Railton is full of topiary with hedges cleverly clipped into animals, words and objects but there are hopes it can reinvent itself and boost its economy like the north-east town of Derby on the back of newly-opened mountain bike tracks.

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

Four parachutists were forced to make an emergency jump from a light plane over a popular skydiving region south of Adelaide earlier this year when the engine cut out, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report.

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.

Property experts call on the NSW Government to do more to ensure residents of strata apartments are better protected if their buildings are affected by major structural damage, with owners of the Mascot Towers likely to foot the bill for costly repairs.

When the ACT Government decided to rename William Slim Drive following allegations the former British military commander and 13th governor-general of Australia abused children, it pulled a trigger that could see history books rewritten.

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.

Elite women's tennis will return to WA at least one more time after Perth was chosen to host the final of the Fed Cup competition in November, beating bids from Melbourne and Brisbane.

This kangaroo species normally lives high in the treetops but is now being found in odd places, unable to see and confused, and one ecologist is trying to find out the cause.

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.

Brumbies star Christian Lealiifano will retire from Super Rugby at the end of the season, taking up a lucrative offer to play in Japan.

The Northern Territory Chief Minister says plans for a water theme park in Darwin are not dead in the water yet, despite his Government formally rejecting all expressions of interest in the project submitted so far.

In a shock announcement, former minister Philip Dalidakis resigns from the Victorian Parliament, effective immediately, to take a senior position at Australia Post.

A Perth woman sustains burns to 30 per cent of her body and is taken to hospital in a critical condition after a man allegedly set her alight and then threw a firebomb into a house in Perth's east overnight.

The rise of home renovation shows has helped glamorise DIY but take the cameras and personalities away and the situation is quite different especially when it comes to tackling heritage buildings.

The father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez travels to Australia to give an emotional press conference where he promises to bring his son, who has been missing since May 31, home.

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.

The Victorian branch of the CFMEU threatens to immediately cease all financial support for the ALP if Labor leader Anthony Albanese's push to expel union leader John Setka goes ahead.

Police charge two brothers, aged 18 and 20, over an unprovoked attack on an off-duty senior Victorian police officer near a Melbourne train station.

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.

Laurent Hayez, father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez, supported by his sons Godfather JP Hayez and cousin Lisa Hayez.

A proposed $2 billion Indigenous-led coal-fired power station in Collinsville in North Queensland developed by Brisbane-based Indigenous company Shine Energy and headed by traditional Biri man Ashley Dodd is set to revive one of the country's oldest coal towns.

A former finance officer for the Summernats car festival, who stole thousands of dollars from the business to fuel a drug habit, avoids prison time.

A Queensland primary school teacher has shocked his students and jumped into a wrestling ring to live out a lifelong dream.

A South Australian farming community has been given a much needed psychological sweetener after a heavy downpour fell in a matter of hours the first good rain in three years.

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.

The biggest league match of the year rolling into Perth this week will inevitably trigger discussions about whether WA should have its own NRL side, but that decision depends on something far more important than crowd sizes, writes Tom Wildie.

It's the system they have in London and Chicago, it's being trialled in New York, and soon it will allow people in Cairns, Mackay and Townsville to pay for trains and buses with their credit cards and mobile phones.

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.

A chemical used to control pests in agricultural crops and termites in buildings has been blamed for the death of up to 10 million bees in southern New South Wales.

A screen shot showing an umpire telling a security guard to get off the pitch as two players tussle at the North Melbourne vs GWS Giants AFL match at Bellrieve Oval in Hobart on Saturday June 15, 2019.

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.

A screen shot showing an umpire telling a security guard to get off the pitch as two players tussle at the North Melbourne vs GWS Giants AFL match at Bellrieve Oval in Hobart on Saturday June 15, 2019.

Police announce a $500,000 reward for information about the rape of an 18-year-old woman in Melbourne's CBD last year, as the victim speaks about the "traumatic" attack for the first time.

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.