A senior police officer tells the royal commission Nicola Gobbo agreed to make a statement against Paul Dale in the murders of Terence and Christine Hodson because she did not want it to look like she was involved in the murder.

Another international raider grabs the last automatic spot in the Melbourne Cup, with the Joseph O'Brien-trained Downdraft earning his spot with a win in the Hotham Handicap on Derby Day.

For the second time in two days, Victoria Police expresses "extreme disappointment" in one of its officers, this time after alt-right material shared on social media was connected to an officer accused of using a hand gesture associated with white power.

Whips will likely be banned from horseracing in the next 10 to 15 years, the CEO of Racing Victoria says, as rain and animal activists dampen the annual Melbourne Cup parade.

Are you feeling torn about celebrating the Melbourne Cup today? We asked our ABC Messenger audience how they felt about the race that stops the nation and what they loved (and hated) about it.

The 2019 Melbourne Cup has been won by Australian-owned, trained and bred horse Vow And Declare in a dramatic finish at Flemington, but last-placed Rostropovich is taken to Werribee with a pelvis injury.

As Vow and Declare stormed to his thrilling Melbourne Cup victory, a group of novice part-owners in the Queensland town of Gympie were celebrating a dream come true.

Over four years, Bobby Singh made more than $2 million in subsidies for students enrolled at this Melbourne training college. It never taught a single class. But it all came undone in one phone call.

A much anticipated cold snap has brought widespread snow to the New South Wales central tablelands and the regional city of Orange has received some the biggest falls and the most its had for years.

Comic superheroes and villainous characters put their differences aside over the weekend, uniting for far north Queensland's first ever pop culture and comic convention, Tropicon.

An array of Pacific Island communities converged on the Mackay Botanical Gardens last weekend to take part in the region's first Pasifika Festival. The event highlighted Mackay's diverse cultures by showcasing traditional artwork, food and performances.

When the temperatures drop in southern Queensland yarn bombers descend on Warwick for the annual Jumpers and Jazz festival. This year the centrepiece is a work created by 80 knitters dubbed the 'woollow tree'.

Meagan Kite overcame a drug addiction and devastating house fire. Cheryl Norris struggled to find the truth about her ancestor, an Aboriginal woman called No Name. Their stories form part of a unique art project called Women's Stories on display in the Riverland.

More overnight falls across the New England North West

Three months after the Hunter's 'super storm' and flood, a fifth generation Dungog farmer reflects on how the weather event has impacted the town's agricultural sector.

Milk bottles, plastic bags and electrical wire bound for the rubbish tip have been given a second life as part of Warwick's Jumpers and Jazz in July festival.

The coast's best musical talent has been celebrated at the inaugural Gold Coast Music Awards night.

The car that carried aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler through the streets of Brisbane in front of thousands of people almost 90 years ago will be restored to its former glory in Bundaberg.

On any given day in the small rural New South Wales town of Trundle, up to a dozen men can be found in an historic garage, tinkering on cars, passing on skills to younger men and taking turns pumping fuel. It's an interesting set up, but it works.

It was bitterly cold at Anzac Cove on the 25th April. In order to attend the Dawn Service marking 100 years since the landing at Gallipoli, Jeff Peirce went 34 hours without sleep.

Celebrities like Pink and touring shows like Cirque du Soleil are motivating people to take up the art of aerial acrobatics. Kayleigh McMullen has opened up her own school in Coolum on the Sunshine Coast and says it is attracting people of all ages.

Working nine to five in a stable job as an information technology consultant would be enough to make some people very happy. For Vincent Brouillet it was not enough, he craved freedom, fresh air and the chance to fulfil a dream.

For the first time in 190 years the 16 pews inside St John's Anglican church in Launceston will be removed and replaced with long tables for a charity dinner for the St Giles organisation.

The sound of chatter and wind instruments being blown at different times fills the room at the Launceston College music centre as the band members warm up for rehearsals.

A gallery of some of the best winter ocean-themed photos submitted by locals to ABC Open's Pic of the Week project.

A steam train puffing its way through regional New South Wales is delighting young and old and being used to educate schoolchildren about Australia's rail heritage and its role in their own history.

Bellingen photographer Bruce Jacups' stunning shot of a meteor flying across the night sky wins the Pic of the Week.

The athletes do get a little competitive with each other from time to time but at the Barcaldine Elder Olympics the main aim of the game is socialising. The small outback Queensland town has held the event for 21 years with dozens of older residents travelling from nearby towns to compete.

Students from Launceston's Newstead College have been given the opportunity to rehearse and perform in the historic Princess Theatre for their production of Pippin.

Tom Duddy's passion for collecting dates back to his days as a young boy hanging around shearing sheds. Now he has used that passion to turn the Prairie Hotel into a one of a kind outback museum.

Colourful artwork, vibrant food and a dazzling array of traditional dress are on display in Cairns as far north Queensland's Indonesian community celebrates Multicultural Week.

After more than four decades, one Gold Coast fashion designer is closing her doors for good, leaving a lasting mark on the city.

The latest tool in weed eradication in New South Wales and possibly Australia has a wet nose, a wagging tail and is called Sally.

Merryn Apma is an Aboriginal artist who has been a major force in Aboriginal issues since the famous Long Walk led by former AFL footballer Michael Long from Melbourne to Canberra in 2004. She's made the move to Tilba to return to art practise and to open a gallery for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists. She brings a powerful creativity and sense of spirit to a welcoming community.

At the far end of the campsite and caravan city in the Amamoor State forest at the Great Australian Music Hall, ABC Local Radio helped to kick off the 2015 Gympie Muster with the inaugural Muster Showcase. Eight different musical acts took to the stage giving gathered crowds a taste of what is to come at the four day music festival.

The 2015 Gympie Muster has come to a close with some of the biggest acts in Australian country music taking to the stage in sometimes the soaking rain. But with additions of popular acts like Sheppard, is the festival drifting away from its country roots?

Ex-dance cast member from the film Strictly Ballroom, Dede Williams, takes the locals through not only new dance steps, but the psychology and communication required when mastering the art of dancing.

Moss Vale photographer Ashley Mackevicius couldn't compete with his school friend Nick Cave for music or poetry skills, so he switched to photography. Cave went on to become one of Australia's greatest ever musicians, and Mackevicius did the same for photography.

Shoppers and workers could try their hand at tapestry, badge making, and flag making during the first Art Break event organised by the City of Bunbury

Some people find it hard to switch off; their brains constantly ticking over with new ideas. Renee Eloise is one of those people - she is always taking photos with her mind - looking for the next location, or something fun and different to make her photos stand out. Now the Bundaberg photographer has been featured in one of the country's most prominent women's magazines and things have never looked brighter.

A photographic project that combines health and the arts is helping people with disabilities to produce digitally altered self portraits that powerfully tell their stories

The shearers' quarters on Barenya Station, between Hughenden and Muttaburra in north west Queensland, was filled with talk and laughter recently, when local grazing families took some time out to have health checks, de-stress and socialise for a Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) field day.

A team of volunteer dog owners are faithfully visiting aged-care homes with their canine companions, bringing much joy and contentment to many of the residents.

An array of spectacular orchid displays attracted more than 2,500 people from across Queensland to the Australian Orchid Council conference and show in Mackay at the weekend.

A new initiative to bring more public art to the streets of Dubbo has started with a series of murals going up this week.

Gymnastics clubs from around the country converge in Bendigo for the National Club Championships.

For a week, knights, elves and fairies made the rolling hills of Gippsland their home as they battled for glory. Meanwhile, a dragon-decorated castle is becoming a popular choice for weddings.

Some refer to them as silent ninjas, others call them dive bombers. But the common name for the iconic black and white bird is a magpie.

Riverland youngsters stepped back in time this week to make butter, fly kites and learn about the past when the Loxton Historical Village opened its doors for its annual Kids Day Out.

Vic Jurskis says his new book, Firestick Ecology, is a simple story of how Aboriginal people managed the land through fire to create and maintain the biodiversity and the fire-safe environment that greeted the first European settlers. The sub-title is 'fairdinkum science in plain English'. He says that to conserve biodiversity and live safely, we need to manage our forests with fire 'willingly, frequently and, with practice, skilfully'. The evidence of our land management failure is all around us, he says.