(AAP) - Nationals leader Warren Truss has declared the party ready for government, saying the more time given to Labor, the more opportunity they have to stuff up the nation.

(AAP) - At the helm of the blue oval's flagship Ford Performance Racing, Mark Winterbottom would have been forgiven for thinking his 2010 V8 Supercar title hopes had run aground.

(AAP) - Pill popping Robert Allenby played through the pain barrier to head a miserable Australian contingent after the second round at the US Open on Friday.

(AAP) - Government ministers have rejected suggestions the prime minister faces a leadership revolt when the party meets in Canberra on Tuesday.

(AAP) - North Queensland should be thankful for Melbourne because at least they can't finish last in the NRL this season.

(AAP) - North Melbourne have been weakened by the loss of reliable defender Scott McMahon on the eve of Sunday's clash with Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.

(AAP) - The NSW opposition has almost certainly won the Penrith by-election, with early counting showing swings of 15 to 20 per cent being recorded in some booths.

(AAP) - The funeral for an Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan has heard that as he lay dying, his sole concern was for his wife and young son.

The scandal-plagued NSW government has suffered a crushing defeat in a Western
Sydney by-election, seeing a swing of 25 per cent against it and its primary vote
plummet.

The widow of a combat engineer killed in Afghanistan has described her husband as a
"larrikin with a wicked sense of humour" on the eve of his military funeral.