AAP

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says her government's carbon price will reduce Australia's carbon footprint by 160 million tonnes by 2020.

OneSteel is seeking to reduce its use of coking coal in steel manufacturing, but says the sector is technologically constrained in its ability to reduce carbon emissions.

Curtin University will close its English-language test centre in Bentley after a West Australian corruption hearing into the falsification of test scores for immigrants.

The Greens have called on the federal government to heavily scrutinise Thai-based oil and gas producer PTTEP over its plans to produce LNG from floating vessels.

Australians have turned their backs on buying luxuries over the past two years, but are still more willing to pay a premium to buy green products and services than US and UK consumers.

The Australian share market closed firmer after strong gains in the resources, retail and telecommunication sectors.

Truck drivers have staged a noisy protest through Perth's main business district, sounding their horns in a slow convoy of rigs to the state parliament.

Conservationists say they may appeal a federal government decision to allow Shell to drill near the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef off the West Australian coast without an environmental review.

Victoria and NSW have received poor marks in terms of getting value for money out of the Building the Education Revolution program, while Western Australia achieved good outcomes, according to a report released today.

Is it the end of Tiger Airways Australia, and with it low airfares? The grounded budget airline maintains it will be back in Australian skies, and for the long term.

The man who was commissioned by the Western Australian government to review the state's industrial relations system has accused Premier Colin Barnett of trashing his reputation.

It will revolutionise our understanding of the universe and could reveal how galaxies and stars were formed.

Premier Colin Barnett predicts a carbon tax won't encourage people to reduce their electricity use.

Australia's biggest rare earths company Lynas has teamed up with German giant Siemens to produce magnets for use at wind farms.

The Australian share market has opened higher on positive offshore leads, with Wall Street surging on US economic data and commodities prices surging.

US stock markets surged on Thursday, buoyed by promising data on US job creation in June as well as a solid gain in retail sales for the month.

The Australian dollar is trading higher after a burst of positive jobs and spending data from the US and an interest rate rise by the European Central Bank overnight buoyed sentiment.

Help for steel but miners fear fuel hike – The Aus; Tax hits houses – The West; Backbench rebels over cattle ban – The Fin; ASIC gets tough on financial reports – The Aus; WA junks pay system, Oracle – The Fin

The federal government has given energy giant Shell the go-ahead to drill an exploration well near the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef without referring the proposal for environmental review.

Shares in Australia's largest livestock agent, Elders, gained ground after it said it would resume live cattle exports to Indonesia next month.

Australian stocks ended flat as gains in the retail sector were offset by losses caused by uncertainty over the government's carbon price plans.

A 38-year-old prospector who was reported missing in the Goldfields has been found safe and well.

If you have any doubts about the sustainability of Australia's resources boom, you won't get any support from the world's second and third biggest iron ore miners.

The strong Aussie dollar is giving Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane the unenviable reputation of being among the world's most expensive cities, a global survey shows.

The Australian construction industry is expected to remain weak this financial year, after it shrank for the 13th straight month as residential building slumped, a industry survey shows.

Australian wheat farmers stand to lose billions of dollars if the CSIRO's trials of genetically modified wheat are allowed to continue, Greenpeace says.

Tiger Airways faces a tough task in coming back from its month-long grounding, Virgin Group CEO Sir Richard Branson says.

Australia's jobless rate looks to have settled around a two-year low and is unlikely to go lower for the time being, economists say.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says only around 500 of the biggest polluting companies will pay the full carbon price, and small business won't be hit with extra red tape.

Premier Colin Barnett says the federal government should get live cattle shipments to Indonesia under way as soon as possible so pastoralists don't have to cull.

The death of a 27-year-old man in a crane accident has prompted BHP Billiton to suspend rail and port operations at its Port Hedland iron ore facility in the Pilbara.

The Australian share market has opened lower, despite a mildly positive performance by Wall Street overnight, and after Chinese interest rates rose.