Queen Elizabeth has led tributes to veterans of World War Two, recalling the "never give up, never despair" message of Victory in Europe Day 75 years ago, as coronavirus dampened VE Day commemorations.

Just off a quiet bush track near one of Queensland's most popular look outs, little notes and letters are left in a portal to childhood magic..

No new COVID-19 cases were recorded as the State Government announced a multi-million-dollar medical research fund to tackle the disease.

With any overseas adventures off the table for a while, Australians will be dreaming of escaping the shutdown and heading out for a holiday. Here's how every state and territory plans to get people travelling again.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce the plan to start relaxing lock down restrictions from Friday, but local and regional travel is not yet back on the menu.

A West Australian MP says he will push for major iron ore industry players to buy up residential properties in Port Hedland, amid a long-running dispute over dust pollution levels in the Pilbara town.

An online petition and Facebook page to negotiate better deals on high-cost airfares for regional West Australians is gaining traction.

A trial is underway to determine if two former senior staff from the Shire of Exmouth in WA falsified records in relation to a $1 million aquarium purchase.

A tiny male marsupial dies in the wild after "intense" mating and not from the harsh, arid environment in which it lives, research confirms.

A WA community is up in arms after a decision shut down a retirement village. The building has been deemed unsafe, but locals say their rights are being trampled on in favour of mining companies.

Many Western governments continue to struggle with free speech. It’s not that they’re necessarily against it, it’s just that they don’t know how to effectively regulate out the offensive stuff.

Controlled Environmental Agriculture promises to be cleaner and greener. It’s focussed on technology and it’s essentially about bringing food production closer to the point of consumption. We examine the potential and the pitfalls.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, has seen better days. Historian and military analyst, Andrew Bacevich, once described it as an organisation that privileges “nostalgia over self-awareness”. But most critics, Bacevich included, want NATO refocused and retooled. So what needs to change in order to restore the alliance as an effective military force? What role should the United States play in such a reshaping? And how can NATO be strengthened without increasing tensions with Russia?

In this episode, we look ahead to the news and broader media environment in 2020 and pressing issues for local content in a globalised world. We also hear about the need to “decomputerise” in order to decarbonise. 

Fifteen-year-old Connor Meldrum, who was badly injured in a cliff accident, will undergo surgery to have fitted to his skull a custom-printed polyethylene material that mimics the properties of living bone.

Four parachutists were forced to make an emergency jump from a light plane over a popular skydiving region south of Adelaide earlier this year when the engine cut out, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report.

Property experts call on the NSW Government to do more to ensure residents of strata apartments are better protected if their buildings are affected by major structural damage, with owners of the Mascot Towers likely to foot the bill for costly repairs.

Dark Mofo art experience Hrafn: Conversations with Odin sees tourists returning to the fire-ravaged Huon Valley south of Hobart to spend money and boost the local communities.

Elite women's tennis will return to WA at least one more time after Perth was chosen to host the final of the Fed Cup competition in November, beating bids from Melbourne and Brisbane.

Brumbies star Christian Lealiifano will retire from Super Rugby at the end of the season, taking up a lucrative offer to play in Japan.

MORNING BRIEFING: Many regional Tasmanian areas are in a population decline, and Hobart scores high on drug waste water testing.

A tiny number of performers worldwide stuff their adult frames into cannons, to be shot across an arena at 60 kilometres per hour. Queenslander Warren Brophy is one of them.

A Perth woman sustains burns to 30 per cent of her body and is taken to hospital in a critical condition after a man allegedly set her alight and then threw a firebomb into a house in Perth's east overnight.

The rise of home renovation shows has helped glamorise DIY but take the cameras and personalities away and the situation is quite different especially when it comes to tackling heritage buildings.

Coroner Barry King warns police of probable adverse findings against them for their incompetence during the initial investigation into the 1975 killing of Perth brothel madam Shirley Finn, as he closes an inquest into her murder which he says will likely remain unsolved.

A South Australian farming community has been given a much needed psychological sweetener after a heavy downpour fell in a matter of hours the first good rain in three years.

Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch's comments at an Indigenous festival reveal Labor is divided on the Adani mine's recent approval, the State Opposition says.

The Victorian Government prepares to reintroduce a bill which would make it easier for people to alter the sex recorded on their birth certificate to male, female or any other gender descriptor of their choice.

A new video shows Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch telling a room full of people she has shed tears over the approval of Adani's Carmichael coal mine, while also saying current environmental legislation is flawed.

Narooma is a haven for holidaymakers and sea-changers, but many young people are finding it impossible to rent in their own home town.

At age seven, Lisa Millar was singing the ABC News theme and practising her interview technique on her little sister. After 25 years of reporting in Australia and overseas, she's now looking forward to the challenge of co-hosting a daily morning television program.

One of hundreds of victims of an Adelaide chiropractor who indecently filmed clients, including children, says the man took away her "dignity" and "confidence", but has vowed to move on with her life.

A man accused of indecently assaulting a child at a Rundle Mall shop is tracked using CCTV and arrested, after police allegedly uncover child exploitation material at his home.

A man and a woman charged with the murder of a man in a park in Adelaide's southern suburbs will remain behind bars until July, after a magistrate granted an adjournment to allow DNA evidence to be analysed.

Eliza Bartlett is a diabetic but is does not define her. The 27-year-old walked 4,200 kilometres across Europe to displace the stigma.

The aviation safety regulator is being urged to relax maintenance requirements for Angel Flight and other charity flight services, after a Senate inquiry slammed an earlier ATSB report into the charity's fatal crash rate.

An Adelaide business owner says buildings residents are not being informed about dangers posed by potentially flammable aluminium cladding, as an audit reveals dozens of structures are at risk.

After weeks of speculation, the AFL confirms Eddie Betts will return to his former club Carlton after six years with the Adelaide Crows, with the Victorian club having some fun with a short clip of Betts going "Back to the Future".

An Orwell enthusiast recently thought he had a signed first edition copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four, but he now thinks he was probably the victim of an accidental hoax.

A cat is filmed in the Simpson Desert eating a kangaroo carcass over several days, as part of a study into the environmental impact of dead animals.