May 21, 2013 Self-harm rates among asylum seekers detained in Australian detention centres have dramatically fallen since September 2011.

May 21, 2013 A 170,000 hectare extension of Tasmania's World Heritage Wilderness zone has hit a roadblock, with an international cultural conservation group insisting the area must be studied for indigenous significance before it can be protected.

May 21, 2013 Finance Minister Penny Wong has condemned the Australian Christian Lobby over comments likening children of same-sex couples to the stolen generations, saying the group's "bigotry" has no place in modern Australia.

May 21, 2013 Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has defended the federal government's funding of Legal Aid, saying increased budget spending for the beleaguered service is evidence of Labor's Martin Luther King-esque quest for justice.

May 21, 2013 Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has admitted he has thought about the victory speech he'd give if he wins the September election.

May 21, 2013 B-vitamins could prevent Alzheimer's disease by reducing the loss of grey matter in vulnerable regions of the brain, researchers have found.

May 21, 2013 An Australian executive has been sentenced to 10 years jail in Dubai but his junior colleague acquitted in a spectacular climax to their four-year battle against property fraud charges.

May 21, 2013 The pay-off from helping developing countries to dig up their minerals could ''dwarf'' anything that aid might deliver, the government told international mining experts on Monday.

May 21, 2013 An Abbott government would dump the baby bonus entirely - even the reduced, means-tested payments proposed by Labor, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has said.

May 21, 2013 Another people smuggler has been arrested by Indonesian police in the most concerted effort in years to catch and lock up those who transport refugees by boat to Australia.