The Melbourne Storm's Nelson Asofa-Solomona will be available to play in the opening round of the NRL next season, despite being handed a three-match suspension after a violent altercation while on holiday in Bali.

The NRL is accused of treating players like "products" rather than people over its decision to ban New Zealand prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona for three Tests despite acknowledging he was provoked.

A 21-year-old man of no fixed address is arrested by detectives over the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a park in Thornbury in Melbourne's north on Saturday night.

We all know the importance of blood donations to save lives, but have you ever thought about what happens when a pet needs a transfusion?

A man appears in a Melbourne court charged with raping a 32-year-old woman who was walking a dog in Thornbury on Saturday night.

Liberal backbencher Dave Sharma and Labor MP Josh Burns join forces with alleged victims to seek Malka Leifer's extradition to Australia to face child sexual abuse charges.

A man accused of threatening his former wife before allegedly shooting her in the head has been granted bail because it took more than a decade to charge him.

The artist sister of cartoonist Michael Leunig says she does not believe her brother understands how hard mothers work and that many are also juggling careers, after his controversial cartoon appeared to critique heavy use of social media by mothers.

Plastic cutlery, paper bags and plates overflowing in bins have become a thing of the past for a Melbourne primary school with a tough stance on waste.

At the launch of a fellowship named after murdered exchange student Aiia Maasarwe, her father Saeed has reflected on his daughter, and asked people to remember the positive things about her.

Noor Maasarwe, the sister of murdered exchange student Aiia Maasarwe, says she does not feel safe in Melbourne, as she returns to the city to launch a fellowship in her sister's honour.

The sister of murdered exchange student Aiia Maasarwe says she does not feel safe in Melbourne, as she returns to the city of her sister's death to help launch a fellowship in her honour.

A man responsible for an "atrocious attack" on an off-duty paramedic during a crime spree on the Mornington Peninsula last year is sentenced to five years and nine months in jail.

Police horses charged through demonstrators protesting an international mining conference

A judge describes the attack on 21-year-old Aiia Maasarwe as "unsophisticated and opportunistic" in sentencing her killer to 36 years' prison, with a non-parole period of 30, as the victim's father and sister watch on in court.

Saeed Maasarwe said his family is not motivated by revenge over the rape and murder of his daughter Aiia Maasarwe, as he remembered her as a positive woman who wanted to help everybody.

Police arrest more than 40 demonstrators who were blockading the entrance to an international mining conference in Melbourne, while two officers who were injured during an arrest are taken to hospital for treatment.

Climate activists clash with police after two protesters climbed outside the Melbourne Convention Centre, where an international mining conference is being held.

The popular AFL program Marngrook Footy Show is cancelled after 12 years on air, with the decision met by anger from one of the program's hosts and its loyal following of viewers.

Senior Victorian police defend their tactics, including the pushing of a journalist and the use of pepper spray, during protests outside a mining conference, saying officers are ready to respond the same way tomorrow.

Furious connections demand answers from Racing Victoria after two fancied horses were withdrawn from the Melbourne Cup over fears they have incomplete leg fractures.

A police officer suffers a serious injury to his hand after his unmarked vehicle is rammed by a man attempting to avoid arrest on a property at Lara, south-west of Melbourne.

A lewd sticker on a police body camera lands a Victoria Police officer in hot water, with the force launching an investigation into the "extremely disappointing" incident.

For the second time in two days, Victoria Police expresses "extreme disappointment" in one of its officers, this time after alt-right material shared on social media was connected to an officer accused of using a hand gesture associated with white power.

Benalla man Joseph McDonald is charged with one count of murder after handing himself into police on Saturday evening.

The 2019 Melbourne Cup has been won by Australian-owned, trained and bred horse Vow And Declare in a dramatic finish at Flemington, but last-placed Rostropovich is taken to Werribee with a pelvis injury.

Vow and Declare co-owner Bob Leitch said his "emotions flowed over" as a horse part-owned by a novice syndicate from Queensland stormed to Melbourne Cup victory.

A senior Victorian Liberal Party figure admits in court that signs used in May's federal election in Josh Frydenberg and Gladys Liu's electorates were designed to "convey" the appearance of official electoral commission material.

Spring and summer are the busiest times of year for dog attacks, so what should you do to avoid your pup becoming a victim, and who's to blame if it's attacked?

When 40,000 seedlings propagated by prisoners at Loddon Prison were not going to be planted, locals stepped in to make sure the trees would find a home.

As part of the NAIDOC Week celebrations in Mackay, locals gathered in Queens Park to take part in a NAIDOC fun day event. While some people were admiring the food and information stalls, and live entertainment, others were asked what NAIDOC Week means to them.

An array of Pacific Island communities converged on the Mackay Botanical Gardens last weekend to take part in the region's first Pasifika Festival. The event highlighted Mackay's diverse cultures by showcasing traditional artwork, food and performances.

Meredith Ireland has spent the last six years studying and working in the finance sector, but recently she has decided to put more time into her passion, textiles and weaving.

A number of businesses in Mackay's city heart are struggling to keep afloat since the Mackay Regional Council's City Centre Revitalisation Project commenced in August last year. The project aims to give the CBD an $18.6 million makeover by revitalising footpaths, street furniture and underground storm water drains, and is due to be completed by the end of 2015.

About 300 people took part in Saturday's Reclaim the Night rally, where women and girls marched through the town to Victory Park, sang and carried banners.

Wine flowed and cuisine was sampled at Queens Park when close to 30,000 people attended Mackay's Wine and Food Day. The annual event has been ongoing in Mackay for the past 28 years and this year event manager said it attracted bigger numbers than ever before.

South coast photographer, Nic Duncan, has been named Western Australia's 2015 Portrait Photographer of the Year by industry body, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). Her environmental portraits offer a glimpse into the lives of diverse individuals, centred around a unique Great Southern town.

The idea was simple; find a spot in Australia with some of the best weather in the world, move there, and start brewing German beer.

The Norfolk Pines along Albany's Ellen Cove are looking snug this winter, thanks to the antics of local yarn bombers, the Purly Queens. The fuzzy activists are encouraging locals to hug a pine for the 20th anniversary of National Tree Day.

It was bitterly cold at Anzac Cove on the 25th April. In order to attend the Dawn Service marking 100 years since the landing at Gallipoli, Jeff Peirce went 34 hours without sleep.

From the outside, the Mackay Senior Citizen's Hall may not look like an overly exciting place. Step inside on a Wednesday night and the flashing lights, twirling bodies and loud music might just prove that wrong. For the past two decades, people of all ages have gathered to learn a thing or two about rock and roll dancing.

The sound of chatter and wind instruments being blown at different times fills the room at the Launceston College music centre as the band members warm up for rehearsals.

In the early hours of Friday morning when most people were waking and getting ready for work or school, 200 military personnel in north Queensland were close to finishing 24 hours of hard work.

What do you when you come across something that has been lost? The natural instinct would be to return it to its home, but what if that lost thing made no sense at all?

Duneira is a late Nineteenth Century country house in Mt Macedon - but it has a curious history.

Mount Panorama has made the most experienced racing driver and their team shudder, but it hasn't stopped a group of TAFE students taking on the mountain.

From fast paced horses to tracking the blood moon, the skills of Tasmanian Photographic Federation members from around the state are now on display in an exhibition for the next few months.