Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam says Chinese military intervention is possible if the local government cannot stop violent protests.

Protestors in Hong Kong wore face masks in defiance, after a colonial-era emergency powers were used to introduce new laws forbidding protestors from using face masks in protests.

The law marked the first time emergency powers had been invoked since 1968. The Hong Kong leader has also urged young people not to engage in political activities.

Australia's chief medical officer says that a ban on repeat prescriptions for antibiotics could be just weeks away.

Currently, antibiotics automatically come with a repeat prescription, but Professor Brendan Murphy, who chairs the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory, says that repeat options should be removed if they are not medically necessary.

Professor Murphy says that the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance is a serious problem for doctors, and that change is needed to help combat superbugs.

New statistics revealed by the Federal Opposition, show that more than 95,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia by plane over the past five years, triggering fears over exploitation and slavery.

Labor's home affairs spokeswoman, Kristina Keneally accused the Government of mismanaging the borders, and said that people smugglers have shifted their business model from boats to planes.

Tourist spending in the Queensland outback has surpassed record levels, as the region welcomed over a million visitors from interstate and overseas for the first time.

State Tourism Minister Kate Jones hailed the announcement, attributing it to the Queensland Government’s marketing campaign

Queensland researchers are hailing a world-first breakthrough in for cervical cancer treatment, having killed off tumours in mice using CRISPR gene-editing technology.

Scientists say all the treated mice  had a 100 per cent survival rate with help from the technology, which changes the sequence of DNA to help correct gene mutations.

The withdrawal of US troops from northeast Syria has caused panic and confusion among the 66 Australian women and children who are stuck in refugee camps in the region.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds confirmed that the Australian government is in no rush to bring them back, telling reporters on Tuesday that they “will not be endangering the lives of other Australians.”

The White House has slammed the door in a letter on Tuesday on any cooperation by President Donald Trump's administration with the Democrats' impeachment probe, calling it "constitutionally invalid."

The eight page letter to Democratic leaders, rejected the entire process underway in the House of Representatives, which is examining whether Trump abused his office by seeking a corruption probe in Ukraine of 2020 election rival Joe Biden.

A whistleblower and an academic have said pressure from the Australian government’s top cyber security agency led to their speeches being cancelled at a conference in Melbourne.

Former NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, and Melbourne University academic Dr Suelette Dreyfus were both due to speak at the Australian Cyber Conference in Melbourne this week, but were told by officials that their speeches had been cancelled.

The Morrison government has defended Newstart allowance as affordable and well targeted, as it faces criticism sparked by research showing it is one of the lowest unemployment benefit schemes in the developed world.

Analysis provided by the Australia Institute said Newstart was also the third-lowest unemployment benefit in the OECD for a newly unemployed minimum wage worker. 

The Government has dismissed the comparisons, saying most countries required contributions from employers and employees or were paid for by higher taxes.