National News

PM Julia Gillard live from Canberra

10:41 AM | The Prime Minister in a live press conference from Canberra.

White wombats - not your average marsupials

9:52 AM | They are white and very rare. And for 40 years, wombat rescuer Val Salmon saw only one white southern hairy-nosed wombat - until last October.

National - General

Tomane 'bit lost' in return to union

9:39 AM | NRL convert Joseph Tomane admits he felt lost playing his first game for the ACT Brumbies and says patience is the key to making a successful transition into Super Rugby.

National - Sport

Working parents go beyond the tuckshop

9:29 AM | Working parents aren't always able to contribute to school life in the traditional ways, but there are other avenues, writes Jane Southward.

National - General

Bikie's close call as loaded gun fails to fire

9:26 AM | A bikie had a close encounter with death in western Sydney yesterday, when a loaded gun was pointed at him but failed to fire, police say.

National - General

Thunderstorms predicted as flood victims face weeks of isolation

8:52 AM | THOUSANDS of residents in northern NSW face weeks of isolation as floodwaters from Queensland sweep south, with more bad weather forecast.

National - General

Optimistic RBA elects to keep powder dry

8:47 AM | THE Reserve Bank is optimistic about Australia and the world economy, more optimistic than most. That's why it did not cut interest rates yesterday, defying the expectations of most, and a run of predominantly weak data.

National - General

Daughter stumbles across mother's dead body in family shed

8:35 AM | A young woman stumbled across the body of her mother yesterday when she arrived at the house of an elderly relative after becoming concerned for their welfare.

National - General

My parents took $55 million off me, says former tennis star Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

7:21 AM | Former women's tennis great Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario says her parents have drained her of her $55 million wealth and left her struggling to pay off her debts.

National - Sport

RBA passes, now it's the banks' turn

6:47 AM | The Reserve Bank's decision to leave its cash rate at 4.25 per cent is going to cause some hand-wringing inside the big banks.

National - General

Jobs to go and costs cut as Macquarie warns on profits

3:00 AM | MACQUARIE GROUP will cut jobs, close unprofitable businesses and aggressively target costs to boost earnings as it forecasts a 25 per cent fall in full-year profit, following a slump in business at its one-time high flying investment banking and equities divisions.

National - General

Former policewoman on trial over rape claim

3:00 AM | A former policewoman concocted a story that a colleague had raped her after her husband found out about their affair, a court has heard.

National - General

Auditor's report on emissions errors a blow to green dream

3:00 AM | JUST months before the carbon tax is introduced, an auditor's report has found more than one in six major polluters has made ''significant errors'' when reporting its greenhouse emissions and energy use to the government.

National - General

Kalajzich prepares for first taste of freedom

3:00 AM | ANDREW KALAJZICH will walk from jail today into a world he barely recognises, 25 years after he was convicted for murdering his wife, Megan.

National - General

Launchers on loose: still searching but no sign of lost rockets

3:00 AM | POLICE and security agencies still have no idea of the whereabouts of nine rocket launchers that fell into the hands of a murderer, a drug ring boss and, allegedly, a terrorist cell leader, after an army captain stole them from a NSW military ammunition store a decade ago.

National - General