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.

Two homicides in two months last year rocked Maryborough in regional Victoria, a town whose residents already felt they'd become too accustomed to putting themselves down over the years.

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.

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 central Victorian woman is one of only three accredited teachers of a Japanese form of freestyle weaving that is beginning to grow in popularity.

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 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.

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.

The Carisbrook Roadhouse flooded in 2011.

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.

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 Prime Minister suggests Cardinal George Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia honour, as Pell plans to take his rejected appeal against his child sex abuse convictions to the High Court.

Ararat parish priest Father Andrew Hayes says the church should accept a court's decision to dismiss George Pell's appeal against his convictions, but the Melbourne Bishop is standing by the disgraced Cardinal.

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.

The Catholic Church may have opened itself up to hundreds of potential damages claims from sexual abuse survivors after admitting liability in court documents.

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

WorkSafe and police investigate the death of a construction worker who was demolishing a Ballarat home when he was killed in a wall collapse this morning.

George Pell's lawyers lodge an application seeking leave to appeal the jailed 78-year-old's child sexual abuse convictions in the High Court of Australia.

This specialist nurse teaches thousands of prostate cancer survivors how to revitalise their sex life after diagnosis, but she is the only one of her kind in an area spanning 48,000 square kilometres.

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.

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.

Gay and lesbian culture has been long associated with the city, often to the detriment of LGBT people in rural Victoria who felt they could never be accepted.

Twelve years ago Paul Preusker was disqualified for possessing an electronic jigger. Now he's back, training the Melbourne Cup favourite and insisting he's a changed man.

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.

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.

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader

Robert Rankin

Kari Gislason concedes it would have been very easy to write a sad memoir about his relationship with his dad - but he made a concerted effort not to go down that track.

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

At sometime in our lives we grab a rod and head to the beach for a spot of fishing.

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader

Jesse Blackadder

Mike Ladd

John Clarke

Paul D Carter

G. Willow Wilson