Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has said Australia has "sympathy" for trade sanctions against China in response to North Korea's latest threat, as the international community grapples with the rogue nation's nuclear missile defence program.

Air safety officials will question One Nation leader Pauline Hanson over a drone flight they believe may have breached regulations and could see the senator fined up to $9000.

The Great Barrier Reef has again avoided being listed as "in danger" by the United Nations' World Heritage Committee, a decision Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg declared a success for Australia and the Turnbull government.

Andrew Hastie will appear at a WA Liberals fundraiser advertised as 'an evening with Peta Credlin'.

The security barriers are up, the polizei are on patrol and large parts of Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, are in lock down as leaders arrive for the G20 summit of the world's largest economies.

Eden-Monaro is shaping up as a bitter three-cornered fight at the next election, sparked by growing Liberal-National Coalition tensions.

Defence chiefs have sought to reassure Australians that North Korea's new long-range missiles pose "very little risk" to the nation's north.

Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has sharply rebuked his one-time ally Tony Abbott, publicly accusing the former prime minister of helping to elect the Labor Party with his "constant critiquing" of the Turnbull government.

The federal government was warned more than three years ago of security deficiencies surrounding personal Medicare data.

The Australian government said it had full confidence in the Dutch legal system to deliver justice.

Employees of the Spanish government in Australia are striking over a nine year pay freeze.

Outages have hit the Tax Office's IT system on Wednesday.

Australia's return to budget surplus will be built on the back of a 14 per cent increase in the income tax take.

A fresh battle has erupted over the Turnbull government's direction and its second budget after leaked audio revealed former prime minister Tony Abbott's latest attack on the Liberal Party's leadership.

A carbon price in Australia is probably inevitable, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane says.

Many Catholic and private schools will be over-funded unless state governments overhaul the way they fund schools, including by slashing funding to some private schools.

The government-commissioned report also declared it would be "impossible" for Australia to meet its emissions reductions targets under the Paris Agreement.

The $165 million Plutus tax scandal has "tarnished" the reputation of Australian Taxation Office, the commissioner of taxation Chris Jordan has conceded, saying the wealth allegedly accumulated by members of the syndicate was "staggering".

The Immigration Department wrongly sent two Australian citizens to immigration detention, including one who was taken to Christmas Island, Fairfax Media has confirmed.

• EXCLUSIVE

Former prime minister Tony Abbott used a guest appearance at assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar's branch meeting to bash Malcolm Turnbull's second budget and call on members to rise up against the Liberal Party's current direction.

The Turnbull government insists "traditional" criminals - rather than sophisticated hackers - are likely to blame for selling Medicare numbers on the internet.

Outspoken Nationals senator John "Wacka" Williams has hit out at the tensions plaguing his Coalition partners the Liberals, warning that "division is death".

• EXCLUSIVE

Malcolm Turnbull says he has enough conservatives on his frontbench, and effectively confirmed there will not be a reshuffle over Parliament's mid-winter break.

• EXCLUSIVE

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will urge Donald Trump to demand that American tech companies break into encrypted messages sent by suspected terrorists.

A confronting report shows that a vendor on the dark web can pull up the full Medicare card details of any Australian on request — and is selling them for around $30 each — indicating a security hole somewhere in the health system.

The head of the federal government's Australian Border Force has left active duty following an external investigation.

"Africa made its own problems. Quit having ten kids. Famine is nature's way of saying there are too many people. Stop reproducing."

Greens MPs have rallied behind party leader Richard Di Natale after rogue senator Lee Rhiannon labelled his leadership "disappointing" and raised the stakes in the party's bitter internal conflict.

Federal ICAC? Don't want it, don't need it, says the public service authority.