Local governments have expressed concern about a decision to kill off merger discussions between four Wheatbelt shires.

The Auditor General has found the Water Corporation is losing billions of litres of water more than it should each year, mainly due to leaking pipes. In his report, tabled in Parliament today, Colin Murphy says about 30 billion litres of water was lost each year, ten billion more than what is considered acceptable. The agency will also have to fork out tens of millions of dollars to replace ageing pipes in the network.

The Federal Government has handed Norfolk Island a lifeline to save its tourism industry, but locals have railed against their offering saying it could turn tourists away.

Semi-retired Keith and Glenda Drake, both in their 80s, will donate the proceeds of their seaside penthouse to help researchers develop a treatment for coronavirus.

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

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.

As zoos are closed to visitors due to coronavirus, zookeepers trying to exercise animals by talking them for walks around the zoo.

A major redevelopment in Sydney's north west is given the go-ahead days after the announcement of an expedited approvals program — prompting criticism that the process seemed "predetermined".

Disney's stage adaptation of its 1994 animated classic 'The Lion King' has returned to Australia, and what a breathtaking production it is.

Russ French's highly detailed military models have helped secure billion-dollar contracts, with one even landing at the Pentagon. These are no toys.

A former shearer tells how he turned away from life as a wealthy businessman to find happiness.

In 2000, Virgin Australia first entered the Australian aviation market with one route, two aircraft and 200 employees. Last month, it was flying to 56 destinations around the world.

The NSW Government has announced a $10 million initiative to combat what the Agriculture Minister has described as a looming "fish Armageddon".

A group of southern New South Wales irrigators have pledged to give millions of litres of their own water to those who need it most, but they need help to deliver it.

Israel Folau claims he could have one day skippered a "trophy-winning Wallabies team", as he seeks $14 million in damages following his Rugby Australia sacking.

Extinction Rebellion protesters say they will take on board concerns that their demonstrations are disproportionately affecting people with disabilities, as police use power tools to separate activists in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Climate protesters who brought the streets of Melbourne to a standstill are vowing to make a comeback in autumn as police reveal the cost of overtime for controlling the protests would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

New red light cameras in Victoria generate more than $12 million in extra fines, catching out thousands more speedsters and red-light runners. Ten intersections in Melbourne and Geelong have proved particularly lucrative.

Over four years, Bobby Singh made more than $2 million in subsidies for students enrolled at this Melbourne training college. It never taught a single class. But it all came undone in one phone call.

The Morrison Government is pushing ahead with a plan to become a world leading producer and exporter of hydrogen.

The Lions miss out on the AFL minor premiership to the Cats following their loss to the third-placed Tigers, the Bulldogs earn a return to finals action, while the Power defeat the Dockers to end their season on a winning note.

Nineteen people are facing charges after firewood worth $1 million was allegedly harvested as part of what police are calling a "large-scale wood theft" operation in southern Tasmania.

Six Malaysian men visit Perth seeking $1.5 million they lost when an alleged Ponzi property scheme masterminded by WA businesswoman Veronica Macpherson collapsed three years ago.

Chrys Barker has been confined to a wheelchair and is in need of 24-hour care since being critically injured in a car accident in 2014. He's now been awarded what is believed to be the biggest single personal injury settlement in Queensland.

A proposed $2 billion Indigenous-led coal-fired power station in Collinsville in North Queensland developed by Brisbane-based Indigenous company Shine Energy and headed by traditional Biri man Ashley Dodd is set to revive one of the country's oldest coal towns.

A chemical used to control pests in agricultural crops and termites in buildings has been blamed for the death of up to 10 million bees in southern New South Wales.

MORNING BRIEFING: Housing Minister optimistic debt will be wiped, city demands urgent action on climate emergency and councils increase rates.

A figure "described inaccurately" is being blamed for an apparent dramatic cost increase on Australia's most expensive defence project in history, the $50 billion Future Submarine program.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says his Government believes the 2019-20 State Budget is $2.6 billion worse off as a result of the election of a Coalition Federal Government, but plans to work constructively with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Zoo owners in Victoria have welcomed the Federal Government's assistance package, but some fear they will not be eligible for the emergency funding.

Looking to replace the second oldest radar on its network at Mildura airport, the BOM marks a spot at Cullulleraine.

The Coalition has promised to fix 1,600km of SA's dog fence if it returns to government, an announcement warmly received after almost 20,000 sheep were lost to wild dogs last year.

Hospital buildings where flammable cladding posed a major fire threat to the public in Sydney and across the state are identified in NSW Health safety documents, with Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital the only one where potentially combustible panels still need to be removed.

The forestry industry believes the Coalition's pledge of planting 1 billion trees by 2030 is unrealistic, unless it removes barriers preventing the sector's growth.

In the Northern Territory, where much of the population is sparse and remote, there are still wide gaps in understanding superannuation.

An increase in the production of the trendy grains overseas forces a number of pioneering Australian growers to scale down production. What is the future for Australian farmers in the multi-billion-dollar superfood industry?

Amid international efforts to find a vaccine for the deadly pig virus, Australian authorities and industry are bracing for an outbreak that some pig farmers fear is "inevitable".

Authorities in Western Australia investigate a large mussel die-off that covered a 1km stretch of beach on the south coast last week.

Tasmanian-based infant formula company Bellamy's tells shareholders to vote in favour of a $1.5 billion takeover by Chinese company Mengniu.

Scientists hope a drill that can plunge 3 kilometres down into an Antarctic ice cap and withstand temperatures of -55 degrees Celsius will help solve one of the last great puzzles in climate science.

A public servant improperly awarded, or attempted to influence, millions of dollars' worth of government contracts for the benefit of a close friend, an inquiry finds.

The National commodity forecaster, ABARES, finds three quarters of dairy farmers and half of all broadacre farmers will receive a lower income than they did last year because of the drought.

An ancient lizard fossil found in north-west Queensland shows the ancestor of the modern skink had a crushing jaw, equipped with hard-rounded teeth, rather than the sharper teeth of today.

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".

A regional Victorian city that nearly lost its tram network in the 1970s is set to become a national hub for historic tram restoration.

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.

Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto was retained by at least one investor to help recover money from the messy collapse of a major property developer that left investors owed millions of dollars, according to court documents.