A former Queensland deputy principal indecently assaulted a teenager at a wake after the funeral of the girl's father in the 1990s, a court hears.

The friend of a teenage girl recalls her crying and distressed at her father's wake after allegedly being accosted by a man now facing charges of indecent assault and attempted rape.

Former school deputy principal Kenneth Ralph Ernst is jailed for the prolonged sexual abuse of a young girl, in a case the judge described as a "gross breach of trust" made worse by Ernst's decision to plead not guilty.

Karin Radburnd fought for hours to save her home at Peregian Springs overnight as large flames surrounded the property after a large fire sparked a major ongoing emergency, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes.

The dramatic rescue of 94-year-old Andrew Michael from the Peregian Beach firestorm on Monday was captured on video. He's now returned home and says his rescuers did "a very good job".

A 25-year-old man lures two boys to a secluded location and offers to pay them $5 for oral sex, just months after he was given bail for possessing graphic and violent child porn material, a court hears.

After the death of an e-cigarette user and the hospitalisation of many US teens, Australian health experts fear a "vaping culture" is developing among teenagers.

Severe thunderstorms brought more than 100 millimetres of rain to some parts of the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast overnight, flooding homes and businesses within minutes.

At Eumundi, in Queensland's Sunshine Coast hinterland, 43 per cent of people identify as having no religion, and now the town's last church has called it a day.

Child abuse victims speak out against the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation, after it failed to opt in to the national redress scheme.

Severe bushfire conditions are expected later in the week as residents describe their terror at having to evacuate when a fast-moving bushfire threatened a township north of Noosa overnight.

From May 15, Territorians will be able to sweat it out at the gym, dine at a restaurants and get their nails done. And from June 5, they can get a tattoo or head to a nightclub.

In Central Australia, butterflies have only several weeks in certain months to pollinate flowering plants in the desert region, making their presence there crucial.

Official data indicates no Aboriginal people in the NT have tested positive to COVID-19, and as restrictions start to ease, health leaders say it's time to address some of the fundamental holes in Aboriginal health care.

Lawyers for a former senior NT police officer facing rape allegations can access the identity of a whistleblower who complained about him, an NT Supreme Court judge rules.

New Zealand has aimed for elimination of SARS-CoV-2 — or as close as you can get.

Twin studies allow researchers to study the impact of the environment, separate from genetics.  

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank play a key role in aiding low- and middle-income countries during a pandemic.

Longstanding pain is a huge problem and doctors are trying to avoid opioids with all their problems, which could explain why a medication called Lyrica - the generic name is pregabalin - is one of the world's highest selling drugs.

Australia's next generation $20 banknote design continues to feature a portrait of John Flynn who pioneered the world's first aerial medical service in 1928, now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

There is a part of Australia where the rivers are high but the crops are dying, where farmers can see plenty of water but have no access to it. And that could mean a change in political fortunes.

The re-election of the Berejiklian Government for a third term has provided a morale boost for the federal Liberals, but any relief being felt will be tempered by a much bigger problem: what to do about voter discontent in the bush.

Residents in far west New South Wales are calling for a more consistent use of police body cameras following reports from witnesses about the way officers allegedly responded to a teenager who was self-harming.

Research continues to point to blue-green algae toxins as a trigger for neurological diseases, with motor neurone disease under increased investigation.

For the first time in 15 years, cattle are grazing the roadsides of the Moyne Shire, in Victoria's south-west.

A fourth-generation grazier, who is selling the family property, says it could take a decade of uncommonly good conditions for pastoralists to recover from the drought in far-west NSW.

The word, which describes an iconic blend ingredients, is finally set for official recognition along with a special reference to a certain town where the dish is virtually a staple.

The driver appeared nervous, police say, triggering a search of his car and allegedly revealing almost $1 million in cash stuffed in the bottom of a fuel tank in outback New South Wales.

Taxi driver Reg Kelly will bear the scars of a murder attempt for the rest of his life, but he wants to thank his home town for rallying to his side.

A commercial fisher has been fined $15,000 and had his boat confiscated after pleading guilty to seven charges of illegal fishing in the Darling River.

About 1,500 Adelaide residents and businesses are being told not to use groundwater because of contamination from uranium from a former mining laboratory and degreasing chemicals from nearby factories.

Wes Herring's family has farmed north-west of Broken Hill for 106 years. Deciding to sell after so long was a heartbreaking decision, but Mr Herring says he otherwise risked paying the ultimate price.

When 11-year-old Max Day broke his leg and dislocated his hip coming off a motorbike on a remote station in the far north-west corner of New South Wales, a well-practised network kicked into action.