George Pell will not return to Australia to testify at Royal Commisssion and other top stories.

• George Pell will not return to Australia to testify at Royal Commisssion

  

  George Pell. Photo: AP Cardinal George Pell has succeeded in his bid to remain in Rome after the child abuse royal commission accepted a doctor's report that he is too sick to return to Australia to testify.The commission will now question him via video link about his knowledge of sexual abuse by priests in the Victorian diocese of Ballarat, where he was a priest prior to becoming a bishop in Melbourne.Cardinal Pell said he was keen to return to Melbourne to ..

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• Callous hoon ignored trapped crash victim

  

  A  HOON driver who slammed into another vehicle at high speed while drag racing didn’t even bother to check on the trapped injured driver in the other vehicle, a court has heard.Shane Van Prooyen, 20, of Norfolk Cres, Corio, pleaded guilty in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday to charges including dangerous driving, failing to provide assistance and driving while suspended.Police prosecutor, Leading Senior Constable Ian Kerin, said that about 6.45pm on June 19 last year, witnesses saw Van Proo..

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• The NBN Is Making Australia's Country Towns More Appealing

  

  Kiama (NSW), Ballarat (VIC), Toowoomba (QLD), St Helens (TAS), Victor Harbour (SA), Mandurah (WA) and Howard Springs (NT) are highlighted as potential boom towns for the latest lifestyle movement, identified in research from a report commissioned by NBN. It’s dubbed an “e-change” (as opposed to “sea-change”), and involves escaping the city in search of a better lifestyle and “super connectivity”. The Super Connected Lifestyle Locations report identifies more than 600 Australian “lifestyle town..

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• V/Line rail: Public transport chief to be quizzed in Parliament over ...

  

  V/Line rail: Public transport chief to be quizzed in Parliament over train network problems Updated February 09, 2016 11:04:26 The head of Victoria's regional rail operator, V/Line, will appear before a Victorian parliamentary committee on Tuesday to answer questions about ongoing disruptions to the network. Parliament's Economy and Infrastructure Committee are expected to quiz acting chief executive of V/Line and Public Transport Victoria Gary Liddle on the reasons beh..

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• Close friends Michael Sheedy and Justin Graham to lead their sides ...

  

  Michael Sheedy (Plenty Valley) and Justin Graham (Kew) are good mates who will coach against each other in Sub-District Cricket. Picture: Paul Loughnan.BEST mates off the field, but fierce rivals on it. When Plenty Valley and Kew do battle in Sub-District Cricket over the next two weeks, opposing coaches ­Michael Sheedy and Justin Graham will put their longstanding friendship to one side over consecutive Saturdays.The pair first crossed paths at St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, before playing a..

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• Leading jockeys and trainers play Off The Track polo

  

  Dynamic duo: Melbourne Cup winner Michelle Payne with Got It. Picture: Darren McNamaraSOME of Victoria’s leading jockeys and trainers partnered retired racehorses in the Off The Track polo exhibition at the Yaloak Polo Club near Ballan yesterday.The seven-minute chukka was part of the Victorian Polo Association Championships.A team of jockeys, consisting of Melbourne Cup winner Michelle Payne and apprentice young guns Harry Coffey and Lucinda Doodt, had the edge over the team of trainers that in..

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• Melbourne preview: Sandown

  

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• Future fears: Melbourne young people won't have access to jobs by ...

  

  Buying a house on Melbourne’s fringe or even in the city’s established outer suburbs won’t be practical for young people in coming decades, as jobs continue to become highly concentrated in the CBD, research shows. Forecasts show just half of Melbourne’s youth will be able to conveniently access the majority of the city’s jobs by 2031. The study comes as homebuyers continue to flock to the fringe, where affordability attracts first homebuyers and construction of new homes boosts the state’s eco..

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• Amralah out of autumn

  

  Amralah (Image courtesy of Darren McNamara) Amralah’s horrid run of luck has continued with his part-owner Lloyd Williams confirming on Monday that the imported galloper has a leg injury that will sideline him until the spring. Amralah was due to have his first run for 2016 in Saturday’s Group 1 Orr Stakes at Caulfield but Williams said his campaign has been halted and the horse put away to recuperate. ‘’He’s out until the spring after banging his leg,’’ Williams said. ‘’I had him down to ..

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• A week of serve and jolly

  

  Country Week tennis is serving up another economic boom for the Albury-Wodonga region. CONSTRUCTION SIGHT: Sandra Henderson, Jodie Tuddenham, Helen Cassidy, Marion Findlay and Trish Bibby, from Mt Prospect near Ballarat, show off their bright pink outfits. Picture: XAVIER MARDLINGCOUNTRY Week tennis is serving up another economic boom for the Albury-Wodonga region.At least $1.6 million is expected to be tipped into the Border economy as 191 teams from across Victoria and NSW desce..

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Syndicate of Victorian farmers pays $30m for properties near Ballarat .	Ballarat breakfast report | Saturday, February 6, 2016 .
Ballarat breakfast report | Friday, February 5, 2016 .	Agents to abandon Ballarat's new saleyards .