Elizabeth Pike

Almost nine in 10 Aussie drivers admit they are not paying attention when they get behind the wheel, with phones, food and modern GPS systems repeatedly taking motorists’ eyes from the road, data shows.

A thousand more women and children will be able to access safety planning and support for domestic violence with a key service set to expand to six new locations across NSW.

Young people are zip-tying themselves to the light rail, taping themselves to street lamps and posting the stunts online as part of a strange “performance art” craze taking over the city.

Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of news from Canberra and around the country.

We are excited to announce that ASL interpretation for the contemporary music videos is once again available for this year’s Emerald Crossing VBS.

Australia’s top government agencies including intelligence, defence and the tax office have spent more than $80,000 on tickets to send their staff to a women’s leadership summit headlined by former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.

Australia’s first mass mortality event from the H5N1 bird flu strain is just the “beginning,” government ministers say, as farmers are told to brace for the disease ­possibly affecting the agricultural sector.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles says concerns over the $230bn property downturn are “overstated”, as a top economist warns the market is experiencing a correction following the government’s taxation changes and interest rate rises.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has cautioned against taking a quiz that advises people how to answer the religion question in the census, as the Coalition raises concerns it could compromise the ­“integrity” of the survey.

Cabinet minister Anika Wells has used Ooshies to spruik Labor’s contentious budget changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax, likening “collectors” of the plastic children’s toys to housing investors.