Major news in Australia: July-December 2018

2 - Scott Donaldson completes the first solo kayak voyage across the Tasman, after taking two months to traverse more than 2000km of ocean, from Coffs Harbour in NSW to Ngamotu Beach in New Plymouth, NZ.

24 - Cave-diving mates Richard Harris and Craig Challen, along with seven other Australian heroes, are honoured for their efforts in rescuing 12 boys and their soccer coach from deep inside a flooded Thai cave.

26 - Fairfax Media and Nine Network announce a $4 billion merger that will create an integrated media giant across television, online video streaming, print, digital and real estate advertising -- and erase the Fairfax name.

30 - The final report on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in 2014 says the cause of the plane's disappearance still cannot be determined and the "possibility of intervention by a third party cannot be excluded".

31 - Two years after trying to ban the greyhound industry after mass graves and live baiting were uncovered, the NSW government says it will hand out $500,000 in prize money to the sport.

6 - The financial services royal commission begins its investigation of the $2.6 trillion superannuation industry, with a number of large superannuation funds, including the already scandal-hit AMP, admitting to charging consumers fees for no service.

8 - Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle dies aged 36 after a long battle with cancer.

24 - Malcolm Turnbull is rolled in a partyroom meeting and Scott Morrison emerges as the new leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister after defeating Peter Dutton in a ballot. Julie Bishop loses the deputy's role to Josh Frydenberg and moves to the back bench.

24 - Food giant Heinz is fined $2.25 million for misleading consumers by claiming its Little Kids Shredz products were beneficial for young children when they contained high amounts of sugar.

25 - A "colossal" four kilogram gold nugget worth more than $250,000 is unearthed in Victoria.

4 - Westpac is fined a record $35 million for failing to properly assess whether thousands of people could afford to repay their home loans.

12 - Needles are found in strawberries, with the crisis affecting all six states and leading to a nationwide alert and recall; New Zealand pulls Australian-grown fruit from its supermarket shelves.

18 - House prices in Australia's capital cities fall on an annual basis for the first time since 2012.

19 - The Invictus Games kick off in Sydney,

19 - US and Australian archaeologists believe they may have discovered the wreck of Captain Cook's HMS Endeavour off the east coast of America.

24 - Michelle Guthrie is sacked as the managing director of the ABC halfway through her five-year contract. ABC board chair Justin Milne resigns three days later amid allegations he demanded a senior journalist be sacked to appease the coalition.

7 - Plans to project the results of the barrier draw for The Everest horse race onto the Sydney Opera House spark public outrage.

15 - Prince Harry and wife Meghan arrive in Sydney to begin their royal tour of Australia, NZ, Fiji and Tonga as well as kick off the Invictus Games; they announce the Duchess of Sussex is pregnant.

26 - Traditional owners the Taungurung people secure the largest ever native title settlement in Victoria's history in a $33.7 million deal.

29 - Cricket Australia is branded "arrogant" and "dictatorial" by stakeholders in a scathing independent review that makes 42 recommendations, calling for a revamp of winning bonuses, a rejigged code of conduct, greater transparency and a red-card system.

31- A group of NSW Nationals members quit the party amid an investigation into their alleged connection to alt-right, neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.

1 - Children of asylum seekers will be removed from Nauru before Christmas but Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says they will never be allowed to settle permanently in Australia.

4 - The youngest son of Rose Tattoo rocker Angry Anderson, Liam, 26, is killed in a violent and bloody attack on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

6 - Cross Counter, trained by Charlie Appleby, wins the Melbourne Cup, while the Nup to the Cup movement, which protests animal cruelty, gains more traction than ever before.

8 - Luke Foley denies putting his hand down an ABC journalist's underpants but resigns as NSW Labor leader as a result of the scandal. He is replaced two days later by Michael Daley.

9 - Somali-born Australian Hassan Khalif Shire Ali stabs three people on Melbourne's Bourke Street, killing well-known Italian cafe owner Sista Malaspina, 74.

9 - Conjoined Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa are successfully separated in an operation at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital.

20 - NRL star Jarryd Hayne is charged with the aggravated sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman, with police alleging he ripped off her clothes and bit her genitals so severely she suffered heavy bleeding and had to seek medical treatment.

21 - Bali Nine drug smuggler Renae Lawrence is released from prison in Bali after reductions in her 20-year sentence and returns home to Newcastle amid a media frenzy.

25-29 - A record-breaking extreme heatwave across Queensland leads to an unprecedented start to the bushfire season. While numerous buildings and properties are damaged, there are thankfully no deaths.

28 - Amy Shark wins Best Album, Best Female and Best Pop Release at the ARIAs, while Kasey Chambers scoops the Gold ARIA.

4 - A report on how an environmental charity received $444 million in taxpayer funding without a proper tender process to be released.

6 - NSW Judge quashes former Catholic archbishop Philip Wilson's conviction for covering up child sex abuse by a pedophile priest in the Hunter region of NSW.

16 - NSW Governor David Hurley announced as Australia's next Governor General.

19 - TV presenter Karl Stefanovic dumped as host of the Today Show on the Nine Network.

28 - Wild Oats XI takes line honours for a ninth time in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Australian Associated Press