An elderly man is badly injured after being attacked by a goanna in north Queensland, but his dog survives, which his wife says is "the best news I've heard all day".

Residents of a Queensland beachside suburb are relieved a decision to bury a dead whale 40 metres from their backyards has been abandoned, but question why they were not consulted before a whale-sized burial plot was excavated.

High levels of dust in a central Queensland town have been attributed to lower-than-average rainfall, but residents say more needs to be done to ensure it isn't coming from nearby mining operations.

Parents living in a mining town with one of the country's lowest unemployment rates are turning down jobs because there is no childcare available.

Thoughts and prayers don't usually come with a price tag attached, but a study finds they have a different value for different people, depending on religious observance.

Mackay teenager Brooke Anderson still vividly recalls the devastation at seeing her family's beloved Jack Russell terrier Jackie in terrible pain before he died in a suspected poison bait incident.

A second man is extradited to Queensland from New South Wales, charged with murder over the disappearance of Jay Brogden in north Queensland in 2007.

It's a 73-year-old event, but for the first time, wheelchair dancers have taken to the stage at the Mackay Eisteddfod in north Queensland, to the audience's delight.

A north Queensland man has helped to create a club for car lovers with a disability or mental illness the kind of program he wished was around 14 years ago, when he attempted suicide.

Adani is granted a Supreme Court order that could expose two traditional owners to possible jail time if they return to a ceremonial camp on the Queensland mine site, the men's lawyer says.

North Queensland backbencher George Christensen will seek the British Government's permission to meet with the WikiLeaks founder ahead of his extradition hearing next year.

An English tourist has his foot bitten off and his friend suffers serious injuries when they are attacked by a shark while snorkelling in the Whitsundays.

Geelong will face Richmond for a spot in the AFL grand final after surviving a West Coast comeback to prevail by 20 points at the MCG, leaving the Eagles to reflect on the end of their premiership defence.

A new brand of militant activists hope to derail the WA Government's plans to build an outer harbour by waging an environmental war similar to the successful campaign to kill off the Roe 8 highway expansion.

The West Coast Eagles will review the way they manage drug-testing procedures in the wake of the scandal engulfing forward Willie Rioli.

Geelong's chances of making it past a red-hot Richmond in next week's preliminary final are dealt a big blow, as Tom Hawkins is given a ban for striking unless he appeals successfully.

The Landgate deal represents a sizeable change in position by WA Labor, a party that spent years fighting tooth and nail against privatisations but just locked in one of the state's biggest-ever deals with the private sector, writes Jacob Kagi.

Researchers are reporting an "alarming" loss in the number of qualified teacher librarians in schools, and they warn student literacy will continue to suffer if the trend is not reversed.

As the voluntary assisted dying debate rages in Western Australia, David Goodall's family is still processing the 104-year-old's decision to travel to Switzerland to end his life.

Roger Federer will play in Sydney, Rafael Nadal in Perth and Novak Djokovic will join Nick Kyrgios in Brisbane as the ATP Cup draw keeps major stars apart ahead of inaugural tournament in Australia in January.

It is not just Perth feeling the exceptionally early burst of spring warmth, with central parts of Western Australia sizzling in record-breaking heat this past week.

A teenage driver is jailed for running a red light and fatally crashing her car at high speed into an elderly woman in the Perth suburb of Floreat.

A career criminal who was banned for life from driving is jailed for crashing a stolen car into a family's van, ploughing it into a Woolworths truck and claiming the life of a five-year-old boy and injuring six of his relatives.

Police rule a woman whose body was found on the verge of a road in the Perth suburb of St James died due to a medical condition and say there are no suspicious circumstances.

The husband of a woman found dead at a Nollamara home by family members is charged with murdering his wife sometime between Wednesday and Saturday last week.

Perth's flagship convention centre at the heart of the CBD is slowly sinking into the Swan River, developing undulating "speed bumps" in a carpark at the base of the structure that is creating hazards for cars and people.

Australian cricket great Nicole Bolton didn't know if she would ever play cricket again when she walked away from the sport last year after a crippling bout of depression and anxiety.