Jean Bell

Apollo Bay is a tourist mecca whose population explodes roughly 10 times in the peak visitor season. But locals and workers without deep pockets say they're struggling to stay, exacerbating the pressures on those who remain year-round.

Victoria Police says the human bones were uncovered by workers who were digging a hole for a retaining wall.

As a planning panel recommends supporting a new development in Port Fairy, a coastal councillor does not believe a supply of new homes in the region will lead to more affordable housing.

A former employee and an anonymous member of the public raised concerns about children working at the bakery.

The judge says the pair took on the "tedious but lucrative task" of filling in forms with false information to ensure they were paid by the institutions for training not delivered.

The embattled Glenelg Shire Council has had five resignations and four failed countbacks in the past year, but the Victorian Electoral Commission is charging ahead in an effort to fill two councillor roles in a dwindling pool of eligible candidates.

Landlords are not legally required to check alarms in more than 40 per cent of rentals in Victoria, and both a tenants' group and a property investors' association agree this needs to change.

A coroner has recommended sweeping changes to Victorian rental laws after a man died trying to escape a fire in a property that was not fitted with a smoke alarm.

The Victorian government has appointed two independent monitors to the Glenelg Shire Council after it lost three councillors and two chief executives in less than a year amid reports of division among council members.

A Halloween fan says Australians need to move on from the argument that the day "is an American thing".

Mayor Scott Martin denies the council has become "unworkable" after a string of resignations this year.

Tanker drivers and dairy factory workers have walked off the job this week in separate strike actions, calling for better pay and conditions after companies "made record profits" during the pandemic.

Regional Victorian businesses trial a four-day work week in a bid to recruit and retain quality staff.

Recreational fishers are celebrating the banning of netting in the bay, but a commercial operator fears it will kill his business.

Instead of shying away from the pitfalls of romance, Sam Martina organised a neurodiverse speed-dating night in his home town of Warrnambool to help others who might be on the same wavelength.

A coroner finds that Travis Cashmore intentionally shot two men and drove over their bodies with his van before taking his life in Victoria last year.

Chatham Homes has entered voluntary administration and industry figures say customers may have to pay more to get their houses completed.

Irish farm worker Mark Doughty should have been boarding a flight back home in June last year, but instead the drink driver caused an accident that killed his 18-year-old work colleague.

Harmac Homes customers face an increase in their contract prices, as part of efforts to stop the financially pressured company from going under in Victoria.

When John and Wilma tried to reconnect physically after surviving cancer they say it took some experimentation.

The court heard that 78-year-old Kenneth Parsons, who lost his son in a crash in 1992, had a momentary lapse of attention with devastating consequences.

Wind tower producers are calling for supply mandates to ensure Australian businesses do not lose out to cheaper overseas alternatives during procurement rounds for energy developments.

Locals are rallying to formally ban gillnet fishing in Portland Bay, where a voluntary agreement between commercial and recreational fishers has been in place since 1994.

Would-be home builders in regional Victoria are becoming more scrupulous than ever about who they engage, real estate agents say, amid news that Harmac Group enters administration with 50 sites under construction.

Victorian councils are concerned by a surge in aggressive behaviour directed at staff, with workers shouted and sworn at even while off duty.