Despite battling cool wintery winds and the rushing splashes of waves, workers have begun the process of giving Newcastle's Ocean Baths their annual 'spring' clean.

Hours of meticulous preparation go into every appearance on stage.

On a bitter winters night in north west Queensland, a small rural community braved the cold to support the finals of local touch football competition's return.

Tom Duddy's passion for collecting dates back to his days as a young boy hanging around shearing sheds. Now he has used that passion to turn the Prairie Hotel into a one of a kind outback museum.

Spring is the busy season for WA Sea Bird Rescue rehabilitator Carol Biddulph, who cares for a menagerie of injured and orphaned birds at her Torbay home.

The Swell Sculpture Festival is on again and Currumbin Beach is coming alive with colour, movement and thought-provoking works of art.

Hundreds of people descended on Rollingstone in north Queensland this weekend to celebrate the humble pineapple. Among them were dozens of international visitors who organisers hope will spread the word of the Rollingstone Pineapple Festival around the world.

On a cattle property near the outback Queensland town of Barcaldine, Jocelyn Chandler has created a spectacular green oasis with her own bare hands. Her garden has undergone a dramatic transformation since she and her husband bought the property in 1979, when there was just one mango tree, one kurrajong tree, and a couple of shrubs near the house.

When horse racing began in the outback Queensland town of Longreach in 1890 Australia had never had a Prime Minister, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was still decades away from being built and motorcars were just a dream for the future of the country. One hundred and twenty-five years later the Longreach Jockey Club has survived and prospered - and even made history when it appointed Australia's first female racing club president.

A maze that until recently was being eaten by sheep has been bought by a couple who are committed to restoring it to its full glory.

From live music, dumpling demonstrations and kite making workshops for kids, to self-defence lessons, bird watching, contemporary dance performances and a bamboo lantern parade, there'll be something for everyone at BrisAsia this year! Delight your senses with 80 events jam packed into three weeks from January 27 - February 19 across the city.

The Morrison Government is pushing ahead with a plan to become a world leading producer and exporter of hydrogen.

France has accused Beijing of concealing facts, while Germany has suggested it could demand compensation.

Citrus growers on the lower Darling River stare down an unprecedented disaster, with some being forced to abandon their crops as they wait for the Federal Government to agree to a water buyback.

This year's flood event at Lake Eyre delivers a spectacular natural wonder, and brings new life to Central Australia and a crucial economic boost to remote businesses.

Delicious home-cooked meals hand-delivered to the elderly residents in the remote community of Alpurrurulam are lifting the spirits of not just the recipients but also the workers.

What would it mean to live in "a story-less world where our rich literary traditions no longer existed, and have been excised from memory"?

Burketown, a town in north-west Queensland, can be cut off from the world for months at a time during the wet season, but it's got better internet than in Sydney according to a textile designer.

Australian researchers find a new species of pterosaur in outback Queensland. The apex aerial predator had a 4-metre wingspan and walked on all four limbs when on land.

The hardy desert rose is rising in popularity, with nurseries unable to keep up with demand, as green thumbs seek drought-tolerant colour in the dry outback.

Australian wind and solar farms are putting downward pressure on energy prices, and there are hundreds of new renewable facilities set to come online. But that green energy is stretching the country's outdated network of transmission lines.

Backyard beekeeping is abuzz with popularity with long waitlists to own a hive in some parts of Victoria.

Author Mary Groves has lived the great outback dream and knows how tough it can be.

Fire crews have spent more than two weeks extinguishing a coal wash fire burning underground on a property in NSW.

The ARLC has suggested that Jack de Belin needs a "reality check" as it argues that the code's no fault stand-down policy is necessary because the sport has been "beset by a series of scandals."

A plan to shore up New South Wales's energy supply suffers a setback amid concerns about aircraft safety.

MORNING BRIEFING: Kaila Murnain is back in front of ICAC after telling the inquiry she was advised to "forget" about alleged illegal donations which led to her suspension yesterday.

The principal of a WA public school who was stood down for urging parents to keep students at home against Education Department advice is reinstated.

The State Government is preparing its plans to rebuild the Tasmanian economy and some of the hardest-hit sectors are keen to return soon, but they say safety comes first.

As leaders prepare to ease coronavirus restrictions in their states, South Australia could be in the box seat to win the race to recovery by turning what might be regarded as weaknesses into strengths.

Power has been restored to most of the 55,000 homes and businesses in Western Australia that were plunged into darkness when a massive storm hit the southern part of the state.

Coronavirus has been a catalyst for lots of Australians to speak up about their experiences of racism, but what happens when the attention fades away and people are left to deal with lasting psychological trauma?

When Lou Myers brings out the lead and harness, Kartika the Bengal cat knows fun times are ahead.

Residents on the New South Wales south coast have rejected the finding from a Rural Fire Service investigation into the cause of a deadly fire at Lake Conjola.

The three-step plan might get Australia's downwardly spiralling economy off the critical list, but it will need to remain in intensive care for a long time to come.

Why are there so few antivirals? The answer boils down to biology, and specifically the fact viruses use our own cells to multiply. This makes it hard to kill viruses without killing our own cells in the process.

The parents of young children in Queensland will be fighting back the urge to jump for joy this weekend, but the little ones might be feeling a bit anxious about returning to school.

Truck drivers are calling for an urgent overhaul of roadworks safety in the outback, saying the highways are littered with disused and seemingly forgotten roadworks signs.

Desertification and land degradation affect the lives of around three billion people, according to UN estimates. Two ambitious projects aim at halting desertification and returning soil to productivity: the Great Green Wall project in northern Africa; and the Green Great Wall initiative in China.

Laurent Hayez, father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez, supported by his sons Godfather JP Hayez and cousin Lisa Hayez.

The father of missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez says unlocking his son's last WhatAsapp messages could be key to find him alive. But a leading expert says the tech giant is incapable of unjumbling the "garbled" encrypted messages.

MORNING BRIEFING: Michael Ferguson says union bosses have hit a 'new low' and a court hears that a Launceston man accused of murder said his alleged victim "is going to pay".

MORNING BRIEFING: The ex-girlfriend of a woman who fell to her death from a Sydney apartment block is expected to be charged with her murder, while a backpacker says the alarm about Theo Hayez's disappearance should have been raised much earlier.

Almost 10 years after being thrown from a motorbike and losing the ability to walk, the ABC's Charles Brice is about to return to the crash site for the first time before handcycling more than 300 kilometres to raise spinal research funds.