Last Top Stories: Patrick the wombat: He's 30 and ready to hit Tinder

Patrick the wombat: He's 30 and ready to hit Tinder

He's hot on Tinder, has more than 30,000 Facebook followers and now, Ballarat's famous Patrick the wombat is celebrating a birthday milestone. The camera-loving creature turns 30 on Sunday and is the world's oldest bare-nosed wombat. Patrick ... >> view original

Holy Holy to bring storm to Ballarat

The two musicians front the indie rock band Holy Holy, and Dawson say their band likes to keep things exciting. “As far as the sound of our music is concerned, we have goal posts and things we aim for, but they change over time,” he said. “Our goal ... >> view original

Warrnambool swimmers make a splash at Swimming Victoria country shortcourse ...

Sophie Thomas – who has shifted from Ballarat to Warrnambool for university – was the pick of the performers, winning six gold and one bronze in the girls' 18-years-plus section. Other medal winners included Jamin Baulch, Thomas Buckley, Robbie Gleeson ... >> view original

Ten new ways of seeing: Ballarat International Foto Biennale

The Ballarat International Foto Biennale (BIFB) brings the work of these and other remarkable artists to the regional Victorian city for a month-long exhibition that shows the tremendous gulf between photographic artists and the rest of us with a phone ... >> view original

Drunk driver Tam Nguyen behind wild Ballarat Rd, Sunshine crash that killed ...

Vietnam national Tam Nguyen, 29, was believed to have had a blood-alcohol level of up to .139 per cent when he killed his employer and friend on August 3, 2013 on Ballarat Rd in Sunshine, a court has heard. He had only had his licence for a month when ... >> view original

Bears in charge as a quarter of ASX 200 down 20 per cent or more

A quarter of Australia's top listed companies are trapped in a bear market, and the continuing global sharemarket rout is threatening to swell the number to a third. The indiscriminate selling of ASX 200 companies has pulled the benchmark index down 16 ... >> view original

National Reform Summit: live coverage

Welcome to The Australian's live coverage of the afternoon sessions of the National Reform Summit, which will feature more than 90 corporate, union, welfare, economic and academic leaders as they discuss ways to build meaningful reform. Watch the live ... >> view original

Ipswich was built on mining but city is now anti-coal

The birthplace of Queensland coalmining has declared it won't support new mine operations and expansions. Ipswich City Council has adopted a mining policy that calls on the state government to block new mines and expansions as well as coal seam gas ... >> view original

WorleyParsons swings to FY loss

WorleyParsons says it will continue to adjust for "subdued market activity" in the year ahead as the resources services company dived into the red. In the 12 months to June 30, WorleyParsons recorded a loss of $54.9 million against the prior year's ... >> view original

Newcastle, home of coal, joins fossil fuel divestment push

Newcastle, home of the world's biggest coal port, has joined the global fossil fuels divestment push after the city's council voted overnight to exit holdings in the big four banks if they continue to fund fossil fuels projects. About 80 per cent of ... >> view original