Federal Parliament will have an independent speaker under changes agreed by the three country independents and the major parties.
West Australian Nationals MP Tony Crook says he will side with the Coalition, in response to demands that he publicly declare who he will back to form government.
Rising water could threaten hundreds of properties in Victoria's north as flooding in the state worsens.
A Qantas plane bound for the Philippines capital Manila has been forced to turn back to Sydney airport after concerns over its landing gear.
A toddler has been treated for deep cuts to his hand after he put it into a blender at Broadmeadows in Melbourne's north.
Parts of southern New South Wales ravaged by a violent storm have been declared a natural disaster zone by Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan.
Team-mates of Olympic champion Stephanie Rice have described a homophobic slur on the swimmer's Twitter account as "out of character".
A record number of babies were born in the aftermath of the powerful 7.1 earthquake that rocked New Zealand at the weekend, hospital officials said.
It is more than a year since Iran's presidential election and the regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government protesters that followed.
A Japanese court has found two Greenpeace activists guilty of stealing a box of whale meat, handing them a one-year suspended sentence.
Despite strict federal and state laws, the illegal wildlife trade is lucrative enough to persist in Australia.
Police have declared safe several suspicious packages taken from a guard house near Brisbane's Enoggera army barracks.
The owners of a hotel in central Victoria have been shocked to find a gold nugget in a fireplace.
The owners of a hotel in central Victoria have been shocked to find a gold nugget in a fireplace.
The Australian share market has climbed on the back of a strong lead from Wall Street on Friday and some positive local economic data.
The Australian share market has climbed on the back of a strong lead from Wall Street on Friday and some positive local economic data.
A witness has told a Brisbane murder trial she saw a woman run down by a speeding motorist.
A 76-year-old Melbourne man has been jailed for 18 years for killing his wife with a hatchet.
Queensland Police have been told to hand evidence over to US authorities in the Gabe Watson case as quickly as possible.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from homes and a school at Wallaroo in South Australia because of a fire at the town's silo complex.