The Government believes the projects will create more than 600 jobs and generate enough clean energy to power more than 80,000 homes, while farmers have labelled the decision as "gutless".

La Trobe University wants to reach a zero emissions target within 10 years to try to be Victoria's first carbon-neutral tertiary facility.

Murderer Michael Cardamone, who tortured and callously killed Victorian woman Karen Chetcuti-Verbunt in 2016, has his life jail term upheld by appeal judges who say the "dreadful punishment" is fit for "a dreadful crime".

Tim Fischer highlights education, leadership, bold thinking, and towns working together as his tips for a successful regional Australia in his final pre-recorded video speech.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison pays tribute to Tim Fischer at his state funeral, saying the former deputy prime minister's political courage in advocating for stricter gun laws had made Australia safer.

Authorities discover more than 120 dead native birds, believed to have been poisoned, on a rural property in northern Victoria.

The humble haberdashery shop was once a mainstay of many a town centre, but is browsing the colourful bits and bobs in these stores in danger of becoming a thing of the past?

A north-east Victorian Anglican diocese has voted to bless same-sex marriages, a move that may provoke a crisis in the church.

A significant move by the Anglican Church to bless the marriage of two gay priests at a ceremony this week has been postponed due to a legal challenge.

Voting opens for Victorian Aboriginal communities to elect the people who will help make the rules for what are expected to be the first treaty negotiations in Australia.

A $30 million proposal for a sheep abattoir that would employ 150 full-time workers is opposed by a group of residents, who are concerned about potential health impacts and devaluation of their properties.

Operations will cease at Albury's Norske Skog paper mill, with 183 employees to lose their jobs after the company announced the sale of its Ettamogah site to Australian papermaker Visy.

Equestrian sports are set for a major safety overhaul following an inquest into the deaths of two teenagers who died while taking part in separate eventing competitions three years ago.

A father who was on his L-plates drank "up to 40 cans of alcohol" before getting behind the wheel pleads guilty to causing the death of his son.

Australia's largest cotton farm Cubbie Station has opened its gates to local government councillors from across the Murray-Darling Basin.

A Gippsland couple missing in Victoria's High Country since Monday has been found safe and well.

Scientists are hoping to stop mountain pygmy possums from hibernating, acclimatise them to warmer environments, then relocate new populations to lowland forests.

Police have confirmed the body of a man found in missing NSW woman Ruth Ridley's car in Victoria is that of her estranged husband.

The Victorian Government's historic treaty negotiations with the state's Aboriginal communities are one step closer this week, with the election of the First Peoples' Assembly. But the toughest yards to meaningful treaties still lie ahead.

The group representing Victoria's councils calls for organisations like independent schools, pokies clubs and churches to pay their fair share of rates because "mum and dad homeowners" are unfairly cross-subsidising private and commercial enterprises.

The sister of missing hiker Niels Becker hopes he will be found with an "epic story" to tell after failing to return from five-day hike in cold conditions in Victoria's alpine region.

A man collapses and dies while hiking with a family member on a remote bush trail near Mount Sonder in Central Australia. It is the second death on the trail in 18 months.

A $500 million methanol plant with the capacity to produce 1,000 tonnes a day of the chemical could begin operating by 2024 in the Darwin Harbour.

Northern Territory politicians are calling for the auditor-general to look into the Darwin Turf Club's decision to award a $12 million government-funded tender to a company run by the club's chairman.

Wielding an oversized wooden spoon, this popular Darwin laksa restaurateur, prepared for battle over a median strip, has taken to social media with a comical protest video.

GRAPHIC WARNING: The Department of Agriculture is investigating the alleged inhumane killing of Australian cattle at the Festival of Sacrifice in Indonesia.

A coronial inquest finds found the death of Daniel Bleaney, who died by suicide after absconding from Darwin psychiatric facility, was entirely preventable.

School students are learning meditation and reporting their emotions with apps in a bid to prevent disruptive behaviour in the classroom.

Black, brown, brindle, or sandy what makes mixed-breed dogs, known as Darwin specials, so popular?

Time is ticking for regional and remote Australians to have their say on a draft report into changes to remote tax concessions.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show almost 78 per cent of Katherine residents are now either overweight or obese, the highest proportion in the country. But the town's Mayor is not quite convinced.

As tourists flock to Uluru ahead of the October 26 climb closure, a young South Australian girl has fallen at least 20 metres while descending from the summit.

Aboriginal people who bury their loved ones in traditional ceremonies without bureaucratic approval could end up facing fines of up to $31,000 or two years' imprisonment.

Resources giant Santos is strengthening its grip on the north Australian gas sector, as it moves to secure billions of dollars worth of exploration and production investments in the Top End.

South Australia's Correctional Services Minister criticises prison officers for using a decoy in an attempt to shield a notorious murderer and rapist from media attention.

In the turbid waters of the Wessel Marine Park in the Gulf of Carpentaria, an underwater garden of sponges, corals and creatures is revealed.

An Aboriginal corporation in the Kimberley is set to become the first to commercialise the breeding of native freshwater prawns.

Alexandros Deligiannis, the man police believe was the original target of Darwin's June mass shooting, faces court charged with three driving offences including driving with a prohibited drug in the body.

Despite objections from Aboriginal traditional owners, thousands of Australians have flocked to Uluru to climb the rock before it officially closes this week. We travelled to Uluru to ask a few of them why they decided to make the journey.