The Masters Builders Association (MBA) says it is highly encouraged by improving demand for commercial and housing developments in Albany.

The Mayor of Albany has scoffed at reports the city is considering spending millions of dollars on a prime vacant site in the central business district.

Colombian student Angelo Romero, unable to fly home due to coronavirus, is receiving emergency treatment in a Brisbane hospital for a shock leukaemia diagnosis, concerned his private health policy won't cover it.

Water restrictions have been eased for residents of the Macquarie Valley, but it's unlikely affected councils will move back to unrestricted water usage anytime soon.

MORNING BRIEFING: NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro is considering a switch to federal politics, after the resignation of Labor backbencher Mike Kelly triggers a by-election in the seat of Eden-Monaro.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance is expected to announce he will contest the federal seat of Eden-Monaro after NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro decided not to run.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance says he has passion for the federal seat of Eden-Monaro and will bring "something special" as he seeks Liberal pre-selection for the by-election.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has announced he will seek Liberal pre-selection for the Eden-Monaro by-election

MORNING BRIEFING: The multi-arts venue hosts Vivid, Sydney Writers' Festival and Fashion Week, but a new proposal would see the Sydney Opera House take control.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance abandons his bid to enter federal Parliament less than 24 hours after announcing he would seek Liberal pre-selection at the Eden-Monaro by-election.

The NSW Liberal Minister announced his withdrawal from the Eden-Monaro by-election this morning.

Australian consumers are slowly opening up to the idea of eating a different kind of poultry the black-skinned chicken.

If you are hoping to be buried in Launceston's main cemetery, you'll need deep pockets, with the cost of a single plot "skyrocketing" more than 225 per cent in recent years, and it's set to go up again. Why does it cost so much?

Meet the Tasmanian circus performer who's determined to teach kids and adults how flying through the air and hanging upside down can reframe how we think about bodies, boundaries and consent.

A South Australian citrus grower is lathering his crops in molasses in an attempt to protect the produce from damaging frosts.

Sixty years ago it would have been difficult to find a home in Australia without a millet broom. Now, as an industry dies around them, two men are refusing to be brushed aside by the passage of time.

A CSIRO reconstruction of the Federation drought of 1891 to 1903 finds that if it were to occur again today, its effects would likely be even more devastating.

As a 28-year-old man is charged, the iconic Dog on the Tuckerbox at Gundagai could soon be under 24-hour watch after a national outcry when it was vandalised on the weekend.

Conservationists are alarmed about the amount of vegetation to be cleared for Snowy 2.0, but Snowy Hydro says the benefits outweigh their concerns.

A cement truck cleaning pump explodes on a construction site at Southbank, spraying four men with concrete and smashing the window of a passing car.

A number of businesses in Mackay's city heart are struggling to keep afloat since the Mackay Regional Council's City Centre Revitalisation Project commenced in August last year. The project aims to give the CBD an $18.6 million makeover by revitalising footpaths, street furniture and underground storm water drains, and is due to be completed by the end of 2015.

Are dogs and cats conscious? In his book The Feeling of Life Itself – Why Consciousness is Widespread But Can’t be Computed Christof Koch offers a straightforward definition of consciousness as any subjective experience, from the most mundane to the most exalted - the feeling of being alive!

Consumers are increasingly asking for it and Meat and Livestock Australia says it's achievable carbon neutrality by 2030.

This gaggle of geese is beloved by Instagrammers, but the local council says the abandoned birds are destroying the environment and must be rehomed.

WorkSafe and police investigate the death of a construction worker who was demolishing a Ballarat home when he was killed in a wall collapse this morning.

There are only 600 registered British White female cows in Australia, but farmers hope selling the meat will increase consumer demand and breeding.

The green hills of south-west Victoria couldn't be further from the latest outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease African swine fever (ASF) in Timor-Leste, but pork producer Xavier Meade isn't taking any chances.

Beekeepers in New South Wales are hand-feeding their hives as the drought cripples the bees' ability to make honey, with a shortage expected to sting consumers at the checkout.

Shopping these days is no private affair as shopper surveillance ramps up towards the Christmas period. What you might not be aware of is that traders and their employees are also being keenly observed.

The NSW Transport Minister says he didn't decide to contest federal politics to be called "that type of smear" by his "mate" John Barilaro as he abandons his bid for pre-selection in the Eden-Monaro by-election.

MORNING BRIEFING: The NSW Transport Minister will no longer serve as Leader of the House, the latest episode in a tumultuous week for Mr Constance in which he announced his bid for the federal seat of Eden-Monaro before withdrawing from the race 24 hours later.

Countercultural movements, like Occupy Wall Street, are meant to be future-focussed — revolutionary even. So why do they often fade into commercialism? Are they simply a function of consumer capitalism? If so, what future do they have? And must they always be progressive?

Countercultural movements, like Occupy Wall Street, are meant to be future-focussed — revolutionary even. So why do they often fade into commercialism? Are they simply a function of consumer capitalism? If so, what future do they have? And must they always be progressive?

MIT research scientist, Andrew McAfee, argues we need to rethink our assumptions about capitalism and the environment.   Economic growth, he says, has been gradually decoupling from resource consumption. So, if capitalism survives this current crisis, we may need to adapt our understanding of the way it all works.  We also hear from Annmaree O’Keeffe, from the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Program, about the value of Australia’s international public broadcasting effort now that the Pacific is once again an Australian geopolitical focus.

Property experts call on the NSW Government to do more to ensure residents of strata apartments are better protected if their buildings are affected by major structural damage, with owners of the Mascot Towers likely to foot the bill for costly repairs.

Consumers are pushing demand for alternative mushrooms to new highs as plant-based diets become increasingly popular and people seek nutritious meat substitutes.

Todd Robinson speaks out about his partner, Constable Glen Humphris — one of the four police officers killed in a fatal crash — saying he was "so proud" to have joined Victoria Police.

Todd Robinson addresses the media after his partner, Constable Glen Humphris, was one of four police officers killed in a crash on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway.

The Federal Government is being urged to introduce a housing construction stimulus to prevent dire predictions for the timber industry being realised.

The funeral for Josh Prestney today was small but full of grief as family and friends farewelled the young constable who was called a hero.

A flight school is forced to improve its safety regime after a student pilot who was sleep deprived and sick flew into Adelaide's controlled airspace after falling unconscious at the controls.

Jervis Bay one of Australia's world-renowned coastal tourist hotspots, celebrated for its idyllic white beaches, nearly became home to Australia's first nuclear power plant.

If you suffer from trypophobia, or an aversion to the sight of clusters of small holes, you might want to take a deep breath before laying your eyes on a Suriname toad.

With the September deadline for practical completion of the Royal Hobart Hospital's new K-block redevelopment expired, the Government "needs to be upfront with Tasmanians" as to when it will be operational, Labor says.