Bats have been migrating earlier than usual this year due to inland drought and a lack of food in Queensland's south-east, with red flying foxes seen covering Mount Isa's sky.

The life of a 92-year-old woman bashed in her own home in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland has been completely ruined, family say, as her attacker is sentenced to seven years in jail for the violent assault.

A self-generating power pod trial on a cattle property in north-west Queensland aims to provide rural properties with a more reliable, cheaper, and renewable power source.

The hardy desert rose is rising in popularity, with nurseries unable to keep up with demand, as green thumbs seek drought-tolerant colour in the dry outback.

The Central Victorian community of Baringhup finally sees the end to a seven-year battle to stop the development of major chicken farm.

Disgraced Cardinal George Pell will not seek a reduced sentence if the Court of Appeal upholds his conviction for sexually abusing two Melbourne choirboys in the 1990s.

Prosecutors argue George Pell's victim was a "witness of truth" as they contend the disgraced Cardinal's child sex abuse convictions are "unimpeachable" and should be upheld.

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.

Jailed Cardinal George Pell will front Victoria's highest court today to appeal against his child sex abuse convictions, arguing proper process wasn't followed at trial and a reasonable jury could not have found him guilty of the crimes.

A teenager molested by Christian Brother John Laidlaw in the 1980s tells a Melbourne court he thought he was being "punished by God" when he was sexually assaulted at his family home, as the former teacher pleads guilty to abusing six boys over two decades.

A rise in the number of assaults against local government employees prompts Victorian councils to call for a change in sentencing laws to better protect their staff.

A judge says Victorian paedophile priest Robert Claffey "mocked" his priestly authority to access and abuse children, while sentencing him to more jail time.

A Christian Brother who sexually assaulted boys at some of Victoria's most prestigious Catholic schools is sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

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.

Every night Allanah Morel packs her daughter's school bag ahead of time because she knows that by the next morning she could be in too much pain to get out of bed.

Once the staple of regional travel, motels are facing an increasingly uncertain future as online alternatives bite away at revenue.

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.

Cardinal George Pell could be released from custody, ordered to face a new trial or sent back to prison when the Court of Appeal hands down its ruling next Wednesday. We explain the possible outcomes and what will happen next.

George Pell could walk from court today or be sent back to prison to serve the rest of his six-year term, depending on the outcome of his appeal against his child sex abuse convictions.

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.

The Prime Minister suggests Cardinal George Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia honour, as Pell plans to take his rejected appeal against his child sex abuse convictions to the High Court.

Around one person dies on Victoria's rail lines every week, with most long-term train drivers experiencing at least one fatality in their career.

Making good on an election promise, the NSW Government has named its first dairy advocate, who is vowing to highlight the pressures faced by farmers at both ends of the supply chain.

The Catholic Church may have opened itself up to hundreds of potential damages claims from sexual abuse survivors after admitting liability in court documents.

Working 7 days a week, juggling multiple gigs, all for $28,000 a year this is the life of an Australian artist in 2019.

Former St Kilda star and Richmond coach Danny Frawley dies in a car crash in western Victoria aged 56. The player, coach and commentator is remembered as a "legend" of the Saints.

This specialist nurse teaches thousands of prostate cancer survivors how to revitalise their sex life after diagnosis, but she is the only one of her kind in an area spanning 48,000 square kilometres.

Family, friends and the AFL community bids farewell to legendary player, coach and media personality Danny Frawley at a "celebration of life" service in Melbourne.

A Victorian man accused of murdering Adelaide mother-of-two Suzanne Poll at her workplace in 1993 will plead not guilty to the charge, a court has heard.

A judge overturns the convictions of a bus driver who crashed into the Montague Street Bridge in South Melbourne, injuring six people. But Jack Aston will remain in prison while he is assessed for a community corrections order for lesser charges.

A bus driver jailed for seriously injuring six passengers when he crashed into South Melbourne's Montague Street Bridge in 2016 is released after an appeal.

Twelve years ago Paul Preusker was disqualified for possessing an electronic jigger. Now he's back, training the Melbourne Cup favourite and insisting he's a changed man.

A jury hears of the moment the woman accused of causing a crash that killed four people in western Victoria realised the deceased were "probably grandmothers" as well.

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader. You can hear Dan Gardner being interviewed by Warren Boland on Sunday 13th Weekends with Warren.

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader

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

Rob Minshull is an avid reader, and the producer of Weekends with Warren Boland