Breaking news, politics, business, economy, and current events from Australia.
Two hikers lost in Kosciuszko National Park have been found by a drone powered by artificial intelligence, in what Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is calling a first-of-its-kind mission. The men, both in their early 20s, were reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday while hiking the Dead Horse Gap walking track, 35 kilometres south-west of…
Avian influenza represents an existential threat to Australia’s native duck population, according to Birdlife Australia waterbird scientists. The H5N1 virus could potentially put further pressure on the 15 indigenous duck species already menaced by habitat degradation, urban sprawl and mistaken identity by hunters. Two migratory seabirds — a northern giant petrel and a brown skua…
Acclaimed winemaker Ben Radford has introduced a new and surprising line-up of sparklings at a historic vineyard in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. The bottles look at home among his cellar door wines, but when the cork pops, what pours out is actually beer. Ben Radford is growing barley as well as wine grapes on his…
The final days of 77-year-old Rod Keys’s life were not what he or his family wanted. Battling with advanced dementia, unable to move or talk, Rod’s four adult children found it emotionally gruelling watching him fade away in residential care in Maleny. It was a far cry from the “big, strong” farmer, whose interest in…
It is a crisp winter’s evening at Fairfield in Western Sydney, but a common passion is warming those braving the night air. Ahmad Hakimi is in his element: a ball at his feet, surrounded by new friends. “I love everything about football. It’s a part of my life. It helped me a lot, and that’s…
As One Nation continues to surge in the polls, voters in Farrer are waiting to see if their newly elected MP has the party power to deliver on his promises. The 2026 Farrer by-election sounded a warning for the country’s major parties after One Nation’s David Farley wrenched the seat from the Coalition’s historic grasp….
The detection of Australia’s first H5 bird flu cases means the deadly virus has now spread to every continent on the planet. This form of avian influenza is a high-pathogenicity strain first discovered more than 20 years ago. Since then, it has decimated wildlife and poultry farms worldwide. There have been calls for calm as…
An unfortunate side effect of the incompetent and erratic negotiating tactics of the Trump administration — not to mention the regular apparent gaming of financial markets — is that some of the underlying stories in the global economy can get overlooked. People are kept perpetually on their toes about whether a deal with Iran has,…
Folk and country music legend John Williamson is about to leave Australian winter behind for the palm-lined beaches of Fiji when we meet at his office in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. After touring for more than five decades, the 80-year-old singer of Old Man Emu and True Blue is ready to wrap up his…
The myth of an inland sea lured 19th century European explorers into the heart of Australia. But where they found only desert, this year it is awash, with water levels at Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre now the best some locals have ever seen. In parts of central Australia, it has been one of the wettest years…