Australia

Seven years of tumult over paid parental leave ends in a whimper as the Federal Government abandons plans to make any changes to the existing scheme.

For many people, treating sleep problems before treating symptoms of anxiety and depression is less stigmatising and might encourage people to seek further help.

Decades of sending messages and images into space would present an odd picture of earth.

The Government has backed away from their promise to impose a ban this year preventing the Australian cosmetics industry from selling animal tested products.

Bill Shorten has proven more adept than Malcolm Turnbull at recasting the political battle, whether that be about values, fairness or social equity, Andrew Probyn writes.

Being an air hostess in the 1960s was a sought after job. But bodies were carefully policed: at Qantas, if a hostess put on too much weight she could be rostered off until she'd lost it.

A 17-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to blackmailing men using the gay dating app Grindr, including one who went on to take his own life, is sentenced to six months in detention.

The High Court refuses to hear an appeal against the sentence for a man who killed NSW police officer Bryson Anderson.

Canberra Liberal MLA Mark Parton says he was making a point about gambling rates when he compared problem gambling to chocolate addiction.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she doesn't like paying tolls while announcing the city's motorists would be slugged more than $4.50 for a trip on the newest section of the WestConnex Motorway.

An audit of Redstar Transport finds issues with loads and driver fatigue, after the company was involved in a crash that killed two boys.

A Sydney man who admitted his dangerous driving killed his nephew near Newcastle has been found guilty of a more serious charge.

Sarah Brown, CEO of Western Desert Dialysis, wins an award for her work with Aboriginal dialysis patients.

An Aboriginal elder credited with single-handedly reducing the shocking rate of suicide in her community says her work is not over yet.

The NT Government did not act in the best interests of a seven-month-old girl who died in care, her aunt says.

The Regional Communications Minister says it is physically impossible to roll out any more new mobile phone infrastructure.

Misconceptions about flu vaccines and "anti-vaxxer" campaigns have lead to one in three Queensland parents not vaccinating their children against the virus, new research finds.

Subcontractors on two Brisbane apartment projects are allowed onsite to retrieve their equipment after award-winning builder CMF Projects is placed into voluntary administration.

A former TAFE SA manager who stole $150,000 from her employer and gave it to her former partner, who sent some of it to a girlfriend in Ukraine, apologises for her crimes in court.

A Senate inquiry examining gas and oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight off South Australia ends in deadlock.

Eccentric ABC Radio Adelaide presenter and staunch Port Adelaide fan Peter Goers makes his way to Shanghai to support the Power in its first match played internationally.

Hobart girls' school St Michael's Collegiate kept a teacher on class and coaching, despite knowing of allegations he was having sex with a student.

The Tasmanian Government will charter a freight ship and get a TasPorts-operated vessel to sail more often in an effort to satisfy King Island freight demand.

An email from the World Wildlife Fund reveals concerns over the salmon industry's environmental impact despite WWF's endorsement of Tassal.

Four cases of Legionnaire's disease have been linked to cooling towers in Melbourne's outer south-east.

The Victorian Supreme Court orders all teenage detainees be removed from the state's maximum security adult prison by this evening.

The work of Aboriginal artist Peter Waples-Crowe aims to create an alternative space for queer people in the Indigenous community.

A Perth woman's backyard composting disaster leads to a new start-up business designed to take the hassle out of turning food scraps into plant food.

China is now the biggest export destination for Australian wine, and Margaret River winemakers are hopeful for their future in the growing market.