NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance abandons his bid to enter federal Parliament less than 24 hours after announcing he would seek Liberal pre-selection at the Eden-Monaro by-election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the questioning of a NSW Health worker who broke down in tears at the Ruby Princess inquiry was "out of line" and she was only doing her best.

Jim Hamilton from Lake Macquarie was a passenger aboard the Ruby Princess, now the subject of a special commission of inquiry led by Brett Walker SC. A NSW Health epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler agreed it was unsatisfactory that more people on the ship were tested for influenza than for COVID-19.

The family of missing backpacker Theo Hayez criticises Belgian media for claiming DNA on a cap found near Cape Byron Lighthouse suggested it was owned by the teen, who has not been seen for almost a year.

Jim Hamilton, 68, a passenger on Ruby Princess, says a stint in intensive care with COVID-19 has left him musing about "the meaning of life and everything".

A court hears the NSW Rural Fire Service may ask the state's Attorney-General to relax restrictions so it can distribute the $51.3 million raised by comedian Celeste Barber to help victims of the Black Summer bushfires.

Epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler Ressler says her colleagues at NSW Health "were working very hard" and that if they could have their time over to deal with the Ruby Princess's arrival again "it would be very different" during evidence at the special commission of inquiry on May 6, 2020.

Over $340,000 raised by celebrity bushfire relief concert Fire Aid 2020 is being pre-loaded onto EFTPOS cards linked to local businesses, tackling two disasters with one innovative idea.

Byron Shire musician Gyan has again joined forces with cartoonist Leunig

Baz Luhrmann's take on F Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel is a splashy, vibrant affair that's big on style, but low on emotion and substance.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan

Kate Miller-Heidke at Star Court Theatre, and Martha Wainwright at Byron Community Centre

It is fair to say that any new Tim Winton book, play, film or short story is welcomed with open arms by Western Australians.

AnA Wojak's deeply moving and motivating mixed-media installation, stepping stones at Lismore Regional Gallery is surprising and somewhat overwhelming in its scale.

Funny and disturbing, this play is a must see.

Those who find opera difficult to get their head around may be pleasantly surprised by WA Opera's latest offering.

It's the production that first debuted on Broadway in 1966, and has been drawing audiences into a false sense of security ever since.

A self-described experienced horse breaker has been fined and sentenced to a community correction order for a "silly decision" to use a lasso to strangle a brumby.

Meet Payden, who is two weeks old and one of 21,000 babies born into regional NSW towns every year who, on average, have a lower life-expectancy than their counterparts in the city.

Australia may be on the cusp of electric cars, but could the production of environmentally friendly vehicles take a heavy toll on the Clarence Valley?

A report into hazing at the University of New England finds female students were pressured into sexual acts, "slapped on the arse" by a line of men before entering a party and told to lock their doors at night.

Indigenous skydiver Marley Nolan-Duncan makes history by jumping out of a plane and into Gamilaraay country, the home of his ancestors.

Tamworth farmer Cathy Hockings looks after orphaned calves, helping out drought-affected farmers unable to keep young stock.

Free sheds are being built for those with nothing, in a creative approach to disaster recovery that is changing lives and putting a smile back on faces of despair.

If you are hoping to be buried in Launceston's main cemetery, you'll need deep pockets, with the cost of a single plot "skyrocketing" more than 225 per cent in recent years, and it's set to go up again. Why does it cost so much?

Tasmania records six new cases of coronavirus, with four of those infected being passengers who returned to the state after disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

No new cases are identified on the day Tasmania records its second coronavirus death, an elderly man in southern Tasmania who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

A teenager pleads guilty to manslaughter, saying he is "honestly sorry for what I have put everyone through" and admitting he fatally punched a university academic at a Hobart nightclub in 2019.

Hospitals across Tasmania have banned visitors, but one Hobart doctor is helping patients stay in touch with their loved ones during coronavirus pandemic by asking people to "donate" their iPads.

Police around the country issued fines for breaching coronavirus rules over Easter, but overall people followed the rules and stayed home.

Tasmanian woman Sue McCuaig has been diagnosed with stage four brain cancer and wants to choose when she dies, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed debate on the state's assisted dying legislation.

A day after authorities said the coronavirus outbreak in Tasmania may be "trailing off", the tally jumps to 205 with four new cases detected in the past 24 hours — all in the state's north-west.

The Ruby Princess leaves Australian waters today over a month after docking in Sydney. About one in 10 cases of coronavirus in Australia is linked to the cruise ship.

Australia's Chief Medical Officer says a coronavirus cluster in Tasmania's north-west was likely sparked by a passenger from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, as the state marks 24 hours without a new case being found.

Tasmanian police dismiss allegations, first aired publicly by Australia's Chief Medical Officer, that an "illegal dinner party" of healthcare workers contributed to Tasmania's coronavirus outbreak.

An investigation into a coronavirus cluster in north-west Tasmania finds some staff worked in local hospitals for several days while experiencing symptoms, but the Premier stresses no-one is to blame.

Ambulance paramedics left a woman with a history of mental illness alone in her home without electricity, hot water or lighting before she was found dead months later, in a move a coroner said was "difficult to understand."

The trauma of premature birth has additional complications for parents who live hundreds of kilometres from their baby's neonatal hospital.

Six regional aged care facilities in South Australia are failing to meet standards, a State Estimates committee hears, with three based in the same region.

Ryan Chambers went missing in India 14 years ago but his loved ones hope this artwork will get people talking again.

Conservationists are alarmed about the amount of vegetation to be cleared for Snowy 2.0, but Snowy Hydro says the benefits outweigh their concerns.

The Riverina car dealership says it takes '100 per cent takes responsibility' for the incident, and has improved work health and safety culture.

Australia's dairy farmers are leaving the industry in droves as drought and sky-high prices for water take their toll.

South Africa will back its chances of an upset victory in tomorrow night's Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama but it's England title to lose, as Eddie Jones closes in on his crowning glory.

Years of accepted wisdom has been thrown out the window at this Rugby World Cup, with this year's final between England and South Africa set to remain a battle of the big boppers.

South Africa causes a boilover by beating the heavily favoured England 32-12 to win the Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama, joining New Zealand as the only nations to be crowned world champions three times.

Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne, who Michael Chieka said he had "no relationship" with after the Wallabies' World Cup exit, will stand down.

Rugby Australia Chairman Cameron Clyne speaks to the media following the Rugby Australia Annual General Meeting in Sydney, Monday, April 8, 2019.