Prime Minister Tony Abbott has acknowledged there has been community concern about his multi-billion-dollar paid parental leave scheme, and says it will be re-worked into a "holistic families package".

I find it ludicrous that the brother of Christopher Hitchens, Peter, states without flinching that "Good without God? Morality's Foundations Crumble in the Absence of Christianity"... It's quite insulting really. He is pissing on his brother's work with abandon, as well as pissing on all other religious beliefs — two for the price of one: 

Across Australia, rising rates of child obesity are already having a severe impact.

Leading diabetes expert Professor Paul Zimmet is shocked by the rise of obesity-linked type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents.

While Whitehaven Coal and the NSW Government continue to trash the nation, former Wallabies captain David Pocock has made a principled stand — to the fury of rugby officialdom.

This year is in the running to be the hottest globally and for the UK since records began, early estimates show.

Tony Abbott’s claim that no one would get a better rate than defence workers appears to be disputed at Senate estimates hearing.

Some public servants are getting a bigger pay rise than defence personnel, despite Tony Abbott’s assurances to the contrary.

Who could have predicted what a hash a Coalition government would make of its first budget? If Joe Hockey wants to lift his game in 2015, as we must hope he will, there are lessons the government - and its bureaucratic advisers - need to learn.

If Denis Napthine had an extra $20 billion to spend he might have fared a little better over the weekend in the Victorian election. That's the size of the war-chest mooted by the NSW Liberal government as they head to the polls early next year, pledging to privatise the state's electricity networks.

The Federal Government has announced backdowns on its university overhaul and defence force pay, after what Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described as a "ragged week" for his government.

In a wide-ranging press conference this morning, Mr Abbott said he wanted to address "head on" some of the recent criticism of his government.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says nuclear energy remains an option for Australia, describing it as an "obvious direction" as it considers how to cut carbon dioxide emissions after 2020.

Ms Bishop called for a an open discussion about the feasibility of nuclear power, given Australia's abundance of uranium, but accused Labor of resorting to a scare campaign when the issue was raised during the Howard government years.

Jobs are being reclassified onto lower bands on lower wages. The new jobs, which are about bringing in digital skills, are in lower bands than the journalists that are being let go, aren't they?

The week didn't start well for federal MP Clive Palmer and it's ended badly too with a family home suffering a partially collapsed roof in Brisbane's wild storm.