Can our genes tell us if we're gay? Or intelligent? Science says the answer is complex, and that genetic determinism — the idea that we're genetically hardwired for certain outcomes — shouldn't be taken seriously. But genetic determinism has taken hold of the public imagination.

Indonesia, like other emerging economies, has been hit hard economically by Covid-19. Our guest argues that it's in Australia's interests to extend an economic lifeline, and that there's a costless way to do it.

Port Beach's Coast pub and surf life saving rooms should be moved and some Rottnest Island holiday bungalows should be pushed back from the beach in the long term, a report into WA coastal erosion hotspots says.

A 15-year-old girl dies and another teenage girl is rushed to hospital after being hit by a Lamborghini when the driver allegedly lost control outside a Chinese restaurant in Adelaide.

Setio Shanahan was out exercising in a local park with a weight vest when police were called. But police say the public has the right to report "unusual behaviour".

After more than a decade of hard work and lobbying, a south-west Victorian Indigenous site has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Brooke Littlewood was facing a two-month wait for a regional psychologist when she decided to create a series of beer coasters for others who may be struggling.

Why does the Australian Tax Office require people to tick a mental illness box for early access to their superannuation to fund gender transition surgery?

Severe thunderstorms brought more than 100 millimetres of rain to some parts of the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast overnight, flooding homes and businesses within minutes.

Child abuse victims speak out against the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation, after it failed to opt in to the national redress scheme.

A 36-year-old man is arrested and charged for illegally taking and selling 12 tonnes of golden perch from the Darling River over a 20-month period.

A commercial fisher has been fined $15,000 and had his boat confiscated after pleading guilty to seven charges of illegal fishing in the Darling River.

A new art exhibition opening in Sydney today brings together some of the nation's leading artists who offer an urgent message about the destruction of the beleaguered Murray-Darling basin.

Western Australia's bulk grain handler says it has already received about 12.5 million tonnes of grain during this year's harvest and there is still more to come from southern areas.

A new strategy to reduce fatal shark attacks is being implemented with baited drum lines to be set along popular beaches in Perth and the South West. Sharks will also be caught and killed if they enter zones near those beaches because they will be considered an imminent threat. The measures follow six fatal attacks by sharks in WA in two years. Opponents say sharks deserve respect and protection.

A campaign is being launched to improve public awareness of the dangers of rock fishing in an effort to substantially reduce the number of fatalities across Western Australia.

The public will soon have an opportunity to comment on new guidelines being developed for companies who want to use fracking to access gas deposits in Western Australia.

A prominent businessman on Western Australia's south coast has been sentenced to eight years and six months in jail for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged daughter-in-law. Brian Vincent Attwell paid $10,000 to an undercover police officer who had posed as a hitman in September last year. The court heard the 74-year-old was angry over legal action after his son's divorce and he was motivated by "sheer hatred" of Michelle Attwell. The trial was played recordings of the businessman saying his daughter-in-law had cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he wanted her "strangled and buried".

A watersport based around ancient tradition, dragon boating now spans many different cultures - but the legend behind it is never forgotten.

The Jerramungup Shire says it is working with Bremer Bay residents to address concerns about proposed bushfire safety measures.

The Shire of Plantagenet is facing a shortfall of nearly $1 million in its funding for a major sporting precinct upgrade, after receiving a smaller than hoped for Western Australian Government grant.

An illness is rarely something that saves a life, but in the case of Tom Sharp, that is what is likely to have happened.

People experiencing homelessness are being moved from the street and shelters into four-star hotels. The radical plan is meant to protect them from the pandemic and it's temporary. But as Hagar Cohen discovers, there are questions about what happens once the virus crisis is over.

Wild donkeys are known as environmental pests in Australia, causing erosion and damaging vegetation, but there is growing interest in turning that pest into a profit.

Regional airline Rex is threatening to cut services on its Sydney-to-Dubbo and has sent a scathing letter to Dubbo households criticising their local council.

To fight the Corona virus we’re making the choice to isolate ourselves at home. So it’s going to be a lonely time for some. But loneliness is a problem even when society is firing on all cylinders. Technology gives us more ways to connect so why are we so lonely? How can we build social connections?

Some historians believe the White Australia policy played a part in covering over the early history of Chinese miners in Australia.

The community of Rappville in northern NSW is banding together to make sure everyone gets back on their feet, but Allan Robertson is dreading having to tell his partner that their home is now just ashes.

Whale watchers off the north coast of New South Wales have held a front-row seat to the rarely witnessed and gruesome spectacle of a pod of killer whales devouring a juvenile humpback whale.

The lead-up to Anzac Day is usually a busy time for florists and volunteers, but this year is very different.

Police say "no action" will be taken against 15 waterfront campers in Far North Queensland who say they have nowhere else to go during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Queensland family has bought a large cattle station on the Northern Territory/Queensland border from a Chinese billionaire for $53 million.

Abortion service providers are left with chartering private flights to regional Queensland, saying infrequent schedules and short-notice cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic make flying commercial untenable.

A survey conducted by the Gladstone Chamber of Commerce finds 35 per cent of respondents fear they won't be solvent by the end of June, due to the coronavirus crisis.

The former workers of a north-west Queensland mine, who have been waiting for their wages for more than six months, see a reprieve with the company put into liquidation.