(AAP) - The federal opposition has launched a green assault on the government, promising they would make deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

Prince Harry appears to have struck up a close friendship with Australian pop star Natalie Imbruglia, just weeks after splitting with his long-term girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

Shannon Eckstein claimed his fourth Kellogg's Nutri-Grain surf ironman series crown with a dominant performance at Sydney's Coogee Beach on Sunday.

Former rugby league Test and State of Origin player Dale Shearer is in critical condition in hospital after a crash on the Sunshine Coast.

Sydney remain winless in eight years of the AFL's pre-season competition after copping a 65-point flogging at the hands of Port Adelaide in Canberra.

A callous thief has broken into a fire station and stolen money collected for victims of Victoria's devastating bushfires.

Labor and the coalition are locked in a tit-for-tat battle over who should accept the blame for home owners who locked themselves into fixed mortgages just months before interest rates started fall

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke of heroes and humanity, Victorian Premier John Brumby of rebuilding and Governor-General Quentin Bryce of keeping alive the memory of those who perished in Victoria'

The family of Cornelia Rau has called for an overhaul of the mental health system, after the South Australian resident was imprisoned in a Jordanian jail for behaving erratically in public.

Brisbane Broncos will hope to kick-off its 2009 NRL season opener next month on a major high with stars Karmichael Hunt and Sam Thaiday committing to new deals.