Jim Hamilton from Lake Macquarie was a passenger aboard the Ruby Princess, now the subject of a special commission of inquiry led by Brett Walker SC. A NSW Health epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler agreed it was unsatisfactory that more people on the ship were tested for influenza than for COVID-19.

As retail stores across Australia gradually start reopening their doors, a New South Wales economist is warning consumers to be cautious about their return.

Having retained all 16 of their seats, welcomed a record number of women to the party and consolidated under leader Michael McCormack, there could be a renewed sense of stability for the country-based party.

Gambling giant Federal Group is demanding Tasmanian pub owners continue paying rent on leased poker machines, even while hoteliers have been forced to close due to coronavirus — a move blasted by Senator Jacqui Lambie as "trying to make a quid" during a "wartime scenario".

Tasmanian producer's market collapses from 6,000 carcasses a week at the start of this month to nothing.

Tasmania records its first coronavirus death after a woman in her 80s dies in hospital in the state's north-west, with the state's case tally rising by three to 69.

The Australian Government will launch hundreds of flights to deliver fresh produce to key international markets as part of a big-spending boost for exports.

A new coronavirus case diagnosed overnight takes Tasmania's tally to 72, as authorities release a list of destinations visited by two interstate travellers who later tested positive for COVID-19.

Sex work, food vans at farmers' markets and race meetings are some of the latest activities banned by Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein, as part of the ongoing effort to slow the spread of coronavirus in the state.

If there is anything good to come out of the coronavirus pandemic, it could be that rural Australians end up better connected to essential and recreational services than ever before.

A former patient at Launceston's first purpose-built infectious diseases hospital wants Tasmanians to heed the warnings to stay home and stay safe.

Automated crosswalks, the rebirth of suburbia, electric scooters — there are many quirky and nuanced ways that the coronavirus outbreak could impact on urban life.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has answered questions from kids around Australia on the coronavirus pandemic on ABC Me's Behind The News program.

As the country stays bunkered down during the pandemic, some ambulance services have seen a reduction in call-outs, especially to road accidents. Others say they're dealing with calls about flu-like symptoms that need to go elsewhere.

A day after the Prime Minister announced a moratorium on evictions, this doctor was given an ultimatum by her landlord — either she stop working at a hospital or move out.

The Ruby Princess leaves Australian waters today over a month after docking in Sydney. About one in 10 cases of coronavirus in Australia is linked to the cruise ship.

With many children home from school during lockdowns parents are learning to balance work and life balances.

Jessica and James Brewer are volunteering in a Mozambican slum for the fourth year running, only this time they are expecting a child, parenting a toddler and dealing with the challenges of coronavirus.

The Premier says Tasmania is talking about the first direct flights to New Zealand since the late 1990s if a "trans-Tasman bubble" excluding coronavirus can be maintained, as the state's four-day case-free run crashes with two new cases.

A CSIRO reconstruction of the Federation drought of 1891 to 1903 finds that if it were to occur again today, its effects would likely be even more devastating.

Podcasting has reached a tipping point in 2019. No longer the miniscule cousin of traditional radio, podcasting has gone mainstream, writes manager of ABC Audio Studios Kellie Riordan.

In the closest of finishes, jockey Craig Williams rides the winner but an upheld protest sees a change to the final placings in the race that stops a nation. Look back on how it unfolded at Flemington Racecourse.

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.

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.

Kimberley historian Dion Marinis has travelled to the US to meet the families of an air crew who died at Broome during the 1942 Japanese air raid on the remote town.

National Cabinet is due to meet again this week to decide on the easing of nationwide COVID-19 restrictions on movement and businesses.

The COVID-19 death toll at the Newmarch nursing home rose to 14 over the weekend, while a further 63 infections have been linked to staff and other residents.

Two reviews are already underway but the tragedy has led to calls for the Aged Care Royal Commission to investigate.

Labor's Home Affairs spokesperson Kristina Keneally has sparked controversy after declaring the COVID-19 crisis should force a revamp of the temporary migration program.

News Corp Australia claimed CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong Victoria has been collaborating with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Retailers have been at the economic epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with mass shutdowns in place for the past five weeks.

There are questions around Indonesia's coronavirus death toll following reports thousands of people have died with COVID-19 symptoms but not recorded as victims of the disease.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insist they've seen intelligence proving that the virus began in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The former South Australian Premier said it's now time for states and territories to take control of childcare and treat them more like schools.

The ANU study has found that two-thirds of Australians feel anxious or worried about their own and others' safety, and a substantial number believe they'll contract the virus in the next six months.

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?

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.

It startled the cows, intrigued the locals and excited scientists around the world. Fifty years on, the Murchison meteorite still defines a town and yields new discoveries every year.