Across New South Wales and Queensland's southern downs, country towns are approaching day zero, as water supplies dry up in the drought.

Researchers swap lab coats for waders and wellies in a quest to battle a tiny parasite that threatens the $150 million dollar tuna industry.

Pig producers in New South Wales battle a combination of factors that have seen up to 80 per cent of them selling all their pigs and leaving the industry.

The dairy industry has welcomed a surprise move, first by Aldi, then Woolworths and Coles, to raise the retail price of their home brand milk.

Since Maurice Henry began working as a mechanic in 1949, he has helped deliver two babies, rescued countless stranded drivers and become the heart and soul of his tiny town.

Writer Stuart Beattie wrote scripts for Johnny Depp, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Tom Cruise, but it's his newly released Vietnam War epic that he is most passionate about.

How do you fight fires in a state that is 98 per cent in drought and short on water? It's a question being pondered by firefighters on the verge of fire season.

Three quarters of a century after hundreds of Japanese prisoners of war escaped from a detention camp in Cowra, New South Wales, the town has forged a friendship with Japan centred on peace and respect.

Golf clubs around the country are failing to meet the needs of modern consumers and as a result memberships are at an all-time low.

Lambs have died of hypothermia and orchards are ready for a fruitful spring following a snow event in regional New South Wales.

Parents of children attending regional and rural schools are calling for a commonsense approach in the wake of the NSW Government's crackdown on school enrolment caps and out-of-area enrolments.

The death of one of the fiercest advocates for changing the name of the Mid Western Highway to Wiradjuri Way prompts renewed calls for change.

The wool market has plummeted a massive 163 cents a kilogram this week, or more than 10 per cent, prompting an industry leader to call for a halt to trading.

Very few young people think about the health risks of drinking but research is proving that alcohol is bad for your health.

The NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro says "green tape" is standing in the way of long-term solutions to the drought crisis, and suggests the state could borrow money to reshape water infrastructure.

The founder of an online discussion supporting hundreds trying to go dry believes drought, financial hardship, uncertainty, and isolation are causing more rural people to self-medicate with alcohol.

After four decades, a rural community farewells the family behind the town's first and only Chinese restaurant and celebrates their role in diversifying its culinary palate.

In 1969 a young Australian shearer travelled to Israel to orchestrate an arson attack he believed would prompt the return of Jesus and usher in the end of the world. The consequences still ring today.

While many grain silos around Australia are getting large-scale mural makeovers, one century-old structure is still operational, little-known and unadorned.

For years Waryk Holmes was bullied while trying to be like his able-bodied classmates. Now he's teaching them a thing or two as a wheelchair racer.

MORNING BRIEFING: A new video of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez is released as his family attempt to solve what happened to the 18-year-old, last seen in Byron Bay.

Australian scientists develop a drought-tolerant beer grain they hope will be a saving grace for some Australian farmers.

An Australian record price of $160,000 has been paid for an Angus bull at a stud sale in central-western New South Wales.

Nic Dolbel wanted to improve the skin under her eyes, but a cosmetic laser treatment left her with lingering pain and what she says felt like "third-degree burns".

The BOM says "scraggly" showers moved over the Great Dividing Range with a few millimetres in places like Orange and Dubbo but nowhere near enough to make a difference to the enduring drought.

Some of the bridal gowns awaiting to be picked up from this dry-cleaning business date back almost two decades.

A major program to combat fruit fly is underway in two Australian states where the Queensland fruit fly is not native to those areas.

The Dalys say they are not "competition-enterers", so you might be able to imagine their surprise to find out they have been crowned Australia's Farmers of the Year.

This family has a rare condition called ectodermal dysplasia, which means their sweat glands don't function properly and they can easily overheat.

Young people across Australia are being hit hard by the drought now they want to be heard and be part of a solution.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority will be investigated over its release of satellite images appearing to show dams filling with water, which David Littleproud labelled "premature" and "incorrect".

Exit packages are one of six measures the National Farmers' Federation has requested of the Federal Government in a bid to help those affected by what it says is unprecedented drought.

Rebecca Van Dyk's bird photography is growing from hobby to habitat protection as she takes on the mission of conserving the scores of Lake Cargelligo's threatened world bird species.

The head of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority apologises for mistakenly publishing a report that identified farms via satellite imagery, which is now subject to investigation.

Cave-ins, bottomless pits filled with car bodies and cyanide-laced sandhills are just some of the remnants left behind from Parkes' long gold-rush history.

While recent storm fronts have left farmers in the country's east disappointed, forecasters say this week's weather systems should deliver some relief.

Renewable energy advocates are baffled the NSW Government is not backing green energy, as a wind farm is blocked for its visual impact on residents.

Residents of Lake Cargelligo in New South Wales' central west fear their lake is at risk of drying up if environmental flows cease, but for now they are making the most of it.

As the drought spreads, spending in country towns continues to drop and rural businesses are suffering. As shops close, the owners of those that remain open hope they'll get more support in coming weeks.

The ABC can reveal the Federal Government's latest drought measures will include sweeping changes to an existing finance scheme as part of a $500 million drought stimulus package.

Submitted by Deidra Herring: I am pleased to announce several Research & Education interim positions for the 2020 summer term and fall semester in place of David Lincove, who retired on April 30.  Kapil Vasudev will serve as the Interim History Librarian under the College of Arts and Sciences.  Carly Dearborn will serve as the […]