An unwanted steam locomotive that was left to rust has become a symbol of pride for a Queensland town, thanks to years of painstaking restoration work.

There's been no end to bad news for the dairy industry, but one Queensland farmer is defying the trend by boosting tourism and drawing in droves of fans.

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.

Australia's next generation $20 banknote design continues to feature a portrait of John Flynn who pioneered the world's first aerial medical service in 1928, now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

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.

Twenty-five years since The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert shone a light on homophobia in the outback, the landscape has changed in regional Australia.

An empty station homestead in drought-stricken outback New South Wales may look unassuming but has gained renown by being featured on the new $20 banknote.

Did you know that the native Christmas Tree that is in prolific flower in Western Australia this month can produce a mildly alcoholic Christmas potion?

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.

A new strategy to reduce fatal shark attacks is being implemented with baited drum lines to be set along popular beaches in Perth and the South West. Sharks will also be caught and killed if they enter zones near those beaches because they will be considered an imminent threat. The measures follow six fatal attacks by sharks in WA in two years. Opponents say sharks deserve respect and protection.

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.

Albany's peak business lobby is calling for closer cooperation between the city's businesses, in a bid to ensure the region capitalises on November's Anzac centenary commemorations.

As warm temperatures continue throughout much of Western Australia, residents are being warned about diseases which lurk in dirty pools and waterways.

The outgoing Mental Health Commissioner says the state's Indigenous population is over-represented in the suicide rate.

An economic forecaster says WA mining companies operating in Africa are struggling with a range of cost and productivity issues. The Deloitte WA Index indicates the combined market capitalisation of WA companies with African assets, particularly gold producers, fell almost 45 per cent. That is compared to WA producers, as a whole, who rose nearly five per cent. The fall is bigger than expected.

Western Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources has announced an operating loss of nearly $40 million for last year.

Several accommodation providers in Albany have expressed frustration at delays in finalising plans for the city's Anzac centenary commemorations.

Residents have been left without water for a day after a breakdown at a local treatment plant and as western NSW sweated through a heatwave.

The largest local council in New South Wales, whose patch includes the Darling River town that experienced mass fish kills, will spend another four years in administration.

Technology is driving immense social and economic change and it's time for governments to step up and actively shape the future. If we simply leave it to the market we risk social dislocation and economic disruption. Former US Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich says the five trends demanding urgent attention from governments are automation, education, climate change, cyber security and self-governance. And Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on the price of inequality

Australia's mineral exploration industry has warned up to 600 full-time jobs are at "immediate risk" and potentially thousands more under threat as mining companies respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

A magistrate who found a Nimbin Mardi Grass festival worker not guilty of drug driving has blasted the NSW Government's advice to motorists, saying it "lulls them into a false sense of security".

Police are investigating the "suspicious" origins of a devastating bushfire, which is believed to have started late Friday and yesterday destroyed 21 homes in northern NSW.

Thousands of residents across the Sunshine Coast pay their respects on Anzac Day — standing in driveways, paddling on the water, and dressing up — despite COVID-19 restrictions.

Authorities in a 'dry' Queensland community say illegal alcohol poses one of the biggest health threats to its people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Words like 'iso' and 'sanny' are slipping into every day vocabulary, as COVID-19 slang goes viral like, well, "the 'rona'. Experts say its creating a sense of community.

Several major Queensland tourism operators say talk of a 'trans-Tasman bubble' has given a rare glimmer of hope that they will be able to bounce back following the devastating impacts of coronavirus.

Gold Coast builders have backed calls for urgent industry stimulus measures and say restoring confidence is the key to saving the local construction sector.

Tara June Winch has won three major prizes at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her novel of love, family, history and language, The Yield.

Experts warn unemployment could soar to 20 per cent in the Shoalhaven, so how will a region that relies on tourism survive when no tourists are allowed in?

NSW's total number of new COVID-19 cases increases by only two people, one day before some social-distancing restrictions in Australia's worst-affected virus state are eased.

Ms Berejiklian says there needs to be better communication between aged care facilities and relatives after a 13th person has died from coronavirus at the Newmarch House.

After a frustrating wait, the bushfire clean-up effort is set to ramp up in South East NSW with around 300 properties to be cleared each week.

Sydney arts centre Carriageworks says the coronavirus pandemic has caused an "irreparable loss of income" after six months of events were cancelled or postponed.

Aussies families identify how COVID-19 has created stress in their relationships. For some, more time under the same roof has brought them closer together.

When police launched a youth outreach program in Dubbo six months ago, they would have been happy to see charge rates drop by 10 per cent. But Project Walwaay has wildly exceeded expectations.

In musical circles, there's a mythical quality to that name, attached as it is to the father of American protest song, Woody Guthrie.

Who knew trouble could be such fun?

Explosive drama and long held grievances come home for Christmas in this stylish drama.

AnA Wojak's deeply moving and motivating mixed-media installation, stepping stones at Lismore Regional Gallery is surprising and somewhat overwhelming in its scale.

A self-described experienced horse breaker has been fined and sentenced to a community correction order for a "silly decision" to use a lasso to strangle a brumby.

A Tamworth teacher has developed the first Australian curriculum exploring regenerative agriculture.

Smoking rates have dropped massively since the 70s down from 40 per cent to only 14 per cent but some areas of the country are not getting the message.

Printmakers across the country are raising awareness of our most endangered group of birds and their non-stop, eight-and-a-half day journey home from their Artic breeding grounds.

Tasmania had one of the strongest responses to COVID-19 in the country. But on the day the two-person gathering rule was adopted, the state's nightmare quietly began.