In the old tin mosque in Broken Hill, Samia made a discovery that disproved what historians had thought for more than 40 years.

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.

Locals are worried for the future of the small NSW town of Ivanhoe, but a colourful truck and tractor show brought in crowds about three times the size of its population.

WA Police have charged a 45-year-old man with attempted murder after he allegedly shot at officers with a sawn off shotgun last week.

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

The Albany Port Authority believes slow trade so far this financial year will be short-lived.

The AFL has announced it will hold a number of community camps in regional Western Australia next year.

Western Australia's peak farm lobby group says having the Minister of Agriculture and Food take up a second portfolio may mean agricultural issues actually get more attention.

Did you know that the native Christmas Tree that is in prolific flower in Western Australia this month can produce a mildly alcoholic Christmas potion?

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 plan to set out bait for large sharks near popular WA beaches has been criticised over concerns it could attract them into swimming areas, but others back the move.

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.

The Royal Life Saving Society says WA's latest drowning figures, which reveal a 50 per cent increase on the previous year, should serve as a warning ahead of the festive season. A new report shows 31 people drowned in the state in 2012. Children under the age of four were the highest risk group for drowning and near drowning. Older people over the age of 55 were also at risk.

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.

Thieves have caused significant damage to a shopping centre while trying to steal an automatic teller machine in Albany.

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 Denmark Shire is proposing a plan to replace the leases at a popular holiday spot with more traditional ownership rights.

New modelling shows a proposal to create a national body for research and innovation in the forestry sector would create hundreds of jobs in Western Australia's south.

Albany's resident snake catcher shares her passion for chasing reptiles.

Albany's peak business lobby is calling for closer cooperation between the city's businesses, in a bid to ensure the region capitalises on November's Anzac centenary commemorations.

The Maritime Union says it has made concessions and lowered a pay claim to try to forge a new wages deal for support staff in the offshore oil and gas industry. The union is now seeking pay rises of 22 per cent over four years from marine contractor, Tidewater, down from its original claim of 24 per cent over the life of the agreement.

Great Southern traffic police say they will be targeting distracted drivers during a campaign over the Australia Day long weekend.

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".

Wheatbelt nickel miner Western Areas says it is pleased with its quarterly results, despite seeing small drops in production and sales and higher costs.

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 City of Albany is launching a new tourism marketing campaign in Perth, aimed at attracting visitors in off-peak periods through the south coast's cooler climate.

An economic forecaster says WA mining companies operating in Africa are struggling with a range of cost and productivity issues. The Deloitte WA Index indicates the combined market capitalisation of WA companies with African assets, particularly gold producers, fell almost 45 per cent. That is compared to WA producers, as a whole, who rose nearly five per cent. The fall is bigger than expected.

The passionfruit vine is a typical grievance for those with a green thumb, a temperamental plant that just won't do what it's told.

Regional local governments say the Western Australian Government's handling of council mergers in Perth is increasing their fears they will be forced into mergers they do not want.

Aboriginal teaching assistants whose jobs have been axed, have appealed directly to the Education Minister for their jobs to be reinstated.

There has been a mixed reaction from Western Australia's two biggest farm lobby groups to the release of further details of the Federal Government's agricultural white paper.

A reward of $50,000 is re-offered after firefighters battle more than 700 suspicious fires this season.

Detectives have charged a man with procuring a child to perform a sexual act after an encounter on a street in the centre of Denmark in the South West. The man approached her on Mitchell Street on Friday night. The 34-year-old then allegedly kissed her on the neck and asked her to engage in sexual behaviour.

Two men have been charged with raping an Albany woman while she was asleep.

A business analyst says conditions are improving in the nickel sector but it is too early to declare that the industry has 'bottomed out'.

The Western Australian Opposition is calling on the State Government to revisit the eligibility criteria for its concessional farming loans because of limited demand so far.

The Mayor of Albany has scoffed at reports the city is considering spending millions of dollars on a prime vacant site in the central business district.

An eastern Wheatbelt farming group says it is extremely frustrating for struggling growers in the region to see limited demand for a Government support package.

Mount Barker wine producers say they are not too concerned by the prospect of yield losses because they are expecting a high quality vintage this year.

The Auditor General has found the Water Corporation is losing billions of litres of water more than it should each year, mainly due to leaking pipes. In his report, tabled in Parliament today, Colin Murphy says about 30 billion litres of water was lost each year, ten billion more than what is considered acceptable. The agency will also have to fork out tens of millions of dollars to replace ageing pipes in the network.

The Shire of Manjimup's chief executive officer, Jeremy Hubble, has resigned from after eight years in the job.

A regional business lobby group says the Federal Government should recognise how important skilled foreign worker visas are in country areas.

A group of men from the Military Brotherhood motorcycle club are riding from Brisbane to Perth, and back again, to raise money for a charity that supports the families of fallen veterans.

Farmers in some of the driest parts of Western Australia are concerned they will miss out on funds from the Federal Government's drought assistance package because they will not meet the criteria.

The South-West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council says the Noongar community will decide mid-year whether to accept the Western Australian Government's native title offer.

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.