Morning Buzz: Roadblock for same-sex marriage postal vote

The Turnbull government's same-sex marriage postal vote hangs in the balance, with the High Court told that the government does not have the authority to spend $122 million of taxpayer funds on the survey.

In a move that could stop ballots from being issued next week - and reignite pressure on the Prime Minister to grant a parliamentary conscience vote on marriage equality - critics of the postal survey have begun a legal challenge questioning its lawfulness. Read more.

An arc of eastern Australia stretching from western Victoria to central Queensland faces a more active bushfire season following another unusually mild and dry winter.

The seasonal bushfire outlook for southern Australia, released on Tuesday by the Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC, highlighted the potential for the fire season to get underway earlier than usual in NSW, Queensland and parts of Victoria.

Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, and Brisbane were all located in the regions with above-average fire potential for this year. Read more.

NSW Police believe the grass fire at Kurnell was deliberately lit.

Strike Force Cammarlie has been formed to investigate the fire in the Kamay Botany Bay National Park.

About 5.30pm emergency services were called to Sir Joseph Banks Drive after several triple-0 calls. It has remained within containment lines but has burned more than 350 hectares of thick bushland. Read more.

When Geoff Brown took over Mount Druitt’s Video Ezy in 1993, video stores were still public institutions.

Long before streaming sites like Netflix dominated the home entertainment game, the only way to watch a new movie in your loungeroom was to hire it from your local video store. Read more

An Ingleburn business has been fined $15,000 for stockpiling waste pallets above the permitted height.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued the fine to Direct Pallets after EPA officers conducted an unannounced inspection at the facility and observed a stockpile of unprocessed pallet waste that was approximately 10 metres at its highest point – significantly exceeding the limit of four metres. Read more

Australia's largest electricity generator has strongly dismissed a new push by the Turnbull government to make the country's coal-fired power stations run for years longer than originally planned.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull raised the prosect in Parliament – and in a phone call to AGL chief executive Andy Vesey – after a new report from the nation's energy regulator warned urgent action was needed to stop homes and businesses loosing power during extreme summer heat. Read more.

A five-year-old boy has died less than 10 hours after being sent home from a Sydney emergency department.

The boy, from Wahroonga, had complained of a sore stomach on Wednesday night and ate very little before going to bed, The North Shore Times first reported. Read more.

After waiting more than a year, families finally have a new playground to enjoy at Davison Reserve.

Parklea is the latest suburb to benefit from the council’s ambitious plan to open an average of one new park every two weeks this financial year. Read more

A Canley Heights retiree will hit the road with $10,000 in her pocket after winning one of the top prizes on a $1.10 Instant Scratch-Its ticket.

The winner, who purchased the ticket from Miller Newsagency (Shop 49-50, Miller Shopper Centre, Miller), is a regular player and claimed the prize after purchasing $20 worth of Instant Scratch-Its.

As expected, she couldn't’ believe her luck. Read more.

Australia's worst fears were confirmed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as a 1-0 win to Saudi Arabia over Japan saw them leapfrog the Socceroos into a direct qualifying spot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Now, a home-and-away play-off with Syria awaits on the 5th and 10th of October (although the 'away' leg will be in a neutral country due to security fears).

If the Socceroos can successfully navigate through that, a pair of November games against the fourth-placed North American team(one of USA, Panama Honduras or Trinidad & Tobago) will determine whether or not Australia participates in the world's biggest sporting event next year. 

After a frustrating contest on Tuesday night saw Australia struggle to a 2-1 victory over Thailand, care of a late Matt Leckie winner, the Socceroos were left relying on a Japan side, who had already qualified, to get at least a point against Saudi Arabia. Read more.

South Sydney have cut ties with coach Michael Maguire with two years remaining on his contract at the club.

Maguire fronted club hierarchy at a board meeting on Tuesday, where it was decided to call time on the most successful coaching regime at South Sydney since the club's glory days. Read more.

As sun-smart as he'd been in wearing a wide-brimmed hat, the oppressive Chittagong heat briefly got the better of Peter Handscomb, but it was the Australian batsmen who had given their team the upper hand by the end of day two at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Handscomb had looked in control, and had moved to 64 after around two hours at the crease, before he hunched over, needing to sit down and be tended to by Australian team doctor Geoff Verrall late in the final session of the day. It brought back memories of Dean Jones' incredible 210 in the Madras Tied Test more than 30 years ago. Read more.

Giants defender Adam Tomlinson has warned Crows players and supporters who plan to target Toby Greene in Thursday's qualifying final that they do so at their peril, with GWS set to adopt a siege mentality at a hostile Adelaide Oval against the minor premier.

Greene has been a magnet for opposition niggle and fan abuse this season, particularly in the latter stages of the year after jumper punching Alex Rance, and being reported for booting Western Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus in the face while reeling in a handball. Read more.