National Breaking news

A 64-year-old man spent six hours stuck in a tree after a paragliding mishap before he was rescued by police in northeast Victoria.

TREASURER Wayne Swan says people should believe him when he says the Budget will return to surplus next year.

MACQUARIE Group is in the process of cutting around 10 per cent of jobs in its securities business.

RAY Mickelberg, who was wrongly jailed for the 1982 Perth Mint swindle, is suing Bunnings after being acquitted of stealing a fan and a roll of tape from the hardware giant.

LEIGHTON Holdings' Thiess wins a $1 billion mining contract to extend the life of OZ Minerals' Prominent Hill copper and gold mine.

THERE'S nothing healthy about a tan - except perhaps its ability to ward off food allergies and eczema.

AUTHORITIES are still trying to talk down a man who has been sitting on the roof of a medium security prison in Western Australia for more than five hours.

A MELBOURNE teenager alleged to have attacked Opals basketball aspirant Rachel Jarry had witnessed a brutal homicide and was to have given evidence in a murder trial, a court has heard.

A MAN accused of orchestrating a $3.7 million fraud ring that allegedly involved a Hells Angels bikie boss wants his bail conditions varied so he can play soccer.

GOVERNMENTS need to reform Australia's housing sector to make it more affordable and accessible, property experts say.

A CHILDCARE worker accused of sexually molesting 12 young boys has been charged with eight more offences, court documents show.

A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to build a coalmine in Western Australia's Margaret River wine and tourism region has been rejected by the State Government.

ST George evacuees may have to wait until next week before they can return home, as floodwaters are expected to surround the southern Queensland town for days.

A MAN is stuck in a tree after crashing his paraglider in regional Victoria.

UP to 10,000 NSW drivers have been wrongly charged for using Melbourne's CityLink tollway because of a glitch in the operator's plate recognition technology.

A WOMAN has been found dead in a shed in the NSW Hunter Valley, sparking a police investigation.

IT'S official - Australia has had its wettest two-year period on record.

PROSECUTORS want a 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to murdering three members of a family at Kapunda to re-enter his pleas to ensure he is unequivocally admitting his guilt.

ONE of Charles Dickens' great expectations was that there would not be a monument erected in his honour after his death.

A NSW brother and sister have been honoured as Australia's top young science minds.