(AAP) Queensland's crime rate has fallen by five per cent in the past year, despite a 21 per cent rise in rape and attempted rape complaints, new figures show.

(AAP) Andrew Fisher, Australia's and the world's first Labor prime minister, has been unfairly overshadowed, his present-day counterpart says.

(AAP) St George Bank Ltd shareholders on Thursday overwhelmingly approved Westpac Banking Corp's $16 billion-plus merger proposal.

(AAP) Five Sydney terror accused undertook guerrilla training on properties in western NSW in preparation for holy war, a jury has heard.

(AAP) Two bodies have been found in a unit in Sydney's west, police say. Police were called to the unit in Queen Street at Auburn by ambulance officers just before 6pm (AEDT).

Couples who spend more time hugging and kissing have lower levels of stress hormones in their bodies, new research suggests.

Qantas has expanded its China network, offering codeshare flights with China Eastern from Shanghai to Chengdu and Xi'an.

Australia's biosecurity advisers have again recommended that bananas grown in the Philippines be imported into Australia.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has warned England against living on past glories as Australia seized the psychological ascendancy in an intriguing build-up to Saturday's much-hyped Cook Cup clash at

The suicide rate among male Australian farmers is almost 50 per cent higher than the average in rural communities, according to a study calling for better targeted efforts to treat depression.