Latest National news

APS spends $10 billion on consultants

Noel Towell 9:20 PM   More than $10 billion has been spent on "management and business professionals" as thousands of public servants have been shown the door.

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Former HSC art and English winners now rising stars in field of science

High achievers: Former HSC students Emma Watson and Vicky Stanojevic in the science lab at Sydney University.

Eryk Bagshaw 8:59 PM   Three former HSC high-achievers in arts and english are now rising stars in the world of science as thousands of students await their results this week.

Nuclear fusion breakthrough opens door to clean, cheap and safe energy

Nuclear fusion experiments like this one may soon give rise to commercial reactors.

Peter Spinks 8:30 PM   Powering our planet using the kind of energy produced by the sun is a dream that may come true sooner than expected.

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Bishop accused of not being 'candid', lacking 'compassion'

Justice Peter McClellan at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Jane Lee 8:03 PM   A Catholic bishop has been accused of being untruthful to a royal commission in order to protect himself and the church from criticism over their handling of child sexual abuse allegations.

Federal politicians to join the Uber revolution

A ministerial circular has confirmed that Uber cars are an official mode of transport, but only in the ACT.

Noel Towell 11:30 PM   MPs and Senators now free to bill Uber rides to the taxpayer, but there's a catch

Tasmanian police catch 12-year-old girl driving at 122km/h

Police say somebody doing 122km/h at 12 years of age is 'just unbelievable'.

4:48 PM   Driver of speeding car told police she was 16. Then they asked a few questions. It turns out she was a bit younger.

Ali's Wedding: love, duty and comic deception

Helana Sawires as Dianne and Osamah Sami as Ali in Ali's Wedding.

Philippa Hawker 4:09 PM   In a garage location in the north of Melbourne, a familiar situation is playing out in front of the camera, involving two brothers, their father, and a car that needs fixing. Yet so much else is going on beneath the surface: it's a scene that exemplifies, with humour and feeling, family relationships at work. Ali's Wedding, a romantic comedy with a difference, is the story of a juggling act, a tale of love, duty and well-intentioned deceptions, and it's based on the experiences of actor and writer Osamah Sami, who grew up in Australia as the son of a prominent Moslem cleric.

The frightening epidemic affecting one in three Australians

John Hatty has had a liver transplant after suffering from fatty liver disease. He sees the big scar on his tummy as 'L' for love....love for the life he now gets to lead and love for the donor he gave him a new liver. He's at the Austin hospital starting his new weights program. Photo: PENNY STEPHENS. The Age. 9TH NOVEMBER 2015

Julia Medew 12:31 PM   For years, John Hatty was a senior businessman travelling the world. The former scientist's job with a mining company took him to many fine restaurants where he would consume what he now calls his 'three enemies' - sugar, salt and fat.    

NCA expects Parliament expansion sooner rather than later

The National Capital Authority expects changes to increase the capacity of Parliament House.

Tom McIlroy 12:15 AM   Overcrowding and demand for parking at Parliament House will see the building expanded much earlier than planned.

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NT embraces Chinese chief as 'honorary Territorian'

Chinese billionaire Ye Cheng and NT Chief Minister Adam Giles express their mateship.

Philip Wen   The rest of Australia and even the US might not feel the same way about selling out a strategically crucial port to the Chinese, but the Northern Territory's Chief Minister is lauding the Landbridge Group's leadership as "a good friend, a brother and a good partner".

Former South Australian Premier John Bannon dies

John Bannon, pictured here in 2006.

Former South Australian Premier John Bannon has died, aged 72.

Senate urged to probe hospital food for people with allergies

Louis Tate died suddenly after being admitted to Frankston Hospital for asthma in October.

Julia Medew   The death of a 13-year-old boy with food allergies at a Melbourne hospital has caught the attention of Health Minister Sussan Ley who has backed calls for a Senate inquiry into how safely hospitals prepare food.

Why you're not going to die of a broken heart

Happy people do not live longer.

Harriet Alexander   Research investigated the conventional wisdom that happier people lived longer, and found there was much more to the story.

'This will be the death of innovation in Australia'

CEO of Academy of Interactive Entertainment Ltd Vicki De Margheriti, and chairman and CEO of AIE John De Margheriti, at Watson's Canberra Technology Park. Mr De Margheriti was appalled to learn that all non-government training providers must hold a quarter of their expenses in liquid assets.

Clare Sibthorpe 12:15 AM   Entrepeneur says the private training industry will "go to war" with the federal government over new laws.

From obscurity to 'life' as an avatar

Steve Williams in the motion- capture suit.

John Elder   There are not enough Indigenous people as elders taking up the role as educators.

Education news in brief

Collaborative classrooms: way of the future.

Online tool assesses students' collaborative skills; scholarships available for rural and regional students; a political simulation game engages students; dementia research funds boosted; art historian honoured and young Victorians receive Duke of Edinburgh awards.

Hundreds of flowers to shine on Martin Place in permanent memorial to siege

The permanent memorial to the Martin Place siege will feature hundreds of flowers inlaid into the granite pavement.

Kirsty Needham   Hundreds of flowers will forever illuminate Martin Place, the site of Sydney's worst terrorist attack, in a permanent memorial focused on how a city healed itself and defied fear.

Qantas acts on greyhounds

Greyhounds sent to Macau are kept in poor conditions, says Animals Australia.

Julie Power   Airline's decision hailed as "a win for gentle dogs facing certain death".

Call for death penalty to be reinstated for convicted terrorists

Sheikh Majzoub, a doctor in Islamic Philosophy has called for the death penalty for murderers and terrorists.

Natalie O'Brien   An Islamic scholar has called for the reintroduction of the death penalty in Australia for anyone who is convicted of committing an act of murder or terrorism that causes the loss of human life.

Would you spend $140 to cure your hangover?

Morning after at the Hangover Clinic: Alison Carole is hooked up to the intravenous drip by a doctor.

Eamonn Duff   Australia's first IV hydration "Hangover Clinic" has opened in Sydney.

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Branson's plea to Australia: Decriminalise drugs

Malcolm Turnbull with Virgin founder Richard Branson.

Eamonn Duff   Exclusive: Billionaire Richard Branson's submission to the National Ice Taskforce calls on Malcolm Turnbull to decriminalise drugs in Australia.

Missing from classroom and in court

Research shows education can provide real protection against falling into a life of crime.

Henrietta Cook, education reporter   Many Victorian children charged with criminal offences don't attend school, according to a new report.

How 50 days in rehab saved my life

One year on: Sarah has kicked her ice habit and moved forward with life after a 50 day stint in therapy.

Eamonn Duff   Exclusive: From ruin to recovery: How 50 days in ice rehab saved Sarah's life.

MLC: Parents at principal's former school speak out

Going through a tumultuous period: 
MLC school at Burwood.

Eryk Bagshaw   The principal of private Sydney girls school MLC had experienced criticism previously.

The SPF 50+ sunscreens on shelves that failed tests

Sunscreen
iStock photo | File #: 3932641
SMH DESIGN 14.05.10

Esther Han   The weather is hot, the beach is beckoning, and thoughts are turning to sun protection. But tests have found popular sunscreens are failing to live up to their SPF claims.

'You never knew when he was going to cry'

NSW Minister for Mental Health, Pru Goward

Emma Partridge    When her father called himself a "weak man," Pru Goward felt overwhelmed.

Rock 'n' roll's unsung heroes finally in the limelight

Ex Roadies at The Bridge Hotel in Rozelle.
Pictured from L to R.. Julius Grafton, Shane Scully, Arthur Allayialis, Russell Nelson banding together to try and prevent the higher than average suicide rate amongst their collegues in the industry.
8th December 2015.
Photo: Steven Siewert

Tim Elliott   Rock 'n' roll roadies suicide at a rate 20 times the national average. The Australian Road Crew Association is trying to change that.

Labor loses legal bid to silence whistleblower

Justice

Ben Schneiders and Royce Millar   The Victorian ALP has failed in its dramatic legal bid to silence branch-stacking whistleblower

Free kick to alcohol and gambling as sport loophole puts kids at risk

Public health experts have slammed the Australian Communications and Media Authority for failing to close a loophole allowing alcohol and gambling ads to be shown during sporting events.

Jill Stark   The federal government's media watchdog has been accused of failing to protect children after it refused to close a loophole that allows alcohol and gambling companies to advertise in peak children's viewing hours during sporting events.

Spectacular shooting-stars show to light up moonless night sky

The sun rises just beneath the Gemini constellation.

Peter Spinks 1:00 AM   This year's Geminid space-rock showers are best watched after midnight, peaking sometime between 2am and 4am on Tuesday morning.