Latest National news

Happy days: former CBA employee Kevin Ward makes the switch to work for a small business.

Corporate staff make switch to small business

Anna Patty 12:15 AM   Kevin Ward is among experienced employees joining a corporate sea change from larger to smaller companies.

Former intelligence officer loses legal battle due to security fears

Concerns over sensitive information meant a former Defence Department worker was unsuccessful in seeking access to ...

Henry Belot 12:00 AM   A former public servant loses legal battle due to national security fears.

Student numbers plummet by 80,000 in NSW VET sector

Enrolments at TAFE Sydney Institute are in chaos.

Eryk Bagshaw and Kelsey Munro 6:14 PM   Report finds negative perceptions of scandal-plagued sector affects enrolments as thousands of students choose to go to university instead.

Public servants evacuated after threats to government departments

Police said a number of threats were emailed to government departments on Wednesday afternoon.

5:45 PM   ACT Policing said an unspecified number of government departments were emailed the threats anonymously.

Reject syringes could cause 'public health disaster'

Health workers are worried about a new batch of syringes being given out at needle and syringe exchanges.

Julia Medew 5:02 PM   Drug users are rejecting a new batch of syringes in Australia's needle exchange programs, saying they're too blunt and that the tips are snapping off in people's arms.

Blood-borne viruses warning after cosmetic surgery raid

Generic: botox.

Kate Aubusson 4:51 PM   Clients of a Sydney woman operating as a cosmetic practitioner have been urged to see their GP.

The loophole that could let paedophiles teach in NSW

In the space of a decade Australia gained an extra 127 private schools, some very small, and all entitled to ...

Kelsey Munro 4:08 PM   An unvetted teacher used another's identification to gain employment in a NSW public school. He taught for two days before he was busted.

Family pilgrimage honours "two gun Harry" Dalziel VC

Frank Dalziel, youngest son of "Harry" Dalziel VC, visits his father's medal group at the Australian War memorial.

David Ellery 3:00 PM   Descendants of Private "Harry" Dalziel, the World War I digger who received the 1000th Victoria Cross to be awarded, have travelled to the Australian War Memorial to honour his memory.

How painting a cow could save the lions

Painted eyes on the back of a cow could deter predation by lions.

Kim Arlington 2:54 PM   The strategy involves "psychological trickery".

Obese preschoolers' healthcare costs 60% more than healthy-weight children

Preschoolers who are obese are two to three times more likely to end up in hospital than children who are a healthy ...

Julie Power 2:38 PM   Obese pre-schoolers are two to three times more likely to be admitted to hospital and have 60 per cent higher healthcare costs than healthy-weight children.

Paramedic issued warning after winter uniforms complaint

NSW Ambulance Service Paramedic John Larter was warned against speaking to the media about a lack of winter uniforms at ...

Kate Aubusson and Harriet Alexander   Paramedics who face snowy conditions will get winter uniforms, but the ambo who raised the issue has been warned.

Growing pains for field of epigenetics as some call for overhaul

Criticism of these epigenetic studies has been growing.

Carl Zimmer   'We need to get drunk, go home, have a bit of a cry, and then do something about it tomorrow,' one prominent researcher says.

Comcare wins battle over APS breast reduction surgery

The government has refused to pay for a public servant's $20,000 breast reduction surgery.

Henry Belot   Government refuses to pay for $20,000 breast reduction surgery.

Exclusive Brethren MET school gets record funding

Bruce D Hales, the Sydney-based leader of the Exclusive Brethren, pictured with his wife, Jennifer.

Eryk Bagshaw   A private school run by an "extremist cult" receives more in government funding per student than up to a third of the state's public schools.

SCA: Sixty students to take on Sydney Uni

Sydney College of the Arts students during a protest at the University of Sydney over their plans to dismantle the ...

Eryk Bagshaw   Visual arts students are claiming "deceptive conduct" as a merger looms.

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'I decided it was time to be me' 11yo reveals she's transgender in school video

Abbey starts her video by explaining she has felt different her whole life.

Heather McNeill   An Australian schoolgirl who revealed she was transgender to her classmates in a heart-warming video on Youtube has been praised for her bravery.

Courting secrecy

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Public Eye   Can you imagine a supreme court of any other jurisdiction being as timid as the ACT's?

Airservices staff fight for 600 redundancies

600 voluntary redundancies are not enough at Airservices Australia. Staff want out.

Henry Belot   600 voluntary redundancies not enough at Airservices Australia. Staff want out.

Academic claims artist S.T. Gill was a convict

Convict scholar Babette Smith claims celebrated Australian artist S.T. Gill was a convict.

Carolyn Webb   Did the celebrated goldfields artist S.T. Gill have a convict past?

Cost of study commissioned by TAFE to stay hidden

John Barilaro, the NSW Minister for Skills.

Anna Patty   TAFE NSW has refused to release information about how much it paid for a controversial Boston Consulting Group report or the details of the information it commissioned.

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Paramedics denied winter uniforms

NSW Ambulance Service Paramedic based at Tumut John Larter.

Harriet Alexander   Snowy Mountains paramedics say when they asked for winter clothing, they were asked for proof that they needed it.

Dodgy educational salesmen exploit 'grey area'

Hari Krishna (Krishna) Peddasetty Reddy, a vocational education salesman, is allegedly trying to reboot the industry

Michael Bachelard   Year after the watchdog stepped in, vocational education scheme rorters have learned some new tricks, allegedly falsifying English language tests and skirting bans on free laptops.

Make our good bureaucracy great

Let in the light: "Despite advances in IT, the APS still resists opening itself to online scrutiny."

Stephen Bartos   The world changes continuously. The public service must change with it or lose public trust.

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Both parties lose themselves in all-consuming narcissism

Shattered: The PM faces the media on Sunday as the election result hangs in the balance.

Peter Hartcher   Instead of ending Australia's dismal decade of politics, the election appears to have set it up for another round.

Gai Brodtmann vows to work hard for seat of Canberra

Re-elected Canberra MP Gai Brodtmann has vowed to fight as hard as ever for ACT residents to have a voice in Parliament, ...

Natasha Boddy   Re-elected Canberra MP Gai Brodtmann has vowed to fight as hard as ever for ACT residents to have a voice in Parliament, stridently denying Labor had taken the seat for granted.

Woman launches legal action against debt collector

Edwina Crawford, who says she has been repeatedly harassed by a debt collector.

Liam Mannix   The voice on the other end of the line was muffled, threatening. Edwina Crawford sobbed into the phone, begged it to leave her alone.

Green bonds' time has come

Sunrise or sunset?: Green investments face an uncertain future in Australia.

Peter Hannam   Political uncertainty after the weekend's indecisive federal elections could further hinder Australia's development of business tools needed to tackle climate change, leaving it lagging further behind other nations, analysts say.

Speeding trucks to be grounded in push for tough new road safety law

Trucks feature disproportionately in serious crashes, figures show.

Adam Carey   Any large heavy vehicle caught driving 15km/h or more above the speed limit would be hauled off the road on-the-spot under tough new laws proposed to take on rogue truck operators who deliberately speed to gain a competitive edge.

More measles cases spark fear of 'significant outbreak'

The number of measles cases could rise.

Bridie Smith   Victoria is again on measles alert after two new cases were confirmed on Saturday, taking to 34 the number of infections recorded in the state this year.

Postcard from Iran: a historic gem hidden by Western misperceptions

***Photo credit: Getty Images ***No archiving Stained-glass windows inside the winter prayer hall of Nasir-ol-Molk ...

Clive Williams   Despite its evil image, Iran is probably the safest place to visit in the Middle East.