Bats have been migrating earlier than usual this year due to inland drought and a lack of food in Queensland's south-east, with red flying foxes seen covering Mount Isa's sky.

Australian researchers find a new species of pterosaur in outback Queensland. The apex aerial predator had a 4-metre wingspan and walked on all four limbs when on land.

Camping under the night skies, documentary maker Don Meers says he looked out and saw what he had travelled for the famed Min Min lights.

Annastacia Palaszczuk is forced to apologise to Parliament over her threats to strip Katter's Australian Party MPs of resources when they refused to denounce former colleague Fraser Anning's speech calling for a Muslim immigration ban.

One high-tech regional library hosts a "zoom room" for video conferencing, an interactive jumping floor for kids, eBooks and eAudiobooks and yes, plenty of good, old-fashioned printed books.

The life of a 92-year-old woman bashed in her own home in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland has been completely ruined, family say, as her attacker is sentenced to seven years in jail for the violent assault.

Solar panels on a shed as part of a power pod at Glenagra Station

A self-generating power pod trial on a cattle property in north-west Queensland aims to provide rural properties with a more reliable, cheaper, and renewable power source.

The hardy desert rose is rising in popularity, with nurseries unable to keep up with demand, as green thumbs seek drought-tolerant colour in the dry outback.

Experts say the landmark High Court 'Crocodile case', which granted Indigenous Australians the right to fish and hunt for traditional foods, is still significant 20 years later.

If people who arrive in Australia on the working holiday visa want to stay a second year, they have to do 88 days of work in regional parts of the country. Some report exploitation and abuse.

Wildlife carers in Victoria say more native animals are being injured or killed as prolonged dry weather drives them to seek food and water closer to urban areas.

Digital disruption has changed the craft of writing, and crime writing in particular, according to those in the industry, but has not caused the death of print books.

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?

An Australian fiddlemaker is helping to spice up the dying craft by creating Hardanger fiddles, a Norwegian instrument that gained international fame in The Lord of the Rings soundtracks.

Despite Labor's belief in a "mood for change" in Victoria, the only seats in the state likely to switch parties are those where boundaries had been redrawn since the last election.

Newly-elected Labor MP Libby Coker says ensuring the Government delivers on their expensive election commitments in Corangamite even though they lost the seat will be her first priority after claiming victory in the Victorian electorate.

Many people venture to South West Victoria for the surf.

This used to be the quiet time of year on Victoria's famous stretch of coastline, but locals say that's changing.

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.

Consumers are increasingly asking for it and Meat and Livestock Australia says it's achievable carbon neutrality by 2030.

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.

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

A 21-year-old is flown to hospital after an axe hit his helmet while he was taking part in a mock medieval battle at Hawkesbury Showground in New South Wales.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Research into a mysterious substance that makes up 85 per cent of the universe, along with good old-fashioned gold and a new hydroponic farm, are driving a jobs boom in the small Victorian town of Stawell, but there's a problem.

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