Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush has won his defamation case against a Sydney newspaper publisher and journalist over reports he had been accused of inappropriate behavior toward an actress

Bill Shorten, who's tipped in polls to become Australia's next prime minister, is a powerbroker who has strong support in his center-left Labor Party

New Zealand's governor general has signed into effect sweeping gun laws outlawing military style weapons weeks after a man used such guns to kill 50 people at mosques in Christchurch

Australia's prime minister calls a May 18 election that will be fought on issues including climate change, asylum seekers and economic management

New Zealand's Parliament has passed sweeping gun laws less than a month after killings of 50 at two mosques

Australia's opposition leader says his government will take "real action on climate change" and reduce inequality in Australian society if his party wins elections on May 18

With just months at the helm, Australia's 'accidental' PM Scott Morrison has used all the time he had available to try to repair his party's position and define his leadership before facing voters

Australian prime minister announces that the nation will go to the polls on May 18

Australian prime minister visits governor general to call May election

A security adviser to an Australian prime minister has said he warned a Chinese-Australian writer not to travel to China before the blogger and critic of the Chinese Communist Party was detained on arrival at a Chinese airport in January