A tax imposed on West Australian ratepayers 16 years ago to support the state's emergency services has raised more than $3 billion, but just $256 million of that has gone to bush fire brigades, and they say this is forcing them to rattle the tin for some essential equipment.

African swine fever has depleted China's pig herd, creating a protein shortage that is benefitting Australian sheep farmers.

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.

The family of a model who was murdered 50 years ago is suing Tasmania Police for what it alleges is misconduct in the handling of the investigation.

Laura Kennedy got her first tattoo in Sydney when she was 21, she's now a customer of Tasmania's first dedicated laser tattoo removal studio after a series of bad inking experiences.

DAILY BRIEFING: The father of Graham Enniss, who escaped from Hobart's Risdon Prison this morning, urges his son to hand himself in, as police caution the public to stay away from the man.

The stories of two Tasmanian officers added to the national list of police who "gave the ultimate sacrifice" most likely differ markedly to those from other jurisdictions.

As Tasmania lures more tourists with its wilderness charms, there are fears the method of holding tour operators accountable for licence breaches in precious wilderness areas is not up to the task.

Before you approach someone you don't know and start interviewing them about their disability, there's something you need to ask yourself.

An iceberg 1,636 square kilometres in size, or about the size of urban Sydney or Scotland's Isle of Skye, breaks off Antarctica.

DAILY BRIEFING: Police arrest a man after a firearms incident at Risdon Vale, Tasmania's tourism boom appears to be going bust and people are encouraged to participate in platypus monitoring study.

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.

DAILY BRIEFING: Almost 30 tourism operators have received breach notices for missing parks passes, and a Tasmanian Senator acknowledges "shocking" aged care findings.

A Tasmanian great-grandmother-to-be was shocked to discover she was forking out for private health services she didn't ask for and didn't need. But her insurer said it was simply a case of 'buyer beware'.

Proposed new powers for South Australia's Country Fire Service volunteers to be able to stop members of the public from operating due to fire dangers has put them at odds with farmers.

Six people have been charged following the alleged assault of two off-duty police officers at Burnside Village shopping centre in Adelaide's eastern suburbs.

Plans to relaunch a South Australian ferry service hit a snag with the vessel the Aurora V caught up in political turmoil in South America.

The worldwide price of oil has fallen by more than $US10 a barrel in recent weeks, but the cheaper price has not fazed a Norwegian company's plan to drill in the Great Australian Bight.

Two Korean men who organised a cross-country road trip to transport 10 kilograms of ice across Australia are jailed for up to 12 years each, with a judge saying their crime had the potential to "massively harm the community".

People living in South Australia's regional areas call for the State Government to help improve liveability.

John Flynn established a medical facility in Innamincka and now, 68 years later, the RFDS is continuing on-the-ground medical services.

South Australia's Emergency Services Minister says the Country Fire Service's new chief officer has "experience right across the world", as volunteers criticise their new head for his lack of experience of catastrophic fire conditions.

New South Wales specialist police dog Tilly has arrived in South Australia to help investigators find the remains of missing Manna Hill mother Tanja Ebert and Adelaide teenager Scott Redman.

South Australia Police are investigating a video that appears to show an off-duty officer badly injuring or killing a wombat by throwing rocks at it, but an Aboriginal elder says it is a local hunting practice.

A Victorian man is expected to be charged with the manslaughter of his 35-year-old partner Shae Francis, who was last seen when she visited her mother at the Hervey Bay Hospital in October.

With production doubling in the past five years thanks to new extraction technology and investment, Victorian mines are digging deeper where most of its gold actually is.

With only one in four Australians staying with the same employer for 10 years or more, there is a call for a national portable long service leave scheme in Australia.

Days before she was due to give birth, Krystal Fraser discharged herself from a country Victorian hospital and has not been seen since. Police believe a call she received from a public phone box is the key to finding her suspected killer.

The coroner presiding over the inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day, who died after sustaining injuries in police custody, refuses a request from Ms Day's family to remove a police investigator from the case.

The lawyer for the family of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day tells a public inquest into her death it was police "neglect" that led to her suffering catastrophic brain injuries alone in a cell.

A police officer who arrested Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day for being drunk in public tells a coronial inquest police were just trying to help her when she was taken into custody.

A police officer involved in the arrest of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day defends taking her back to the police station where she later sustained a fatal head injury, saying officers had exhausted all other options.

A court releases vision of Aboriginal woman Tanya Day tearful at a Victorian police station on the day she suffered head injuries that led to her death.

The coroner conducting an inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day releases CCTV footage of her falling and hitting her head in a police cell, as her family says they want the world to see the distressing vision.

A man in his 40s suffers non-life-threatening injuries after he is allegedly assaulted by a young person at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre in central Victoria.

Three men accused of attacking staff at a youth justice centre in central Victoria with a plastic cricket bat will be sent to adult prison. It follows another incident earlier this week when an inmate allegedly attacked a worker with a makeshift knife.

The lockdown of a youth correctional facility in central Victoria continues after two alleged violent attacks on staff in as many days saw workers walk off the job.

Talks between the union and justice department officials produce new "zero tolerance" rules on the behaviour of offenders and more powers for staff in violent situations, after alleged attacks on workers sent the centre into lockdown.

A court is told a Melbourne man only pretended to plan for terrorist attacks to expose a "mole" he thought was embroiled in a police conspiracy against right-wing groups.

A sergeant at a rural Victorian police station has been committed to stand trial over an alleged assault in an interview room.

More than 60 people search for missing Melbourne man Jeremy Boyden and his dog, Rocky, who were last seen on a road in Victoria's high country three days ago.

Drunk and high-on-ice driver Jesse Reid is sentenced to 10 years in prison over the 2018 death of policeman Victor Kostiuk, who was taking part in a charity motorbike ride in Victoria.

Police, SES, and a number of friends and family are searching for a young woman and man who have not returned from a camping trip to Walhalla last Friday.

A Victorian court has heard that a man accused of murdering his wife set fire to her back fence and accused her of having an affair with a neighbour in the lead-up to her death.

3D Hubs, an online marketplace for 3D printing services, today announced that it has raised $18 million to expand services abroad.