A chalk sketch of the 18th-century Polynesian princess Tynai-mai is on display in the National Library's Cook and the Pacific exhibition.

Evacuations are ordered in coastal towns and communities in north Queensland as Tropical Cyclone Debbie bears down, with authorities warning of damaging tidal surges and an impact on a scale not seen since Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

A Townsville woman's Uber account racks up about $1,500 in fraudulent use across two continents before it is shut down a case that experts warn is indicative of a growing economy in stolen payment details.

Cronulla snaps a five-match losing streak with a 16-14 win over an injury-hit North Queensland to remain in the hunt for the NRL finals.

An agreement with a Chinese company to develop an export processing facility for north Queensland and Northern Territory beef has been signed with a local council.

Townsville resident Bronwyn Creedy says she feels like a "first-world refugee" after six months of living away from her flood-ravaged home, and hundreds of people are in a similar position.

How an impulse purchase of an old limousine after a few beers turned into an unforgettable trip to the races.

The departure of some of north Queensland's best and brightest students is worrying the region's leaders and prompting them to devise a retention solution.

The case against Queensland man Ronald John Toft, who was accused of trying to kidnap a six-year-old girl at an Adelaide caravan park earlier this year, is dropped.

A 53-year-old man accused of lighting up to four bushfires in north Queensland will undergo a mental health assessment, after a dramatic arrest where he allegedly rammed a police car and officers fired shots at his vehicle.

Six staff members within Queensland's Youth Justice Department are sacked amid dozens of substantiated cases of corruption that include criminal behaviour, inappropriate conduct and using excessive force.

Leaks from one of Adani's most significant contractors for its Carmichael coal mine, engineering firm GHD, show it has been rocked by internal dissent and management has been bombarded with complaints and questions about its work on the mine.

A female teacher is in hospital with a shoulder injury after being stabbed at a Townsville primary school by an 11-year-old female student, Queensland police say. The student was tasered by police and detained.

The father of an 11-year-old Townsville girl, who was tasered by police, after allegedly stabbing a teacher, apologises saying he has "no idea" what was going through his daughter's mind.

While battling its own drought, an outback Queensland town is offering free bore water to communities running out of the precious resource. There's just one catch.

Two holidaying nurses want to have a beer with two "cool" English tourists who managed to keep positive minutes after being attacked by a shark. The nurses provided first aid which is credited with saving the men's lives.

Witness AAA tells the disability royal commission her daughter was "screamed at" by teachers in Year 1, not given access to the curriculum and did not receive permission forms for excursions and other activities.

A self-funded entrepreneur has failed in his attempt to become the first Singaporean to reach the edge of space after launching his capsule from the Australian outback.

Darwin newlyweds Jack and Amy Mildwaters set to put their 'wedding car' through its paces at this year's Finke Desert Race.

The Northern Territory Government lifts its three-year moratorium on exploration fracking for onshore shale gas in the Beetaloo Basin, and expects engineering works could resume within days.

One of Australia's most remote cattle properties, Suplejack Station, sells for the first time in its 55-year history.

Prosecutor Stephen Robson says he does not accept the version of events given to police by Mr Deighton that he went to answer the door while changing baby Michael, returned to find him falling from the change table and then caught him.

Four Northern Territory public service executives are being paid more than $200,000 a year to facilitate a planned gas industry that some experts doubt will ever stack up economically, particularly as terminals for importing gas from "wherever's cheapest" secure approval on the nation's east coast.

A man accused of manslaughter and unlawful sexual intercourse with a baby will argue there is no proof of any crimes alleged against him, an Alice Springs court hears.

A businessman and his pastoralist partners launch court action against Origin Energy over its plan for gas exploration on a Northern Territory cattle station.

Life on a mustering crew in northern Australia means travelling to remote stations to bring in cattle from thousands of kilometres of far-flung bushland.

Discoveries of rare animals are sparking mini tourism booms in remote Australia, but they're also causing some headaches for Aboriginal rangers and their conservation efforts.

Hundreds of children have been filing into youth centres every evening, as numbers double ahead of school holidays

The smoke has cleared and the post-cracker night clean-up is underway, but how much damage was done?

A lack of aged care facilities has been badly impacting on the remote Northern Territory's elderly, but many of their stories will not reach the ears of royal commissioners.

A Victorian family stranded in the outback arrives in Darwin thanks to a good Samaritan who embarked on a 22-hour round-trip rescue mission.

The rufous hare-wallaby hasn't been seen in the wild of Central Australia since the early 1990s, but that's all changing at Newhaven Station.