A man disqualified from driving and tested positive to methamphetamines has been jailed for at least two years for dangerous driving causing the death of a former regional Victorian mayor near Ballarat in 2017.

Dozens of Victorians shared their painful and powerful stories during the state's royal commission into its broken mental health system. Commissioners now have the difficult task of finding a way forward, write Zalika Rizmal and James Bennett.

A former Catholic priest who showed pornographic images to children and assaulted a teenager while he slept is jailed for two years and two months.

A cold snap has washed across Victoria, plunging temperatures below zero in many places and drenching others in rain.

The ABC understands the Victorian Department of Corrections considers the Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat, 200 kilometres west of Melbourne, to be the most appropriate place to send the high-profile cleric.

A contentious highway upgrade again comes under scrutiny after revelations a land deal was struck between Victoria's roads department and the former Aboriginal cultural heritage authority which approved the development.

More than 500 protesters stop traffic outside the Victorian Parliament to rail against the planned destruction of trees sacred to Aboriginal people in Victoria's west.

Rachel Griffiths's biopic about Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne, Ride Like a Girl, will remain unchanged despite horse trainer Darren Weir being banned from horseracing for four years.

The daughter of 1993 Adelaide murder victim Suzanne Poll has thanked police for their efforts in investigating her mother's death. A Victorian man has been extradited to South Australia charged with Ms Poll's murder.

Gay and lesbian culture has been long associated with the city, often to the detriment of LGBT people in rural Victoria who felt they could never be accepted.

The green hills of south-west Victoria couldn't be further from the latest outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease African swine fever (ASF) in Timor-Leste, but pork producer Xavier Meade isn't taking any chances.

'You don't have to be a scientist to work on them': Vintage tractors, some more than 80-years-old go under the hammer, attracting buyers from around Australia.

Alexander McCall Smith

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader.

Gordan Lomas

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader.

Mike Ladd

The Storm hold on in a tight encounter against the Dragons to win 16-14 in Wollongong, as both sides struggle to cover for their missing State of Origin stars.

A joint operation between the Australian Border Force, ACT and NSW police has discovered about 384kg of cocaine inside a second-hand excavator bound for a regional NSW business. (Supplied: Australian Border Force)

Police seize more than $140 million worth of cocaine stashed in the arm of an excavator that was destined for a business in a small NSW town.

A braille teacher says technology is causing a decline in literacy among people who are vision-impaired, prompting her to bring the tactile language into the mainstream.

Australia has an extensive list of previously banned books that were once considered "obscene" and a threat to the country's morals and literary standards.

A court hears a former NSW Northern Beaches baseball coach allegedly kept torture tallies, diaries naming victims, footage of alleged assaults and was in possession of child pornography.

A former Special Forces soldier says it's time for the ADF to "modernise" its internal legal system and start footing the bills for members who want to use civilian lawyers.

They've battled gale-force winds, cold winter nights, and drunks serenading them with Billy Joel classics at three in the morning. But two young medicos are determined to keep sleeping out in their scrubs to draw attention to the detention of asylum seekers.

It startled the cows, intrigued the locals and excited scientists around the world. Fifty years on, the Murchison meteorite still defines a town and yields new discoveries every year.

The prosecution in the Claremont serial killings trial withdraws its case that Bradley Edwards was so emotionally upset about the breakdown of his relationship with his wife that he murdered three young women.

Power has been restored to most of the 55,000 homes and businesses in Western Australia that were plunged into darkness when a massive storm hit the southern part of the state.

The Northern Territory has one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 testing in the nation. Will testing increase ahead of pubs and restaurants opening next weekend?

The Federal Government will name and shame organisations which do not sign up to the National Redress Scheme for victims of child abuse, but a parliamentary committee wants it to go much further.

After years of failed self-regulation, the Federal Government has imposed a watchdog on the financial planning sector. But will FASEA be able to stop conflicted payments and poor advice where many others have tried and failed?

A gonorrhoea expert says people will be keen to get "out and about" as social restrictions ease, which could worsen an already higher-than-usual number of cases on the Gold Coast.

If Vincent Uwimana had not started translating important messages about COVID-19, Congolese refugees may still believe hot water and onions could protect them.

Christopher Turner, the contractor responsible for a gas mix-up that poisoned two newborns with nitrous oxide at a Sydney hospital, is convicted and fined $100,000.

Although anecdotal evidence and media reports suggest COVID-19 has prompted a spike in racism, there is very little data available that can provide a more detailed picture of what is happening, writes Chin Tan.

Darwin's famous Parap Markets reopen today and it is only six more sleeps until Territorians can order a pint at the pub.

A powerful cold front brings strong northerly gusts and heavy rainfall to much of southern Western Australia, damaging homes, leaving more than 35,000 properties without electricity and washing up yachts.

Katherine Comparti says "everything you could imagine" went through her mind when she became lost in thick jungle during a holiday to the remote island of Christmas Island off the West Australian coast.

Six Malaysian men visit Perth seeking $1.5 million they lost when an alleged Ponzi property scheme masterminded by WA businesswoman Veronica Macpherson collapsed three years ago.

Christmas Island tourists and locals can no longer call for a cab with its sole taxi operator, Chris Carr, saying he was forced to shut shop at the end of June because of a "logistical nightmare".

When the ACT Government decided to rename William Slim Drive following allegations the former British military commander and 13th governor-general of Australia abused children, it pulled a trigger that could see history books rewritten.

In a shock announcement, former minister Philip Dalidakis resigns from the Victorian Parliament, effective immediately, to take a senior position at Australia Post.

The Victorian branch of the CFMEU threatens to immediately cease all financial support for the ALP if Labor leader Anthony Albanese's push to expel union leader John Setka goes ahead.

Police charge two brothers, aged 18 and 20, over an unprovoked attack on an off-duty senior Victorian police officer near a Melbourne train station.