IN A small Queensland town, families and small children have suffered from lead poisoning.

The lawyer for a man accused of the brutal murder of a beloved children’s doctor has told a court he is still in the dark about the evidence against his client.

LATEST: PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has questioned why the man behind yesterday’s deadly Brighton siege was on parole.

ATTORNEY-General George Brandis will fly to the US this week for counter terrorism talks with senior White House officials, including his embattled counterpart Jeff Sessions.

PAULINE Hanson has taken another stab at ‘out of touch, overpaid elites’ after Australia Post’s CEO Ahmed Fahour resigned over his $5.6m salary.

IT’S that time of year again — and celebrities, companies and even local councils around Australia are having a lend of us with their April Fool’s Day jokes.

MISSING 22-year-old Queenslander Samuel Thompson is believed to have met with foul play and police have said are looking into connections with “unsavoury types”.

The fast-food giant is giving away free food to customers who can complete a challenge involving one of its all-time favourite menu items.

An operation targeting alleged domestic violence offenders has nabbed three men and a woman on outstanding warrants.

One of Australia’s major banks has announced a huge change to how thousands of people do their banking – and it’s coming soon.

A jury has heard how police linked a former Jetstar pilot to the disappearance of two elderly campers in one of Victoria’s most remote locations — and what he says happened.

RESEARCHERS have sounded alarm bells over water quality in the Blue Mountains, claiming the world-heritage listed site is suffering some of the worst environmental pollution in the world.

A LEADING civil rights organisation has called on Amazon Australia to pull “anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial books” from its site.

PHILOSOPHER and ethicist Peter Singer says “we need to move on” from Sunday penalty rates, but believes people should be compensated somehow for the loss of wages.

Tony Abbott has delivered a manifesto he will never get to implement as Liberal leader.

LIONEL Patea has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal killing of his ex-girlfriend Tara Brown on a suburban Gold Coast street.

Qantas is investigating a mechanical issue that forced a flight to be diverted mid-air while over Antarctica on Christmas Day.

A tropical downpour drenches the stage, and highly skilled performers in Cirque du Soleil’s “love letter to Mexico”, Luzia. Go behind the scenes to see how they pull it off.

A man is suspected of setting himself alight outside a fast food venue on Christmas morning after singed underwear and clothing were found at the scene.

The NSW premier has conceded there is no clear way for him to protest the state’s huge loss in the GST carve up, as he hit out at WA for becoming a “petro-state”.