Newly minted ambassador to the United States, former treasurer Joe Hockey, has taken the time to publicly defend Australia's climate change efforts after The New York Times published an editorial criticising changes at the CSIRO.

Two weeks ago, the revered American newspaper argued the decision to shift focus from climate change research and monitoring to mitigation and adaption stunned the scientific community and undermined commitments made at the November summit in Paris.

In the 21st century Americans have been distracted by the hyper-expensive “war on terror.” Trillions of dollars have been added to the taxpayers’ burden and many billions of dollars in profits to the military/security complex in order to combat insignificant foreign “threats,” such as the Taliban, that remain undefeated after 15 years. All this time the financial system, working hand-in-hand with policymakers, has done more damage to Americans than terrorists could possibly inflict.

My name is Anne Kennedy, and I’m a farmer from Coonamble, in north-west NSW.

New laws proposed by the NSW Government this week would mean a possible seven year jail term for farmers like me if we try to stop coal seam gas mining from destroying our groundwater.

ACTU Secretary, Dave Oliver said: "Unions are deeply concerned about the timing of the Liberal/Green proposals to reform Senate voting and have been voicing our concerns over their potential to open the door to a raft of anti-worker legislation since they became public."

"Malcolm Turnbull is using this deal to try and railroad crossbench Senators into supporting anti-worker legislation - such as the return of the ABCC - by directly threatening their seats in Parliament.

"Not to mention the potential damage that could be inflicted by a post double-dissolution joint sitting giving the Liberals the opportunity to radically attack workers' rights.

What does an examination of Tony Abbott’s record reveal?

It's not often that a 65 year-old retired politician can, with a straight face, pitch himself as the future-looking candidate in an election contest.

Tony Windsor just about got away with it.

Syria Dispatch: Most Syrians Support Assad, Reject Phony Foreign 'Revolution'

The United States wants to regularly rotate long-range heavy bombers through Australia, as concerns grow over China's military expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Federal ministers have confirmed the Government is actively considering bringing the budget forward, ahead of an early election.

New York, US - A group of Palestinians has launched an ambitious $34.5bn lawsuit against US-based tycoons, charities and firms for supporting Israeli land grabs, settlement-building and other violations of Palestinians' rights these past four decades.

They seek damages from Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson; Irving Moskowitz, a philanthropist with property interests in East Jerusalem; and megachurch pastor John Hagee for financing the construction of settlements on Palestinian soil.