Federal - State Issues

Catherine King says federal funding for a critical Western Sydney motorway interchange was withdrawn because an independent review could not determine what it was for.

Scientists and environmentalists say not enough water is being pumped back into the Murrumbidgee River system and momentum is building for a reassessment of a decades'-old agreement.

A seven-year battle to prevent a radioactive medical waste facility being built on lands of the Barngarla community in South Australia has been recognised with an Australian Conservation Foundation award.

The federal government has reneged on a $2-billion funding promise for the troubled Great Western Highway project between Katoomba and Lithgow, with a former transport minister slamming the missed opportunity for a "proper highway". 

The state is grappling with the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding towards major road projects, while gaining more than $2b towards the North-South Corridor.

Nine Queensland infrastructure projects have been cancelled after a budget blowout on Commonwealth spending. One resident whose property was resumed says he may have lost his beloved home for nothing.

Natasha Fyles defends her ownership of shares in Woodside, saying she has properly declared the holdings each year and that she has acted in line with financial disclosure rules.

For many Murray-Darling Basin communities, the water provides far more than what's grown on the land. Talk of drought and water buybacks have some worried about the future.

As the federal government's proposed changes head to debate in the Senate, a committee has backed the use of buybacks to meet recovery targets, and called for more scrutiny of water-saving projects, and greater First Nations involvement.

The Murray Darling Basin back in the spotlight as the federal government rushes to extend the 2024 deadline to return more water to rivers and restart water buybacks.

Decades of struggle in Western Australia's Goldfields has come to an end with the Federal Court formally recognising the native title rights and interests of the Nyalpa Pirniku claim group.

South Australia's premier hits back at claims by Alexander Downer that all of the nation's future nuclear subs should be built overseas — but the former foreign affairs minister says there should be more scrutiny of the "eye-watering" cost.

This $12 million build failed as a student hostel, and now Indigenous leaders want to use it to address social problems in the Kimberley town of Kununurra.

NSW Premier apologises to the Jewish community over protests to Opera House lighting.

Federal Labor and the Greens are scathing of the shadow attorney-general's attempt to wade into ACT drug legislation.

A senate committee finds an "inherent and undeniable tension" between federal legislation and a NSW law introduced in 2018 designed to protect feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park.

Victoria's electric vehicle levy is set to be scrapped – but experts say EV owners could still be taxed in the future.

Merging South Australia's two biggest universities would create "significant opportunities" for the state — but the committee evaluating the proposal also identified 116 risks.

Landholders say they're frustrated that funding for projects in the Narromine-to-Narrabri section of the Inland Rail network has been pulled.

A letter from a stranger is all it took to spiral Martin into losing control of his own life. The disability royal commission has made recommendations to reform guardianship legislation, including gag laws that prevent Martin from speaking about his experience.

The corruption watchdog has conceded it has “no power” to make public a report into former deputy premier Jackie Trad.

Twenty years ago, Steve Fisher became the first person in Tasmania to win the legal right to identify himself as a victim-survivor of child sexual abuse. Now, with a groundbreaking report to be handed down this week, he says the reckoning has only just begun.

The Prime Minister has announced an investigation into the pandemic response; but he's facing accusations he is letting state leaders get off scot-free.

Dr Catherine Bennett, one of three people on the independent panel conducting the inquiry, says it's important to reflect on what lessons were learnt from the pandemic.

A gambling reform advocate says she suspects people are gambling and trying to get in front of the curve when things are tough.