I really love the small wooden halls that dot each village in our north coast region. The halls have been social hubs for our rural communities for decades. They have seen bush dances, card nights, trivia fundraisers, 21st birthday parties, garage sales, weekly yoga classes and many other social events.

While thousands at the Arena were 'dancin' in the dark' with Bruce Springsteen, down a secret side street in Subiaco a few lucky festival goers were eating in the dark enjoying a meal they will never forget.

Allan Girod's is a small and entirely winning one-man show at this year's Fringe World.

Those who find opera difficult to get their head around may be pleasantly surprised by WA Opera's latest offering.

Southern Stars is not only a priceless gift for the students involved in it, it's a mind-blowing showcase of what young people are capable of when matched with professional direction and a huge venue.

The water watchdog says it is investigating claims that irrigators in the Namoi Valley pumped water out of the river system during a recent embargo.

The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) has cleared New South Wales irrigators who were accused of illegal pumping during an embargo that was put in place after recent rain.

Swimming in icy water is not something everyone aspires to do but it should be, according to an outdoor swimming enthusiast.

The Game of Thrones drama ends today for millions of fans, but in one Aussie household it will live on for this pampered pooch which has its own GoT-inspired iron throne.

About a year ago, my partner and I learned of a revolution in Australia's paddocks. We want to farm in a more natural way, but the stakes are high making the shift could send us broke.

After more than two years without any decent rain, a community in the far north of New South Wales is been given a reprieve.

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.

A decision to prioritise a controversial coal project over the protection of Indigenous sacred sites has landed the Federal Environment Minister at the centre of a fierce legal battle.

Two dangerous fires near Tenterfield and Armidale are downgraded as firefighters keep properties out of danger, but the dwindling water supply and expected strong winds will make today challenging.

A bushfire threatening homes at Drake, near Tenterfield, is downgraded as the threat to houses eases.

When people started getting sick from a particularly potent strain of salmonella last year, a team of experts rushed to try to trace the source of the outbreak.

With towns facing "zero day" water crises National Party MPs are frustrated not enough dams are being built, but states are spending billions to fix a system ill-prepared for crisis.

If you are hoping to be buried in Launceston's main cemetery, you'll need deep pockets, with the cost of a single plot "skyrocketing" more than 225 per cent in recent years, and it's set to go up again. Why does it cost so much?

Tasmanian public schools will remain open "for the time being", while pubs, clubs, sporting venues and churches close from midday.

The Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein says public schools will remain open, but parents who wish to keep children home may do so.

Gambling giant Federal Group is demanding Tasmanian pub owners continue paying rent on leased poker machines, even while hoteliers have been forced to close due to coronavirus — a move blasted by Senator Jacqui Lambie as "trying to make a quid" during a "wartime scenario".

At least 1 million Australians are facing unemployment as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and those with a mortgage are particularly worried. Here's some information on what the big four banks are doing.

Tasmanian producer's market collapses from 6,000 carcasses a week at the start of this month to nothing.

Tasmania's economy was just picking up as coronavirus restrictions sent thousands of people out of work — but some help is out there.

The Australian Government will launch hundreds of flights to deliver fresh produce to key international markets as part of a big-spending boost for exports.

State borders are closed, but has the time come to cordon off the shires from visitors too? Some rural and country leaders think so.

Owners of a Tasmanian equestrian facility say they may have no other option as business evaporates, leaving it with dwindling resources to feed and keep 46 horses.

When David Morrell's wife in wheelchair had a fall last week, he couldn't help her up because he's blind. He's made the tough decision to cancel support services to avoid his wife contracting COVID-19, but worries how they'll cope alone.

Nursing homes have been locked down to protect vulnerable older people from the coronavirus but families who provide basic care, like feeding, say they need access because their loved ones may not survive without it.

Leaders show us their true colours during a crisis, and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein — only in the job three months and following the popular Will Hodgman — is already giving clues as to how he will fare, writes Emily Baker.

Two more staff at the North West Regional Hospital test positive to coronavirus, taking the total to six, prompting a ban on visitors to the facility as well as the Mersey Community Hospital.

Take a trip along a seriously nostalgic street, the route of the long forgotten Penguin Hillclimb.

If you're hoping to bake hot cross buns or fresh scones this Easter you might have to think again — mills simply cannot get their product delivered fast enough to restock supermarkets.

Many parts of Australia have worked hard to attract migrants to help boost the population and ageing workforces, but many like Rosan Bhattarai are now without a source of income because they are on temporary visas and can't get access to the JobKeeper program.

Tasmania's coronavirus tally reaches 133, with the director of Public Health confirming 11 new cases have been diagnosed in the state's north-west today.

Meet the Tasmanian circus performer who's determined to teach kids and adults how flying through the air and hanging upside down can reframe how we think about bodies, boundaries and consent.

Tasmania's Premier Peter Gutwein says the North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital in Burnie close today because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Tasmania’s Premier Peter Gutwein has announced the North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital in Burnie will close because of the coronavirus outbreak. All staff and their households will go into quarantine. That’ll involve more than one thousand people.

With the global death toll now at more than 100,000, there is an urgent need for a coronavirus vaccine. But will pharmaceutical companies be tempted to put profits before patients?

Social-distancing measures mean we haven't been able to celebrate Easter like we normally would, and many of us are feeling lonelier than ever. The good news is, there are things you can do to stay connected.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein says the Chief Medical Officer's claims that the north-west Tasmanian coronavirus outbreak started with a dinner party of health workers are a rumour that will be followed up.

Medical staff working in a coronavirus hotspot in Tasmania's north-west say a relaxed attitude towards hand hygiene and social distancing made it a "slow-motion disaster waiting to happen".

With little else to do and undeniably glorious weather in some parts of the country, Australians are heading outdoors in notably large numbers. But will our healthy new habits stick once COVID-19 is gone?

Infection protocols are being checked at three Tasmanian nursing homes after contact tracing reveals a healthcare worker from an infected hospital has also worked shifts at three aged care facilities.

A juvenile white-bellied sea eagle is back in the skies near Tasmania's Bruny Island after surviving being coated in fish oil and a enjoying a bubble bath spruce up.

The widow of a north-west Tasmanian man who died of coronavirus pays tribute to her late-husband, calling him her "soulmate".

Tasmanian woman Sue McCuaig has been diagnosed with stage four brain cancer and wants to choose when she dies, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed debate on the state's assisted dying legislation.

Emergency workers across Australia who use government-subsidised nannies are scrambling to find child care options after their In Home Care was cancelled as a side effect of the Federal Government's new policy to make child care free.

The number of coronavirus cases associated with an outbreak in Tasmania's north-west is "trailing off", the state's director of public health says, with additional retail restrictions in place in the region due to be lifted on Sunday night.