Should have used the happy sails.

She’d already solo hiked thousands of kilometres up Australia’s east coast, but Sacha Wynter’s biggest challenge was yet to come at Queensland’s border.

A long-touted plan to divert floodwaters inland from the tropical north is being considered by the Queensland government.

Meanwhile, the number of cases linked to a music festival have not been released, despite the event being a close contact site over three days.

Polling this week has cast a spotlight on one of the most vexed areas of election analysis: the personal approval enjoyed by individual politicians.

There are still 46 close contacts from the Perth cluster who have not been tested, down from 86, as businesses impacted by New Year’s Eve event cancellations call for a better compensation program than previous lockdown grants.

Dozens of Gippsland residents felt the 2.9 magnitude quake on Tuesday afternoon, but emergency services say there were no reports of damage.

A battle with cancer ended Marrickville councillor Emanuel Tsardoulias’s life of public service. Now his wife, Zoi, will carry his mantle as she takes a seat on the Inner West Council.

Police confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Eli and Hannah Jones had been found safe and well - almost 22 hours after they left an address in Kains Flat on Monday for a walk.

Melbourne’s hospitality venues are hoping to avoid the rash of cancellations that marred the lead up to Christmas, but say COVID is exacerbating staff shortages.

Most people aged 65 and under are now advised to recover from the virus at home without medical involvement.

A defamation case between art collector Damien Vass and The Sunday Telegraph has heard conflicting claims over the sale of a five-panel work by the Archibald-winning artist.

A seven-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in her family home in Ellenbrook on Boxing Day, according to WA Police who are seeking any information about the incident from the public.

The NSW Health Minister continues to blame “tourism testing” for the pressure on the state’s pathology labs.

While Australian cricket fans celebrated remorselessly, 10 friends flew from interstate to attend the last three days of the Boxing Day Test. They got half a session.

By midday on Tuesday, a dozen COVID-19 testing sites were already at full capacity and out-of-action across the state.

A legal stoush has erupted over the $4 million estate of former Melbourne kickboxer and one-time Turkish television star Tarik Solak.

It is with great sadness, but with admiration for a life well filled, that we mourn the death of Rodney Syme, a colleague admired and respected by all who knew him.

Queensland’s strict PCR testing requirements for domestic entry could be relaxed as early as next week, if supply of rapid antigen tests is shored up.

The state opposition has accused the McGowan government of draining Western Power financially while exposing residents to life-threatening dangers from power outages.

The new Transport Minister’s position on the project has prompted the Opposition to accuse the government of breaking an election promise.

There are 60 people with COVID-19 in intensive care, as the NSW Health Minister implores Queensland’s Premier “in the strongest possible terms” to drop her state’s PCR testing requirements for interstate arrivals.

The state has 4779 active cases, including 257 Omicron cases, on Tuesday.

Emergency services were called to a park at Maribyrnong Boulevard, Footscray over reports the two-year-old girl was found in the water.

There are plenty of organised events and parties around Melbourne that will prioritise COVID safety while celebrating the arrival of 2022.

It sounds like the dream gig. A chance to work and live at one of WA’s most popular tourist hotspots. But nursing at Rottnest Island can be wilder than on the mainland and anyone who does it requires grit.

Thousands of Sydneysiders in their 20s have been forced to swap parties for isolation as they make up the greatest portion of new coronavirus cases in NSW.

This is not the first time we’ve been faced with what appears to be a seemingly unstoppable disease.

Under Victorian guidelines, I was cleared to work the day after a COVID alert.

Given the year that’s just been, there’s never been a better time for a fresh start.

Many arts companies are always scrambling for support as government funding is slashed. Now many have found life under COVID to be impossible.

This year’s Sydney Festival is being sponsored by a brutal regime.

An independent review into Victoria’s social housing system has recommended that all public and community housing be overseen by a single regulator and tenants’ needs be enshrined in legislation.

The courts have seen a rise in the number of claims related to vaccination and children, but also disputes where one parent has stopped letting their child spend time with the other unvaccinated parent.

Businesses and venues in Parramatta’s commercial core could operate around the clock, while bars and restaurants on Church Street could stay open until 3am.

Residents who endured years of inconvenience from the WestConnex motorway project face a second wave of disruption, as work ramps up on Sydney’s new rail line.

A Macquarie University neuroscientist, who this year became a Member of the Order of Australia, has been linked to 25 papers that contain potentially doctored images.

Storm hits wide area, Hitch in heat readings, American singer arrives

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

Four vans were taken from the charity on Christmas night and police have recovered three in two different locations.

In the past four days, 2850 new cases have been identified, yet only two new Brisbane locations were added to the exposure site list on Monday night.

What will COVID bring us next year? Will we see more freedoms or restrictions? Mater Health’s infectious diseases director Paul Griffin talks to Brisbane Times about the best (and worst) of 2021.

Reeking bins and missed missions.

Eighty-six close contacts from the Perth COVID cluster have not come forward for a test, prompting the WA government to extend mask wearing and hospitality restrictions until January 4.

Long delays are forecast at testing sites across Sydney on Tuesday as Brad Hazzard accused the Queensland Premier of “effectively perverting the purposes of pathology testing”.

As case numbers climb in Sydney, expectant mothers have been told by hospitals they must get PCR tests regularly.

The #hotvaxsummer of endless good times for a demographic who sorely missed social interaction has been doused by COVID-19’s rebound.

Two Melburnians who skipped border restrictions to attend the AFL Grand Final in Perth before being jailed have now returned to Victoria.

This should be a busy trade period for retailers, but staff shortages due to the coronavirus is forcing them to shut their doors.

For eight months the EPA has been cleaning up the illegal dumping ground in country Victoria, making a range of toxic and grisly underground discoveries.