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.

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.

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.

Plans to carve up the Marrickville Golf Club in Sydney's inner west to create more green space spark "aggressive" debate, as the local council turns to residents to make a final decision.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

An Indigenous boy with an intellectual impairment was stripped naked inside Brisbane's adult maximum-security police watch house after being deemed a suicide risk, documents reveal.

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

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.

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.

Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch's comments at an Indigenous festival reveal Labor is divided on the Adani mine's recent approval, the State Opposition says.

A south-east Queensland council with more than 700 memorabilia items the bulk of which is believed to have been bought with ratepayers' money is asking the community what should be done with the haul.

The Victorian Government prepares to reintroduce a bill which would make it easier for people to alter the sex recorded on their birth certificate to male, female or any other gender descriptor of their choice.

If you look up to the eastern sky tonight, you're likely to spot one of the biggest planets at its brightest. Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun and largest in our solar system, is visible to stargazers this month.

Funding flows for low-income earners to buy a home and a new Women's and Children's Hospital are on the cards in South Australia's 2019 budget. Find out how the budget will impact you.

A teenage basketball star from a celebrity family in California is set to move to Wollongong in New South Wales in one of the most intriguing signings in Australian basketball history.

A new video shows Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch telling a room full of people she has shed tears over the approval of Adani's Carmichael coal mine, while also saying current environmental legislation is flawed.

When 22-year-old Jake Vincent had a stroke, he was forced to wait at the emergency department for almost seven hours. The doctor who finally saw him "went white" he hadn't been administered a time-critical medication earlier.

WA Liberal MPs distance themselves from their new leader's policy direction, including contentious moves to abandon the Western Power sale and steer away from supporting deregulated trading hours, after strong criticism from the business lobby.

Former drug squad detective Paul Dale wanted to speak to gangland bosses Tony Mokbel and Carl Williams nine days after he was arrested for the burglary of a drug house, the royal commission hears.

Two brothers charged with intentionally causing serious injury over an alleged attack on a a senior Victoria Police officer displayed aggressive and threatening behaviour and were "attempting to engage in a fight" a Melbourne court is told.

The Health Department confirms a massive spike in the number of influenza cases in Western Australia this year, with 3,000 extra notifications and 14 deaths in the past week alone.

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton is suspended for two weeks by the AFL tribunal, one week each for repeatedly pinching Essendon's Orazio Fantasia and stomping on the foot of Shaun McKernan.

A high school teacher who had sex with a 16-year-old student from a North Queensland school is found not guilty of procuring a young person for carnal knowledge.

Stunning footage of a security guard at Bellerive Oval attempting to enter the field of play to separate two tussling players has former players shaking their heads.

A 27-year-old Canberra man is found guilty of running a major drug operation to fuel a flamboyant lifestyle complete with expensive cars and inspirational quotes played out on Facebook and Instagram.

A female footballer who played in a men's South Australian country league has her suspension reduced to four weeks by an independent tribunal.

Police arrest a woman they had urged to come forward to authorities after a 23-year-old plunged to her death at a high-rise complex in Sydney's inner east.