Tours of the 152-year-old Aradale Mental Asylum have been cancelled due to lead paint contamination. Operators fear this may be the end of the road for the historic site.

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 former choirboy sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell welcomes the dismissal of Pell's appeal and says he hopes the "stressful" court process has come to an end.

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.

In August 1978, someone entered Ballarat's art gallery, grabbed a 92-year-old painting off the wall, and walked out the front door. Now, the once cash-strapped gallery hosts international artists.

Once touted as a $300 million solution to regional Victoria's waste woes, plans to build a waste-to-energy facility have stalled, with some in the industry left scratching their heads.

A contentious highway upgrade again comes under scrutiny after revelations a land deal was struck between Victoria's roads department and the former Aboriginal cultural heritage authority which approved the development.

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.

As urban sprawl puts pressure on the food bowl on Melbourne's fringes, and as water becomes increasingly scarce, one council has a bold idea that might just catch on.

More than 500 protesters stop traffic outside the Victorian Parliament to rail against the planned destruction of trees sacred to Aboriginal people in Victoria's west.

The family of former AFL star and coach Danny Frawley say they are "totally shocked and devastated" by the loss of "a remarkable man who touched the lives of many", a day after he died in a car crash in western Victoria.

Twenty years ago, cats and dogs in RSPCA animal shelters had a good chance of being put down. Today, it's a different story.

Garry Lyon pays an emotional tribute to former AFL star Danny Frawley as he returns to his radio show, speaking of the "utterly, impossibly heartbreaking" reality of his friend and former colleague's death.

The wife of former AFL star Danny Frawley reveals her husband had removed himself from treatment and medication for his depression about eight months before his death last week.

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 child abuse survivor says the priest who assaulted him did so in the 'welcoming' home of another clergyman. His claim comes amid new allegations that paedophiles acted in concert within the Catholic Church.

There are only 600 registered British White female cows in Australia, but farmers hope selling the meat will increase consumer demand and breeding.

Police arrest a Victorian man over the stabbing murder of Adelaide woman Suzanne Poll at a shop in April in 1993 after a DNA breakthrough.

The daughter of 1993 Adelaide murder victim Suzanne Poll has thanked police for their efforts in investigating her mother's death. A Victorian man has been extradited to South Australia charged with Ms Poll's murder.

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 ratepayers advocacy group says a damning report into the risk of corruption within local government in Victoria highlights the need for greater scrutiny of regional councils.

The green hills of south-west Victoria couldn't be further from the latest outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease African swine fever (ASF) in Timor-Leste, but pork producer Xavier Meade isn't taking any chances.

Police charge Melbourne Cup-winning horse trainer Darren Weir and two other men with animal cruelty offences following raids on Weir's stables near Ballarat and Warrnambool in January.

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.

A former private investigator is using her skills to try to crack a cold case murder in her own family.

A group of wool makers launches a new trademark to recognise textile producers whose homegrown fibre is 100 per cent Australian from the farm right through to the finished product.

The trial of Lorraine Nicholson, who is charged with culpable driving causing the death of four women in their 60s and 70s, begins in Ballarat.

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.

Charlotte Wood

Alexander McCall Smith

When a fishing trawler is wrecked off the coast of New Orleans, the Coast Guard is called in to investigate the cargo found below deck. Sabre-toothed tiger cubs, snakes with legs, bear-sized foxes and other genetic freaks are locked in dozens of cages - destination unknown.

Here at last is the complete bible for those who never wish to grow up. A massive collection of all the useless tricks, facts and gags that make life worth living.

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

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.

Coast FM Book Club reviews Robotham's 'Bleed for Me'

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader

Vikki Wakefield

Andy Griffiths

Paralysed from the neck down after a football tackle 26 years ago, Brett Morris finishes the Gold Coast Marathon Fun Run in a wheelchair in under an hour, and he's "very happy it's done".

This year's NAIDOC Week theme is Voice. Treaty. Truth. But the truth is that many Indigenous people feel voiceless when it comes to expressing where Australia stands on treaty today.

Volunteers for Meals on Wheels say the charity is under threat with branches surviving on bequests as Federal Government funding for the service plateaus.

A former ABC journalist, who pressed assault charges after her elderly mother was allegedly hit by a carer, urges Australians with family members in aged-care to install personal surveillance equipment.

Purebred or mixed-breed Staffordshire terriers have killed at least four people in Australia in the past six months but the RSPCA says a dog's breed alone is not a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour.

Police seize more than $140 million worth of cocaine stashed in the arm of an excavator that was destined for a business in a small NSW town.