Paul Bleakley

A notorious former New South Wales detective, Graham “Chook” Fowler, who was at the centre of the 1996 Wood Royal Commission into police corruption has died of cancer at his Central Coast home.

Fledgling political organisation the Lamington Party has issued a response to the Gillard government’s 2013 budget, calling Treasurer Wayne Swan’s effort “less Robin Hood and more Sheriff of Nottingham” and “probably one of the weirdest budgets you’ll ever see.”

Rugby league legend Glenn Lazarus has been named to lead the Palmer United Party’s Queensland Senate team at the next federal election, claiming that Clive Palmer’s fledgling party could unite and advance Australia through inspirational leadership.

Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is expected to apply for parole after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed legislation designed to clarify the position of foreigners within the country’s legal system.

INTERVIEW | Australia with Simon Reeve, a three-part series scheduled to premiere on BBC2 on Sunday night, follows the author and television presenter as he attempts to challenge the pre-conceptions that British audiences have about Australia, including bikies, dangerous wildlife and the Outback.

A Northern Territory politician, MP Willem Rudolf Westra van Holthe, has drawn criticism after a social media gaffe in which he described film star Brad Pitt’s claim that his partner Angelina Jolie was “heroic” for undergoing a double mastectomy as “pathetic”.

Leaders of Australia’s Syrian community have urged Prime Minister Julia Gillard to ensure that Australian aid does not contribute to propping up the administration of President Bashar al-Assad.

Australian starlet Sophie Monk has been tricked into revealing her long-suspected romance with actor Sam Worthington in an exchange with radio personality Jules Lund on the duo’s 2DayFM drive-time programme.

The perpetrator of the 1987 Hoddle Street massacre, Julian Knight, has embarked on a legal battle for access to a PlayStation and a personal computer in his Victorian prison cell, telling the Supreme Court that he would initiate proceedings against the Victorian government if his application for the personal items continued to be denied.

Australian Ironwoman and triathlete Candice Falzon has sparked rumours of a relationship with Manchester United superstar Anderson after tweeting a series of images from several of the Brazilian footballer’s recent matches at Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles has announced he will remove neglected Aboriginal children from their homes and adopt them out if necessary, claiming that fears of a return to the Stolen Generation have put Indigenous children at serious risk in recent years.

SUBCULTURE SLEUTH | Brick Lane – tourist trap or vibrant urban heartland of Bangladeshi cuisine and culture? Our sleuth investigates.

Clive Palmer’s campaign to reshape the Australian political landscape has faced a number of hurdles over the weekend, with the Queensland billionaire businessman forced to make a change to the party’s name and having the group’s initial application to the Australian Electoral Commission rejected on the basis that the party had ‘too many members’.

Centre-left political group The Lamington Party has said that it will be a “close shave” in their goal to register with the Australian Electoral Commission before September’s federal election, with the organisation’s leadership hopeful that they will obtain the 500 members necessary to qualify as a registered political party. The party have recently released their policy platform, with a focus on health care, and tackling problem gambling.

The political party formed by billionaire Clive Palmer, The United Australia Party, has voted to reject the application of former Speaker Peter Slipper after the controversial federal MP attempted to register as a party member this week.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will tomorrow announce that Australians will make two decisions in the voting booth in September, with a referendum being scheduled to determine the position of local government in the Australian constitution.

Katter’s Australian Party is facing a leadership restructuring after the shock resignation of the party’s national director Aidan McLindon earlier today.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard was met with a rowdy reception at Marsden High School in Logan, Queensland yesterday, when students mobbed the Australian leader as she arrived to participate in Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. Although most students clamoured to take photos on their I-phone, Ms Gillard was also met with some verbal abuse – and a flying Vegemite sandwich.

SUBCULTURE SLEUTH | When you live in a house packed with a motley crew, you’re bound to end up with one oddball in the mix.