Oceania News

A $300 million cash swap from roads to railways is at the heart of New Zealand First's transport policy for the election, including restoring the Gisborne-Napier line, and looking at extending the Wellington line to Levin and into Wairarapa.

After 40,000 nautical miles, almost 11 months, six continents and a few heart-stopping moments, Daniel Ho has finally joined an elite group of round-the-world sailors.

It was a school once, but there are no children here anymore. The lonely building on this remote Pacific island now contains only a punching bag that someone has strung from the classroom rafters, and a note scrawled on the chalkboard in Niuean: "Keep this place clean," it says, "so it stays beautiful."

New Senate crossbenchers will again be centre-stage this week when the government seeks their backing to repeal the carbon tax.

With no question off limits, Sir Michael Parkinson CBE explores the private and sometimes troubled world of Ian Thorpe OAM.

IF you live in the bush you'll die three years younger than if you live in the city because of poor access to healthcare.

THE children of murder victim Graziella Dailler are seeking a Coronial inquest into her death and want those who break domestic violence intervention orders to be electronically monitored.

When the illicit river of gold was discovered, it was believed to be one of Australia's largest tax fraud operations.

Old school: Kevin Donnelly's views have made him a favourite of the Abbott government and its education minister, Christopher Pyne.

The government will do everything it can to ensure Australians don't become radicalised overseas and bring their extremist views back home, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.

Family members of a Russian man charged with hacking in the United States insist he is innocent and fear he will die in custody if he doesn't have his medication.

The next time there's a horrible news event, whether it's a missing plane, a natural disaster or a murder, you can bet someone is already plotting the fictionalised version.

The burden of relief for the uninsured should never again fall on taxpayers, the majority of whom have voluntarily taken out insurance.

Whether driven by idealism, necessity or greed, an increasing number of elderly Australians are supplementing their pensions with a spot of drug distribution.

The discovery of a split-second burst of radio waves by scientists using the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico provides important new evidence of mysterious pulses that appear to come from deep in outer space.

As Guam continues to seek expansion of the federal visa waiver program for tourism, a new federal indictment alleges that two Taiwanese women abused the program to work here as bar girls.

An Israeli legal group abandoned its racial discrimination case against an academic in Sydney over his support for the boycott of Israel.

A "bamboo ceiling" exists in Australia for Asians entering positions of power in business, education and politics, the country's race discrimination commissioner has suggested.

Labor's price on carbon remains despite Tony Abbott's vow to kill it off in the first week of the new Senate.

Unbroken , the Angelina Jolie movie, partly filmed on Moreton Bay and which includes scenes of Wallaga Lake, will premiere in Australia on January 8, 2015.