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.

Bill Nighy says he's fallen in love with Australian outback skies and small-town charm while filming his new movie, Buckley's Chance, in Broken Hill.

As a maintenance man, Peter Crawford knows better than most that one of the hazards of underground living is the question of who might drop in.

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.

Flights resume arriving and departing from Adelaide Airport after delays and diversions this morning because of the heaviest fog since 2003.

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

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.

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

The Education Minister says the completion of a major upgrade should ensure Denmark High School can continue its strong performance while dealing with a growing school population.

An investor, who has been left waiting months for the return of rare bank notes he owned through a collapsed Albany dealer, says further delays to that process are distressing.

A campaign is being launched to improve public awareness of the dangers of rock fishing in an effort to substantially reduce the number of fatalities across Western Australia.

The Department of Fisheries has released the results of a survey of WA's recreational fishing take, which has found the blue swimmer crab is the most commonly caught species.

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.

WA's District Court has confirmed Collingwood defender Marley Williams will face trial next month, accused of causing grievous bodily harm.

The developers of a proposed multi-million dollar shopping centre development in Denmark say they are appealing against a decision to refuse planning approval.

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".

Police have charged an Albany man with lighting three fires last month.

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.

The Drug and Alcohol Office is touring regional Western Australia in an effort to improve substance abuse prevention, treatment and support.

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.

A Collingwood footballer admitted to police hours after his arrest that he punched a man out of 'anger' following an earlier altercation outside a nightclub. The trial of Magpies defender Marley Williams in the District Court in his home town of Albany, on WA's South Coast, was this morning played the accused's initial interview with police. Williams is charged with grievous bodily harm, after punching then 29-year-old Matthew Robertson outside the Studio 146 nightclub in December 2012.

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.

A Denmark man has pleaded guilty to more than 50 charges relating to filming, or attempting to film, his teenage step-daughter.

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.

Coronavirus is changing the way the entire human race lives. Emergency workers are scrambling together contingency plans, fearing hospitals could soon be overwhelmed. Scientists are racing to invent a faster, cheaper Covid-19 test kit available for us all. Restaurants are reinventing themselves as delivery services, artists are turning to live-streaming to make a living. This week, the entire Background Briefing team investigates how each of us are finding new ways to get by.

Shearers, labourers, chefs, farmers and lifeguards are among the workers who push through the heatwave.

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.

Flamboyant fascinators and fedoras, once destined for fashion's grandest stages, help to overcome isolation and mental health issues in outback Australia.

When the local RSL in Coonamble in central west New South Wales found itself in debt to the tune of $500,000, it was feared nothing could be done.

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

Award-winning journalist Allan Clarke returns to his home town with his storytelling skills to help local youth capture the stories of their elders.

Hugh Bowman is one of the world's best jockeys and now he is set to be immortalised in art, in his home town of Dunedoo, alongside champion mare Winx.

Graham Morrison, 55, is given a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence after hitting a family car on the Newell Highway near the end of an 11-hour trip.

MORNING BRIEFING: Western Sydney residents concerned about the new 24/7 airport will have years to wait before they know proposed flight paths, while the enduring drought pushes Dubbo to cut water use even more.

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.

Regional airline Rex is threatening to cut services on its Sydney-to-Dubbo and has sent a scathing letter to Dubbo households criticising their local council.

Mahatma Gandhi lived a life committed to social justice and human rights. In this year's lecture to honour his memory five Australian women talk about their work in indigenous communities, for people with disabilities, refugees , LGBTIQ and campaigns to reduce domestic violence.

Many diets fail because your metabolism and brain adapt to different kinds of diets and physical activity. When you cut back your energy in-take, your body starts creating appetite enhancers.

Indigenous women who are victims of family violence often also suffer from multiple disadvantage. A specialist indigenous legal service provides culturally appropriate support and counselling. And the long struggle for indigenous women to gain equal voting rights with their white sisters.