Two of the world's biggest gold mining companies have merged in a $14 billion deal. What does it mean for the Kalgoorlie Super Pit and other Aussie gold mines?

A social media video of a tourist hanging off a notorious WA cliff on Easter Sunday has prompted a furious response from a sea rescue group.

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

Australia was built on gold rushes a century ago, but there is a warning it could slip from second to fourth on a list of the world's biggest gold producing nations by 2024.

Asian demand for the humble yabby has boomed in the last decade, but a lack of dam-filling rainfall threatens to pull them from the menu.

The Landcare movement has the ability to unite farmers and environmentalists, but it hasn't received much attention in an election campaign infatuated with climate change.

The weather serves as both a great unifier and obsession for most Australians and now the Bureau of Meteorology is about to bring in the next generation of online forecasting technology.

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.

The Western Australia State Government will now supply water to affected farms where, in some cases, record-low rainfall has persisted, and damaging floods in early 2017 were the last significant rainfall event.

O'Connor is one of the largest electorates in the world, but there will be 102 polling stations open for business on Saturday when the federal election takes place.

Dr Barbara Anne York Main OAM, who died last week, was one of Australia's leading spider researchers and conservationists. She studied the world's oldest spider and championed their home at a time when both the environment and women were given no fighting chance.

For inmates in a maximum security prison in WA, socialising unwanted dogs is "like a day away" from jail and the effects of the program are being described as "win-win".

A respected marine scientist warns that seagrass beds in Queensland are being smothered by 'snotweed' algae. But there are ways to fight the foul gunk, and other states are starting to take notice of the method.

Researchers are scouring the planet for drought and heat resistant crops as many Australian grain farmers face another failed winter season.

Arm wrestling is often associated with a casual competition at the local pub, but professionals like Ryan 'The Milkman' Scott compete internationally and are working hard to grow the sport in regional communities.

An Australian region larger than Texas has lost its only commercial television news reporter, sparking an outcry from former employees, community leaders and viewers.

It usually melts long before lunchtime but forecasters expect snow over the Stirling Ranges to linger into the midafternoon this Saturday as a cold front blasts the mountain peaks of southern WA.

A shortage of volunteers and funding has triggered serious concerns for animal welfare in far-north Western Australia, with cats, dogs, puppies and kittens "very much at risk" of being euthanased.

The shared horror of losing family members to homicide has united two women in their quest to form a unique peer support group in Western Australia.

Australian farmers are grappling with the future of wheat exports as Black Sea nations like Russia and Ukraine increase shipments to Indonesia.

It is now decades since Todd Jefferis first raised the alarm about the sexual abuse atrocities carried out at Katanning's St Andrew's Hostel in Western Australia, but his fight for justice might finally be nearing an end.

There is no sign of retirement for 91-year-old Rex Egerton-Warburton who still enjoys an active farming career despite being in the saleyards since he was five.

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.

Fyfe's tiny home town of 500 people has produced more than its fair share of AFL and AFLW stars, with nine local players making it to the top in recent years.

In West Cape Howe National Park on WA's rugged south coast, there is a narrow, twisting track with a fearsome reputation that has become a rite of passage for four-wheel drive enthusiasts.

Regional queer communities say being invisible makes people feel isolated and less likely to get support.

A WA wildlife photographer whose body was found at Bluff Knoll where he previously captured one of his most lauded shots is remembered as a kind, gentle and warm person who honed his craft over 30 years.

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.

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

The WA SES Volunteer Association hits out at department bureaucracy after a decade-long wait for equipment.

Praised for its "sweat characters and nuttiness", a Perth-based distillery and second-generation farmer from Western Australia's far-north have teamed up to create Australia's first red corn whiskey.

Sources have confirmed the $150 million public housing debt owed by Tasmania will be waived, as demanded by Senator Jacqui Lambie in exchange for her vote on the Federal Government's tax cuts.

A man has been charged after he allegedly attempted to drop eight tonnes of animal manure at the offices of Tasmanian politicians.

Close to the heart of gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome are two flags made from the dresses of drag queens who fought police in the Stonewall riots in New York. They'll now be preserved in a collection of memorabilia documenting the battle to change society's views.

DAILY BRIEFING: A worker has been "narrowly missed" by a bolt falling from a crane at a Hobart worksite, and Madeleine Ogilvie meets with Labor to discuss her future.

This wild and rugged corner of north-west Tasmania is bursting with ancient history and dotted with artefacts, but you've probably never heard of it.

The Catholic Church says it will not follow new Tasmanian laws that require priests to break the seal of confession to report suspicion of child sex abuse.

Bereft of vineyards a couple of years ago, Forcett in south-east Tasmania, will soon have more than 200 hectares of wine grapes in the ground.

DAILY BRIEFING: Man who's been on the run from police for almost two weeks caught, Madeleine Ogilvie takes her new seat in Parliament as an independent.

The family of a model who was murdered 50 years ago is suing Tasmania Police for what it alleges is misconduct in the handling of the investigation.