A suspected tornado tore through the WA town of Harvey on Thursday night, damaging houses and bringing down trees, as a strong cold front battered the state's South West and brought heavy rain to Perth.

Aurora chasers around Tasmania are treated to a spectacular display of the southern lights in conditions described as "just perfect".

Beasts of the Southern Wild, shot as if in a dream, creating as it does a fully detailed other life that has so many connections to imaginary and real worlds we all know, is something rare in movies; a poetic work that also convinces you utterly...

Police say they've found a man reported missing on Sunday morning after launching a search and public appeal for him at Illawong Beach, South Mackay.

Port Beach's Coast pub and surf life saving rooms should be moved and some Rottnest Island holiday bungalows should be pushed back from the beach in the long term, a report into WA coastal erosion hotspots says.

Sandy Verschoor is elected Adelaide Lord Mayor, while the state's four largest councils and two largest cities outside Adelaide will have women in charge following elections yesterday.

Beekeepers have lost up to 70 per cent of honey production because of "horrendous" conditions, and the effects of another bad season could be felt by other food crops.

Trevor Ashby's property south of Mount Gambier looks like a typical dairy farm from the roadside, but hidden among the cows is a tiny portal into a world-class dive site.

South Australia's forestry industry says it's struggling to secure enough water licences to expand, warning that if growers plant forests interstate instead, jobs and investment will follow.

One of Australia's most notorious paedophiles has applied for parole, but South Australia is considering whether the former magistrate should be indefinitely detained behind bars.

When Peta Bauer first moved to a remote station for work more than 20 years ago she was the only female on the farm's staff. Now she's a record-winning sheepdog trainer and things are different.

The centre at Mount Gambier will improve response times for critical patients as well as provide a greater level of comfort for crew and people awaiting transfer.

Car and house washing are off limits in Queensland's Southern Downs as residents are urged to use no more than 100 litres a day.

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.

The most remote voters in New South Wales say they feel forgotten by politicians as the state election draws closer.

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

Locals at the heart of a devastating fish kill say politicians lack the vision or intent to overcome water management deficiencies, as the ABC visits towns from Goolwa to Menindee to find out who, if anyone, is in control of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Where aspiring artists often leave home to pursue a career in a big city, this group of young Indigenous artists from western NSW have made the choice to stay on country to make and sell their art.

Researchers flock to study birds and desert species at Fowlers Gap in the arid zone of New South Wales, where it is remote and isolated but where you can still find friends.

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.

Travel back through time with us and take a look at 2013 in the South Coast and Great Southern.

A bushfire watch and act remains in place for the Shires of Plantagenet and Denmark as an uncontrolled fire that started on Friday in Mount Roe National Park continues to burn.

Demand on accommodation pushes tourists out from hotspots

Authorities are warning the Great Southern and lower Wheatbelt need to be on alert over the next few days, with sweltering conditions expected to create a serious fire danger.

Fire authorities have issued the all clear after a major bushfire that was burning in Western Australia's Great Southern.

A Western Australian Government survey has found the Great Southern has one of the state's lowest rates of people looking to relocate to another region.