Meanwhile, NSW recorded 560 cases on Saturday, the highest daily total since lockdown restrictions were eased in October.

Behind this week’s inevitable images of joyous reunions and various iterations of ‘We did it, Queensland’ is a trail of shattered lives.

Based on an initial assessment of the fire scene it is believed the fire was deliberately lit

The auction was one of 1755 scheduled on Saturday, and buyers were taking their time to bid after having the luxury of more choice on Melbourne’s biggest auction day on record.

Schoolies let their hair down and celebrate in Byron Bay after hellish final year of learning amid Sydney lockdowns.

Oz Comic-Con Homegrown is back at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre this weekend. Finally, the cosplay, comic and colourful Melbourne characters have a chance to get back together with their tribes.

COVID-19 is not dampening the mood for Jack Riley from Sydney who is enjoying his Schoolies week in Byron Bay.

Sydney CBD hotel Swissotel has turned its rooftop into a city farm to harvest honey for its new restaurant and provide a home for bees in a difficult environment.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said one person carrying the Omicron coronavirus variant had been in the community while infectious.

The remarkably accomplished Ian Howard survived childhood polio and double pneumonia, the early death of his father, World War II, including the D-Day landings, and finally COVID-19, to die peacefully in his sleep at the age of 98.

John Gerrard has promised to be a very different Chief Health Officer than his predecessor, as he works to guide Queensland through the next phase of the pandemic.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the changes would alleviate stress on businesses who had been doing it tough.

The bushfire emergency warning is still in place for residents bounded by Mammoth Cave Road to the north, Caves Road and the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park boundary to the east, Grace Road and Bridle Trail to the south and the coast to the west.

With perhaps only days remaining in the key Planning portfolio, Rob Stokes reflects on Sydney’s urban sprawl, the housing crisis and whether growth and progress are the same thing.

An inquiry has uncovered a culture of assault, harassment and buried reports.

The familiarity of the harrowing stories from bereaved families at the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is an indictment on the inaction of the past.

We understand parents have questions about the vaccines, especially around vaccine safety, and they need to have the opportunity to have these questions addressed.

Thousands of electric buses will be made in Australia as part of the NSW government’s next mammoth public transport program.

Dr Stuart Turville and his team are working at breakneck speed to understand the variant, its mutations and how well vaccines shield the body from infection.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s predicament in the US isn’t a bad approximation for the state of Australia, circa late 2021.

Zali Steggall seized Warringah from the Liberals and now she is the model candidate for independents seeking to take socially progressive seats from the Morrison government.

He promised them what every emerging artist craves: a space to show their work and build their careers. Now, they just want their paintings back.

What actually happens to our bodies during a hangover? And is there anything (scientifically proven) to ease the effects of this unique form of self-inflicted hell?

Babies are more likely to be born prematurely on hot days, new research has found, prompting calls for actions to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Isabella Fernando, one of 71 Aboriginal students who graduated from the college last week, is the first person in her family to finish the HSC and go to university.

It is right to lament the normalisation of pork barrelling in our political system.

The Press Council has partially upheld a complaint by Bayside Council.

When a new coal mine was proposed in the NSW Southern Highlands, locals began a David and Goliath battle to protect their land. A decade on, they’ve finally won.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today's interactive superquiz and target.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath dismissed the suggestion that the mandate would lift soon.

NSW Health is concerned about increased transmission in party settings, saying likely Omicron cases visited the Albion Hotel in Parramatta and Cult Nightclub in Potts Point.

Gladys Berejiklian managed to be front page news all this week, despite not making a single public utterance until today.

The Pfizer vaccine has been officially approved for 5- to 11-year-olds, former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to today confirm she won’t contest the next federal election and four suspected Omicron cases are under investigation in Victo...

James Delinicolis and Angelo Dellosa met the 17-year-old at a bus stop and had sex with her in a hotel two days later. They have pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office.

The week in photos from the award-winning Sydney Morning Herald and Financial review photographers.

Friday’s budget figures would normally be regarded as a horror show. But these are not normal times.

“Some people told me that my career was ruined because I couldn’t ‘shut my legs’,” a woman has told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

Scientists analyse samples taken from the first handful of people infected with Omicron in Australia.

Vaccinations for those aged five to 11 will begin on January 10 after Pfizer’s vaccine for children received final approval.

Severe thunderstorms triggered flash flooding in Sydney on Friday, hours after a woman’s body was found after she was swept away by floods in regional NSW.

The Queensland Ombudsman is assessing complaints about border travel, but will not confirm whether an investigation similar to other states is under way due to confidentiality.

Police are expecting lengthy delays at the southern road border for two days from 1am on Monday, as it opens to vaccinated travellers from southern hotspot states for the first time in months.

A victim of historical sexual abuse has confronted her abuser in court during a victim impact statement that was acclaimed by a judge.

Where do Aussies abroad pine for? Six journalists dive into their memory banks.

Artist Gail Mabo and her son, dancer William Mabo, share a famous family legacy, but it was their both having triplets that really brought them close.

A 1989 police complaint against Anthony Caruana led to two unsuccessful prosecutions in 1992. Now aged 80, he’s been found guilty on 26 counts and will spend the next decade behind bars.

Christopher Hyslop will spend up to 9½ years behind bars because he hit and killed cyclist Deborah Locco on Beach Road then left her to die.

COVID-19 has exposed the surprisingly fine line between hedonism and nihilism.

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