Victoria's state political reporter Richard Willingham tells of a dramatic week during the COVID-19 pandemic when everything changed, and the particular challenges of reporting a story unlike any other he's covered.

Bunnaloo is a long way from Tinseltown, but Nullaboo Hullabaloo — a children's book based around life in this small NSW town, written by former police officer Fleur Ferris — will be getting the movie studio treatment soon enough.

The curve is flattening, the growth factor is below one, but is it still too early to ease coronavirus restrictions? We asked four health experts what Australia should be doing next.

The Victorian Opposition is calling for Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen to resign over her comments comparing the "terror" of COVID-19 to Captain Cook's arrival in Australia.

The Federal Government is being urged to introduce a housing construction stimulus to prevent dire predictions for the timber industry being realised.

A health industry expert is calling on federal authorities to oversee the return of windfall profits, as customers negotiate with insurers to save money.

Across many states and territories, the coronavirus restrictions keeping people at home are finally being relaxed. Here are the things allowed as the country slowly opens back up.

To really understand how this pandemic is impacting all of us, and what we can do about it, we should look to social sciences and the humanities. They have a lot to offer — in ways that might surprise you.

The experiment of having two teams representing the same country in an international tournament has not been repeated since the 1994/95 summer of cricket.

The Prime Minister weighs into the debate on a tweet by Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer while the state's Premier says there are "far more important matters to talk about".

There has been a significant decline in the number of Q fever cases reported so far this year compared to the same period last year.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews responds to the state's Deputy Chief Health Officer's tweet comparing coronavirus to Captain Cook's arrival in Australia at a press conference on May 1, 2020.

While statistics suggest workforce participation in the 45–54 age group has been slowly climbing, employment industry experts warn too many mature-aged jobseekers are being shut out.

A north-east Victorian alpine village says it will welcome visitors when restrictions allow despite uncertainty whether the ski season will go ahead at all.

Supreme Court Justice Timothy Ginnane orders a COVID-19 risk assessment be undertaken at Port Phillip Prison after finding there was a prima facie case prison authorities breached their duty of care.

A Senate inquiry into a possible cancer cluster on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula hears evidence from high-profile lawyer Peter Gordon of a "disturbing number of cancer cases" connected to the early years of Bellarine Secondary College.

A former Australia Zoo big cat keeper says an elusive population of wild pumas and panthers reportedly seen in the Australian wilderness could be long-escaped animals from travelling circuses, or former military mascots.

A comet discovered by a man in regional Victoria is becoming brighter in Australian skies and is being closely watched by amateur astronomers around the world.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says eight employees have tested positive to coronavirus.

The number of coronavirus cases in Victoria continues to inch up as a paramedic tests positive to the virus and health authorities investigate a cluster at a meat processing plant.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announces that Epping's Meadowglen Primary School will be closed for three days as the state confirms 13 new coronavirus cases.

Heavy, early season snow has fallen across the high country in Victoria and NSW, driven by a wintry cold front.

For now, Australia appears to have kept the virus in check and avoided a full-blown coronavirus crisis. This data shows how we did it.

Victoria's COVID-19 tally continues on its steepest climb in a fortnight, as Premier Daniel Andrews reveals 13,000 people were screened for the virus in the state's testing blitz on Sunday.

There have been 22 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Victoria overnight bringing the states total to 1406

As some states across the country enjoyed their first taste of social freedom in weeks at the weekend, for many living in border towns it was more a case of confusion than celebration.

Victoria Police has suspended a senior constable over what Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton calls one of the most appalling breaches of privacy he's ever seen.

Police oppose bail for an IT expert accused of directing the importation of more than a billion dollars' worth of drugs into Australia, after prosecutors alleged he was part of a sophisticated plan of cyber coverup and stolen identities.

Trevor Whybrow will spend a minimum of 17 years behind bars for the "extremely violent" assault which resulted in the death of his friend, Barry Moffat, after he "touched him up" in bed.

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.

Victoria records 17 new coronavirus cases including 11 linked to a cluster at a Melbourne meat processing plant. It comes as Treasurer Tim Pallas announces $491 million in tax relief for Victorian businesses.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says Victoria has recorded 17 new cases of coronavirus overnight with 11 of them linked to meat processing plant Cedar Meats in Broolyn, May 5, 2020.

New COVID-19 testing clinics have opened in Warrnambool and Ballarat as the Victorian Government continues its push to surpass 200,000 tests by May 11.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas also announced additional tax relief for families and businesses impacted by pandemic lockdown measures, May 5, 2020.

Melbourne tea shop manager Jennifer Li recorded a stranger hurling racially charged taunts at her when she tried to defend herself and customers who were wearing facemasks.

With lines between school and home blurred, parents of students with disabilities are struggling with little or no extra support. Some have started dipping into their limited NDIS funds to get help.

The busiest airport in regional Victoria has laid off more than half its workforce and has lost 95 per cent of its revenue — but says it isn't eligible for government programs like the JobKeeper allowance.

Sam Bloomfield makes medieval-inspired armour and art in a process he says is a bit like dressmaking — only with metal, not cloth.

A cluster of coronavirus cases at a Melbourne meatworks rises to 49, as two Victorian aged care homes go into lockdown after workers test positive to the virus.

Organisers of the national cattle industry expo say it's 'full steam ahead', despite not knowing when the ban on mass gatherings will be lifted

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says casual public sector workers who have lost their jobs due to coronavirus will receive fortnightly payments if $1500, May 6, 2020.

The findings are expected to reveal what the royal commission made of the evidence put before it about whether Cardinal Pell could or should have done more to prevent children from being abused by priests in the 1970s and 80s.

The new coronavirus has brought an increase in racism towards Australia's Asian community, but experts feel the current laws are not strong enough to deter offenders.

If you thought there were a lot more people around lately, you're not wrong. More and more people are out on the streets in Melbourne, anticipating an easing of coronavirus restrictions once the State of Emergency ends on May 11.

Cardinal George Pell accuses the child sexual abuse royal commission of making findings "not supported by evidence" in its unredacted report, which found he was explicitly told in 1982 of the reason paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was being moved between parishes.

A Catholic order settles out of court paying $4 million to survivors of historic sex abuse and apologising to them, their families and the Latrobe Valley community.

Australia's largest sawmill has stood down 51 workers in the south west Victorian town of Colac, as it prepares for a slow down in demand for its products.

The family of a man who went missing in Victoria's Latrobe Valley last month say they "fear the worst" and are urging anyone who has seen him to contact police.

It has been an exotic jujube harvest boom for a Victorian grower, but COVID-19 restrictions have slowed down sales and squashed market prices.

Residents at a Victorian aged care facility where a staff member tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week have been given the all-clear.