In Melbourne, two monuments dedicated to figures considered linked to the country's colonial past were vandalised, a statue of Queen Victoria and one of Captain James Cook, who led several voyages of exploration in the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century

Almost 68% of Australian tourist sites are at risk if the climate crisis continues; Uluru, the Daintree and Bondi Beach are among the iconic Australian sites that could be affected if the planet reaches even 2°C of warming by 2050

Australia's ability to respond to an outbreak of a deadly strain of avian influenza will undergo a planned test today at national level; the country is the only continent not to have recorded any cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza

A magnitude 4,7 earthquake has rattled New South Wales close to the proposed site of a new nuclear power plant; initially identified as a magnitude 5,0 before being downgraded twice, it was felt as far as Canberra and left thousands with no power

An enquiry will be set to modernise organ donation laws: current Australia's definition of death prevents organ transplants from using the latest technologies, key to the best results