A Mid West conservation and land management program is skilling up prisoners in Greenough and reducing the rate of re-offending.

More overnight falls across the New England North West

On any given day in the small rural New South Wales town of Trundle, up to a dozen men can be found in an historic garage, tinkering on cars, passing on skills to younger men and taking turns pumping fuel. It's an interesting set up, but it works.

Family and friends have gathered in a Toowoomba park to unveil 'Roger Guard Lane' named after the avid runner and popular doctor who was killed along with his wife Jill twelve months ago in the MH17 disaster.

Each Thursday in a back-alley warehouse, a group of volunteers come together to meticulously clean, repair and catalogue artefacts collected from the remnants of a Chinese temple that once stood proud in the Cairns CBD.

Now in its sixth year, the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) continues to grow in size as well as national and international recognition. The three day event begins on July 31 and attracts visitors and exhibitors from around Australia and the world. ABC Far North spoke to a select few of the artists exhibiting at this year's event.

A Toowoomba-based environmental scientist says finding a small population of a threatened grass in the middle of the city was exciting, as is the process of conserving it in another park.

Mount Panorama has made the most experienced racing driver and their team shudder, but it hasn't stopped a group of TAFE students taking on the mountain.

More than 40 years after the conclusion of the Vietnam War many of those who served still bear physical and psychological scars as a result of the conflict. On Vietnam Veterans' Day members of the far north Queensland community paused to pay tribute to those who fought in the name of their country.

It's hoped that a fossil hunting expedition to Lightning Ridge will lead to the discovery of new Australian dinosaurs.

Colourful artwork, vibrant food and a dazzling array of traditional dress are on display in Cairns as far north Queensland's Indonesian community celebrates Multicultural Week.

The latest tool in weed eradication in New South Wales and possibly Australia has a wet nose, a wagging tail and is called Sally.

A 5917 steam locomotive captivated onlookers as it rolled through the Clarence and Richmond valleys as part of Coffs Harbour's Centenary of Rail celebrations.

More than 20 volunteers will give their time every fortnight to monitor western hooded plovers on Busselton Shire beaches. Numbers may be declining but not enough is known about the birds to be sure.

The north Queensland town of Ingham has no shortage of pasta makers. A large number of the town's residents are of Italian heritage - but the owners of the local pasta manufacturing business are not. Despite this they still have the approval of the local nonnas.

Cowboys fever is ramping up in Townsville in north Queensland in anticipation of Saturday night's elimination final against the Cronulla Sharks. Meet some of the fans who will be cheering the Cowboys to victory.

An array of spectacular orchid displays attracted more than 2,500 people from across Queensland to the Australian Orchid Council conference and show in Mackay at the weekend.

Australia and New Zealand share a long history of sporting rivalry. Last weekend both nations' competitive sides were brought to light in a basketball game between Indigenous Australian and Maori players.

Built in 1925, the Noojee Hotel catered for the growing timber industry in the area, providing accommodation and beer. Then in the early 1960s, a series of dinosaur sculptures were made by local man Jack Kelly. Their reputation preceded them and after much wear and tear, they were thrown out to waste. Now two locals have reignited Noojee's love affair with the prehistoric animal.

Pyramid Hill is home to a growing Filipino community, with many working at the nearby piggeries.

Day three of three of this year's Great Victorian Bike Ride took us down more country lanes as we wound our way to Dunolly.

National Cabinet is due to meet again this week to decide on the easing of nationwide COVID-19 restrictions on movement and businesses.

National Cabinet will meet on Friday to start lifting restrictions in a three stage process to lock in what the Prime Minister is calling "a sustainable COVID safe economy".

The Prime Minister is laying the groundwork for Australia to re-open for business and wants what he calls a "COVID-19 safe economy" by July.

Growing up alongside thesprawling green parks and shopping malls of Melbourne's Craigieburn, finding a connection to her Indigenous ancestry was complicated, until she was invited onto the remote and sacred lands of Lake Mungo.

The price of water increases to $980 a megalitre for South Australia, as industry bodies expect prices to reach Millennium Drought levels.

Mary Kathleen's shuttered uranium mine is bright blue, incredibly Instagram-worthy, radioactive and Queensland's latest hotspot.

In many small rural towns nurse practitioners are sole practice managers, writing prescriptions, billing through Medicare, and referring to specialists. Are they supported enough?

Bats have been migrating earlier than usual this year due to inland drought and a lack of food in Queensland's south-east, with red flying foxes seen covering Mount Isa's sky.

One high-tech regional library hosts a "zoom room" for video conferencing, an interactive jumping floor for kids, eBooks and eAudiobooks and yes, plenty of good, old-fashioned printed books.

Experts say the landmark High Court 'Crocodile case', which granted Indigenous Australians the right to fish and hunt for traditional foods, is still significant 20 years later.

This used to be the quiet time of year on Victoria's famous stretch of coastline, but locals say that's changing.

Disgraced Cardinal George Pell will not seek a reduced sentence if the Court of Appeal upholds his conviction for sexually abusing two Melbourne choirboys in the 1990s.

It felt as if the winds of change were blowing through the Catholic Church after the royal commission. But a new defence has rejected some of its key findings in relation to one of its most notorious paedophile priests, writes Louise Milligan.

Trading at around $2,500 per kilogram, more growers are entering the truffle industry as demand for the unique fungi remains high.

Senior Constable Edward Barnett was shot and killed attempting to stop an armed robber in 1858. Now he has finally been honoured with one of Victoria Police's most prestigious medals.

A cold snap has washed across Victoria, plunging temperatures below zero in many places and drenching others in rain.

The ABC understands the Victorian Department of Corrections considers the Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat, 200 kilometres west of Melbourne, to be the most appropriate place to send the high-profile cleric.

The Prime Minister suggests Cardinal George Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia honour, as Pell plans to take his rejected appeal against his child sex abuse convictions to the High Court.

Around one person dies on Victoria's rail lines every week, with most long-term train drivers experiencing at least one fatality in their career.

Rachel Griffiths's biopic about Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne, Ride Like a Girl, will remain unchanged despite horse trainer Darren Weir being banned from horseracing for four years.

This specialist nurse teaches thousands of prostate cancer survivors how to revitalise their sex life after diagnosis, but she is the only one of her kind in an area spanning 48,000 square kilometres.

A child abuse survivor says the priest who assaulted him did so in the 'welcoming' home of another clergyman. His claim comes amid new allegations that paedophiles acted in concert within the Catholic Church.

A Victorian man accused of murdering Adelaide mother-of-two Suzanne Poll at her workplace in 1993 will plead not guilty to the charge, a court has heard.