Have privacy concerns and legal worries about the COVIDSafe app been addressed adequately by the Government? And truck driving is a tough job that's been made more difficult by the restrictions and fears created by COVID-19.

Have you been paying attention to the news this week?

The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will join the Australian National Cabinet Meeting via video link tomorrow to talk about the way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

RN Drive's Country Drive ploughs through some of the most important news of the week from rural and regional Australia.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today joined Australia's National Cabinet meeting to discuss the possibility of a trans-Tasman bubble, and her Deputy PM Winston Peters says he hopes it can be established as soon as possible.

Cardinal George Pell was aware of abuse being committed by clergy as early as the 1970s, and failed on two occasions to take action to remove paedophile priests, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found. Cardinal Pell said he was surprised by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions, and he said these views are not supported by evidence.

South Korea has this week further relaxed their social distancing rules, allowing a phased reopening of businesses as the nation has largely managed to get on top of the coronavirus outbreak.

Have you been paying attention to the news this week?

A beautiful updating of traditional British folk music.

Bělohlávek and the BBC SO make a powerful case for this intense work.

Rich and hugely enjoyable performances.

The first step on what seems to be a joyous journey for the Norwegian pianist.

The most exciting and consistently well-sung Don Giovanni to appear for several years.

A justified addition to the many Rumours already making the rounds.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has told the army to shoot to kill anyone who violates strict COVID-19 lockdowns. Has he gone too far, or is this just more of the strong-man machismo that made him so popular? We talk to Sheila Coronel, Professor of Investigative Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School. Also, why don't Australian prime ministers leave quietly? Australia has had 30 prime ministers since its Federation in 1901. According to political historian Norman Abjorensen they all have one thing in common: a marked reluctance to relinquish power.

What impact will Boris’ bout of COVID-19 have on his leadership and the nation’s fight against the virus?  His former boss, political columnist Charles Moore weighs in. Later in the program Moore discusses his best-selling three volume biography of Margaret Thatcher. Was the Iron Lady really an eco-warrior? Would she have supported Brexit?

Weighing up Turnbull’s legacy This week, former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull published his memoir A Bigger Picture.  In it he settles old scores with colleagues over his 2018 ousting, which he describes as an “act of madness.” What is his legacy, and how will history judge our nation’s twenty ninth Prime Minister? Jacqueline Maley, columnist at The Sydney Morning Herald. Jennifer Oriel, columnist at The Australian   And, the death of a führer April 30th marks seventy-five years since Hitler’s suicide. Cambridge historian Brendan Simms challenges past scholarship on the führer, and argues that Hitler saw Anglo-American global capitalism, not Bolshevism – as Germany’s real enemy. He says this philosophical link reveals worrying connections between Hitler and the rise of populism today. Brendan Simms, Professor in the History of International Relations at Cambridge University, and author of Hitler: Only the World was Enough.  

Floodwaters more than 50 kilometres wide came through Queensland's Channel Country earlier this year, but the extended weather forecast is not promising a return to average rainfalls.

One man's rescue of a four-year-old girl from a fire 80 years ago has been formally recognised, and now the girl he saved wants to give something back to his family.

Often underprepared but determined to live the dream, hordes of grey nomads are keeping the Royal Flying Doctor Service busy in the outback.

Bull riding has always been the cowboy's domain, but young cowgirl Riley O'Dell is bucking the trend and taking home prized buckles in outback Queensland.

Winton shines in the new television series, Total Control, starring Deborah Mailman and Rachel Griffiths.

RobynCaldwellisoneof thousandsof womeninrural Australiadealingwiththe falloutfromthedrought,but everyyearaspecialevent with250countrywomenin aremoteQueenslandtowngives her welcomerespite andstrategies tofightback.

When outback pioneering single mother Mary Emmott started rainfall records in 1914 she had no idea how important they would be.

Outback Queensland towns are celebrating after much-needed rain, but the effects may not flow on downstream.

A bushfire that was threatening lives and homes in Bridgetown in Western Australia's South West is contained and an emergency warning downgraded.

South West farmers accuse Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce of knocking back Wellington Dam desalination funding in favour of cash splashes in the east.

The town of Nannup is in limbo with the closure of a historical timber mill, with 30 jobs axed

A holiday house in the middle of a beautiful forest may sound wonderful, but what if your favourite isolated retreat became a bushfire death trap?

A 15-year journey to build the world's largest wooden clock hit several hurdles, but the biggest was finding somewhere to put the 6-metre tall wooden timepiece.

An American company building WA's largest lithium refinery has received pushback from locals in WA's South West, amid concerns it is sourcing most of its workers from Perth.

The widow of a keen Indian cyclist killed on an Australian highway said her husband had been happy to settle here because he felt more confident about road safety.

A suspected tornado tore through the WA town of Harvey on Thursday night, damaging houses and bringing down trees, as a strong cold front battered the state's South West and brought heavy rain to Perth.

Imagine navigating a 1,000km journey across the vast Mongolian wilderness atop a feisty horse, racing 40 others to finish first.

The Big Issue has been helping disadvantaged and homeless people earn an income for almost 30 years, but one seller says a recent price increase has triggered a drop in sales and income.

Officials in Western Australia bow to public pressure and change the suffix of a street in a regional tourist town to honour the memory of two fallen World War I soldiers.

Knickers the giant steer has returned to the spotlight to help raise funds for a mental health awareness program.

One of WA's biggest electricity generators is making moves to ensure it has the power to take control of a loss-making coal mine, sparking fears for jobs and energy security.

Dane Greenstreet served for 17 years as a soldier. On discharge he faced a battle of isolation. That all changed when he joined his local RSL.

A prison in WA's South West remains in full lockdown as a three-day raid uncovers a significant haul of drugs and syringes.

In Jennifer Kent's award-winning follow-up to the Babadook, a young convict woman teams up with a young Aboriginal man for revenge in 19th century Tasmania.

DAILY BRIEFING: The search is on for a thief who stole a "large quantity" of citrus trees, while the Launceston City Council "sincerely apologises" to a homeless man

The youth unemployment rate in a Hobart suburb is 66 per cent higher than the national average, but young people say they are missing out on opportunities due to a lack of contacts.

Joan Webb has already been approved for a government-subsidised home-care package. At 93 years of age, she's now facing an 18-month wait. She's not alone.

Opposition Leader Rebecca White vows to ditch the Greens as party faithful meet in Burnie for Labor's first Tasmanian gathering since suffering a bruising federal election defeat.

Alice says the tobacco tax increase won't act as an incentive to break the addiction because smoking already has a "hold" on her life.

Sue Hickey draws ire from fellow parliamentarians saying Tasmanian speakers like herself deserve to earn more than their $190,000 annual salary.

DAILY BRIEFING: Police are still looking for escapee Jake Mark Pearce, the Greens want an end to wildlife culls after six permits were issued to kill platypus.