PM

The child sexual abuse Royal Commission chairman Peter McClellan has announced the inquiry's 57th case study public hearing will be its last. Justice McClellan said even though public hearings couldn't be held into all the institutions where abuse is alleged to have occurred, he believes all the types of institutions have been examined. The commission heard today that 64 per cent of the 6,500 Australians who have attended a private session at the commission were men.

From April, an Indigenous animated kids' TV series will be on our screens - in a first for Australia. The program's called Little J and Big Cuz, and is targeted towards Indigenous children under six years of age. The voices of Deborah Mailman and Miranda Tapsell star in the new show on NITV.

From Townsville down to Mackay, residents are bunkering down in preparation of what's tipped to be the worst cyclone to hit north Queensland since Yasi in 2011. But as tropical cyclone Debbie charts its way further south, authorities have just issued a fresh warning and evacuation orders for residents of Mackay. Debbie, now a category three cyclone, is now tipped to cross the coast as a category four between Bowen and Mackay. It's due to hit in the morning, coinciding with a tidal surge.

The rain has started pouring down, as Tropical Cyclone Debbie looms closer to the North Queensland coast. Reporter Annie Guest has the latest from the town of Bowen.

Mountain Bike Tourism is transforming the small town of Derby in North East Tasmania. But the success story of Derby's mountain bike boom could be overshadowed by the contention created by the Tasmanian Government's decision to open up forest around the trails for potential logging.

Federal Labor says that Tony Abbott is at war with his own party, following his calls for Victoria's Hazelwood Power station to remain open. The former prime minister says that the Federal Government should throw a multi-million dollar lifeline to keep Hazelwood open until other energy supplies come online. But Malcolm Turnbull has dismissed Mr Abbott's suggestion, while the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says that the closure of Hazelwood is the State Government's responsibility.

The Hazelwood plant in Victoria's LaTrobe Valley will become the ninth coal-fired power generator to close its doors in five years. Built in the 1960s, Hazelwood isn't considered the marvel of modern technology it once seemed. But with hundreds of job losses, what will the ripple effect be to the broader region?

Livelihoods in the tiny Victorian town of Waubra once relied on spuds and livestock, but now wind is a major source of income for many farmers. The town of about 500 people has 128 wind turbines, making it one of the largest wind farms in the southern hemisphere. The town's allegiance to wind has split the town, turning neighbours and friends against each other. And it's also become a magnet for anti-wind farm campaigners, who have labelled a so-called illness that comes with living near turbines, Waubra disease.

As politicians grapple with how to prevent the looming gas shortage, farmers are under more pressure than ever to allow gas wells on their properties. South Australia has a plan to pay farmers 10 per cent of mining royalties, if they allow extraction to go ahead. The Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby has praised that plan, but new analysis from anti-mining group Lock the Gate suggests farmers in Queensland would earn less than $1000 per well under that particular scheme.

China's visiting Premier has dismissed suggestions that Beijing is militarising the waters of the South China Sea, but concedes defence equipment placed on disputed islands is to help maintain freedom of navigation. Premier Li Keqiang discussed regional security concerns during formal talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra, before unveiling new trade agreements.