Regional Communities

Australia's Reef Authority had $80 million to repair and refurbish its showpiece aquarium in Townsville, but scrapped the project for a grander design it knew it could not pay for.

The state's first AM radio station was founded by what's now known as Wesfarmers to help ease isolation in the bush. A century later, it's still bringing the community together.

The cost of living has increased more sharply in regional areas than in the cities, with some outback residents paying double for essential goods like food and fuel. Now the federal government is coming up with a plan to try to level the playing field, but will it work? 

When farmer Melissa Smyth's not out on her property on the South Australian-Victorian border, she can be found painting or creating mosaics in her shed. Her new-found passion for art was sparked by what's known as the Pinnaroo Project.

Todd Fuller painted the portraits of 30 Liddell Power Station workers to mark the site's closure. The experience changed his perspective forever.

A small town in the heart of Queensland's coal country is taking an innovative approach to address one of the biggest problems facing Australian families: childcare shortages. 

Northern Rivers flooding, the lack of affordable housing, and the cost-of-living crisis hit rough sleepers with a triple whammy as many sleep in tents while waiting for public housing.

Young people in regional and remote areas need a driver's licence more than most, and thanks to a couple of community-minded AFL champions, that opportunity is now within easier reach. 

The small country town of Mullewa is reeling from a spike in crime, but locals say the solutions need to go further than more policing.

As he waits in Adelaide for a second brain operation, Jamie Chuck's friends in a small town in South Australia's south east are getting ready to run naked to cover his family's costs.

They're home to subtropical beaches that city slickers dream of, but an emerging trend shows some regional movers are moving away again from Australia's most popular regional cities after arrival.

Emergency services are searching for 63-year-old Alistair Thomson who set off alone on the famous trail west of Alice Springs on  May 13 and last contacted family via text on May 21.

A new speedway track in South Australia's Bordertown is being hailed as among the best in Australia and even the world after work to replicate one of the most famous sprintcar tracks in the United States.

For the second time in as many years, a mobile tower in the New South Wales town of Mullumbimby has been toppled in what police suspect was a deliberate act of vandalism.

Dunsborough residents get a spectacular view as the year's first winter storms rolled in across South Western WA.

A Papuan who fled his home country because of tribal fighting says he is desperate to hear from family members whose village was in the path of a deadly landslide. 

With upheavals in the agriculture industry making some farms unviable, a landowner in South Australia is encouraging others to consider repurposing their properties for renewable energy projects.

It looks like business is booming the beautiful town of Daylesford, but the local council is grappling with a budget hit by inflation and cost-of-living pressures — and it's a situation that's said to be playing out across the state.

NSW Police confirm a man has died after a head-on collision outside of Broken Hill, closing a section of the Barrier Highway for most of the day.

This mother moved an hour to secure work but she cannot relocate her son until she gets a rental property. She's applied for 58. 

Nationally, most of us opt to get behind the wheel when it comes to commuting to work. But as one Australian state slashes public transport fares, experts say there's more to do in improving the way we get around.

GFG Alliance boss Sanjeev Gupta says the blast furnace — which has been offline since mid-March — has been restarted, and steelmaking should begin again next month.

A cemetery that includes some of Port Lincoln's most notable figures and tells stories of Australia's colonial history has been targeted by vandals, with up to 25 graves desecrated.

Hundreds of children with autism are taking part in a free program teaching them surfing skills, giving them greater confidence around water and helping them to make new friends. 

Peter Michalak has already spent a decade creating a model version of the broad gauge Adelaide to Victoria rail line in his rumpus room and says he has at least another 10 years to go.