Sydney property developers are pulling out all stops by offering special deals including to pay the buyer's mortgage for a year in a bid to lure customers and sell a glut of apartment stock in a downturned market.

The father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez says unlocking his son's last WhatAsapp messages could be key to find him alive. But a leading expert says the tech giant is incapable of unjumbling the "garbled" encrypted messages.

The NSW Treasurer delivers a surplus of around half that expected this time last year, but is forecasting blue skies ahead. He's optimistic despite doubts circulating about the domestic and global economies, Ian Verrender says.

More than two decades since Philip Nitschke set fire to the "disgusting, pathetic" bill overturning voluntary euthanasia in the Northern Territory, the region remains in a stranglehold, banned from even debating the issue.

A life-saving surgery seen as a major breakthrough in stroke treatment is only available to Canberrans during business hours, but soon patients will not have to worry about whether the timing of their stroke will affect their care.

A new video shows Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch telling a room full of people she has shed tears over the approval of Adani's Carmichael coal mine, while also saying current environmental legislation is flawed.

When 22-year-old Jake Vincent had a stroke, he was forced to wait at the emergency department for almost seven hours. The doctor who finally saw him "went white" he hadn't been administered a time-critical medication earlier.

WA Liberal MPs distance themselves from their new leader's policy direction, including contentious moves to abandon the Western Power sale and steer away from supporting deregulated trading hours, after strong criticism from the business lobby.

Former drug squad detective Paul Dale wanted to speak to gangland bosses Tony Mokbel and Carl Williams nine days after he was arrested for the burglary of a drug house, the royal commission hears.

Two brothers charged with intentionally causing serious injury over an alleged attack on a a senior Victoria Police officer displayed aggressive and threatening behaviour and were "attempting to engage in a fight" a Melbourne court is told.

The Health Department confirms a massive spike in the number of influenza cases in Western Australia this year, with 3,000 extra notifications and 14 deaths in the past week alone.

A high school teacher who had sex with a 16-year-old student from a North Queensland school is found not guilty of procuring a young person for carnal knowledge.

A female footballer who played in a men's South Australian country league has her suspension reduced to four weeks by an independent tribunal.

Police arrest a woman they had urged to come forward to authorities after a 23-year-old plunged to her death at a high-rise complex in Sydney's inner east.

The Queensland Supreme Court will decide whether to allow a widow to use her dead husband's sperm to give her young son a sibling, as they were planning to do so before he died.

Canberra Grammar students discover the unexpected benefits of rebuilding damaged classrooms in Nepal, as they form special bonds with school hosts in the heart of the Himalayas.

Craig has been threatened with a machete and separated from his daughters, but he says that is the reality of being homeless in Tasmania's capital.

The Tasmanian dream of re-entering the National Basketball League could be about to become a reality after revelations NBL owner Larry Kestelman plans to purchase the Derwent Entertainment Centre.

Police release CCTV footage of a car believed to be linked to a drive-by shooting at Melbourne's Love Machine nightclub in April, which left two people dead and four others injured.

MORNING BRIEFING: Michael Ferguson says union bosses have hit a 'new low' and a court hears that a Launceston man accused of murder said his alleged victim "is going to pay".

Narooma is a haven for holidaymakers and sea-changers, but many young people are finding it impossible to rent in their own home town.

MORNING BRIEFING: The ex-girlfriend of a woman who fell to her death from a Sydney apartment block is expected to be charged with her murder, while a backpacker says the alarm about Theo Hayez's disappearance should have been raised much earlier.

A man who donated his sperm to a lesbian friend with the belief he could play a role in the child's life wins a High Court fight to be named the girl's legal father, blocking her mother from moving overseas.

At age seven, Lisa Millar was singing the ABC News theme and practising her interview technique on her little sister. After 25 years of reporting in Australia and overseas, she's now looking forward to the challenge of co-hosting a daily morning television program.

Dashcam footage shows an out-of-control truck hurtling through a red light at the base of Adelaide's South Eastern Freeway, moments after the vehicle lost its brakes and was forced onto the wrong side of the road.

Uyghurs living in Australia are urging the Federal Government to offer them protection after more than 30 countries, including the USA, condemned China over its "horrific campaign of repression" against its Uyghur minority.

Police investigating the alleged murder of Kim Chau whose body was found in a luxury Adelaide home say they found a "number of items" of interest during a search for evidence at a rubbish dump.

Dashcam footage shows the truck's brakes smoking, before it hurtles through a red light at a notorious intersection.

South Australian school students are urging adults and national leaders to share the water better in the Murray-Darling River system.

Police and State Emergency Service volunteers are scouring the park where Shaun Thomas Russell, 36 was killed in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

A man whose Subaru WRX was stolen while his five-year-old son was still inside says he was scared for his life but the boy thought it was "just fun".

World number one Ash Barty is locked in to headline the 2020 Adelaide International, joining a strong list of female players including world number five Simona Halep.

Police investigating the stabbing of a 40-year-old man, who was found lying on the road at Hackham West overnight, uncover a drug lab believed to be used for growing magic mushrooms.

Snake Catchers Adelaide remove a snake hiding in a stove in a Semaphore home.

An Adelaide woman watches as a venomous eastern brown snake slithers through her home's doggy door into her kitchen and takes up residence in her stove.

Full-cycle docking of Collins Class submarines could disappear from its current site in South Australia by 2024, Freedom of Information (FOI) documents reveal.

A sustained gastro outbreak on the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth has left more than 100 passengers sick over the past month, including two who had to be hospitalised.

Adelaide man Malcolm Walker is found safe and well, but police say they will continue to investigate witness reports he was attacked and then forced into a car.

A man is charged with the alleged indecent assault of an eight-year-old in the public toilet of a venue in South Australia's Riverland region on Sunday.

Meet the determined young women who are working to break down barriers in the community and workforce, refusing to be defined by a stereotype.

The SA Government has revealed plans to mothball 60 public hospital beds and offer further redundancies in the health system, despite record levels of ambulance ramping outside emergency departments in recent months.

The mass exodus at the Adelaide Crows is continuing, with the club announcing it will axe football chief Brett Burton and assistant coach Scott Camporeale following the completion of its external review, chaired by Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall.

The dismissals come after a review identified poor internal relationships as a major issue affecting the AFL club.