Kimberly De Pledge is found guilty of dangerous driving after his loaded cattle truck slammed into a caravan, killing two people on a remote WA highway.

Cancer patients in the remote Pilbara will soon be trialling chemotherapy via video link, saving them a 1,500-kilometre trip for life-saving treatment.

A 37-year-old woman is in custody on charges of murder and attempted murder after a fatal head-on collision in Western Australia's north-west.

A well-known WA pastoralist is jailed for almost four years for causing a crash on a remote Pilbara highway that claimed the lives of a couple and left their two children orphaned.

Netflix dominates online TV streaming, but for how long? Also, Cory Doctorow on how more government regulation could inadvertently make the tech giants even stronger.

Get an update on Google’s controversial proposal to take over the construction and regulation of a section of Toronto; learn about how the ancient Athenians used Tragedy to guide their future decision-making and follow the rush to develop low-orbit satellites to secure the future of the Internet.  

A tale of two media environments: in the US, journalistic freedom is increasingly under threat from demonising rhetoric and the violent personal targeting of reporters; while in Ethiopia, the country’s new leader has opened the gate to press freedom. What can we learn from both experiences?

Desertification and land degradation affect the lives of around three billion people, according to UN estimates. Two ambitious projects aim at halting desertification and returning soil to productivity: the Great Green Wall project in northern Africa; and the Green Great Wall initiative in China.

What is the relationship between depression and digital technology?

After more than four decades of dominance, free-market capitalism is facing a challenge. Its rival, the rather blandly named Modern Monetary Theory, promises to return economic planning to a less ideological footing. It’s also keen to strike a blow against the “surplus fetish” that many economists now blame for declining public services and growing inequality.

In this episode, we look ahead to the news and broader media environment in 2020 and pressing issues for local content in a globalised world. We also hear about the need to “decomputerise” in order to decarbonise. 

Critics say that the proliferation of modern, wafer-thin skyscrapers are symbols of rising urban inequality. Also: Are levels of density in our cities making us ill? And what's the impact of short-term letting on urban affordability? 

UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has issued a dire warning about the state of international cooperation. The long-standing international order, he says, is dividing and that threatens future global stability. So, are his concerns valid? How is the international order likely to change over coming decades? And what practical steps can be taken to reinforce the global rule of law?

Competition is often seen almost as a universal good. But economist Nicholas Gruen says a slavish adherence to making everything a competition is damaging our trust in public institutions. Also, the Belgian community trialling an ancient form of democracy. And if big data is made collectively, would nationalising it help to ensure the benefits are widely distributed?

Blockchain is a much-hyped technology that underpins the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.  Enthusiasts believe its potential to transform other areas of business is huge. But what if Blockchain is really just a solution in search of a problem? Also in this episode: are businesses becoming political advocates? And why are we seeing a return from algorithmic to human curation?

Fifteen-year-old Connor Meldrum, who was badly injured in a cliff accident, will undergo surgery to have fitted to his skull a custom-printed polyethylene material that mimics the properties of living bone.

Queenslander launches campaign to get grey nomads and truckies on the same page, and bring down the road toll.

A social welfare advocate says without the Federal Government's support, poorer Tasmanians without housing will be "left behind", dismissing the State Government's latest efforts for short-term accommodation solutions.

Police arrest three people who allegedly led them on a pursuit in two stolen cars through several Adelaide suburbs, after road spikes failed to stop the high-speed chase.

The Roosters entrench themselves in the top four with a win over the Bulldogs at the SCG after Manly defeats the Dragons at Brookvale.

Dark Mofo art experience Hrafn: Conversations with Odin sees tourists returning to the fire-ravaged Huon Valley south of Hobart to spend money and boost the local communities.

Another O-Bahn extension, more Park'n'Ride services and interchange feeder services are all on the cards ahead of Tuesday's State Budget, but you might have to wait longer for a city tram loop.

MORNING BRIEFING: The father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez will front the media today as homicide detectives travel to Byron Bay to assist in the investigation, while some of the residents of Mascot Towers will be permitted to return to their homes to pick up belongings.

There are billions of dollars in election promises to be delivered, while the State Government takes a hit in stamp duty but Gladys Berejiklian is in prime position to deliver.

A software upgrade to more than 500 Myki ticket machines fixes an issue that has baffled Victorians for years and also caused littering problems and security concerns.

The number of older women experiencing homelessness has surged in recent years, with divorce, pay disparity and a lack of superannuation culminating in a "perfect storm" of gender disadvantage.

The WA Attorney-General casts doubt on whether more than $600,000 worth of severance payouts, made to former Health Department employees embroiled in a decades-long corruption scandal, will be recovered.

Sex workers say they are being harassed and intimidated by South Australian police, as figures show charges for sex-work offences have spiked in the past two years.

WA's Chamber of Commerce and Industry releases a damning assessment of newly-elected Opposition Leader Liza Harvey's economic policies, saying they put the state's budget repair at risk.

A self-described online news service operator who admitted to duping a woman out of $5,000 in Tasmania is wanted on similar allegations in South Australia, a court hears.

Coroner Barry King warns police of probable adverse findings against them for their incompetence during the initial investigation into the 1975 killing of Perth brothel madam Shirley Finn, as he closes an inquest into her murder which he says will likely remain unsolved.

Mascot Towers building management tells residents who were evacuated on Friday night after cracks were found in the Sydney apartment building to seek help from the Salvation Army if they are facing financial hardship.

Harry Bowman has been the face of the Top End's crocodile cruises for more than 30 years, but the time has come for him to say farewell to his toothless old mate Brutus the giant saltwater croc.

The 2016 killing of a Canberra man is portrayed as a "cold-blooded plan", designed to silence him over an earlier machete attack, on the first day of an ACT Supreme Court trial.

MORNING BRIEFING: Today's State Budget will include funding for extra teachers, health workers and police as well as a public transport boost, while the homicide squad is investigating the death of a woman who was found on a Sydney footpath.

The crown alleges Mark Jones waterboarded Bradley Breward with a hand towel, by placing it over his face and pouring water over it, and also put a plastic shopping bag over his head twice for 40 seconds each time.

People undergoing genetic testing will have more certainty about whether the variants in their genes risk causing cancer or are completely harmless, after a new international study.

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.

"More mines, more jobs, more future," proclaims a mysterious billboard near Kingaroy. But not everyone agrees and the years of "constant fighting" are taking a massive toll.

MORNING BRIEFING: Housing Minister optimistic debt will be wiped, city demands urgent action on climate emergency and councils increase rates.

Ex-detective Paul Dale tells a royal commission he has waited years to expose "corruption" within Victoria Police over the use of Nicola Gobbo as an informer, and that his sexual relationship with the woman known as Lawyer X has been exaggerated.

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.