A popular beach in Byron Bay has been washed away by the worst erosion in at least 30 years.

Too Much Lip is a raucous family yarn that explores intergenerational trauma, class and the lives of Aboriginal women, and it has just won its author a prestigious $60,000 prize.

Up to 20 homes and structures are destroyed in the village of Rappville, as watch and act warnings are issued for several bushfires burning within 100km of each other in northern NSW.

After watching their home burn on the news, Tina Hag, Robert Collier and their four children return to Rappville, wondering about the future of their northern New South Wales town, which lost 15 homes and 20,000 hectares of grazing land to a bushfire.

A 16-year-old girl tells an inquiry she can no longer trust police after she was subjected to a strip search at the Splendour in the Grass music festival when a sniffer dog falsely detected drugs on her.

Queensland continues to tackle the coronavirus pandemic head on with no new cases announced today, but the impact on the state's bottom line is not so healthy, with the Treasurer revealing a $4 billion hit to revenue.

International seafarers pose little risk to the public and port access restrictions imposed by some states are not in line with national recommendations, an industry lobby claims.

What have flash floods, bushfires and a pandemic taught the Gold Coast about its relationship with its beaches?

MORNING BRIEFING: Photos shared on social media appear to show two NRL players defying coronavirus restrictions on a camping trip on the NSW Mid-North Coast, while aged care homes say the PM's advice on visitors is "cavalier and careless".

NSW Police are investigating social media images where Rugby League stars Josh Add-Carr and Latrell Mitchell went on a camping trip on the state's mid-north.

For Muriel Halsted, being part of the world of social media isn't something she's ever given much thought to.

Widespread soaking rain in the New South Wales Central West has upped farmers' confidence for a bumper winter cropping season.

It is not common place for students to be greeted at their school gate by their principal wearing fancy dress, but this is exactly what one school leader is doing each day to put his school community at ease and have a laugh.

There is a lot of talk about death in my household. Given we are only out the other side of birth it has taken me quite by surprise.

Festival conversations are a rewarding way to eavesdrop on how artists create monumental work of our time, says 720's cultural correspondent Victoria Laurie.

Ensemble Theatre's nationally touring production of 'Frankenstein' has opened in Wollongong to remind us of a timeless gothic masterpiece.

Director Paul Greengrass applies his usual intensity to this well executed real life tale of modern day priacy.

As a river runs dry in the northern basin, the blame game continues, and farmer Andrew Watson says irrigators are being unjustly targeted over water use.

With towns across New South Wales at risk of running out of water within months, there are renewed calls for an urgent upgrade of water storage infrastructure.

Australia's largest agricultural field day may not exactly be a spending spree this year, but it does provide farmers with a reprieve from drought.

As Tasmanian health authorities say they are yet to learn how two people in the state's north-west contracted coronavirus, four new cases are confirmed.

A new coronavirus case diagnosed overnight takes Tasmania's tally to 72, as authorities release a list of destinations visited by two interstate travellers who later tested positive for COVID-19.

A ship that sank in 1852 off Rye in Victoria has given archaeologists new insights into early Australian boatbuilding.

Hospitals across Tasmania have banned visitors, but one Hobart doctor is helping patients stay in touch with their loved ones during coronavirus pandemic by asking people to "donate" their iPads.

An animal cruelty case against Tasmanian shipping identity Les Dick, who has cancer, is adjourned after he agrees not to be involved in livestock transport for five years.

Warm oceans are encouraging wet conditions for Australia, with the hint of a negative IOD and even a potential La Nina on the horizon.

As we assess the damage from Wagga Wagga City Council's tensions with China over a sister-city relationship, there's a lesson for our broader relationship with one of our biggest trading partners, writes Jieh-Yung Lo.

In 2000, Virgin Australia first entered the Australian aviation market with one route, two aircraft and 200 employees. Last month, it was flying to 56 destinations around the world.

A Catholic college principal tells parents children missing their friends and parents needing time are not valid reasons to send children to school, as Tasmania records its third consecutive day without new coronavirus cases.

Some families are already taking advantage of "demand response", reducing their bills by cutting their electricity use at peak times. But a move to promote competition in the demand response market has come up against some serious opposition.

A three-car crash on one of Adelaide's busiest roads leaves a driver in hospital with critical head injuries, with the manager of a nearby business likening the scene to the aftermath of a tornado.

Police investigate the cause of a bushfire that came dangerously close to a Loxton aged care facility in South Australia's Riverland, prompting an evacuation overnight.

Foxes are chewing on irrigation pipes used in orchards and vineyards as the drought bites in the Riverina.

England's Mako Vunipola and Jamie George celebrate after the Rugby World Cup semi-final at International Yokohama Stadium between New Zealand and England in Yokohama, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. England won 19-7.

Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne, who Michael Chieka said he had "no relationship" with after the Wallabies' World Cup exit, will stand down.

Most Australians are vaccinated against the mumps virus, but the highly infectious disease has affected an unknown number of Brumbies players, despite the fact that they were vaccinated in childhood.

Ciaron Maher and David Eustace are looking to turn their unorthodox training partnership into big success at Melbourne's Spring Carnival.

A Melbourne council will hold a "solemn" ceremony to acknowledge the impact of European settlement on Indigenous Australians before its usual Australia Day celebrations a move an Aboriginal group says could provide a national model for January 26.

One of the leading holdouts against an AFLW collective bargaining agreement, Darcy Vescio, says a new season of 10 matches plus finals looks set to be part of a new deal.

The headmaster of St Kevin's College in Melbourne has vowed to improve education programs to combat "offensive and misogynistic behaviour", after students were again caught performing sexist songs in public.

The sister of murdered exchange student Aiia Maasarwe says she does not feel safe in Melbourne, as she returns to the city of her sister's death to help launch a fellowship in her honour.