A pig has turned on a woman who tried to look after it, effectively holding her hostage on a property in northern New South Wales. Sixty-three-year-old Caroline Hayes says she has been unable to leave her house to use the farm’s outdoor toilet at times because the white pig is aggressive towards her.

The Rudd Government is concerned that taxpayer-funded relief from the Exceptional Circumstances scheme is being collected by farmers who had saved money in Farm Management Deposit accounts. The accounts, introduced by the Howard government, give farmers tax breaks if they put money aside in good times ready for later use.

The unnamed donkey was found in possession of the research institute’s corn and a local judge sentenced him to 24 hours in prison. The man who had his ass thrown in jail got off with a fine of 50 Egyptian pounds ($11.40).

Hopes that winter rains had brought a lengthy reprieve for the lower lakes at the mouth of the Murray were dashed by advice to Climate Change Minister Penny Wong from her department, revealing that a decision on whether to inundate them with sea water might have to be made as soon as February. With another long, rainless summer looming, the situation in the lower basin was the worst since records began in 1892.

Cows automatically point to the north because they have their own in-built compasses aligning them with the Earth’s magnetic field, scientists have discovered.

For Government ministers, the Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson, is something of a political coconut shy at the moment. It’s always worth lobbing something at him: even if the odds are long, you might surprise yourself and win a prize.