As bushfires raged in the Grampians/Gariwerd National Park last summer, nearby zookeepers were working to protect their animals.

A regional Victorian childcare worker is facing allegations of sexually assaulting two children and grooming a child in out-of-home care, an ABC investigation reveals.

Former childcare workers at a centre where a man is alleged to have sexually assaulted two children speak out about a culture of secrecy in the centres.

Police arrest and charge a 67-year-old man over the 1994 murder of 24-year-old Castlemaine woman Samantha Mizzi. 

A 72-year-old man charged with killing Warrnambool man Christopher Jarvis nearly 20 years ago has been granted bail.

An energy expert says the $7.9 billion Victorian Transmission Plan could cost three times as much as the government is saying.

A Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action restructure is expected to affect 350 jobs in agriculture, solar, bushfire and forest services.