Some Broome tourism businesses hope a parliamentary inquiry will lead to a crackdown on accommodation websites, while others say 'the sharing economy' needs support.

In the dusty station country of northern Western Australia, a unique competition is highlighting the importance of animal welfare to cattle producers and attracting international attention.

Investigators reveal that an 11-year-old boy was the driver of a vehicle that overturned and killed a young girl in northern WA at the weekend.

A teenage boy was watching television on his iPad when a cattle truck slammed into his parents' caravan, killing both of them, on a Western Australian outback highway two years ago, a court is told.

WA's Child Protection Minister orders an urgent review into her department's management of five-year-old Symerien Brooking, who has one of the rarest medical conditions on the planet.

When Jack Baker pulled down a 116-year-old, 250kg bronze bell from a simple church in a remote, dusty town, he discovered a connection to one of the most famous cathedrals in the world.

Some WA sheep breeders are worried a ban could damage the industry, but Labor says the science is clear and if they win government they'll end the live export trade.

A 36-year-old man is charged with murder following an alleged hit-and-run attack on two men in Perth's south in the early hours of Easter Sunday.

Lou Brown used meditation and shear effort to clip about one sheep a minute for eight hours and claim the new world record.

The number of cattle allowed onboard live export ships is about to be reduced. Industry says the new rule makes no sense and will cause financial pain.

A crackdown on home loans emerges in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, with borrowers being asked for deposits of up to 30 per cent and banks throwing greater scrutiny on location and living expenses.

A Federal Government investigation has found no evidence a whistleblower onboard the livestock carrier Awassi Express fabricated conditions on the boat by switching off fans and ventilation.

Micheal McRae is accused of bashing his baby son Nathaniel, leaving him with severe brain injuries, but the charge is upgraded after the boy spent a year fighting for life in hospital.

A finishing school for western ringtail possums is not about airs and graces it's about helping orphaned possums get used to fending for themselves.

A seven-year-old Perth girl who picked up her toddler sister and held her aloft to save her from an attacking rottweiler dog is among a group of West Australians to be honoured with bravery awards.

Aquaculture has replaced tourism to become the biggest breadwinner in two of WA's picturesque tourism towns once reliant on seasonal work.

The "extinction pit" is the name used by scientists for a place no animal wants to go, and just five years ago the numbat Western Australia's animal emblem found itself on the edge thanks to the rise of a new predator.

A tax imposed on West Australian ratepayers 16 years ago to support the state's emergency services has raised more than $3 billion, but just $256 million of that has gone to bush fire brigades, and they say this is forcing them to rattle the tin for some essential equipment.

Australia's $1.4-billion plantation woodchip industry is dragged into the US-China trade war, with a number of shipments to the Asian economic powerhouse cancelled in the fallout from the dispute.

There are only a handful of sheep dairies in Australia, but it is a popular alternative to traditional dairy products.

A sharp rise in water use has prompted warnings from a former WA state water minister that the Government may need to bring forward construction of a desalination plant, putting significant upward pressure on household water bills.

African swine fever has depleted China's pig herd, creating a protein shortage that is benefitting Australian sheep farmers.

Authorities in Western Australia investigate a large mussel die-off that covered a 1km stretch of beach on the south coast last week.

Tasmanian driver Alex Peroni sustains a broken vertebra but walks away from a spectacular crash at Monza in Italy, with his survival attributed to his helmet and the round bar which protects drivers' heads.

DAILY BRIEFING: Fresh from walking away from his horror crash in Italy, race driver Alex Peroni is all smiles in hospital, as police renew their call for help to find a thief.

Cruise ships bring in millions of dollars to Tasmania each year, but tourism operators say if their schedules are not better managed they will continue to be both a "blessing and a curse".

DAILY BRIEFING: Injured formula 3 driver Alex Peroni will return to Hobart in the next few days as questions are raised about why he was allowed to walk from a crash scene in Italy instead of being taken off by stretcher.

Formula Three driver Alex Peroni walks off a plane in his hometown of Hobart just one week after a horror race day crash in Italy.

DAILY BRIEFING: A Tasmanian shark attack victim commemorates a year since the incident, cattle deaths hearing delayed and basketball stars arrive in the state.

DAILY BRIEFING: A road in the Central Highlands has reopened after a truck carrying a 68-metre-long wind turbine blade lost its load, a 39-year-old woman dies after being hit by a car and CPSU encourages public sector workers to take part in climate protests.

When Family Planning first came to Tasmania some of its doctors were labelled witches, and it was illegal to advertise contraceptives. Nowadays, a simple text to a number can see condoms delivered to your door.

Tasmanian police release photos of a number of household items and non-perishable foods found in bushland near where a prison escapee was found.

Ann Denham has outlived everyone in her life, but a friendship with her younger neighbour has brought her many joys including a ride in a helicopter and a race car.

When there's a smell of smoke in the air, bushfire survivor Michael King still feels jittery. He describes it as similar to "how a Vietnam veteran might feel if he hears the sound of a chopper overhead".

Tasmania is known for being clean and green, but Eva Pagett can't drink her tank water because it's contaminated with lead.

A 59-year-old man who died at Hobart's Nyrstar Zinc smelter yesterday has been named as Michael Lewis Petterwood of Risdon Vale.

Until 2012, Maria Island's animal inhabitants were living without any major predators. But when devils were introduced they had to adapt or die.