There is not enough water in the Murray-Darling Basin to save South Australia's lower lakes, a Senate committee has found. But a stinging counter report has demanded the government not give up.

The Australian share market ended a horror week down more than eight per cent on Friday in a session that wiped $106 million from the value of stocks.

(AAP) Cells of corrupt Victorian police officers who associate with criminals, including former colleagues, exert a damaging influence over the force, the police watchdog says.

(AAP) The Commonwealth Bank has completed a $2 billion share placement to fund its acquisition of BankWest, which contributed to the decline in its share price after emerging from a trading halt.

(AAP) Qantas will refund the fares of passengers on a jet which violently lost altitude and nosedived above Western Australia, and deal with those injured on the flight on a "case by case" basis.

(AAP) NSW Premier Nathan Rees wants political donations to become a thing of the past, saying taxpayer-funded elections are the only way to ensure the political system is squeaky clean.

(AAP) Former doctor Graeme Reeves has been bailed on multiple charges of sexually assaulting and mutilating female patients.

(AAP) Victorian MPs have voted to allow lesbians, single women and infertile couples greater access to fertility treatment in a historic sitting of parliament.

(AAP) An application to have Mamdouh Habib's compensation case thrown out of court has been delayed because the federal government is refusing to reveal its "secretdefence" to the case.

(AAP) Australian boxers Vic Darchinyan and Billy Dib both head to America on Saturday confident of winning further boxing world titles despite being underdogs in their respective career-defining fi