The Queensland town of Monto that was drought declared and had the local mine close on the same day is determined to see the community survive.

Farmers in the drought-declared Bundaberg region are angry 105,000 megalitres of water will be released from Paradise Dam, saying it will go to waste at a time when water availability is so critical.

A Queensland great grandmother recalls the challenges of life on the land as she celebrates a century in the rural town of Biggenden.

A festival that started covering bare CBD trees in knitted jumpers has helped to lift spirits during the drought.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk visits drought-ravaged Granite Belt, where dam levels are so low water could run out by December. She vows she will not allow that to happen but needs a written request for help from council.

As Queensland's Darling Downs continues to experience one of its worst droughts on record, a scientist and a horticulturalist have developed a recycled watering system to keep their garden alive.

Over half a century, the Roma Saleyards in southern Queensland have become more than just a place to sell and buy livestock. They're a meeting point, a social occasion and even an unlikely tourist destination.

In a small town in country Australia an elderly man is praying he won't live to 91, like his father. He doesn't have the money, and it feels like debt is closing in on him.

Some southern Queenslanders say they're watching Midsomer Murders just to get a glimpse of flowing water. Despite the "pathetically dry" conditions, they are finding much-needed solace in their gardens.

A combination of drought, disease and concerted eradication efforts have seen a huge drop in Queensland's feral rabbit population to their lowest levels in more than 30 years.

Residents in a small Queensland town are still counting their blessings 12 months after a bushfire destroyed more than 12,000 hectares of pasture, and now they are preparing to be in drought before the decade is out.

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.

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

As a federal election and what should be the southern wet season approach, attention is returning to the drought. So where are we at?

For the first time in 15 years, cattle are grazing the roadsides of the Moyne Shire, in Victoria's south-west.

A fourth-generation grazier, who is selling the family property, says it could take a decade of uncommonly good conditions for pastoralists to recover from the drought in far-west NSW.

Extreme drought conditions have all but dried up the Barwon River in western NSW, and now the unprecedented dry has exposed an extraordinary piece of maritime history.

NSW's water woes extend beyond the farm gate and its impact on the local environment water is intimately linked to the strength of regional economies. And many are struggling.

From 85 millimetres of rain in a year to more than 50mm in a day, widespread Easter rain raises spirits from Bourke to Menindee.

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.

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.

In the shadow of mass fish kills at the start of the year, residents of Menindee in NSW are now worried for the rich and rare birdlife that relies on the area to breed.

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.

Wes Herring's family has farmed north-west of Broken Hill for 106 years. Deciding to sell after so long was a heartbreaking decision, but Mr Herring says he otherwise risked paying the ultimate price.

The drought takes its toll on organic farmers who say the big dry has ruined their ability to meet the conditions of their licences, so they cannot sell their livestock as organic.

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.

The Member for O'Connor says he will be urging the Federal Government to remember struggling parts of Western Australia's grain belt in talks over drought assistance.

A Western Australian eastern Wheatbelt shire says the Federal Government should not overlook the region as it develops a new drought assistance package.

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.

It's hard to imagine a subtropical island struggling with drought, but Norfolk Island has had only 12mm of rain all summer and dams and water tanks are running dry.

Lucy Moss's boutique in Coonamble is bursting with colour, and her latest venture offers various shades of relief for drought-affected farmers.

The drought could have major implications for life-saving medical procedures, such as dialysis with patients needing up to 4,000 litres each week for treatment.

Desalination is not just for coastal cities treating seawater. Drought-hit inland towns could use it where emergency bore water supplies are too salty.

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

75mm of rain has fallen in the drought-affected town of Girilambone in NSW, filling up dams in the region and bringing relief to farmers.

Farmers are finally starting to pick up the pieces from a devastating drought, but now those on the land say they have an even bigger issue as the wild dog problem strengthens.

After soaking rains in February, for the first time in three years farmers have a real opportunity to sow a crop, but they must first face international importation issues and supply shortages of agricultural chemicals and fertiliser.

From Nashville to Paris, two concerts bring the summer cultural drought to an end.

As a river runs dry in the northern basin, the blame game continues, and farmer Andrew Watson says irrigators are being unjustly targeted over water use.

Water stations reduce heat stress and other effects of drought and extreme weather events on koalas and other animals, new research finds.

Communities in the grip of drought are doing everything they can to keep their local kindergartens from shutting down, but they fear they're running out of options.

Australia's largest agricultural field day may not exactly be a spending spree this year, but it does provide farmers with a reprieve from drought.

Three years after shutting down and shedding more than 30 local jobs, Binnaway's abattoir is reopening, offering a much-needed boost.

Three young sisters work together to fulfil their dream of owning and operating their own Hereford stud and, despite drought and study, they are making a success of it.

Business owners in Tenterfield say tourists will be the key to the rural town's recovery, as bushfires and drought take their toll on the local economy.

Tamworth farmer Cathy Hockings looks after orphaned calves, helping out drought-affected farmers unable to keep young stock.