As landowners clean out enormous water tanks in the hope of rain, their fond childhood memories of swimming in tanks and troughs are in stark contrast to today's dry and parched landscape.

Authorities have confirmed it's likely there's been a mass die-off of fish in Western New South Wales

New aerial footage appears to show thousands of dead fish at Lake Pamamaroo in the Menindee Lakes System, near Broken Hill, nine months after a mass fish kill event on the nearby banks of the Darling River.

Members of the public are being urged to comment on proposed changes to laws governing contaminated sites across Western Australia.

An Albany man has been sentenced to an immediate jail term after admitting operating a clandestine drug laboratory from a Milpara home.

Western Australian farmers have welcomed the State Government's announcement to relax the controversial laws on land clearing.

An organisation which has been highly critical of Western Australia's land clearing regulations says the way the issue is approached needs to significantly change.

A former West Australian Football League player, charged with assaulting another player during a country match, has had the charge against him dropped in a Narrogin court.

Officials involved in the construction of Katanning's new sheep saleyards say the first sale at the facility will have to be pushed back to next autumn due to project delays.

The PGA says food security should not be the focus in the planned national review of agriculture with the country exporting surpluses every year.

A new strategy to reduce fatal shark attacks is being implemented with baited drum lines to be set along popular beaches in Perth and the South West. Sharks will also be caught and killed if they enter zones near those beaches because they will be considered an imminent threat. The measures follow six fatal attacks by sharks in WA in two years. Opponents say sharks deserve respect and protection.

The state Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has labelled as "out of control" fee increases for TAFE courses from next year. The Government flagged the increases months ago but the new fees were only published yesterday. Mr McGowan says the cost of a Diploma of Nursing will rise 390 per cent next year. He says the increases will result in fewer people enrolling and lead to skills shortages.

A storybook that celebrates and shares experiences from the Goldfields, Esperance and Great Southern regions was launched on Tuesday.

A hoax claiming the Church of Scientology was planning a nine-storey development at an iconic Albany site in WA's South Coast has infuriated local authorities.

Police in Albany suspect an attack on an automatic teller machine may be linked to a similar incident on the south coast a a few months earlier.

The Shire of Kondinin says there has been a big impact on the Wheatbelt community of Karlgarin from a major storm that occurred a year ago today.

Clubs WA has hit out at the recommendations in a review of Western Australia's liquor laws released yesterday, claiming its interests have been ignored. The review of the Liquor Control Act released by the State Government makes 141 recommendations, including the introduction of secondary supply laws which make it an offence to supply liquor to a juvenile on an unlicensed premise without parental consent.

Detectives have charged two people after discovering a clandestine drug laboratory in an Albany house.

Local governments have expressed concern about a decision to kill off merger discussions between four Wheatbelt shires.

Firefighters will continue to strengthen containment lines around a bushfire in Riverslea in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.

The developers of a proposed multi-million dollar shopping centre development in Denmark say they are appealing against a decision to refuse planning approval.

The Town of Narrogin says the latest proposal to merge with the neighbouring Narrogin Shire is just weeks from being finalised.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of a blaze in the Western Australian Wheatbelt town of Corrigin.

Leaseholders in the Western Australian south coast holiday community of Peaceful Bay have expressed concerns over a proposal to transfer their property leases to more conventional ownership titles.

A prominent businessman on Western Australia's south coast has been sentenced to eight years and six months in jail for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged daughter-in-law. Brian Vincent Attwell paid $10,000 to an undercover police officer who had posed as a hitman in September last year. The court heard the 74-year-old was angry over legal action after his son's divorce and he was motivated by "sheer hatred" of Michelle Attwell. The trial was played recordings of the businessman saying his daughter-in-law had cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he wanted her "strangled and buried".

The State Government says it has sent a serious warning to the owners of one of Albany's prime vacant lots, by signing off on a plan that would allow it to forcibly reclaim the site.

The State Government says it's sent a serious threat to the owners of one of Albany's prime vacant lots, by signing off on a plan that would allow it to reclaim the site. But the Opposition maintains it's a hollow threat.

The Town and Shire of Narrogin have chosen to pursue an amalgamation option which would deny residents the opportunity to defeat it through a vote.

Western Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources has announced an operating loss of nearly $40 million for last year.

It's a plane with a story, changing hands over the span of seventy years to land on a hill in the Great Southern of Western Australia.

Police have charged a teenager with deliberately lighting a fire in the Albany suburb of Centennial Park.

New draft regulations which pave the way for the start of commercial shale gas fracking have been released in Western Australia.

A man has been charged with committing an indecent act while he was sitting near a children's playground in Albany.

Lawyers representing a West Australian farmer who is suing his neighbour over genetically modified canola which allegedly contaminated his property, say the court case will hinge on the principle of negligence. The landmark case has been taken by Kojonup organic farmer Steve Marsh. They say the neighbour Michael Baxter had a duty to contain his own crop of GM canola.

The Drug and Alcohol Office is touring regional Western Australia in an effort to improve substance abuse prevention, treatment and support.

Residents in the Great Southern town of Broomehill West have expressed frustration over a lack of information during a recent blackout.

Footballer Marley William's claim he acted in self defence when he punched another man is a "fantasy", the prosecution in his trial says. Mr Williams admits to punching then 29-year-old Matthew Robertson in the face outside the Studio 146 nightclub in the south coastal town of Albany, the Magpies defender's home town. He gave evidence on Wednesday and today, saying Mr Robertson and two other men had previously attacked him inside the club and he feared being 'beaten up' again outside.

A $42 million upgrade of Albany's sporting facilities is a step closer, after the city council ratified plans for the precinct.

The Member for Moore, Shane Love, is hoping a parliamentary inquiry will address issues with a scheme which helps regional people travel to get medical treatment.

A group of West Australian farmers is planning a class action in the federal court after their lenders shortened the length of their loans, in some cases, from 25 years to just 12 months.

Tristan was a kind and gentle 23-year-old surfer from Byron Bay. One night he suffered a drug-induced psychotic episode. And ended up driven to hospital in a small steel cage. Police say it is probably the worst place he could be. Tristan later died in hospital. Mario Christodoulou investigates the series of tragic events that led to Tristan's death that raise questions about how emergency services treat young drug-affected people in New South Wales.

Coolah and Dunedoo are neighbouring towns, both with no visible Aboriginal community, and the reason why is complex with reports of massacres, movements and missing pieces of history.

The names of towns, roads and localities of central and western NSW are a treasure trove of toponymy, or the study of name origins, but their meanings also provide powerful connection for people and the places they call home.

Wild donkeys are known as environmental pests in Australia, causing erosion and damaging vegetation, but there is growing interest in turning that pest into a profit.

Shearers, labourers, chefs, farmers and lifeguards are among the workers who push through the heatwave.

A peaceful paradise known for its iconic pine trees and spectacular coastline, Norfolk Island is riddled with political tension and simmering social unrest.

It's hard to imagine a subtropical island struggling with drought, but Norfolk Island has had only 12mm of rain all summer and dams and water tanks are running dry.

Perched 1,600 kilometres east of Brisbane, a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean hosts a landscape resembling a desert scene from the NT.