He grew up behind the famously wonky Ettamogah Pub on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Now at just 31, Samuel Dale Johnson is a principal singer with one of the world's biggest opera houses.

A Tamil asylum seeker family is granted a midair injunction to prevent their deportation to Sri Lanka, as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the family has been found not to be owed protection.

Considered a delicacy and aphrodisiac, the bladder of the Black Jewfish now fetches up to $900 a kilogram, prompting higher fines in Queensland for trafficking as well as catch limits, catching commercial fishers unaware and out of pocket.

A 24-year-old man covered in fake tattoos drawn on with a black marker who robbed a service station with a replica gun in Rockhampton in central Queensland is sentenced to nearly four years in jail.

Investment in new warehouse storage and handling systems has helped an online pharmacy secure an estimated 30% improvement in productivity.

A 28-year-old man is charged with murder of Jayden Mason, who was found unconscious on a road on the NSW Central Coast last month, while two other men are arrested in connection with his death.

Defending champions Sydney FC get their title defence off to a perfect start a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory, while the Newcastle Jets demolish Central Coast Mariners 5-1.

The judge describes it as a murder "on a whim" as Rebels motorcycle club member John Richard Weston is sentenced to 34 years in jail for killing a man over a rare motorbike.

Natural disasters can have devastating effects on communities, with the ensuing financial and psychological pain taking years to ease, but being prepared can reduce the impact.

Sunday proves to be a day of A-League score draws as the Mariners hold Victory to a 1-1 draw after the Jets and Wanderers battle it out for the same scoreline.

The Video Assistant Referee has again been a focal point as the Western Sydney Wanderers recorded a 2-0 win over nine-man Central Coast Mariners.

Two men are injured and thousands forced to evacuate after a barge catches fire during a New Year's Eve fireworks display at Terrigal Beach, on the New South Wales central coast.

A District Court judge warns jurors deliberating in the trial of a Newcastle doctor not to bully each other as they deliberate on dozens of sexual abuse allegations.

Some of Australia's most prestigious arts companies Bangarra, Australian Theatre for Young People and Australian Chamber Orchestra have cancelled tours to regional New South Wales, after the state's arts funding agency delivered the lowest funding round in its history.

Usain Bolt has taken part in his first training session with the Central Coast Mariners, in a trial period seeking an A-League contract.

The former fastest-man-in-the-world makes his professional football debut for the Central Coast, but in 19 minutes he wasn't able to make much of an impact.

A man who stabbed and tried to set alight a woman he met on a dating app led police on a wild chase before lunging at them with a knife, a NSW coroner has heard.

Convicted Bali Nine drug smuggler, Renae Lawrence, has avoided a prison sentence for stealing a car and leading police on a high-speed car chase in 2005.

Betty, the piglet born with just two hind hooves, is saved from slaughter just in time for the Lunar Year of the Pig.

Two regional Australian doctors are at the forefront of an international effort to eliminate a horrendous childbirth injury, and say they could succeed within a decade.

Alen Stajcic vows to leave the baggage from his controversial Matildas axing at the door, as he takes on the role of caretaker coach at A-League strugglers Central Coast Mariners.

Bill Shorten draws a rockstar welcome in enemy territory, Scott Morrison argues with Labor over its support for a Coalition policy and Clive Palmer is personally, yet noticeably, absent from the campaign trail.

A New South Wales community has a new plan for addressing the region's skyrocketing homelessness especially for vulnerable women.

After two serious assaults in the past two days, one in which an officer was punched eight times by an offender, staff from most NSW juvenile justice centres stop work to demand action for their safety.

Teenagers were seen atop the roof of the Kariong detention centre after reports of an escape attempt.

Teenagers were seen atop the roof of the Kariong detention centre after reports of an escape attempt.

Police storm Kariong's Frank Baxter Centre, bringing all offenders off the rooftop to end a riot at the facility that lasted for almost 24 hours.

MORNING BRIEFING: A pair of boys are "met by their parents and spoken to by police" after climbing a 111-metre communications tower, and 21 people are charged after a violent riot and police siege at a youth detention centre.

Children as young as 10 years old are being routinely strip searched in juvenile detention in NSW with minimal or no contraband found, according to new data, and former inmates claim the searches trigger mental illness issues.

MORNING BRIEFING: A bushfire that threatened homes near Newcastle last night is brought under control, and nine detainees at a juvenile detention centre are charged over a June riot.

MORNING BRIEFING: The serial sex offender who raped and killed Sydney woman Janine Balding will not be released for another two years, while the North Ryde RSL club cancels a conservative event on abortion over security fears.