Judge retires to consider if Pauline Hanson is a racist
After days of arguments and evidence, a judge will consider whether Pauline Hanson made a racial slur in telling a Greens senator to go back to Pakistan.
crime, law and justice
No punishment for hotel quarantine deaths as trial axed
No one will be held criminally accountable for Victoria's fatal COVID-19 hotel quarantine system after charges against the health department were dropped.
Concerns raised over police stop and search powers
The Queensland government's decision to expand police stop and search powers after a spate of NSW knife attacks has raised concerns.
Aussie music duo sue former manager in Supreme Court
Indie-folk duo Angus and Julia Stone have appeared in court accusing their former manager of claiming commissions above what NSW legislation allowed.
Hearing set for faith group accused over girl’s death
A Supreme Court judge is preparing information to help 14 members of a religious group defend themselves on child murder and manslaughter charges.
Child safety ‘pressure’ not to act before girls died
A child safety officer has told an inquest she was getting "pushback" against ordering too many investigations into allegations of neglect.
Teen stabbed younger sister ‘out of the blue’: police
A teenage girl has been charged with murder, accused of stabbing her 10-year-old sister in a horrific attack police say happened 'completely out of the blue'.
Four ‘hero’ officers killed in Charlotte shootout
A fourth police officer has died after a shootout in North Carolina sparked by efforts to serve a warrant on a felon for possessing a firearm.
Weapon search laws extended in $1.2b safety pledge
Shoppers and pub patrons could be searched for weapons by police under a proposed expansion of "wanding" laws that have attracted interstate attention.
Hearing date for judge accused of assault, intimidation
A Tasmanian judge accused of emotional abuse or intimidation, as well as assault, is set to face a court hearing of more than a week.
Men charged after police bust 500kg cocaine import plot
Three men are facing life in jail after police foiled one of Queensland's largest cocaine importation plots, seizing more than 500kg of the drug.
Mum had ‘casual smoke’ before checking on girls in car
Security camera footage showed the mother of two toddlers "casually" lighting a cigarette before checking on her girls who had spent several hours in a hot car.
Sharaz bows out of defamation fight with Reynolds
Brittany Higgins's fiance David Sharaz says he can't afford to continue to fight Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds' claims that he defamed her.
Lehrmann given extra time to consider defamation appeal
Bruce Lehrmann has been granted an extension in which to appeal his failed defamation suit, as a court hears he will likely be liable to pay Ten's legal fees.
Court could bar One Nation leader saying racial slur
A judge has been asked to reject evidence by a "disingenuous" Pauline Hanson and order the senator to stop telling people to go back to where they came from.
Hillsong agrees to settle assault lawsuit with woman
A woman who was suing Hillsong Church after being indecently assaulted eight years ago is on the verge of reaching an agreement with the embattled mega-church.
Family pay tribute to grandfather ‘killed by gardener’
A grandfather allegedly killed by a gardener has been remembered fondly by his family as they rally behind his seriously injured wife of almost 50 years.
Gran warned Child Safety before girls died in hot car
The aunty of a toddler who died in a hot car alongside her sister has told an inquest a child safety worker texted the girls' mother about staying off drugs.
Greens senator sued Hanson to draw a ‘line in the sand’
A Greens senator has rejected accusations she sued Pauline Hanson to push her own political narrative, saying she wanted to take a stand against racism.
Services urge long-term plan to tackle violence crisis
Support services working on the front lines of violence against women have called for the government to implement long-term solutions to address the scourge.
Action threat over ‘children assaulted in watch houses’
Children in Queensland police watch houses have been sexually and physically assaulted, with an advocacy group saying the system is not coping.
Denied parole, Heather became another death in custody
The family of Heather Calgaret, whose death will be examined in an inquest, say she did not get a fair chance at parole before she died in custody.
Former AFL star’s spiral into drug abuse aired in court
Former St Kilda footballer Sam Fisher's spiral into drug addiction after retiring from AFL has been laid out in court as he awaits a prison sentence.
Hanson willing to sell Muslim Greens senator her house
Pauline Hanson says a total Muslim immigration ban is not her party's policy, telling a court a Greens senator who practises Islam can buy her house.
Laws to put the brakes on ramming emergency vehicles
Deliberately ramming an emergency vehicle will be a standalone offence under proposed laws set to be introduced to Queensland parliament.
Mum ‘vindicated’ as man committed to face murder trial
A man has been committed to stand trial in a Brisbane court for the murder of his partner who died from severe brain injuries in 2014.
Nine brought to heel over cavoodle custody reports
A Sydney barrister will get $150,000 from Nine over its "extravagant, excessive and sensationalist" reporting of a bitter custody battle for Oscar the cavoodle.
Bail for woman accused of murdering cop in hit-and-run
A woman charged with murder over the death of a policeman in an alleged hit-and-run has been bailed with a judge finding prospects of a conviction are not high.
Australians demand end to violence against women crisis
Advocates fear violence against women is becoming normalised in Australia as women and allies turned out to protest across the nation.
Publisher ‘killed story of Trump affair to help him’
Former publisher David Pecker says he opted not to run a story about Donald Trump because it would have hurt Trump's chances of winning the 2016 election.
Leaders to meet as thousands rally to end violence
Tens of thousands of people have marched around Australia to call for an end to violence against women as the prime minister convenes an emergency meeting.