A high-tech telescope situated in Western Australia's desert discovers a galaxy almost five billion light-years away.

A formal investigation begins over the actions of Noosa Shire Councillor Jess Glasgow as a contestant on reality TV dating program The Bachelorette, with comments he made on the dating show described as "crude" and "highly offensive".

Writing about 'place' is more than parachuting into an unfamiliar location, meeting a few people, rehashing well-worn clichés, then flying out again. Three writers discuss the places they written about, and how to capture the essence of people and place.

For nine long months, the main road into Byron Bay was adorned by one of Australia's most controversial pieces of public art. Until last night.

For Country Women's Association secretary and cookery judge Pam Wright, whose uncle died a POW and whose father succumbed to his war injuries, Anzac biscuits mean more than just a delicious treat.

After handfeeding cattle through the drought, a Queensland grazier finds his cattle shot with a crossbow in two separate incidents.

Authorities in a 'dry' Queensland community say illegal alcohol poses one of the biggest health threats to its people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

First-time mayors and councillors who are the subject of minor misconduct complaints will get a three-month amnesty, Queensland's Office of the Independent Assessor says.

A scientific research vessel off the Queensland coast is surveying the "very unexplored" depths of Australia's largest marine park without a single scientist on board.

A 79-year-old "miracle man" blows kisses to the medical team at Dubbo Base Hospital and fights back tears as he heads home after making a full recovery from coronavirus.

Coronavirus survivor, Jayson O'Brien has thanked medical staff at Western New South Wales Local Health District for saving his life.

With school holidays upon us, it's timely to talk about a nifty exhibition that is on at the Lismore Regional Gallery.

The Premier says Tasmania is talking about the first direct flights to New Zealand since the late 1990s if a "trans-Tasman bubble" excluding coronavirus can be maintained, as the state's four-day case-free run crashes with two new cases.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police release CCTV footage showing a man and a woman they wish to speak to over the vandalism of the Dog on the Tuckerbox statue, while Opal card travel discounts are extended.

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones says he was barely approached by Rugby Australia to return to Australia and replace outgoing coach Michael Cheika.

An investigation is launched after relatives were told their loved one had been discharged, prompting a search for the missing man whose body was actually in a Melbourne morgue all along.

Chloe Myors died suddenly, but based on a candid discussion with their 11-year-old daughter before her death her parents decided to donate her organs.

A Toowoomba-based environmental scientist says finding a small population of a threatened grass in the middle of the city was exciting, as is the process of conserving it in another park.

New species of spider orchids have been discovered near Busselton by the WA Herbarium. They add to the already spectacular array of wildflowers which thrive in the biodiversity hot spot of the South West.

Australian researchers find a new species of pterosaur in outback Queensland. The apex aerial predator had a 4-metre wingspan and walked on all four limbs when on land.

Fine-dining chefs Tom Chiumento and Simon Evans usually serve seven-course degustations, but recently they've been using their talents to provide quality meals from food destined for the bin.

Do you suffer from an indescribable feeling of vertigo, constant dizziness and motion sickness? Chances are you could have Mal de Debarquement Syndrome.

A former Special Forces soldier says it's time for the ADF to "modernise" its internal legal system and start footing the bills for members who want to use civilian lawyers.

Black holes usually cannot be seen but astronomers have now discovered one closer to Earth than any that have ever been located before.

It's well established that coronavirus targets the lungs; but a growing body of evidence suggests COVID-19 may also cause blood clots that can damage vital organs, including the kidneys, heart and brain.

Police investigating the stabbing of a 40-year-old man, who was found lying on the road at Hackham West overnight, uncover a drug lab believed to be used for growing magic mushrooms.

Adhesive mouse traps which use glue to slowly inflict fatal injuries are still being sold at discount shops throughout Australia and are harming native animals, according to an animal rights group.

The family of 76-year-old Dennis Murphy have posted a confronting video of him crawling on his hands and knees to the toilet, after they say he was discharged without proper treatment from Adelaide's Flinders Medical Centre.

As David Caffery explains what 60dB sounds like.

Australia's biggest new gold mine, the $621 million Gruyere project in WA's Great Victoria Desert, pours its first gold bar as the precious metal continues to trade near record highs but the mood in the industry is not all good.

Remote WA Aboriginal communities are suing the Federal Government in a landmark action over its controversial work-for-the-dole scheme which they argue is unlawful.

Coronavirus sees many housebound Australians revisit instruments they haven't played since they were kids — rediscovering the trials and tribulations of learning along the way.

The number of coronavirus cases in Victoria continues to inch up as a paramedic tests positive to the virus and health authorities investigate a cluster at a meat processing plant.

A woman who suffered a miscarriage in mandatory COVID-19 quarantine was forced to stay in a hotel room for five days after the traumatic event because the Victorian Health Department failed to act on an order to release her.

Outback drillers find water 90 metres below the surface of SA's APY Lands in an underground valley millions of years old and remote communities are hoping it will provide a much-needed economic boost.

The bodies of two climbing partners who fell to their deaths from a remote cliff face in South Australia's Flinders Ranges were discovered with the help of an aerial drone, one of the men's friends has revealed.

A north Queensland mother is worried for the health of her children after PFAS was found in fish and water samples taken near their Mackay property.

Danielle Easey's relatives share tributes on social media after her body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a creek in the NSW Hunter Region, as police search for clues about when and why she was killed.

The discovery of endangered quolls, bilbies, and rock wallabies on islands of habitat in the Great Sandy Desert offers a rare glimmer of hope for wildlife managers.

DAILY BRIEFING: A worker has been "narrowly missed" by a bolt falling from a crane at a Hobart worksite, and Madeleine Ogilvie meets with Labor to discuss her future.

The Peck family want the Tasmanian Government to overhaul the Mental Health Act so clinicians can consider a patient's history and risk of self-harm when considering involuntary treatment orders.

DAILY BRIEFING: Scientists offer the public the chance to name a rare red handfish, and there are calls for councillors to receive training on responding to bullying.

Human rights advocates fear the Tasmanian Government's failure to make a submission against the Federal Government's religious freedom draft bill would severely undermine the state's anti-discrimination laws.

A vulnerable malleefowl chick is the first to be discovered in a South Australian wildlife refuge and comes after the last cats and foxes were removed from the exclosure.

Power is being restored to Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia as authorities consider shutting off power to the Mount Lofty Ranges in response to extreme fire danger conditions in the area.

When the Foster family bought their new family home, they had no idea they would become lavender farmers and the work it would involve.

Traditional custodian at the Aboriginal Trust in Lake Tyers Victoria, Wayne Thorpe, is learning as much about the traditional science and stories of the stars as he can.

A species of grasshopper that has not been seen in Victoria since the 1960s is rediscovered at Omeo in East Gippsland.

A group of friends with disabilities is about to undertake a cycling adventure to challenge the misconceptions about people with disabilities. They're going to ride from Australia's lowest point at Lake Eyre to the highest point Mt Kosciuszko. Two of them will peddle the 2000 kilometres together on a tandem trike.