MORNING BRIEFING: Many regional Tasmanian areas are in a population decline, and Hobart scores high on drug waste water testing.

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

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 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.

Book-loving Tasmanians are bucking the trend and turning to libraries in their thousands, less than a year after the state became the first in Australia to abolish fines and processing fees for overdue books.

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.

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.

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.

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.

More than two decades since Philip Nitschke set fire to the "disgusting, pathetic" bill overturning voluntary euthanasia in the Northern Territory, the region remains in a stranglehold, banned from even debating the issue.

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.

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.

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.

Canberra Grammar students discover the unexpected benefits of rebuilding damaged classrooms in Nepal, as they form special bonds with school hosts in the heart of the Himalayas.

The Tasmanian dream of re-entering the National Basketball League could be about to become a reality after revelations NBL owner Larry Kestelman plans to purchase the Derwent Entertainment Centre.

MORNING BRIEFING: Michael Ferguson says union bosses have hit a 'new low' and a court hears that a Launceston man accused of murder said his alleged victim "is going to pay".

At age seven, Lisa Millar was singing the ABC News theme and practising her interview technique on her little sister. After 25 years of reporting in Australia and overseas, she's now looking forward to the challenge of co-hosting a daily morning television program.

Amid plans for a five-star hotel for Canberra's centre, some of the city's biggest music success stories plot to save its nightlife, claiming currently unenforced noise limits could kick into effect and threaten venues when the hotel starts hosting guests.

Buying a home or a block of land is something many young people feel is out of reach but a new approach to property ownership could allow millennials to eat their smashed avocado and achieve the Great Australian Dream, too.

Uyghurs living in Australia are urging the Federal Government to offer them protection after more than 30 countries, including the USA, condemned China over its "horrific campaign of repression" against its Uyghur minority.

A sustained gastro outbreak on the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth has left more than 100 passengers sick over the past month, including two who had to be hospitalised.

Eliza Bartlett is a diabetic but is does not define her. The 27-year-old walked 4,200 kilometres across Europe to displace the stigma.

A congestion charge for driving in the CBD during peak hour is once again being pushed, and a new report says it would be easy, cheap and speed up traffic across all major cities.

An animal rights group calls for a roadside memorial to be erected for a number of chickens killed in a truck fire on Adelaide's Northern Expressway this morning.

During the three days Deborah Pilgrim was lost in scrubland she desperately searched empty properties, climbed a windmill and endured sickness from drinking dirty water before her incredible rescue.

Megan Schutt has no time for the same-sex-marriage haters and her bold online personality is ensuring she is grabbing her chance on the national stage ahead of another ground-breaking WBBL campaign.

A man driving a Holden Commodore allegedly reversed into a pedestrian after attempting to run over several people following an argument.

CCTV footage captures the moment a pedestrian is struck by a car, with the alleged driver facing charges of assault and four counts of endangering life.

A serial child sex offender is back behind bars just six weeks after being released, after he breached a supervision order by contacting a child over the internet.

A figure "described inaccurately" is being blamed for an apparent dramatic cost increase on Australia's most expensive defence project in history, the $50 billion Future Submarine program.

An Adelaide council's proposed plans for the upgrade of a skate park generates curiosity on social media, with an artist impression seemingly resembling part of the male anatomy.

A teenager who can be named for the first time pleads not guilty to the murder of a 61-year-old woman in Adelaide's inner north in December last year.

Child predators have the ability to use photos of children taken in public or sourced from social media to create child-like sex dolls which are manufactured overseas, an Adelaide MP warns.

An inquest into the deaths of two young vets who took a drug linked to almost 20 suicides per year within the industry urges better mental health support for veterinary professionals.

Al Hassan Toure of United is seen after the FFA Cup Grand Final match between Adelaide United and Melbourne City at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, Wednesday, October 23, 2019.