A grazier in the far west of New South Wales is up to the challenge of the drought, growing his beard till he beats the big dry.

Relentless climate-related headlines paint a picture of an agricultural industry under siege and farmers say they need more help to adapt.

Bourke, outback NSW, has not seen meaningful rain in seven years and while its 2,500 residents prepare for unprecedented water restrictions, their dire plight has helped propel environmental concerns into NSW's political spotlight.

Hundreds of people appalled by the deaths of millions of fish in the Murray-Darling Basin have rallied in far west NSW, calling for a royal commission into the management of the waterway.

Professor Quentin Grafton says government should halt subsidies for irrigation efficiency projects

Professor John Williams says the government has not based their irrigation efficiency policies on the best science available.

Graziers have turned to the help of a landscape ecologist to battle severe drought in rain-starved areas of far western New South Wales.

A farmer at the centre of the Menindee fish kill story has lodged a complaint with police, alleging he felt "intimidated" by a staff member of lobby group Cotton Australia.

There is a part of Australia where the rivers are high but the crops are dying, where farmers can see plenty of water but have no access to it. And that could mean a change in political fortunes.

As a federal election and what should be the southern wet season approach, attention is returning to the drought. So where are we at?

A group of shearers tired of losing loved ones to suicide hope that, by sharing their stories, they can spark a broader conversation about mental health in regional areas.

Locals at Menindee, in far west NSW, hail funding to seal a key regional road as a project that could "save" the drought-stricken town.

Irrigator Anthony Barlow is fined well below the maximum for pumping water from the Barwon River during an extreme water shortage in Broken Hill.

Over the past seven weeks, ABC readers have been submitting questions about the NSW election in the process, you actually told us three things would decide your vote this Saturday. Here's a peek.

Jack Absalom led an unconventional life and was best-known for his landscape paintings and bush survival skills, which were televised to the nation by the ABC.

The re-election of the Berejiklian Government for a third term has provided a morale boost for the federal Liberals, but any relief being felt will be tempered by a much bigger problem: what to do about voter discontent in the bush.

The most remote voters in New South Wales say they feel forgotten by politicians as the state election draws closer.

Residents in far west New South Wales are calling for a more consistent use of police body cameras following reports from witnesses about the way officers allegedly responded to a teenager who was self-harming.

Research continues to point to blue-green algae toxins as a trigger for neurological diseases, with motor neurone disease under increased investigation.

Opposition Water spokesman Tony Burke has announced Labor would change the way 450 gigalitres of water is recovered, by "restoring the socio-economic definition" for delivering water.

The Labor Party's hold on the city that helped give birth to the modern union movement and the eight-hour working day loosens.

For the past four years Broken Hill's Indigenous community has welcomed all new public school teachers to the area with a cultural induction they hope will improve education for all students.

For the first time in 15 years, cattle are grazing the roadsides of the Moyne Shire, in Victoria's south-west.

Buying water entitlement from irrigators, installing cameras on the river, and a subsidy to install water meters are at the centre of a $70 million Government spend to prevent fish kills.

A 36-year-old man is arrested and charged for illegally taking and selling 12 tonnes of golden perch from the Darling River over a 20-month period.

A fourth-generation grazier, who is selling the family property, says it could take a decade of uncommonly good conditions for pastoralists to recover from the drought in far-west NSW.

Extreme drought conditions have all but dried up the Barwon River in western NSW, and now the unprecedented dry has exposed an extraordinary piece of maritime history.

NSW's water woes extend beyond the farm gate and its impact on the local environment water is intimately linked to the strength of regional economies. And many are struggling.

From 85 millimetres of rain in a year to more than 50mm in a day, widespread Easter rain raises spirits from Bourke to Menindee.

Yet more rain in recent days in western Queensland has meant the rivers are flowing. But sadly the latest downpours, linked to the snow in Western Australia on Good Friday, hasn't been enough to get more than a dribble into the Darling.

From veterans to millennials, two-up is a celebrated pastime on Anzac Day. But why do we play it?

The headstones at Broken Hill's cemetery tell the story not only of the city's colourful history, but the progression of workers' rights.

Heavy rainfall across south-west New South Wales has provided some farmers with much-needed relief, many measuring the best falls they have seen in over two years.

The Federal Government announces it will stump up the funds in a bid to replenish native fish populations that were decimated during the summer fish kills.

Four months ago Kate McBride's video of her father pulling dead cod from the Darling River shocked Australia. Now she's intent on exposing locals' fears about their water and its possible health impacts.