Victoria's health department counsels Annaliese van Diemen over her tweet comparing the impact of COVID-19 with Captain Cook's arrival in Australia, but clears her of breaching the Victorian public sector code of conduct.

City of Yarra Mayor Misha Coleman defends parking inspectors who slapped "official warning" tickets onto the windscreens of cars belonging to St Vincent's Hospital staff, saying free parking offered to the staff during the coronavirus pandemic does not extend to cars parked in unsafe locations such as clearways.

A big hemp haul in Victoria's north-west expects their first harvest of edible crop to be the largest in Australia.

Joining Raf is Deputy Premier and Education Minister of Victoria James Merlino, giving us an update on schools, and the scores of new cases popping in abattoirs and nursing homes.

Australian scientists develop a tool that could help students learn better in the virtual classroom, as remote education during the coronavirus pandemic highlights issues with current methods.

Looking to replace the second oldest radar on its network at Mildura airport, the BOM marks a spot at Cullulleraine.

Buggerlugs the lost Bulwer's petrel is released from Darwin NT after he was found at a Cronulla RSL balcony in NSW.

It's been a huge week of news stories big and small. How many do you remember? Test that memory in our news quiz.

With their kids peering over the neighbour's fence, a Melbourne couple forges ahead with wedding plans amid coronavirus restrictions.

The ewes, estimated to have been roaming free for years, are spotted on WA's south coast by a man who's had their monster fleeces removed.

The Coalition has promised to fix 1,600km of SA's dog fence if it returns to government, an announcement warmly received after almost 20,000 sheep were lost to wild dogs last year.

In a backyard shed, artist Kerrie Taylor makes jewellery out of cutlery.

A community weeks away from being evicted has launched legal action against the South Australian Government in a bid to stop their town's closure.

Journalist Andrew McGarry covered the trial of one of Australia's most notorious serial killings. Two decades since police made the gruesome discovery in a disused bank vault, he looks at the similarities between the actions of ringleader, John Bunting, and George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Quad bike manufacturers claim ACCC-favoured mandatory rollover protection will not improve safety as another child dies in rural NSW on Monday.

Horse sanctuaries close and horse owners are forced to consider putting their horses down amid an "unprecedented shortage of hay".

The husband of murdered outback nurse Gayle Woodford says new protections for nurses named in her honour are necessary, but is worried healthcare workers could still be at risk.

A man pleads guilty to killing a relative whose bones were found in a fireplace of a home in South Australia's Mid North eight years after the man went missing.

Two men have died in a head-on truck crash on the Sturt Highway near South Australia's Barossa Valley region, as wild weather continues to hit the state.

The NRL judiciary will have some work to do after four players are sin-binned in Newcastle's win over South Sydney, while the Raiders blank Wests Tigers in Parramatta.

A group of textile artists in Newcastle has thrown down a challenge to artists around Australia to create hand-made flowers to raise funds for ovarian cancer research.

At a conservative estimate, people around the world are consuming a credit card's-worth of microplastic every week, according to a new study.

When Chontelle Grecian took up the Plastic Free July challenge, she was looking for a simpler way of living. What she discovered was a way to save the household budget and have fun with the whole family.

The Federal Government has applauded a decision by the energy giant, but environmental groups say the move is "risky and irresponsible."

Elderly residents are lucky to escape injury as the roof is torn off their nursing home, as strong winds continue to wreak havoc across the east coast, fanning bushfires on the state's Mid North coast.

A mothballedNSWHunterValley coal-firedpowerstationis to be re-commissioned and the new owners say it willbecleaner andgreenerthanitwas beforeitshutdownfive yearsago.

The search for four men and a woman missing feared dead after a helicopter vanished from radar north of Newcastle will continue after earlier bad weather halted the operation.

The Sharks wrap up a spot in the finals with a 25-8 win over the Tigers as Robbie Farah's career comes to a close, while the Panthers end a disappointing season with a 54-10 thrashing of the Knights.

What would you do if you were told you had 16 months to live? That was the harsh reality for Jill Emberson when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. With the survival rate of the disease half that of the breast cancer survival rate, she's using her last moments to make a change.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police have arrested 38 people following a climate change protest on Monday, and there have been more than 240 major crashes on the roads over the long weekend.

A monitoring program to survey bleaching is underway at Lord Howe Island Marine Park with researchers performing underwater assessments and aerial mapping.

Jodie Lowe 2

When Bennett Powell was a child, doctors thought he might never walk but now he's running, cycling and swimming as part of his third Ironman Australia race.

Jigna Chauhan offers free henna crowns to women who have lost their hair during chemotherapy treatments, helping them feel more positive and confident.

Welcome to fire spotting the job where you get to look into the distance and get paid for it.

Researchers monitoring the impact of climate change say golden bowerbirds and other highland rainforest species are being pushed to higher altitudes by temperature rises and fear they'll eventually have nowhere left to go.

People on Lord Howe Island are trying to save their slice of paradise from a rat infestation, but a controversial eradication program has divided families and friends on the tiny outpost 600km off the NSW coast.

Free martial arts classes being offered to victims of bullying could have a major impact on the mental health of young people, experts say.

Corellas were once an inland bird but are now living in coastal areas in huge numbers which is causing human-wildlife conflict. What has driven their sea change and what are the solutions?

A research project is underway to determine the impact of the controversial Lord Howe Island rodent eradication program on a threatened currawong species and wider ecosystem.

Robert Donohoe interviewed in Wagga Wagga by NSW Police detectives

An inquest into the disappearance of toddler William Tyrrell hears an SES volunteer who was involved in search efforts for the toddler on the NSW mid-north coast, did not respond to police questions.

MORNING BRIEFING: A woman has been charged with murder after a man was found with multiple stab wounds in a Sydney apartment complex, while easing weather conditions have helped firefighters in Tenterfield gain the upper hand on a bushfire.

A review of WA's cattle stations finds at least a dozen are at risk of animal welfare issues in coming months because of a lack of food and water.