Queenslanders are preparing for a wet Christmas with up to 500mm of rain forecast
for coming days.
Parts of far north Queensland have copped a drenching over the past few days and

The national road toll is now 14 after the ACT recorded its first death of the
Christmas-New Year holiday period and another person killed in Queensland.

Critics have vowed to push ahead with a parliamentary inquiry into NSW's $5.3
billion electricity sale despite government attempts to kill it off by shutting down
parliament.

Macquarie Bank Ltd and the Bank of Queensland say they will vigorously defend legal
action commenced against them by the corporate regulator over the collapse of Storm

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says she can't detect any restlessness on her
backbench, despite reports senior members of her government fear 10 to 15 years in

The coronial inquest into the deaths of 29 miners who perished in New Zealand's Pike
River Coal mine disaster will begin next month, the chief coroner says.

The system used to discipline Queensland police officers is flawed and must be
overhauled, a review has found.

Jetstar has agreed to reinstate whistleblower pilot Joe Eakins, who was sacked last
month after airing his concerns about falling safety standards.

St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt says he has never met the teenage girl who posted
nude photographs of him and two AFL team-mates on the internet, adding he's

Miners have tentatively welcomed the recommendations of the federal government's
policy transition group (PTG) on the planned new mining tax.