Parts of New South Wales have experienced the worst drought in recent years.

In the Upper Hunter Valley region, farmers have said it’s been over a year since their properties have received any decent rainfall, and are openly sceptical of the government's new drought measures.

In 2015 a new multi million dollar drought management scheme was announced to help provide financial support for farmers, but locals are claiming that the increased red tape has left things harder than ever.

Queensland Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk vowed to tackle cyberbullying, following the death of a 14-year-old Northern Territory girl earlier this month.

Palaszczuk said she will be discussing the issue with her cabinet, before creating strategies to take to the Council of Australian Governments at a meeting in early February.

LNP deputy leader Tim Mander said that the Opposition backs Palaszczuk’s push to prioritise cyberbullying as he says the issue has gone “beyond politics”.

After carrying out more than a thousand successful procedures, a Brisbane hospital was named a centre of excellence in robotic surgery.

Robots in the Wesley Hospital allow doctors to perform precise and delicate procedures with greater ease.

Michael Kridge, General Manager of The Wesley said the hospital “wants to provide Queenslanders with what is the best technology - and the best centre in Australia”

Desperate measures to conserve water in South Africa’s capital have had little effect, with taps are expected to run dry in less than 4 months.

The taps in Cape Town are predicted to be turned off on April 12, when the reservoirs drop below the minimum levels needed to provide water safely.

“Day Zero” as officials have called it, will follow three consecutive years of drought, and will mean Cape Town will be the first metropolis in the world to run out of water.

An Egyptian presidential candidate has been detained at a military prison, just three days after his announcement that he would contest the current president at the upcoming elections.

General Sami Anan, believed his arrest was politically motivated, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was obstructing any chance for genuine presidential elections.

The army said Anan had not obtained their approval to run, and accused him of seeking to divide the armed forces and citizens of Egypt.

As of Thursday, the public will have to make a visit to their local GP before purchasing painkillers, with products such as codeine, panadeine and nurofen plus being taken off shelves.

The move from shelf to behind the counter was part of a decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in a bid to stop codeine addiction and misuse.

Research published in the Medical Journal of Australia found the rate of codeine-related deaths in Australia more than doubled between 2000 to 2009.

The Queensland Government is set to ‘shake up’ the transport system with a new $134 million renewal plan.

Go Card, MyKi and Opel ticketing systems across the nation will eventually be replaced by a tap-and-go bank card and smartphone payment service.

Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews said "getting a smart card system is all about ultimately being able to transition to a smart phone system"

Logan City Council avoided a clash between two traditional owners who lodged native title claims, just 4 months after previous claimants lost their federal court bid to be registered.

Council called for a cultural heritage management body to be set up at last week’s city infrastructure committee meeting.

The news comes after reports relations had hit rock bottom between the council and new claimants, Danggan Balun and Yuggera Ugarapul.

Protesters will rally on William Street at 10am this morning outside the Queensland Cabinet meeting.

Members of the Stop Adani movement will gather to demand that Labor keep their election promise to veto a government loan to Aurizon, one of Australia's largest freight operators.

The proposed loan to Aurizon is speculated to be in aid of building a railway line from a port city to the Adani mine, making it easier and cheaper for the project to go ahead.