Two men on trial over a 700kg cocaine importation racket used encrypted mobile phones to help arrange for the drugs to be sailed from Tahiti to Australia, a court hears.

A court has heard Border Force and NSW and federal police officers formed a human chain to unload hundreds of bricks of cocaine from a catamaran linked to an international drug syndicate.

Camera tapes, used by police to identify Star Hotel rioters 40 years ago, have resurfaced and show that fire hoses were used to subdue the crowds.

A man who denied knowing anything about $245 million worth of drugs onboard a catamaran he skippered from Tahiti faces life in jail after being found guilty of the crime.

Have you ever wondered what happens to lost and stolen items when the police can't find the owner?

Nicknamed "The Missile", James Magnussen decides to call time on his decorated swimming career, which included world championship gold and Olympic silver.

Following the recent Hendra virus outbreak, an equine vet is encouraging horse owners to vaccinate their animals against the deadly bat-borne disease.

The Mini Minor car was a symbol of the Swinging Sixties and now it is helping one veteran dairy farmer keep a perspective on the rigours of family life and work.

Five new photos of William Tyrrell are made public by the NSW Coroner as well as the transcript of a key witness who said he cursed a woman he saw driving with an unrestrained child in the backseat.

A 3.5-metre leopard seal has come ashore in northern NSW as authorities warn eager onlookers to keep their distance from the potentially deadly marine mammal.

A search is underway for a small plane that has gone missing while flying two people from Murwillumbah to Taree in northern New South Wales, after it failed to arrive at its destination.

Many Australians regard the beach as a place that belongs to everyone, where no-one can be excluded. But the truth of that notion will now be tested by the High Court.

Diamonds so rare they never reach the open market are unveiled by Rio Tinto in a historic preview at the Argyle mine in Western Australia's far north.

A magnitude-6.6 earthquake off the West Australian coast is felt across large parts of the state, but there are no reports of major damage.

Survivor is a word thrown around fairly lightly, but in the case of German migrant Frauke Bolten-Boshammer, you can't help but feel she's earned the title 10 times over.

Police are called in after 'Cinnamon', a 40cm-long saltwater crocodile, is stolen from Broome's Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park.

A life-changing adventure for a Broome based GP and his son: Dave and Tom Berger have flown 40,000km in a single-engine plane.

A social media video of a tourist hanging off a notorious WA cliff on Easter Sunday has prompted a furious response from a sea rescue group.

When tiny pieces of plastic that were spilled on other side of the world start washing up on your beaches, who is responsible for cleaning them up?

A seven-year-old Perth girl who picked up her toddler sister and held her aloft to save her from an attacking rottweiler dog is among a group of West Australians to be honoured with bravery awards.

Modern consumers want to know more about the story of their food where it came from, how it was produced and farmers in WA are taking advantage of the trend.

Praised for its "sweat characters and nuttiness", a Perth-based distillery and second-generation farmer from Western Australia's far-north have teamed up to create Australia's first red corn whiskey.

Tasmanian driver Alex Peroni sustains a broken vertebra but walks away from a spectacular crash at Monza in Italy, with his survival attributed to his helmet and the round bar which protects drivers' heads.

Close to the heart of gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome are two flags made from the dresses of drag queens who fought police in the Stonewall riots in New York. They'll now be preserved in a collection of memorabilia documenting the battle to change society's views.

DAILY BRIEFING: A worker has been "narrowly missed" by a bolt falling from a crane at a Hobart worksite, and Madeleine Ogilvie meets with Labor to discuss her future.

DAILY BRIEFING: Man who's been on the run from police for almost two weeks caught, Madeleine Ogilvie takes her new seat in Parliament as an independent.

Residents in the Hobart suburb of Risdon Vale say they are double checking their doors are locked as the search for a prison escapee enters its second day.

Three-year-old Chase has come ahead in leaps and bounds in this past year, his family credits a program giving kids like him free access to early learning.

DAILY BRIEFING: Bushwalkers are rescued in two separate incidents in Tasmania's national parks, while road spikes are deployed after a driver evades police.

DAILY BRIEFING: 130 jobs are being cut from the Vodafone centre in Hobart, and former attorney-general John Bennett has died.

Jorgen Jorgenson visited Van Diemen's Land when it was first settled 20 years later he would return as a convict and former self-proclaimed king of Iceland.

A water scientist is backing Hamilton farmers' concerns about threats to a local lake from a proposed fish hatchery, including the threat of algal blooms.

DAILY BRIEFING: A Launceston woman is rescued from a house fire, and a Tasmanian judge describes the actions of a man caught with ecstasy in his underwear at Hobart Airport as "immature".

Until now little has been known about what penguins get up to when they head out to sea to forage.

A Tasmanian council has not yet decided whether it will appeal a decision giving a green light to a luxury helicopter-accessed fishing camp at Lake Malbena, saying the process has "put the council under a lot of stress".

Tensions are rising within the Tasmanian Liberal party as some look to drop veteran Eric Abetz from the top spot on the Senate ticket in favour of his apprentice, Jonathon Duniam.

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.

Using cameras and wind disturbance, a Tasmanian wind farm will be the first in Australia to deter wedge-tailed eagles from flying into the turbine blades.

Oil and gas testing is set to take place in the Great Australian Bight this year, with the national petroleum regulator granting permission to exploration company PGS.

High speeds, low altitudes, and "crazy" games of chicken meet two of Australia's most elite pilots, including the first woman to become the national aerobatics champion in more than 20 years.