A Canberra man was told by a trio of kidnappers that his genitals would be cut off and that he would "die" for an alleged debt of $450 that he used to send to his family in Africa, a court has heard.

Quad bike manufacturer Honda has described the Government's new roll bar rules as a "ban by stealth" and says that today is a "disappointing day for farm safety".

Health Minister Greg Hunt says he has "serious concerns" and demands to see the "evidence" the ACT considered before deciding to legalise cannabis in Canberra from next year.

Several hundred online enthusiasts generate thousands of leads for investigators after a single day of competitive 'ethical hacking' across Australia.

The ACT's top law officer says federal police should not waste their time chasing Canberrans who use small amounts of cannabis as he urges Christian Porter not to interfere with new laws.

If losing the grand final wasn't a sharp enough sting, the ACT Government's latest infrastructure plan sees funding and development for a new sport stadium take a back seat.

Canberra's youth detention centre issues an apology and an undisclosed financial settlement after an Indigenous teenager filed a lawsuit alleging her human rights had been violated when she was separated from her peers and her belongings for two months.

Recommendations will be put to the Federal Government before Christmas over whether or not to release a herpes virus to control carp numbers, a potential move described as "reckless" by some commercial fishers.

As it marks 90 years embedded in the Canberra community, the YWCA looks back on its role as an organisation aimed at empowering women, from early karate lessons that scandalised to advocating leadership roles for women today.

It's impossible to count the millions spent on Australia's biggest police hunt, two trials, two High Court challenges, a judicial inquiry and 19 years of imprisonment.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has used a senate estimates haring to grill Joe Evans, deputy secretary of the Department of Environment and Energy, about the effect of climate change.

Despite being home to dairies, orchards and grain crops, the rural shire of Moira in Victoria has been told it's 0.1 per cent short of agriculture employment to qualify for a drought assistance grant.

Canberra's very woolly sheep Chris made famous by his record-breaking 41.1-kilogram coat dies four years after he made headlines around the world.

It will take a test case a Canberra smoker who police decide to arrest and charge to determine what the law actually is.

Celebrated children's writer and novelist Gail Jones takes out two of six Prime Minister's Literary Awards, worth a total of $480,000.

Sussan Ley says she believes only people who have a "connection to farming" should be allowed to own water in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Can you use simple maths to figure out your best online dating profile match? Or choose the shortest line in the supermarket? According to mathematician Lily Serna, yes you can.

The Opposition Leader acknowledges the mountain his party must climb if it hopes to end 19 years of Labor government.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority warns it will be another ugly summer, telling politicians that unless it rains soon, water conditions will get worse.

Policeman-turned-lawyer David Healey's mental health was shattered by a rocket blast in Afghanistan. He now helps other traumatised cops fight for compensation.

A week ahead of the first hearings of the Disability Royal Commission in Townsville, a new survey of families of children with disability finds nearly no progress has been made on improving access to inclusive education.

The ACT Government is hitting back at warnings from the United Nations that legalising cannabis will breach international law, telling the body to instead focus on the United States and Canada.

Revenue from parking fine patrol vans jumped from $1.6 million to more than $4 million in the last financial year, showing technology is increasingly becoming a vital tool in a crackdown on rogue parking choices across the capital.

Up to one in three Australian women have experienced birth trauma and one in 10 women emerge from childbirth with post-traumatic stress disorder, prompting calls for a major shake-up of the maternity system.

If you've been avoiding your local library because you are yet to return that dog-eared book by your bedside, the ACT Government has good news for you.

Chinese telco giant Huawei urges the Federal Government to reconsider its ban on the company providing equipment to Australia's 5G mobile network, describing claims it answers to Beijing as "unfounded attacks and smears".

More than a dozen live venues and nightclubs across Canberra shut down in the 2018 financial year, but the Government hopes a new plan to make a racket will turn that trend around.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics won't ask you about your sexual orientation in the 2021 census. But that won't stop it from trying to figure it out anyway.

Disability royal commission chair Ronald Sackville said commentators were discouraging people from telling their stories to the commission, but critics say the real discouragement is the absence of appropriate supports.

Steve Smith played every shot in the book and then some from outside the coaching manuals as his unbeaten 80 helped Australia to a seven-wicket win over Pakistan in their Twenty20 clash in Canberra.

Comcare covered 973 massages for a former Sydney Symphony Orchestra violinist before deciding to cut support. But their decision to cease funding has been overturned, with the Administration Appeals Tribunal ruling that massage is a "reasonable" medical treatment.

Lea Powell had to leave teaching after years working as a casual became too hard to manage but she was just one of more than 600 workers in the ACT's health and education systems who have been constant casual for more than five years.

The Government's latest drought relief package includes more funding for councils and cheap loans for farmers and agribusiness, as well as a deal with the SA Government to secure 100 gigalitres of water.

A hipster's heaven in regional Queensland is putting the sword to counterculture capitals such as Sydney and Melbourne by embracing its man buns, skinny jeans and coffee shops.

The Great Barrier Reef has already been devastated by climate change, but one southern island is showing signs of recovery after cyclone damage

Florists say deceptive advertising is tricking customers into thinking they're buying local flowers when they're not. One businesswoman says the practice has cost her as much as $80,000.

To encourage more migrants to work in regions, the Government is relaxing long-held restrictions on temporary workers.

The Queensland Government plans to crackdown on the illegal dumping of commercial fishing nets, known as ghost nets.

Celebrity chef Maggie Beer says nothing can forgive the abysmal standard of meals given to some aged care residents as the royal commission into the sector hears people were served meals from trolleys near maggot-infested rubbish bins.

Letters of solidarity and more than 400 Aboriginal 'passports' will be delivered to Manus Island refugees as a group of boats set sail for Papua New Guinea.

The standard of care provided to an elderly man, often found in soiled pants, at a regional Queensland aged care facility was so appalling even his own granddaughter was too distressed to visit, the royal commission into aged care hears.

David Glasheen was once a multi-millionaire living in Sydney. But that was a different life. For 22 years, the 76-year-old has been the sole resident of a remote Queensland island and he wouldn't have it any other way.