An annual health check of Queensland's Mary River records E. coli higher than recommended levels at two popular swimming spots.

Two men are committed to stand trial for the alleged murder of Sunshine Coast butcher Bruce Saunders, whose body went through a woodchipper on a rural Queensland property in November 2017.

It has been three weeks since the NT's last COVID-19 diagnosis and this weekend some Northern Territory parks will reopen.

Researchers say they've found early signs of a positive impact in the NT and health groups want the measure rolled out around the country, but an alcohol lobby group says the research is inconclusive.

In Central Australia, butterflies have only several weeks in certain months to pollinate flowering plants in the desert region, making their presence there crucial.

Lawyers for a former senior NT police officer facing rape allegations can access the identity of a whistleblower who complained about him, an NT Supreme Court judge rules.

Australia's next generation $20 banknote design continues to feature a portrait of John Flynn who pioneered the world's first aerial medical service in 1928, now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Innamincka, near the Queensland border, is used to floods of water and tourists and accessing healthcare can be a problem. Now, a new remote "self-service" telehealth clinic aims to change that.

As water supplies run low for towns reliant on the Darling River in western NSW, the Government says it has drought-proofed Broken Hill with a 270-kilometre pipeline from the Murray River.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As the Federal election draws closer, disability advocates call for changes to ensure people with disabilities have a better voting experience.

The word, which describes an iconic blend ingredients, is finally set for official recognition along with a special reference to a certain town where the dish is virtually a staple.

Taxi driver Reg Kelly will bear the scars of a murder attempt for the rest of his life, but he wants to thank his home town for rallying to his side.

Locals at the heart of a devastating fish kill say politicians lack the vision or intent to overcome water management deficiencies, as the ABC visits towns from Goolwa to Menindee to find out who, if anyone, is in control of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Amid the mass fish kills and the ongoing drought, residents of Menindee in outback NSW hope a festival will be the first of many positives that draw tourists back to the region.

When the daytime temperature gets above 50 degrees Celsius, living in the cool underground holds huge appeal.

Bill Nighy says he's fallen in love with Australian outback skies and small-town charm while filming his new movie, Buckley's Chance, in Broken Hill.

As a maintenance man, Peter Crawford knows better than most that one of the hazards of underground living is the question of who might drop in.

A commercial fisher has been fined $15,000 and had his boat confiscated after pleading guilty to seven charges of illegal fishing in the Darling River.

Menindee residents say the New South Wales Government is moving too slowly to prevent the loss of important native fish breeding stock in the Darling River, as authorities warn of further large-scale fish kills in to summer.

Flights resume arriving and departing from Adelaide Airport after delays and diversions this morning because of the heaviest fog since 2003.

Twenty-five years since The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert shone a light on homophobia in the outback, the landscape has changed in regional Australia.

A new art exhibition opening in Sydney today brings together some of the nation's leading artists who offer an urgent message about the destruction of the beleaguered Murray-Darling basin.

Researchers flock to study birds and desert species at Fowlers Gap in the arid zone of New South Wales, where it is remote and isolated but where you can still find friends.

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.