Government appoints 68-year-old John Pascoe to serve as Chief Justice of the Family Court for just 14 months.

Rebel reverends in Sydney are openly fuming about the decision.

Former Prime Minister John Howard has slammed Donald Trump's communication style and said he wished the US President did not use Twitter.

"Exorbitant" foreign laws that impose citizenship on Australians should not disqualify them from federal Parliament, lawyers say.

A grassroots anti-same-sex marriage campaign has claimed responsibility for a large 'no' written across the clear blue sky above Melbourne.

Tony Abbott's speech to the Global Warming Policy Foundation provides a mix of partial truths that are designed to create a plausible whole.

The government refused to suspend data matching and defended procedural fairness in payment recovery.

"The lesson I've taken from being in government, and then out of it, is simply to speak my mind."

The former prime minister made the comments in a speech in London on Tuesday to the Global Warming Policy foundation.

Federal Parliament's "citizenship seven" will finally go before the High Court this week, for three days of public hearings. The court's decision – expected within weeks – could result in string of disqualifications, a NSW byelection and further chaos for the Turnbull government.

Enid Blyton might have called them the 'Citizenship Seven'. Here's everything you need to know.

The number of cyber attacks targeting mum and dads as well as businesses is booming, with Australians falling for online scams, email phishing, identity theft and credit card fraud in growing numbers.

Australia's Chief Scientist Alan Finkel has made a last-ditch plea to save the proposed clean energy target.

Potential losses equate to $972 million for Victoria, $1.6 billion for Queensland and $110 million for NSW.

Federal MPs returning to Canberra next week will get their first look at the near-complete fence.

Australia's first law officer also reminded government ministers of the need to respect the rule of law and authority of the courts.

The Turnbull government is hinting that the rapidly declining cost of renewable energy is undermining the case for further clean-energy subsidies, as it maintains it will make a decision on a clean energy target in coming months.

A breakthrough leukaemia and lymphoma drug that normally costs $187,000 per treatment will become easily affordable under a new government subsidy.

A Labor government would overhaul National Energy Market rules to better serve consumers and relax renewable energy investment thresholds to get more capital flowing into electricity storage projects.

Tony Burke says the government must resume processing applicants as normal if the bill is defeated.

States that fail to fully develop their gas and mineral reserves will come under further pressure.

Nick Xenophon will continue to have his say on federal legislation and could even take an active role in negotiations in Canberra despite quitting the Senate to run for a South Australian seat.

Michael Danby is making no apologies for his taxpayer-funded ads attacking an ABC reporter but says he won't be running any more of them.

Less than half an hour after the Las Vegas shooting started, DFAT received its first call from a concerned relative in Canberra.

The poll found 68 per cent of Australians opposed a possible $1 billion loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund.

A candidate for Nick Xenophon's SA-Best party has been fired after the discovery of controversial photos he posted on his Facebook page in 2015.

Anton Block, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the Labor MP had been targeted because he supports Israel.

Lawyers have sounded the alarm bells over an agreement allowing children as young as 10 to be held without charge for up to two weeks on suspicion of terrorism offences.

• EXCLUSIVE

Attorney-General George Brandis says the 'no' campaign was wrong to predict the laws would inhibit freedom of speech.