The Delta variant is so contagious, the argument goes, that it pushes herd immunity out of reach.

Residents who live in and around Byron Bay are in lockdown, Victoria’s restrictions have eased for the regions and all eyes are on the Queensland-NSW border.

The northern NSW holiday town, famous for its laid back, good-vibes-only attitude, was vibrating on a very different wavelength on Tuesday. People are furious.

Melbourne’s lockdown is set to be extended beyond Thursday, with just five of Tuesday’s 20 new coronavirus cases having been in quarantine during their infectious periods.

Sydney is set to enjoy a string of mild and sunny days in a slight reprieve for people stuck at home as the city’s lockdown continues for the seventh week.

Hundreds of people waited for hours or were turned away from COVID-19 vaccination clinics in south-west and western Sydney this week.

A masseur who raped and sexually assaulted a woman who visited his home for a massage has been jailed for more than five years for crimes a judge described as grave and opportunistic.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds is in place for a large part of the state, but one forecaster predicts it will result in downed branches rather than felled trees.

The initiatives form part of a $35.6 million strategy and international recruitment campaign that will see the government bring in overseas workers and lure experienced workers back. 

Businesses and residents said they were surprised to be granted freedom so soon, and admitted to some nervousness that restrictions could be imposed again just as quickly.

After a 2.5km journey, one of two tunnel borers has broken through to the cavern that will become Cross River Rail’s new Roma Street station.

Queensland business and tourism groups have welcomed extra state COVID-19 support but warn that it’s unlikely to meet needs, particularly in the hard-hit far north.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission will be asked to examine claims of victimisation that were revealed in a survey run by the SES volunteers’ association.

Paramedics have assessed 19 children and four adults after a car reportedly rolled into a school bus about 3pm on Tuesday, causing long delays. 

Authorities have expressed concern over the number of cases emerging from a shopping centre in Melbourne’s northwest as testing is ramped up in the Geelong area.

The head of the national body for powerlifters has temporarily stood down after it was revealed he is suing a student athlete who accused him of sexual harassment at Melbourne University’s weightlifting club.

The trainee program at Westmead Hospital will end next month after the governing body gave it a D-grading, the lowest possible level.

The crocodile that attacked two Australian soldiers off the east coast of Cape York in far north Queensland has been euthanised.

Today on Please Explain, national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley joins Nathanael Cooper to discuss the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

There were three new deaths in local COVID-19 patients: a woman in her 80s, a man in his 80s and a man in his 70s. All had not been vaccinated.

Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon says the man, aged in his 50s from Sydney, had met with at least one real estate agent for an inspection.

Zahra Mustaf receives cash from her uncle, a minister in the Somali government, and the party feared the arrangement may have breached federal laws against foreign interference.

We need leadership and we need to pay people more to stay home.

A quick guide to Russia’s world first COVID vaccine - and why it’s still controversial.

Queensland has recorded just three new cases on Tuesday, as the state pledges to help NSW manage the northern NSW lockdown.

A note signed by “Mummy and Daddy” has been left at the Brisbane park near where five-month-old Mia spent her final moments in her mother’s arms. 

A $1 million reward is being offered for new information that could help police solve the cold-case murder of a couple north-east of Melbourne more than three decades ago.

Property developers are knocking Perth homes down and subdividing blocks at an increasing rate with some local governments approving up to 44 per cent more demolitions in the last year.

First governments should do all they can to get vaccines to the people who want and need them.

Twenty-two-year-old Gomeroi man Gordon Copeland was last seen by police entering the Gwydir River a month ago. His family is still desperate for answers.

There is no viable long-term strategy that says we can simply keep the virus out.

LGBTQ people who work at religious schools can be sacked for who they are, and they fear the federal religious discrimination bill could make things worse.

Research suggests levels of a particular pollutant in the air over locked-down regions can give a clear indication of whether the lockdown has worked.

Loose lockdown rules and poor vaccination planning are compounding the effects of the Delta outbreak.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today’s interactive superquiz and target.

Ninety years ago, people of all ages and conditions, the well-dressed and the down at heel, lined up along Castlereagh Street to buy a ticket in the first State lottery.

NAB has landed on a new government relations boss after an exhaustive six-month search.

The customer, who died in 2016, had multiple sclerosis and a history of life-threatening seizures.

The NSW Department of Education said Bondi Beach Public School would be closed on Tuesday for cleaning and contact tracing after a student tested positive to COVID-19.

Readers are seeing green!

Tens of thousands of people in Sydney’s Penrith region are waking up to tougher lockdown restrictions, under-40s in Victoria will be able to get an AstraZeneca jab at mass vaccination hubs from today and Cairns has been plunged into a snap lockdown...

A sudden rule change last week has caught out many Australians who ordinarily live overseas, contradicting assurances made by the Home Affairs Minister days ago.

The relationship is a prime example of WA’s big fish, small pond paradigm, but Neville Owen has repeatedly said his connection to Kerry Stokes did not conflict with his obligations to the royal commission.

Five of Yarrabah’s seven GPs, who all live in Cairns, have been forced into isolation. 

Key health sector voices have called on the state to follow the lead of southern neighbours and open broader access to the vaccine at mass clinics to boost lagging community protection.

Lamaro’s Hotel owner Paul Dimattina says the pub wasn’t trading past 8pm and that it was just a few friends having a drink and consoling him in the face of yet another lockdown.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned bookings for the HSC vaccine program were well below capacity, while several students said they were still waiting to be sent a booking link.

Victorian renters can be evicted over rent going unpaid due to the COVID-19 pandemic but cannot be forced to repay what they owe until October 25, VCAT has ruled.

The Delta variant has put children – and, as a consequence, unvaccinated adults – at increased risk. Our health chiefs must refocus their energies on finding a safe way to inoculate children against COVID.

Brett Armstrong is suing the State of NSW, alleging former police officer Samuel Kanard threw him into the ground head first, injuring his spine, in March 2016.