Asylum seeker children on Nauru would be given speedier medical transfers to Australia under new laws being introduced to parliament by the federal opposition.

After 27 years of economic growth in Australia, it's time for the nation to spend more on welfare to help people lift out of poverty, a social services boss has declared.

Reflecting on the brutal death of his uncle was the hardest part of the process but Johnathan Thurston says writing his autobiography helped him realise how strong he really was.

No matter who wins the Victorian election, Geelong and Ballarat have been promised faster trains to Melbourne in a game of one-upmanship between the major parties.

Embarrassed government senators have been forced into a humiliating backdown after originally voting for a motion declaring "it's OK to be white".

Retired Kangaroos great Johnathan Thurston believes Greg Inglis should be reinstated as captain once he returns from suspension next year.

No state will be worse off due to GST revenue carve-up changes under a funding guarantee the coalition government is making law.

Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates before becoming a billionaire philanthropist who invested in conservation, space travel, arts and culture and professional sports, has died at the age of 65.

The Walt Disney Company has offered antitrust concessions to help secure EU approval of its $US71.3 billion ($A99.9 billion) acquisition of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets.

Sydneysiders need to take tsunami warnings seriously, according to new research suggesting the threat to the harbour-city is very real.