The Tasmanian devil has been listed an endangered species by Australia’s government because of a contagious cancer that has wiped out most of the wild population.

Australia’s government today announced a new conservation zone off the country’s northeast coast but rejected environmentalists’ demands for a fishing ban in the Coral Sea.

Australia’s environment minister has defended plans to slaughter 400 kangaroos in the national capital as protesters planned to prevent the cull.

AUSTRALIA has “shocking” photographic evidence to back an international legal bid to stop Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters, the government said yesterday.

Graphic pictures of Japanese hunters harpooning whales and dragging their carcasses aboard a ship near Antarctica were evidence of “indiscriminate” slaughter, Australia said today.

An Australian judge today banned the company that conducts Japan’s whale hunt from killing the animals in a large part of its regular hunting grounds off Antarctica.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his team were formally sworn in as Australia’s new government today, nine days after sweeping to power in elections that ended more than 11 years of conservative rule.

Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd named his Cabinet today, choosing a woman to be Australia’s deputy leader for the first time and former Midnight Oil rock singer Peter Garrett as environment minister.

Australians entered a new political era today after electing their first new prime minister in more than a decade, and handing four-term leader John Howard a humiliating loss.

Australia’s outgoing Prime Minister John Howard said it is “very likely” he will lose his seat in Parliament, minutes after he conceded defeat in the national election.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard today announced a major Cabinet reshuffle ahead of federal elections later this year, signalling climate change as a key issue but standing firm on his support of the Iraq war.

American pop star Ashlee Simpson and newcomers The Veronicas were the big winners at the MTV Australian Video Music Awards (AVMAs) yesterday, picking up two awards each.

AUSTRALIANS were warned yesterday to stay away from beaches in three cities this weekend with police saying they have credible evidence that racial violence was being planned.

Australian rock star-turned-MP Peter Garrett returned to parliament saying he felt “quite a bit better” after he collapsed on a Sydney beach at the weekend.

The rock singer and environmentalist who was front man for Australian rock band Midnight Oil announced this morning he will run for Parliament on the opposition Australian Labor Party’s ticket in elections expected later this year.

Peter Garrett, the lead singer of disbanded Australian rock group Midnight Oil, may run for parliament for the Australian Labour Party, in a move that party leaders hope could win them crucial support from environmentalists.

Mourners in cowboy hats mingled today with Australia’s prime minister and music stars at the state funeral of Slim Dusty, a country singer hailed as one of the nation’s greatest storytellers and a promoter of reconciliation between Aborigines and other Australians.

Cloning duplicate human beings may be justified in the future if the dangers can be overcome, a leading bio-ethics expert said today.