The debilitating haze of Alzheimer's disease began its capricious descent on Hazel Hawke in 2001 and three years later she noted in typically laconic Australian style on her 75th birthday: "It's a bugger. It's just bad luck. It's an illness which is unpredictable, and when it comes you've just got to cope with it. It's like losing your skin or something."
One of Australia's most loved figures, Hazel Hawke has died at the age of 83.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says we have lost a wonderful Australian with the death of former first lady Hazel Hawke.
Experts urge action to counter the abuse of anxiety and insomnia drugs.
Major cleaning company Swan Services has gone out of business, putting 2500 cleaners across Australia - and an estimated 800 in Victoria - out of work.
The country's air-safety investigation bureau has been castigated in its handling of an inquiry into the ditching of an air-ambulance plane in the sea off Norfolk Island in November 2009.
Two car manufacturers remain, but will they be enough to sustain the local industry?
Former speaker Peter Slipper will stand trial in December over claims he defrauded the Commonwealth.
The defamation action brought by Schapelle Corby's family against a book publisher has been dealt a blow in the NSW Supreme Court, with her brother's case dismissed and her sister's claims narrowed.
Have a look at our gallery from Stretch festival and see if you can spot a familiar face.
Police will tomorrow kick off the national Operation Unification to target illicit firearms.
