PerthNorg

Soaring rents worsen affordability crisis

The housing affordability crisis has worsened with a new report showing rents have soared by as much as 25 per cent in the past 12 months.

Australians are staying married for longer

AUSTRALIANS are ditching the seven-year itch and staying married for longer. The divorce rate has fallen to its lowest point in a decade, ABS Social Trends Statistics released yesterday show

Campervan slogans found to be misogynistic

The Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) has upheld two complaints against marketing slogans used by an Australian campervan company.

Red Hot Enlightenment to One Fewer God

In the wake of World Youth Day, Catherine Deveny reflects on the peculiar anachronisms of Catholicism and how she stopped believing in God.

Pollution feared in mystery seagull deaths

MORE dead seagulls have been found as pollution specialists continue investigating the mystery deaths of more than 140 gulls at Woodman Point, south of Fremantle in Western Australia.

Good news for Freedom of Information

Federal Ministers and department heads will no longer have the power to refuse access to Federal Government documents they believe not to be in the public interest, in new freedom of information (FOI) reforms announced by Senator John Faulkner today.

Work starts on Fiona Stanley Hospital

Work on the 643-bed Fiona Stanley Hospital began yesterday after the State Government moved to ensure the endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoo would be protected.

Smith to host Rice Perth visit

The Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says he will promote Western Australia's ability to provide secure energy when the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Perth this week.

World Youth Day Heard and Felt by All

While hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are celebrating World Youth Day (WYD) this week in Sydney, live sites like Barangaroo located along therecently vacated"Hungry Mile" are creating considerable noise pollution and affecting workers nearby.

Abatement opportunities overlooked

In addition to reducing its electricity use by 10% during the WA energy crisis in June and July, Murdoch has significantly reduced its emissions ahead of mandatory reporting and emissions trading - preventing 3500 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

Grab a Telethon Tatt

It's time to start gearing up for Telethon 2008 and McDonald's is doing its bit by selling Telethon Tattoosfor $1 each.

Access 31 - snatching defeat from the jaws of vict

Pontiff's Sydney sojourn

Pope Benedict XVI's Australia visit, as part of the World Youth Day meeting, has raised lot of heat and dust.

Indonesia admits guilt over Timor

THE Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has endorsed a truth commission's statement that his nation was to blame for gross human rights abuses against the East Timorese in 1999.

Markets in meltdown

SHAREMARKETS around the world have been rattled by the dire state of American home mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with the financial sector leading the market rout in Australia.