After the rest day, we've climbed back onto our bikes to brave the heat and pedal from Bendigo to Heathcote.

The economic impact of the pandemic on Australia's regional towns and cities is varied, but with a smaller population base, the path back to recovery is likely to be longer and harder for many.

National Cabinet will meet on Friday to start lifting restrictions in a three stage process to lock in what the Prime Minister is calling "a sustainable COVID safe economy".

With the focus now firmly on rebooting Australia's economy, the Morrison Government intends to cut green tape and speed up nation building projects such as major roads, dams and mines.

Every month, 10-year-old outback twins Milly and Poppy Bell travel over five hours to attend their nearest Pony Club, an interstate rite of passage their mother made when she was a young girl.

Growing up alongside thesprawling green parks and shopping malls of Melbourne's Craigieburn, finding a connection to her Indigenous ancestry was complicated, until she was invited onto the remote and sacred lands of Lake Mungo.

While a Victorian council rejects drought funding it says isn't needed, farmers in far-west New South Wales say they feel like they're in a "forgotten corner".

How can Jane Goodall have hope for the future, especially for the animals she loves, when the news about extinctions is so bleak? As The Hope, a 2-hour film about Jane and her life, is launched this week by National Geographic Jane joins Robyn on The Science Show to discuss the film, her work and her hope.

The Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council in central Queensland gives its government-owned supermarket contractor the flick after years of battling inflated prices.

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.

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 former private investigator is using her skills to try to crack a cold case murder in her own family.

'You don't have to be a scientist to work on them': Vintage tractors, some more than 80-years-old go under the hammer, attracting buyers from around Australia.

The familiar and nostalgic, philosophical and witty candour are all alive in this documentation of Gold Coast beaches

Rob Minshull produces Weekends with Warren and is an avid reader

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

Gordan Lomas

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

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

The Storm hold on in a tight encounter against the Dragons to win 16-14 in Wollongong, as both sides struggle to cover for their missing State of Origin stars.

Paralysed from the neck down after a football tackle 26 years ago, Brett Morris finishes the Gold Coast Marathon Fun Run in a wheelchair in under an hour, and he's "very happy it's done".

The Panthers thrash the Dragons 40-18 to stretch their winning streak to seven matches, while the Warriors enjoy a 19-18 victory over the Sharks in Wellington as the race for the NRL finals heats up.

The family of a grandmother killed when a minibus clipped a fuel tanker offers generous sympathy to the bus driver at his sentencing in Wollongong District Court today.

St George Illawarra's season is all but over, but a sensational debut from young winger Jason Saab in the team's latest loss may be a sign of better things to come.

Cronulla moves into eighth place on the NRL ladder after a hard-fought win over the Dragons, after the Roosters made light work of the Warriors in an ominous performance ahead of finals.

A man who had a container of railway detonators in his bag on a train on the New South Wales south coast pleads guilty to possessing an explosive device in public.

A court has been shown video footage of a carer yelling and swearing at her 81-year-old dementia patient before police allege she punched the elderly woman in the leg.

A man has been sentenced to six months in prison after being found with an explosive device at Wollongong train station last Thursday during peak hour.

A cold front moving across NSW dumps snow around Goulburn and the Blue Mountains, while erratic winds and lightning may hamper firefighting efforts in the north of the state.

A major crime review into the suspected murder of three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer, who was taken from a Wollongong Beach almost 50 years ago will be conducted, as her family desperately pleads for the state coroner to hold a second inquest into her death.

The CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW has vowed to "move heaven and earth" to ensure racing goes ahead at the Dapto Dogs tonight, following yesterday's shock announcement the track would close.

Stephen Keal was diagnosed with COVID-19 after travelling with his wife onboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. The hospital asked his family to say their final goodbyes.

The Federal Government says it has set a record for the fastest app to reach 5 million downloads in Australia with COVIDSafe, but acknowledges it might never work for 10 per cent of smartphone users.

Two Jewish convicts sent to Van Diemen's Land, both named Solomon, would go on to lead very different lives. While one became the inspiration for Dickens' Fagin, the other became rich and "respected" — yet could never leave his convict past behind.