Unions say the NSW government is trying to intimidate workers as the premier says those organising illegal strikes should face the "hardest fines possible".
Australia's national energy market will return to normal in a staged process after the market operator said it had growing confidence there was enough ongoing capacity for households and businesses.
Queensland's budget is back in the black amid surging coal prices and a property boom, but taxes will be hiked on big businesses to prop up the bottom line.
Health Minister Mark Butler has sought urgent advice on ways to boost the uptake of fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in aged-care facilities amid a rising number of deaths in the sector.
The "R-word" has rattled global financial markets in recent weeks as central banks try to curb inflation, but the risk of a recession in Australia is not on Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe's horizon.
At a living wake for a family friend, Christopher Michael Dawson said his wife was living in a commune west of Sydney more than 25 years after she disappeared, a judge has been told.
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has urged his players to celebrate the 43-point AFL win over Adelaide despite the distress caused by Wil Powell's horrific leg injury.