An innocuous Facebook post has spurred about 40 people to carry a north Queensland grandmother with multiple sclerosis up a steep mountain so she could fulfil a childhood wish.

Driven out of society by the cost of living and life-changing events, a growing number of people are going bush on the NSW coast but their presence is drawing the ire of traditional owners and authorities.

An estimated 75,000 backpackers working, or that have worked in Australia, could be back-paid hundreds of millions of dollars after the Federal Court ruled the so-called backpacker tax invalid.

When photos of the wrong destination appear in tourism ads, is it humorous or a ploy? Esperance in WA has become Hawaii and Melbourne the Gold Coast, but false advertising is being exposed.

The Cats rebound to beat the Swans in Sydney, while the Bombers edge out the Suns in a pulsating finish on the Gold Coast and the Bulldogs trump the Dockers.

A teenager from Byron Bay says regularly seeing a psychologist has helped him tackle crippling anxiety. The only problem is he can't afford to keep going.

An elderly Australian war veteran remembers helping to clean up in Japan after the atomic bombs.

A novel idea to paint stairs the colours of a rainbow at Queensland's Rainbow Beach is at the centre of a two-year dispute after four words were added to the artwork.

Rubbish collected by a beach walker

The Raiders miss the chance to move up into third place by narrowly losing to the Warriors, while the Bulldogs knock off the Broncos and the Dragons pile even more pain on the Titans.

South-East Queensland's bat population is in crisis as the species faces a mass starvation event which is seeing rescue groups inundated with as many as 50 calls a day reporting deaths and injuries in public spaces and backyards.

An investigation is underway after two police officers fired their weapons during the dramatic arrest of a 53-year-old man suspected of lighting up to four fires in north Queensland.

An assistance package which includes the first two picks in the 2019 player draft will be handed to the struggling Gold Coast Suns to help the club "deliver upon their football strategy".

A Gold Coast father wants to raise awareness about breast cancer in men after he let a lump go undiagnosed for a year.

After a police car is pelted with bottles, a senior officer says Gold Coast industrial estates are increasingly becoming gathering places for illegal car hoons.

Bystanders have thrown objects at a police car that appears to be attending the scene where cars at Arundel were doing burnouts.

The dramatic crash of Scott McLaughlin's Supercar in Surfers Paradise sent a shock absorber flying onto a nearby balcony, wiping out a table but missing two spectators.

Cowboys from around the country will be unable to compete at the National Rodeo Finals this year, after the event was cancelled.

A Tamil asylum seeker family is granted a midair injunction to prevent their deportation to Sri Lanka, as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the family has been found not to be owed protection.

Pro-refugee activism and the travel history of a Tamil father could see a Biloela family at the centre of an immigration row deported, an experienced immigration lawyer says.

The rate of deliberately lit fires escalates rapidly during the school holiday period, according to an expert in arson investigations, as Queensland authorities reveal action has been taken against 21 juveniles and nine adults in recent weeks.

Farmers and local politicians voice their objections to plans to reduce the size of a proposed central Queensland weir as state and federal governments argue over how to deal with a cost blowout.

What was once considered a luxury – the ability to work from home – is now a necessity in today’s unprecedented time.

A man is hit and killed by a garbage truck on the NSW Central Coast, with the driver left "significantly traumatised" as the men had become good friends over the years.

Take a peak inside the pouch of the world's friendliest animal, with a baby quokka born far away from its native West Australian home Rottnest Island.

A woman suffers a suspected punctured lung after being stabbed by a man who breaks into her home on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Sunday proves to be a day of A-League score draws as the Mariners hold Victory to a 1-1 draw after the Jets and Wanderers battle it out for the same scoreline.

An incident in which a gas ignition sent a wall of fire over underground miners could have been deadly, the NSW Resources Regulator says in its initial investigation report.

A District Court judge warns jurors deliberating in the trial of a Newcastle doctor not to bully each other as they deliberate on dozens of sexual abuse allegations.

The fishing industry and enthusiasts are warning a NSW Government's plan to designate the Hawkesbury Shelf marine area a marine park could destroy their livelihoods and lifestyles.

Clown doctors in Outback Australia medicate paediatric patients with a regular dose of humour.

The eight-time Olympic champion has a two-year contract offer on the table from Maltese champions Valletta FC, increasing the pressure on Central Coast Mariners and the FFA to lock in a deal.

NSW Police say they had worked extensively with the organisers of Lost Paradise to ensure the festival was drug-free. They say they're frustrated that drugs were still able to be taken into the event where a 22-year-old man has died.

Almost two years after the death of a five-year-old schoolgirl, who was hit and killed by a passing truck on the NSW Central Coast, an investigator fights to make sure it never happens again.

Residents on the NSW Central Coast say common sense has prevailed after police withdrew hundreds of $263 fines on residents parking outside their own homes.

Thousands of homes are still without power this morning as a series of severe thunderstorms dumped heavy rain across parts of Sydney, the central coast and Wollongong last night.

Police are describing a deceased baby boy's injuries as 'horrific' and 'horrendous' following his death on Sunday. A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder and reckless grievous bodily harm.

The former operators of three sushi outlets in regional New South Wales are fined more than $380,000 for ripping off workers including junior employees and vulnerable visa holders.

After two serious assaults in the past two days, one in which an officer was punched eight times by an offender, staff from most NSW juvenile justice centres stop work to demand action for their safety.

MORNING BRIEFING: A pair of boys are "met by their parents and spoken to by police" after climbing a 111-metre communications tower, and 21 people are charged after a violent riot and police siege at a youth detention centre.