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 Catholic Cardinal is using three reasons to appeal against his conviction for sexually abusing two choirboys when he was archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. We explain what they are, and what the court will have to consider.

George Pell's lawyer tells an appeals court there are "questions of probability" over whether the child sex abuse offences the Cardinal is convicted of occurred, and a jury should have found him not guilty even if they believed his victim.

Prosecutors argue George Pell's victim was a "witness of truth" as they contend the disgraced Cardinal's child sex abuse convictions are "unimpeachable" and should be upheld.

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.

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.

Trading at around $2,500 per kilogram, more growers are entering the truffle industry as demand for the unique fungi remains high.

Jailed Cardinal George Pell will front Victoria's highest court today to appeal against his child sex abuse convictions, arguing proper process wasn't followed at trial and a reasonable jury could not have found him guilty of the crimes.

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.

A tight rental market and rising cost of living is stretching homelessness services beyond their budgeted capacity.

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 man has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of a former regional Victorian mayor near Ballarat in 2017.

A rise in the number of assaults against local government employees prompts Victorian councils to call for a change in sentencing laws to better protect their staff.

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.

Dozens of Victorians shared their painful and powerful stories during the state's royal commission into its broken mental health system. Commissioners now have the difficult task of finding a way forward, write Zalika Rizmal and James Bennett.

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.

A cold snap has washed across Victoria, plunging temperatures below zero in many places and drenching others in rain.

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.

Thermostats and saunas become secret weapons as Australian athletes brace themselves for the unusual conditions of a midnight marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Doha next month.

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.

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.

In the end, just as in the beginning, this was a case about two little boys and their battle with the world's third most-senior Catholic. And today, child protection won, writes Louise Milligan.

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.

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.