Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a national bravery award to honor those who confronted an antisemitic terror attack.

Jhye Richardson could make his first Test appearance in four years with Australia locking in an all-pace attack for Boxing Day, on an MCG pitch described by Steven Smith as "quite furry, quite green", while Usman Khawaja has retained his spot after being a last-minute replacement in Adelaide.

Australia will not play a spinner in the Boxing Day Test on a Melbourne pitch stand-in captain Steve Smith described as “quite furry, quite green”.

Australia captain Pat Cummins says he is "cooling his heels a little bit" as he targets a return at next year's ICC T20 World Cup, following his comeback in the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after a back injury ruled him out of the opening two matches.

Terror attack in Australia exposes growing jihadist networks as security experts warn ISIS remains far from defeated despite recent government claims.

The police found two homemade Islamic State flags in the car of the suspects, a 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son.

But punishment and prevention are not the same thing. Nor is prevention through deterrence. The country loses a piece of its soul when it gives up on the public being understanding, trusting and cooperative with each other, when it sees the only way to keep order is through the firm hand of the state.

Australia is on track for a significant expansion of desalination capacity — converting seawater to freshwater — to meet the needs of a swelling population at a time of declining average rainfall.