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Many community legal centres across the country that provide vital legal services are facing an uncertain future with the Federal Government unlikely to fund them after June. Today, the New South Wales government announced a $6 million rescue for its centres. It follows Tasmania which committed money to its community legal services last month. But for other states and territories, their future remains unclear.

Fairfax has announced a further shakeup of its media business in a bid to reduce its editorial budget by $30 million. Editorial staff at mastheads including The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald are again facing redundancies, though it's not yet known how many jobs will go. While Fairfax talks up its online future, one media watcher says it's likely the move is just another step towards the eventual breakup of the media business.

Queensland researchers say they've made a breakthrough in the treatment of dementia. Scientists from the University of Queensland's Brain Institute discovered that combining ultrasound with antibody drugs reduced the symptoms of Alzheimer's in mice. Although human trials are years away, the discovery could prove beneficial to Alzheimer's patients in the future.

The fallout from fire-fighting foam chemicals leaching into water supplies continues to worry residents in pockets around the country. Today, environmental regulators from Australia and overseas gathered in Melbourne, where they will begin to devise a national management plan for the chemicals. Meanwhile in the Northern Territory, residents in Katherine have just learned that the new national guidelines for safe daily consumption are much lower than it had previously been.

The renewables sector has had a record breaking year and energy experts are predicting the trend will continue. Seven large-scale solar projects were completed in 2016 and more will be built in the next 12 months.

New Zealand Post is hedging its bets, hoping that Kiwis' love of fast food will help to pull the company out of a revenue slump. The postal service says dwindling sales has forced it to rethink its business model, and prompted it to launch its own on-demand delivery service for everything from food through to things like pharmaceuticals.

Senator Nick Xenophon has labelled a campaign against him by activist group GetUp as 'bizarre' and 'bullying'. The group has announced plans to establish an Adelaide office to keep the Senator and his Nick Xenophon Team 'accountable'. GetUp says Senator Xenophon betrayed voters by doing a deal allowing the Government to cut company tax for businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million a year.

Community leaders say the closure of the Hazelwood power plant isn't the beginning of the end for the small Victorian town of Morwell. The power station's demise means the loss of about 1,000 jobs for the Latrobe Valley region, but locals say this isn't the first time they've faced tough circumstances and they're adamant they'll get through it.

If you're an accountant, lawyer or data analyst, a robot may soon take over your job. A new report from the International Bar Association suggests machines will most likely replace humans in high-routine occupations. The authors suggest governments introduce human quotas in some sectors to protect jobs.

The Medical Staff Association at the Royal Hobart Hospital is asking the state government to open 60 additional beds to avert a patient safety crisis over the winter. The state government says it has already opened 27 extra beds at the hospital .