Tasmania's economy was just picking up as coronavirus restrictions sent thousands of people out of work — but some help is out there.

Once a destination for grey nomads and bus tours, Australia's island state has built its brand into something clean, green and edgy. With 10 per cent of its economy hinging on tourism, Tasmania has a lot to lose.

State borders are closed, but has the time come to cordon off the shires from visitors too? Some rural and country leaders think so.

Researchers in Adelaide are working on turning mushroom waste into items like sunscreen, skincare products and coating for outdoor furniture.

When David Morrell's wife in wheelchair had a fall last week, he couldn't help her up because he's blind. He's made the tough decision to cancel support services to avoid his wife contracting COVID-19, but worries how they'll cope alone.

Two more staff at the North West Regional Hospital test positive to coronavirus, taking the total to six, prompting a ban on visitors to the facility as well as the Mersey Community Hospital.

Artist Megan Walch was just two weeks into a months-long arts residency in the heart of Paris when coronavirus took hold of France. Armed with her camera, she documented her experiences. Now back home in Tasmania, she's just one of the artists adapting her work for an unusual age.

The Tasmanian man was trying to get home in a yacht when he hit rocks near Portsea on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

With the global death toll now at more than 100,000, there is an urgent need for a coronavirus vaccine. But will pharmaceutical companies be tempted to put profits before patients?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has answered questions from kids around Australia on the coronavirus pandemic on ABC Me's Behind The News program.

A man who was a patient at a hospital at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak dies after contracting COVID-19, becoming the second death in two days as RAAF and ADF personnel begin work in the disease-hit region.

Coronavirus has forced some dramatic changes to how the ABC keeps the public informed, from home-based broadcasting to webcam interviews and recruiting people featured in a story to help film it on their mobile phone.

A Tasmanian man in need of urgent cancer treatment says he has been refused surgery because his local hospital is in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak.

The Tasmanian Government unveils a $3 million package to support around 26,000 temporary visa holders stuck in the state because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia has a chequered history with introducing species, but farmers and scientists are celebrating as our newest dung beetle begins to make itself at home.

Tasmania records its 10th coronavirus death and its ninth in the hotspot north-west region, with another health worker case announced late Saturday.

Chris Bishop's career as an epidemiologist had slowed down, allowing her to spend time on her farm, until the coronavirus pandemic was declared.

People working from home during COVID-19 restrictions have ditched the slacks for the humble track pants.

The trauma of premature birth has additional complications for parents who live hundreds of kilometres from their baby's neonatal hospital.

A prisoner who escaped from a low security prison farm in South Australia has been found "without incident", police say.

The lure of the outback beckons for young people with a taste for adventure and unique career opportunities.

A Gold Coast electrician fishing on the Murray River on the NSW-Victorian border was startled to find that what he thought was a log, or a dead Murray cod, was in fact a partly-skinned freshwater crocodile, thousands of kilometres from its natural northern Australian habitat.

The family and friends of Naomi Williams, who died, along with her unborn son, after 20 attempts to get help, say the apology they have received via a statement from the health district is not good enough.

An irrigation channel used to release water into a forest along the Murray River in NSW is filled with earth and rocks, with an irrigator saying it's a sign of frustration boiling over in the area.

Basin communities share experiences of life under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, in what they say is the 37th review into the water management scheme.

Foxes are chewing on irrigation pipes used in orchards and vineyards as the drought bites in the Riverina.

Spending a year or two working as a jackaroo on an Australian sheep station was once a rite of passage for many young Englishmen. Mark Evison was one of them before he was killed serving in Afghanistan and others are following in his footsteps.

Rugby Australia's 25-year marriage to Fox Sports looks to be over, with the code's bosses going to the market as early as this week in the hunt for a new broadcast partner.

After two weeks of grand schemes and "fake news" claims, a plan to sell Perth Glory to the London Football Exchange is over — but something did not seem right to begin with, writes Clint Thomas.

Emergency services workers scale down a steep cliff on Victoria's Great Ocean Road to rescue a stranded dog named Jimmy.

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.

Prince of Arran came third in last year's Melbourne Cup, and now the English racehorse who loves Australia wins the Geelong Cup, but a Flemington start is still up in the air.

The owner of racehorse Thought of That defends himself against claims of sexism after dropping jockey Linda Meech in favour of Mark Zahra for Saturday's Victoria Derby at Flemington.

After suffering a stroke as a baby, Adyan bin Hasan's left hand is weak. And while it doesn't stop the five-year-old playing basketball and cricket, his disability is the reason his family's permanent visa application has been rejected.

High-density developments are cropping up in almost every Melbourne suburb and local resident groups have had enough.

Artist Daniel Fisher has swapped the rollercoaster life of drugs and depression for a smooth highway of parenthood and happy creativity.

The car that carried aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler through the streets of Brisbane in front of thousands of people almost 90 years ago will be restored to its former glory in Bundaberg.

CEO of a Bunbury freight company, Mark Mazza wants to see a nationally accredited training scheme for truck drivers.

For the first time in 10 years, the annual Queensland Variety Bash has departed from Cairns.

A gallery of some of the best winter ocean-themed photos submitted by locals to ABC Open's Pic of the Week project.

An outback Queensland grazier has organised a fine art photography workshop in the tiny town of Yaraka as a way to not only improve her skills but to escape the harsh reality of drought for a weekend.

Ex-dance cast member from the film Strictly Ballroom, Dede Williams, takes the locals through not only new dance steps, but the psychology and communication required when mastering the art of dancing.

Moss Vale photographer Ashley Mackevicius couldn't compete with his school friend Nick Cave for music or poetry skills, so he switched to photography. Cave went on to become one of Australia's greatest ever musicians, and Mackevicius did the same for photography.

A wide range of foreign treats and traditional cuisines made their way into the mouths of festival goers in north Queensland over the weekend. The festivities were part of an annual Global Grooves event highlighting the diverse range of cultures in north Queensland.

Kym Lynch from Mount Isa trains for extreme sports events around work

Steers drink from a water trough at Glenagra Station

The disgraced Cardinal faces claims he knew of child sex abuse by notorious paedophile Edward "Ted" Dowlan and was involved in moving him from school to school, allowing the abuse to continue.