Assembly is Madeleine Ogilvie.

With just 34 return boat journeys made over a year, politicians are debating whether $200 million should be spent to build a taller bridge in Tasmania's south.

Mandatory drug and alcohol testing for elected representatives could soon be a reality for a second Tasmanian council, but the proposal is proving to be divisive with one councillor labelling it "highly invasive".

The head of Tourism Tasmania says the organisation has made "a number of internal changes" since a 2016 report labelled it a "boys' club" where managers had to be encouraged to greet their staff at least once a week.

DAILY BRIEFING: A motorist is fined $963 and has had his car clamped for 28 days after allegedly being caught driving 172 kilometres per hour, and the University of Tasmania engages a "reputation protection" consultancy group.

DAILY BRIEFING: An elderly female driver has a fright after her car swerves off a road and over a cliff, and the Tasmanian Government holds off formally asking the Commonwealth to help pay for firefighting in the Wilderness World Heritage Area last summer.

A draft report has found a $260 million development of Glenorchy's Wilkinson's Point would great 1,100 jobs and inject millions into Hobart, but it could come at a cost to locals.

A bushfire burning north of Hobart could pose a threat to the city's suburbs and critical infrastructure if uncontrolled, a fire officer warns, as Tasmania prepares for hot weather and strong winds over the next few days.

DAILY BRIEFING: The prisons watchdog says he was pressured to redact a report on the Ashley youth detention centre and he will strongly resist requests to do so in the future.

As bushfire conditions ease around Tasmania this weekend, the firefighter's union wants laws to back volunteers leaving work in an emergency as the bushfire season extends to as long as six months.

Consultants investigating Ambulance Tasmania found poor management of fatigue and workplace stress and a lack of workplace health and safety procedures across the organisation, a leaked report reveals.

Some members of South Australia's Aboriginal community have lost 23 members of their family in the past two years and they are desperate for help in dealing with grief.

A company proposing to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight releases its environment plan, but Greenpeace says it is downplaying the risk of a major spill.

A report finds Adelaide's drinking water could be under risk of contamination, leading to outbreaks of gastro, because of the State Government's plan to open up reservoirs to recreational activities.

The author of a 50-year-old message in a bottle, which was recently found washed up on a remote SA beach, resorts to more modern means to express his delight at the discovery to its finder.

A new report by La Trobe University finds 80 per cent of teachers have experienced some form of student or parent bullying or harassment over the past nine to 12 months.

The Horn v Zerafa bout promoter brings in male "fight progress managers" to replace female ring card carriers, much to the Bendigo crowd's displeasure, as local councillors call the use of "ring girls" outdated and misogynist.

With their combination of raw talent, heart and drive, their coach says they could go all the way. But life could have been very different for these Indigenous siblings from Victoria.

Police drop trespass charges against prominent French journalist Hugo Clement and his film crew, following their arrest while filming anti-Adani protesters at Abbot Point earlier this week.

Prominent French journalist Hugo Clement says his arrest in north Queensland this week will now feature heavily in the documentary he is filming, with the incident sparking a strong international reaction.

Townsville resident Bronwyn Creedy says she feels like a "first-world refugee" after six months of living away from her flood-ravaged home, and hundreds of people are in a similar position.

After denying responsibility for years, billionaire Clive Palmer has agreed to repay millions of dollars over the Queensland Nickel collapse, but he still faces a civil trial that may see him take the witness stand.

For the first time, the long-term outlook for the Great Barrier Reef is downgraded to "very poor", with the impacts of climate change, including coral bleaching and record-breaking warm water, deteriorating its overall health.

Houses intended to keep eligible Queensland teenagers out of the youth detention system are not cost-effective and may not have the desired results, a damning report finds.

A self-funded engineer was 12 kilometres short of his goal of reaching space at a recent attempt in the middle of Australia's Outback.

Ucharonidge Station is the ninth cattle station Consolidated Pastoral Company has sold from its cattle portfolio.

The national anthem has been rewritten and performed for the first time in Alice Springs by a group that says it should be more inclusive of all Australians.

Aboriginal leaders on South Australia's remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands should consider suspending their manager Richard King while an investigation is carried out into the use of Commonwealth funding, an independent report has found.

As the northern hemisphere sweats through deadly heatwaves, experts warn Australia is unprepared to deal with soaring temperatures.

Emergency services are warning Victorians to brace for a cold snap and wind gusts of up to 130kph in parts of the south-east, while alpine areas may enjoy heavier snowfall.

Snowboarder Matt Golding was swept down 'Mary's Slide' after triggering an avalanche.

Where have all the barra gone? Research concludes 2019 has had the lowest recording of juvenile barramundi in the Daly River in over a decade as the beloved fish "failed to breed".

The results of this year's public service survey show only a third of Home Affairs staff think it is a good place to work.

Australia's consumer affairs ministers agree to consider laws boosting people's ability to repair their phones and other electronic goods, rather than send them to the dump.

If you were to ask someone to name the best wine regions in the country, they would probably say the Hunter or the Barossa Valley but there is a new competitor on the scene.

Already waiting for two previous inquiries to be acted upon, support agencies say the new family law inquiry announced last week will require they take resources away from frontline services in order to participate.

A decade ago Canberra hosted the World Mountain Bike Championships on tracks considered "the standard and the best". But the quality of the city's trails has gone downhill, and millions of dollars need to be spent to keep up.

The Australian National University has released a detailed account of how its servers were hacked in 2018, but failed to answer the most important question.

Firefighting experts and senior scientists tell Background Briefing they're concerned the Federal Government is refusing to guarantee funding for the only national research body for bushfires beyond 2021.

Farmers say the Queensland Government's decision to axe "vital" transport subsidies will take a further mental toll on already struggling graziers who have relied on the funding during severe drought periods.