The largest addition to the New South Wales national parks network in almost a decade is welcomed by traditional owners of the land, who say it is a monumental cultural milestone.

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.

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.

Once an outback oasis, Copi Hollow is now almost all that's left of the Menindee lakes system, but its future is uncertain.

As landowners clean out enormous water tanks in the hope of rain, their fond childhood memories of swimming in tanks and troughs are in stark contrast to today's dry and parched landscape.

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.

Locals are worried for the future of the small NSW town of Ivanhoe, but a colourful truck and tractor show brought in crowds about three times the size of its population.

The Albany Port Authority believes slow trade so far this financial year will be short-lived.

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 Police Commissioner has paid tribute to a senior Walpole policeman as an "outstanding officer" after he won WA's Police Officer of the Year Award.

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.

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

Pledging to quit smoking, lose weight and get fit is pretty popular on New Years' Eve, so why do many people fail?

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.

Like sex and birth, death has always been hushed up. Death Cafes are a forum where there are no answers, only questions, says Sigari Luckwell of Bunbury.

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

New modelling shows a proposal to create a national body for research and innovation in the forestry sector would create hundreds of jobs in Western Australia's south.

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.

The holiday community of Peaceful Bay in WA's Great Southern is struggling with the question of how to protect its slice of paradise against the tides of change and bureaucracy.

Iron ore miner Grange Resources has launched an internal review of its proposed Southdown magnetite mine, near Albany, to see if the project start-up can be cheaper than the estimated multi-billion-dollar cost.

Analysts say it makes sense for Grange Resources to examine trying to get its Southdown project, near Albany, off the ground sooner by starting on a smaller scale.