Minister for Population Alan Tudge said "the temporary migrant system is an important part of our economy".

The COVID-19 death toll at the Newmarch nursing home rose to 14 over the weekend, while a further 63 infections have been linked to staff and other residents.

Two reviews are already underway but the tragedy has led to calls for the Aged Care Royal Commission to investigate.

Two local leaders who rose to national prominence during the summer bushfires will likely slug it out for the major parties in the Eden Monaro by-election in southern New South Wales.

Labor's Home Affairs spokesperson Kristina Keneally has sparked controversy after declaring the COVID-19 crisis should force a revamp of the temporary migration program.

News Corp Australia claimed CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong Victoria has been collaborating with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Retailers have been at the economic epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with mass shutdowns in place for the past five weeks.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insist they've seen intelligence proving that the virus began in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The former South Australian Premier said it's now time for states and territories to take control of childcare and treat them more like schools.

The National Party is again embroiled in bitter infighting after Andrew Constance abandoned his bid for Liberal pre-selection for the seat.

Cardinal Pell said in a statement yesterday that he was "surprised" by some of the views of the royal commission about his actions, and that "these views are not supported by evidence".

Gary Nairn was the Federal Liberal MP for Eden Monaro from 1996 to 2007.

The small rural community of Torrita fights to keep safe speed limits through their town, and to acknowledge their existence.

The Victorian Government is set to announce that it will take over the running of the state's only privately run public hospital.

Humans get exercise in many ways, including training and competing with their dogs in agility trials. So is it time the competition is officially recognised as a sport?

South Australia'sdecisiontoaxe its banongeneticallymodified cropscouldopen the doors for the cotton industry many locals have traditionally opposed.

Sergeant Sam Pearse was killed in action a year after World War I, having volunteered to fight in the Russian Civil War. The location of his grave was lost after the battle, but it is believed his remains have been found 100 years later.

Barkandji native title holders in far-west New South Wales say they are learning to speak the language of government as they propose a major cross-agency organisation to manage the Darling River, or Baaka.

A 21-year-old who intentionally drove through a mob of emus at 80 kph, has had his prison sentence cut in half but told to volunteer with an animal charity.

This year's flood event at Lake Eyre delivers a spectacular natural wonder, and brings new life to Central Australia and a crucial economic boost to remote businesses.

How do you police a dry community without a permanent police station? Locals have been left alone as alcohol abuse grows out of control.

What would it mean to live in "a story-less world where our rich literary traditions no longer existed, and have been excised from memory"?

Burketown, a town in north-west Queensland, can be cut off from the world for months at a time during the wet season, but it's got better internet than in Sydney according to a textile designer.

In many small rural towns nurse practitioners are sole practice managers, writing prescriptions, billing through Medicare, and referring to specialists. Are they supported enough?

Bats have been migrating earlier than usual this year due to inland drought and a lack of food in Queensland's south-east, with red flying foxes seen covering Mount Isa's sky.

Annastacia Palaszczuk is forced to apologise to Parliament over her threats to strip Katter's Australian Party MPs of resources when they refused to denounce former colleague Fraser Anning's speech calling for a Muslim immigration ban.

The life of a 92-year-old woman bashed in her own home in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland has been completely ruined, family say, as her attacker is sentenced to seven years in jail for the violent assault.

The hardy desert rose is rising in popularity, with nurseries unable to keep up with demand, as green thumbs seek drought-tolerant colour in the dry outback.

Experts say the landmark High Court 'Crocodile case', which granted Indigenous Australians the right to fish and hunt for traditional foods, is still significant 20 years later.

Wildlife carers in Victoria say more native animals are being injured or killed as prolonged dry weather drives them to seek food and water closer to urban areas.

The Central Victorian community of Baringhup finally sees the end to a seven-year battle to stop the development of major chicken farm.

UK-based charity the Eden Project has released its vision for a disused coal mine near Victoria's Great Ocean Road. They plan to transform it into a $150 million eco-tourism attraction a celebration of the natural environment on what is now a barren site.

Disgraced Cardinal George Pell will not seek a reduced sentence if the Court of Appeal upholds his conviction for sexually abusing two Melbourne choirboys in the 1990s.

The Catholic Cardinal is using three reasons to appeal against his conviction for sexually abusing two choirboys when he was archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. We explain what they are, and what the court will have to consider.

George Pell's lawyer tells an appeals court there are "questions of probability" over whether the child sex abuse offences the Cardinal is convicted of occurred, and a jury should have found him not guilty even if they believed his victim.

Prosecutors argue George Pell's victim was a "witness of truth" as they contend the disgraced Cardinal's child sex abuse convictions are "unimpeachable" and should be upheld.

The trial of a man accused of murdering a Victorian grandmother is aborted after a local TV news bulletin broadcast inaccurate information, and details that had not been heard by the jury.

A Ballarat magistrate dismisses an assault charge against a police sergeant, agreeing his use of force was "reasonable" during an altercation in which he punched his neighbour in the face.

The disgraced Cardinal faces claims he knew of child sex abuse by notorious paedophile Edward "Ted" Dowlan and was involved in moving him from school to school, allowing the abuse to continue.

Jailed Cardinal George Pell will front Victoria's highest court today to appeal against his child sex abuse convictions, arguing proper process wasn't followed at trial and a reasonable jury could not have found him guilty of the crimes.