A Victoria Police officer, who was killed along with three of his colleagues when they were struck by a truck, is remembered as a "bright light" by his devastated family, who have been left "with a pain that has taken our breath away".

The partner of Senior Constable Kevin King, who was killed in last week's Eastern Freeway crash in Melbourne, says her heart is "in pieces" after the loss of her "only love for 35 years".

Fire-affected communities in eastern Victoria are calling for a permanent firebreak to be built along both sides of the Princes Highway into New South Wales.

It's time to find those woolly socks and dust off the heater — a plunge in temperatures is on the way and it's threatening the record books.

Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor is farewelled as a dedicated "hero" who will always be remembered for making a "huge difference to the community", as Victoria Police officers observe a minute of silence for their colleague.

Victorians will never forget the sacrifice made by the four police officers killed in the Eastern Freeway crash, Police Minister Lisa Neville says, as Constable Glen Humphris and Senior Constable Kevin King are laid to rest.

Six weeks into the biggest shakeup of the Australian workplace since World War II, one economist is warning the adjusted work arrangements could be widening inequalities among workers.

Australia is significantly expanding testing for COVID-19 across the country in order to stay on top of the virus and provide a path to re-open large portions of public life, but experts believe some tests are not up to scratch.

The mundane task of putting the bins out just got interesting, as people around the world don fancy dress for their weekly walk to the kerb — all in the name of finding some fun during social isolation.

The officer realised something was unusual when he could not see the driver. Then the boy said he was on his way to California to buy a Lamborghini.

Bob the Railway Dog, an icon of Peterborough in South Australia's mid-north, is again being celebrated with a book detailing some of his many adventures.

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.

A popular roadside attraction featuring about 2,000 teddy bears and other soft toys could secure a reprieve after an intervention from the SA Premier but two local councils remain concerned about the risk it poses to drivers.

A controversial teddy bear fence featuring thousands of teddy bears alongside one of SA's major highways has been destroyed, with many condemning the actions of vandals.

Zohara and Celia wanted to give back to their community, but they found it hard to find the time around their studies. Until they found pop-in volunteering.

What would happen to the dynamic in a school if the students locked away their mobile phones for the day? A lot, it turns out and it's all positive.

Wazza the koala has left carers astounded after she was collected by a car and endured a 10km trip down a major NSW roadway, only to bolt up a tree afterwards.

A man and a woman are dead after they were hit by a truck overnight on Brookton Highway in Jelcobine, almost 100 kilometres south-east of Perth, with police closing the road to investigate the crash.

Tasmanian driver Alex Peroni sustains a broken vertebra but walks away from a spectacular crash at Monza in Italy, with his survival attributed to his helmet and the round bar which protects drivers' heads.

Among the old-growth gums and wildlife of Milford Forest are two critically endangered orchids that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. But their habitat could be at risk due to a planned highway upgrade.

In an six-hour police interview played to the jury, Ms Otto told detectives she and friend Bradley Purkiss had fantasised about living together and had often said things would be easier if her husband were dead.

A judge sentencing a woman and her former lover to jail for the shooting murder of her partner Dwayne "Doc" Davies ?labels the act an "outrageous killing" and a "betrayal" by the victim's wife and close friend.

DAILY BRIEFING: Protesters fearing an imminent logging operation in Tasmania's Tarkine area are outside a government building in Hobart, as Labor calls for an investigation into how a 17-year-old escaped detainee custody.

The proud railway identity of Cummins is to become history as the farming community prepares to tackle 50 extra trucks on its roads each day.

A Norwegian MP calls for a state-owned Norwegian oil and gas company not to start drilling in the Great Australian Bight, while a scientist says noise from the project could hurt marine life.

The search for two people missing off the coast of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula ends tragically as the bodies of a 35-year-old man and his five-year-old daughter are spotted in waters after they were swept from rocks at Cape Carnot.

It comes as no surprise to researchers that densely-populated beaches in Australia are contaminated with microplastics but what about our remote coastal areas?

An 'island-rock' formation in South Australian is believed to have formed billions of years ago and while it is eroding, experts say it is not likely to disappear anytime soon.

South Australia's latest budget locks in money for a new hospital and other key infrastructure projects, but also foreshadows cuts to overall health spending.

In the mid-19th century two teenagers fled the brutal life of a SA whaling station. With the help of local Indigenous tribes they survived walking more than 500km through remote landscape to finally reach freedom.

Volunteer whale spotters believe they've photographed more than 50 whales at South Australia's Sleaford Bay this year, raising questions about how the marine mammals might be affected by a desalination plant proposed for the area.

The Barossa Valley is recognised for its wine and tourism, but some bird species are beginning to disappear because of habitat fragmentation and noisy miners.

A Victorian water authority bows to pressure and abandons plans to pump more groundwater from an area where it caused major environmental degradation.

Wayne Thorpe Bung Yarnda

Wayne Thorpe kids tour

A pelican banded as part of a research project in Victoria last year, and last seen in March, is spotted more than 700 kilometres away in northern New South Wales.