For the first time two overall winners have won the prestigious David Malin Awards which honours the best in Australian astrophotography.

Despite a tightening supply and smaller yields due to dry conditions, the value of Australia's wine exports has continued to grow.

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.

Music, dance, art and poetry are keeping prisoners connected to their culture and, in some cases, reducing their chances of reoffending.

A motion calling for a royal commission into the MDBP narrowly passes on the final day of the NSW Farmers Conference.

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.

Michael has ridden in more than 4000 races.

Like most country racetracks, Tomingley's isn't irrigated.

Michael Hackett doesn't remember much about his first race. He doesn't remember a thing about his last either.

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.

Caroline Harte is mostly confined to her bed after a fall at work. While her insurer completes modifications to her home she sleeps next to a portable toilet and shower.

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.

As the drought continues, water is being carted by train for the first time in decades to keep production on track at a NSW coal mine and secure 140 full-time jobs.

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

Alcohol is linked to everything from cancers, liver and cardiovascular disease, stroke and depression.

Alcoholism is big problem in regional areas where health support is limited and the dangers of drink driving are made worse by distance.

Connor Drum admits he steals food from the supermarket to supplement the Newstart payments he receives unable to find work, some in the Federal Government say he should leave the support networks he has in Canberra to search for a job in regional Australia.

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.

From their humble beginnings inside former churches, hostels and retail stores, regional conservatoriums continue to play a leading role in music education outside metropolitan areas.

Despite prices in the overall wool market declining, non-mulesed wool is fetching premium prices due to the demand in Europe by retail brands looking for ethically produced wool.

What goes on inside a busy NSW local court from police pursuits to a letter from jail to a stolen vibrator.

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

At least two houses and two businesses are destroyed in Tenterfield in northern NSW and a firefighter is suffering facial burns as crews brace for a long night ahead with four fires burning at emergency level across the state.

Women face a number of hurdles when it comes to working in manual trades, but overcoming the barriers as some have done could be the answer to the skills shortage.

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".

NSW has no 'standard definition' for water restrictions, leaving it to councils to work out for themselves.

Fresh from his tour of the United States, Prime Minister Scott Morrison heads to Queensland to pledge more money to support drought-affected communities.

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 beer may be flowing, but water will be limited at Mount Panorama as supercars fans help conserve water in the drought-affected community.

New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin wins a drama-filled Bathurst 1000 for the first time in his career after surviving a tense finish at Mount Panorama.

The wine industry emerges from a decade-long grape glut, with exports playing a big role in the sector's turnaround.

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.

Hopes are raised in drought-stricken towns that the Federal Government is on the cusp of delivering a stimulus package, with local mayors urging a generous spend.

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.

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.

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.