What would it mean to live in "a story-less world where our rich literary traditions no longer existed, and have been excised from memory"?

Alison Whitehead ran up and down a local hill until she reached the equivalent elevation of Mount Everest's peak

In many small rural towns nurse practitioners are sole practice managers, writing prescriptions, billing through Medicare, and referring to specialists. Are they supported enough?

Australian researchers find a new species of pterosaur in outback Queensland. The apex aerial predator had a 4-metre wingspan and walked on all four limbs when on land.

Annastacia Palaszczuk is forced to apologise to Parliament over her threats to strip Katter's Australian Party MPs of resources when they refused to denounce former colleague Fraser Anning's speech calling for a Muslim immigration ban.

One high-tech regional library hosts a "zoom room" for video conferencing, an interactive jumping floor for kids, eBooks and eAudiobooks and yes, plenty of good, old-fashioned printed books.

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.

Solar panels on a shed as part of a power pod at Glenagra Station

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.

Wildlife carers in Victoria say more native animals are being injured or killed as prolonged dry weather drives them to seek food and water closer to urban areas.

Rural Victorian voters are frustrated as the electoral commission decides to abolish more than 25 polling booths in the Mallee and Wannon electorates without consultation.

It's a topic that hasn't gathered much attention on the campaign trail, but based on the large number of questions we received through You Ask, We Answer, waste and recycling is something many voters are concerned about. So do the parties have a plan? And is it enough to make a difference?

An Australian fiddlemaker is helping to spice up the dying craft by creating Hardanger fiddles, a Norwegian instrument that gained international fame in The Lord of the Rings soundtracks.

Newly-elected Labor MP Libby Coker says ensuring the Government delivers on their expensive election commitments in Corangamite even though they lost the seat will be her first priority after claiming victory in the Victorian electorate.

UK-based charity the Eden Project has released its vision for a disused coal mine near Victoria's Great Ocean Road. They plan to transform it into a $150 million eco-tourism attraction a celebration of the natural environment on what is now a barren site.

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.

It felt as if the winds of change were blowing through the Catholic Church after the royal commission. But a new defence has rejected some of its key findings in relation to one of its most notorious paedophile priests, writes Louise Milligan.

The trial of a man accused of murdering a Victorian grandmother is aborted after a local TV news bulletin broadcast inaccurate information, and details that had not been heard by the jury.

A Ballarat magistrate dismisses an assault charge against a police sergeant, agreeing his use of force was "reasonable" during an altercation in which he punched his neighbour in the face.

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.

Hundreds of abuse survivors could benefit from reforms that will allow them to sue their abusers, even if they signed "unfair" agreements not to take legal action.

Lawyers warn child sexual abuse victims to be mindful of legal reforms before signing away their right to sue, as redress scheme marks its first anniversary.

Budget cuts, funding freezes, and tight rental markets put pressure on homeless services as more people end up on the street.

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 21-year-old is flown to hospital after an axe hit his helmet while he was taking part in a mock medieval battle at Hawkesbury Showground in New South Wales.

This gaggle of geese is beloved by Instagrammers, but the local council says the abandoned birds are destroying the environment and must be rehomed.

Locals in the Victorian town of Daylesford say they are shocked and devastated by council's decision to remove an "aggressive" gaggle of geese from the area, describing them as "a bit of an icon" in the tourism hotspot.

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 prominent urban researcher warns that Ballarat is heading towards a "social disaster" unless it can curb urban sprawl.

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.

School principal Michelle Wilson spent a stressful two hours on the phone, convinced she owed $8,000 and could soon be arrested if she didn't pay up. Then she realised the whole thing was an elaborate hoax.

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.

Senior Constable Edward Barnett was shot and killed attempting to stop an armed robber in 1858. Now he has finally been honoured with one of Victoria Police's most prestigious medals.