Environment News

Severe storms are on the way for Melbourne and parts of Victoria, as humidity in the city soars to levels more familiar to residents of Brisbane or Sydney.

New windfarms in South Australia will face tougher technical standards, amid concern the state's heavy reliance on intermittent renewable generators has left the electricity grid prone to collapse.

When is it safe to walk into a lion enclosure? When a zoo digs a giant tunnel beneath their enclosure and builds a people cage on top.

As visitor numbers surge in Tasmania, a plan for cabins and guided tours in a wilderness area causes a split between experienced bushwalkers and environmentalists.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says it would be "absurd" to reallocate funds set aside for the Perth Freight Link to other infrastructure projects in WA, despite a push by Federal Labor for him to "put politics aside".

Hazelwood is set to close in coming weeks, and when it does 22 per cent of Victoria's power supply will vanish with it. Chris Uhlmann examines how the country entered its policy-induced energy crisis and whether there's a quick fix to the situation.

Water begins flowing from Victoria's desalination plant more than four years after it was completed, as the Government moves to reassure Victorians that water bills will not go up as the result of a new regular water order.

The South Australian Opposition calls on the State Government to reveal exactly how it will pay for its $550 million plan to secure the state's power supply.

A $60-million multi-functional park in Melbourne's inner south-east promises to provide desperately needed open space as the city grapples with population growth.

Tasmania's Shooters and Fishers Party is pushing for land-based salmon farming, saying the move would silence the industry's critics.

Using a laser beam to control birds might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but workers at an Adelaide Hills vineyard hope the technology will save their grapes from the flying pests.

As concern grows about the cost of power and the stability of the electricity grid, the head of the Food and Grocery Council says manufacturers will quit Australia if affordable, reliable energy cannot be guaranteed.

The Greens want assurances no taxpayer funds will be used to seal a possible deal bringing a Victorian sawmill to Tasmania's north-west coast.

Carved through the Beeliar wetlands are the scars of the battle over the road to nowhere — the dumped Roe 8 freight link — with huge sections of banksia woodland lost.

A greener energy mix has helped keep energy-related carbon dioxide emissions flat in 2016 according to International Energy Agency data, showing countries are able to have economic growth while reducing emissions.

Annastacia Palaszczuk and a group of regional mayors hope their visit to India will help convince Adani to go ahead with the Carmichael coal mine, despite protesters promising to disrupt its construction.

To many zoo visitors, the African painted dog enclosure is not a major attraction. But John Lemon wants to change that.

Farmers say they support the idea to compensate landowners for hosting gas wells on their property, but they still have concerns about the potential damage gas extraction could have on their land and water.

Multinational gas companies have played Australian customers. It's hard not to conclude LNG producers are cheating the system.

More than 200 jobs are in limbo after the owners of the Heyfield timber mill in Victoria's east announced it would close, but the Victorian Government may still throw workers a lifeline.

In a submission to the Finkel Review, some of Australia's major energy companies have called for an end to "piecemeal" climate and energy policy and a "reward structure" for picking up the slack when renewable sources fail.

A group in Brisbane is turning food thrown out by supermarkets into home-cooked meals which they serve to the lonely, isolated and some who are just plain hungry.

The Coopers Brewery brouhaha, energy policy and the WA election dominated the week's news, but who ended up on top? Fran Kelly and Patricia Karvelas pick their winners and losers.

A planned expansion to the Snowy Hydro scheme is grabbing headlines — but a new plan could build oceanfront hydro power in places without mountains, including South Australia.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill's energy plan in part receives some support from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.