The group representing Victoria's councils calls for organisations like independent schools, pokies clubs and churches to pay their fair share of rates because "mum and dad homeowners" are unfairly cross-subsidising private and commercial enterprises.

The sister of missing hiker Niels Becker hopes he will be found with an "epic story" to tell after failing to return from five-day hike in cold conditions in Victoria's alpine region.

A man collapses and dies while hiking with a family member on a remote bush trail near Mount Sonder in Central Australia. It is the second death on the trail in 18 months.

Water is running dry in the Top End but is funding for a dam the right way to fix it?

Embattled regional airline Airnorth is in for a run for its money as competitor airlines line up for the NT Government-subsidised contract.

Authorities were warned that a teenage boy with severe cognitive impairments was deteriorating in Darwin's Don Dale youth detention centre and needed help, before he joined in on a riot for which he may now go to adult jail.

Where have all the barra gone? Research concludes 2019 has had the lowest recording of juvenile barramundi in the Daly River in over a decade as the beloved fish "failed to breed".

Despite two recent inquests into the failure to identify sepsis at Northern Territory hospitals, Joanne Craig was left to deteriorate without the antibiotics that could have saved her life.

An advocate and author whose work was pivotal in exposing the history of the removal of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory has been remembered for her strength and fierce commitment to social justice.

Darryl Butler had lived an intellectual life, but in a moment of crisis it would be dance and his study of the body that would save him.

A new foundation to help fund lawsuits against perpetrators of child sexual abuse is launched, with profits from successful legal action used to help victims and survivors.

Tenancy advocates say tenancy act reform in the Northern Territory has fallen behind the rest of the country but a real estate peak body says proposed "socialist" legislation could drive out property investors.

The wrongful arrest of a man who spent 103 days in custody over an alleged rape, while awaiting DNA results, prompts a review into the NT Police forensics branch.

The incident left more than 60 residents without running water for five days as temperatures soared into the mid-30s.

The 91-year-old cattle station pioneer who laid the chain up the rock says he is not expecting visitor numbers to dive now the climb has officially been closed.

A politician opposed to the decriminalisation of sex work in the Northern Territory claims he has been "censored" by a parliamentary scrutiny committee which agreed to accept evidence from sex workers behind closed doors because of concerns about stigma and discrimination.

The Coalition's cashless welfare card is compared to the intervention and "mission" times by Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory

Cameron Rowland says he can no longer complete his auto electrician training in Tennant Creek because of course cuts.

The Supreme Court of Victoria dismisses a bid by union boss John Setka to stop a vote to have him expelled from the Australian Labor Party, with the court ruling it does not have the jurisdiction to decide the matter.

The lithium industry is facing its own war on waste as a farming community asks questions about the storage of tonnes of tailings and its safety.

A former journalist accused of threatening to behead Christians on his front lawn, allegedly in response to the Christchurch attacks, is released from custody.

A former Australian Federal Police employee who messaged his partner's 11-year-old daughter over Instagram in order to groom her into having sex with him, avoids jail.

A Canberra man who sexually assaulted his former partner before creating nude posters of the woman and threatening to distribute them is jailed for at least 18 months.

The results of this year's public service survey show only a third of Home Affairs staff think it is a good place to work.

Two men walked into a Canberra McDonald's restaurant and ordered a meal while still covered in the blood of a man they had just attacked, according to court documents.

Australia's consumer affairs ministers agree to consider laws boosting people's ability to repair their phones and other electronic goods, rather than send them to the dump.

The Tigers still have finals aspirations after a convincing win over the Dragons, after the Canberra Raiders knocked off the Cronulla Sharks in golden point in Paul Gallen's farewell home match.

Instead of storing or throwing out the stationery bought for the last federal election, this time the Australian Electoral Commission is donating it to Indigenous health and education organisations.

A Canberra cafe owner who used social media to show off flashy cars and brag about his apparent success is jailed for drug trafficking in the ACT Supreme Court.

On the eve of their first finals campaign in three seasons, the Canberra Raiders have received a massive boost with coach Ricky Stuart extending his deal with the club for another three years.

The second stage of the ACT's light rail project will see a centrepiece of Canberra's city transformed, with the southern end of London Circuit raised in order to accommodate a tram line traversing down to Lake Burley Griffin.

The measurable economic benefits might not amount to much and the construction could be a nightmare for commuters, but it's what can't be measured that counts.

Residents of Australia's most affluent city face the longest waits for emergency care, despite significant investments in hospitals. How bad is it? That depends on how sick you are, Markus Mannheim writes.

Ricky Stuart is still tied to the Raiders' golden era, but now he has Canberra within 80 minutes of a first grand final in a quarter-century, writes Richard Hinds.

The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that he's never handed over classified information to the press.

A decade ago Canberra hosted the World Mountain Bike Championships on tracks considered "the standard and the best". But the quality of the city's trails has gone downhill, and millions of dollars need to be spent to keep up.

Foreign officials are immune from local prosecution, but collectively they owe the ACT Government almost $60,000 in fines for breaching parking laws and Russia is responsible for more than $20,000 of them.

Wang Yiwei says it's in Australia's national interest for the US-Chinese trade war to be de-escalated.

Twelve months ago, few would have heard of him. But now Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad's elusiveness is a prime reason the Raiders are in a semi-final on Friday night.

A judge has delivered a scathing assessment of two police officers who dragged a man from a car and threatened to arrest him "for being a smart-arse", saying their conduct was in "dramatic disproportion" to the situation.

Thirty years ago, the Raiders finished fourth on the ladder. And who did they beat to reach the grand final? None other than South Sydney, who they'll meet again tomorrow night in the preliminary final.

The Raiders withstood a tremendous South Sydney Rabbitohs onslaught to reach its first grand final since 1994 with a 16-10 victory at a sold-out Canberra Stadium.