Former school deputy principal Kenneth Ralph Ernst is jailed for the prolonged sexual abuse of a young girl, in a case the judge described as a "gross breach of trust" made worse by Ernst's decision to plead not guilty.

Police allege two teenagers gathered in bushland on Monday afternoon and deliberately lit the blaze, which gutted one home and tore through Sunshine Coast bushland.

A large bushfire is continuing to burn through swamp and bushland on North Stradbroke Island, off Brisbane, ahead of an expected influx of 8,000 school holiday visitors.

After the death of an e-cigarette user and the hospitalisation of many US teens, Australian health experts fear a "vaping culture" is developing among teenagers.

Parents are seeking answers after buses dropped off school children at a road block during the height of the Peregian Beach bushfire emergency, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast yesterday.

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.

Graziers have turned to the help of a landscape ecologist to battle severe drought in rain-starved areas of far western New South Wales.

Irrigator Anthony Barlow is fined well below the maximum for pumping water from the Barwon River during an extreme water shortage in Broken Hill.

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.

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.

For keen rugby league player Owen Whyman, times are tough enough in the Darling River town of Wilcannia without losing the game he looks forward to each week.

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

There appear to be further fish kills in the Menindee Lakes on the Darling River, with drone footage showing thousands of fish carcasses.

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.

Real estate agents say Albany's rental market has tightened significantly in recent times.

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

The new Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development says he expects improving conditions for elderly residents in Western Australia's south-west and Great Southern will be a key focus.

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

Police are investigating the second robbery from an Albany volunteer bushfire brigade within weeks.

Financial penalties have been imposed on Western Power for failing to meet its target for service performance to customers in regional areas.

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.

Police in Albany are investigating an aggravated burglary on Saturday afternoon.

Police have charged an Albany man who allegedly attempted to import hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of methylamphetamine from Mexico.

A watersport based around ancient tradition, dragon boating now spans many different cultures - but the legend behind it is never forgotten.

Agricultural lobby group WA Farmers has urged the Federal Government not to forget struggling growers in parts of Western Australia, in talks over a drought assistance package.

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.

Former WA chief scientist Lyn Beazley says she is honoured to be named patron of an agriculture program in Manjimup.

Twenty eight Australian vessels and ten New Zealand ships left Western Australia in 1914, destined for war. These are their stories.

The cry of 'save our sharks' echoed through Ellen Cove in Albany over the weekend as hundreds gathered to rally against the WA government's controversial policy.

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.

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.

Thousands head to the tiny New South Wales town of Louth for a dusty race weekend amid the ongoing dry.

Uncle Dick and Aunty Ruth Carney share how they built their own 'piece of heaven'.

NSW Police have extradited John Bowie to Sydney to face court over the murder of his wife Roxlyn, after an investigation into her disappearance in 1982.

The New South Wales Government is funding an aerial survey for water in the state's central west.

The commission, sitting in Mudgee, hears how home care providers are charging for services that haven't been delivered in rural and remote areas.

It was not only the spice trade, science, commerce and the arts that flourished in the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. Publishing also exploded and an innovation called advertising sustains it and ushers in the modern world.

As Brazil grapples with the largest coronavirus outbreak in Latin America, could the confluence of a public health crisis, a plummeting economy and a growing corruption scandal be the undoing of the country's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro?

A hundred years from now, will you be taking a pill or using your own cells to cure disease? This is just one of the predictions from four futurists who imagine how some of our biggest challenges will play out. Can we save species from the effects of climate change or protect our privacy from the prying eyes of governments and corporations? Perhaps surveillance technology might prove to be our friend by keeping us accountable for our actions.

Australia slumps to a 3-0 series defeat in South Africa with a six-wicket loss in Potchefstroom, despite Marnus Labuschagne's maiden ODI century.

Once the subject of "satanic panic" and seen as the epitome of nerd-dom, roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons finally hits the mainstream and is bigger than ever.