A "plucky pensioner" from a cancelled Australian Story episode is a convicted child sex offender who has failed to pay his victim more than $385,000 in civil damages.

Residents of a Central Victorian town are frustrated after being hit with two unprecedented flooding events in a couple of days. 

The agency running the NDIS has lost a legal case experts say could have significant implications for how future funding decisions are made.

Farmers are left gutted after the Victorian government passes new amendments allowing transmission companies to compulsorily acquire land.

Australian rodeos are caught in a high-stakes hustle to keep the outback alive in a country that some argue is outgrowing the buck.

Victoria's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has been contacted after a number of junior netball teams were axed from the Ballarat Football Netball league due to a lack of footballers.

Event proceeds: Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has commended organisers of an International Women's Day event in Bendigo for not scrapping her appearance despite pressure to do so. Ms Tame says she lost three speaking engagements since allegedly leading contentious chants at a pro-Palestinian protest last month. The chants prompted Jewish groups to write to Be.Bendigo organisers to cancel Ms Tame's appearance — but the event went ahead on Friday. Ms Tame thanked the organisers of the event for not folding under pressure and Bendigo council for arranging a new venue to increase security.

Photo: Protesters in Bendigo during the International Women's Day event featuring Grace Tame on Friday, February 27. Credit: ABC News

Shop fined: A kebab shop in Echuca has been fined more than $12,000 for not complying with a notice relating to JobKeeper payments. Fair Work alleged Echuca Kebabs received JobKeeper payments from the ATO for a worker between 2020 and 2021, but failed to provide those payments to her in full. It also alleged that the company had underpaid the worker's minimum wages and her annual leave entitlements. The company made payments to the worker after the Ombudsman commenced legal action.

Pay gap: The latest national gender pay gap data shows several major Bendigo employers are struggling to close the gap in earnings between men and women. The latest figures from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency reveal the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has one of the biggest gaps locally, with women earning 25 per cent less on average in total remuneration than men. Fosterville Gold Mine recorded a 26 per cent total pay gap, Bendigo Community Health Services has an 18 per cent gap, while Bendigo UFS Pharmacies is at 11 per cent and the Bendigo Hotel Fund Op Co has a gap of just under 10 per cent. Meanwhile, Marist College Bendigo recorded a negative two per cent pay gap, with women earning slightly more than men on average.

Ballots posted: The Victorian Electoral Commission has started mailing ballot packs to voters for the Greater Bendigo City Council Lockwood ward by-election. The postal election was triggered by the resignation of Lockwood ward councillor John McIlrath in November last year. Voters in the ward have three weeks to return their completed ballots by post or in-person to the election office in Golden Gully