Public drunkenness will be decriminalised in Victoria on the eve of a coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal woman who died in police custody.

Acting prime minister Michael McCormack says the NSW abortion bill is up to state parliament, after Barnaby Joyce called on the leader to speak out against it.

A Victorian coroner will decide on Friday whether to keep secret details of Victoria Police’s pursuit policy from an inquest into the Bourke Street massacre.

As work crews begin to assemble near the Djab Wurrung Embassy in Victoria, the land’s traditional owners and their supporters say "we’re not leaving".

University of NSW researchers say the number of strip searches in the state jumped to 5483 in the 12 months to mid-2018 compared with 277 at the end of 2006.

The road trip will see young men from six cities visit more than 50 rural towns on the way to a gathering at Uluru.

A military lawyer who leaked classified documents about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan is due to appear again before a Canberra court.