Australia

The varroa destructor was first found at a port near Sydney last week but has since been spotted in hives 100km away.

The outbreak threatens to cost the honey and food production industries millions of dollars.

Keepers inside a new biosecurity zone will not be able to move hives, bees or honeycombs until further notice.

Australia was the only continent free of the varroa mites, which are the biggest threat to bees worldwide.

The pests - which are about the size of a sesame seed - weaken and kill colonies by feasting on them and transmitting viruses.

Chris Bowen says people should not use electricity for two hours every evening if they "have a choice".

However, he added he was "confident" that blackouts could be avoided.

It comes after Australia's main wholesale electricity market was suspended because of a surge in prices.

Mr Bowen asked people living in New South Wales to conserve as much power as possible.

"If you have a choice about when to run certain items, don't run them from 6 to 8 [in the evening]," he said during a televised media conference in Canberra.

Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant.

It is believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4,500 years.

The seagrass covers about 200 sq km (77 sq miles), researchers from the University of Western Australia said.

The team stumbled upon the discovery by accident at Shark Bay, about 800km (497 miles) north of Perth.

They had set out to understand the genetic diversity of the species - also known as ribbon weed - which is commonly found along parts of Australia's coast.

During the campaign trail, Australia's Labor party has proposed a "Pacific Engagement Visa" which would allow about three-thousand people from the Pacific to migrate to Australia annually.

A lottery will draw the winners, with a pathway to permanent residency in Australia the main prize.

"People will enter the lottery, with their family, if they have a family, and if they are lucky enough to be selected, then they'll need to find a job…to come to Australia,” the director of the Development Policy Center at the ANU Professor Stephen Howes said.

A baby boy in Australia has been reunited with his distraught mother after he was taken when her car was stolen from outside an Adelaide deli.

The 4-month-old was missing for almost two and a half hours as South Australia Police desperately searched for him and the stolen car.

His mother's 2009 white Honda Jazz was stolen from outside a deli on Fourth Avenue, Klemzig in Adelaide about 7.45am (local time) while she was shopping inside.

Paterson open the scoring just before halftime.

New Zealand were first to score the second half, with Akuila Rokolisoa scoring the equalizer at the kickoff.

The All Blacks looked to have walked away with the game after a Leroy Carter try that put them into a 14-7 lead.

Australia answered with, Paterson’s brace and the winner in the final minute play.

Morrison spoke to reporters last night, saying he had conceded to Albanese.

"It's a difficult night for Liberals and Nationals around the country, as nights like this always are.

"They are humbling, but so is victory. Victory is also humbling and always should be.

"Tonight, I've spoken to the Leader of the Opposition and the incoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and I've congratulated him on his election victory."

It sees Prime Minister Scott Morrison go up against one of the country's longest serving politicians, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese.

The rising cost of living and climate change have shaped up as two key issues for voters.

But the election has largely been framed as a referendum on the leaders' characters.

Opinion polls suggest Labor will win by a narrow majority this time around. However, the polls were wildly inaccurate in the last election.

The stark findings are the result of an extensive survey by Australia's Anti-Slavery Taskforce.

The Taskforce's Executive Officer, Alison Rahill, said the Australian government needs greater scrutiny of the Pacific Labour Mobility scheme and that better support is needed for its seasonal workers.

The Taskforce is a social agency established by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, providing support for potential victims of slavery-like practices.

Ms Rahill said isolation and other factors increases the risk of abuse.

The wool industry claims to have identified a workforce shortage of 500 shearers and 500 shed hands, and wants to use Pacific Islands workers in what it hopes will be the start of a steady pipeline of easily exploitable workers.

AWU National Secretary Dan Walton said the union was not convinced there was a genuine worker shortage.

He says despite the ongoing claims by the Shearing Contractors Association of Australia and some woolgrowers of a labour shortage, the fact is the Australian flock has been shorn year after year.