New water treatment plants taking shape in Wilcannia and Ivanhoe as Central Darling Shire navigates $2 million budget deficit
New water treatment plants are taking shape in both Wilcannia and Ivanhoe as Central Darling Shire Council progresses two of the most significant infrastructure investments in the shire's recent history, while the council navigates a projected $2.068 million operating deficit and works to secure emergency backup water supply for the town.
Murray-Darling water allocations: where things stand heading into winter 2026
For irrigators across the Riverina and communities across the Far West, the water picture heading into winter 2026 is one that demands close attention. The key dam levels as of 25 May paint a mixed picture. Burrinjuck Dam, which drives allocations for the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and surrounding districts centred on Griffith, Leeton and Narrandera, is at 38 per cent.
Menindee resident raises alarm over upper lakes releases as environmental concerns mount
A Menindee resident has raised concerns about water releases from the upper lakes of the Menindee Lakes system, warning they could contribute to ongoing environmental deterioration in the Lower Darling-Baaka River system.
Body found in 109-day hunt for Lake Cargelligo shooting suspect Julian Ingram
A body believed to be Julian Ingram, the Lake Cargelligo man sought over a triple murder in January, has been found in bushland near Mount Hope, ending a 109-day search that spanned hundreds of thousands of acres of remote Central West New South Wales.
Rare native lilies spotted flowering on stock reserve north of Deniliquin
A striking patch of native Garland lilies has been found flowering on a Travelling Stock Reserve north of Deniliquin, discovered by a NSW Government Murray LLS staff member during routine work in the area. The lilies, known scientifically as Calostemma purpureum and also referred to as Wilcannia lilies, are a native species...
Gun buyback hits wall as majority of states refuse to sign up
A national gun buyback scheme introduced in the wake of a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach has stalled, with a majority of Australian states and territories declining to join the program by the March 2026 deadline set by the federal government. The buyback was announced by Prime Minister Albanese in December 2025, days after a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration...
Will the grey nomads come this winter? The fuel crisis puts outback tourism on the line
Winter is normally the season that outback NSW towns look forward to most. The tourists arrive, the caravan parks fill up ... This year, the question being asked by operators from Broken Hill to White Cliffs to Menindee is whether that migration is actually going to happen.
Broken Hill council wins millions in Supreme Court battle over impossible legal bill
Broken Hill City Council has been awarded several million dollars following a successful NSW Supreme Court action against a former lawyer whose billing records claimed up to 36 hours of work in a single day. The court found that Keith Redenbach, principal of Redenbach Legal, charged the council $10 million to litigate a building dispute over renovations to the Broken Hill Civic Centre...
Irrigators face tighter rules as NSW lifts Menindee threshold for floodplain harvesting
Irrigators in the northern basin will face tighter conditions for floodplain harvesting under new rules introduced by the NSW Government, which has raised the threshold at which water access is permitted. Under the previous framework, irrigators could capture water from floodplains once the Menindee Lakes system held 195 gigalitres. That trigger has now been lifted to 250 gigalitres, meaning harvesting cannot proceed until the lakes are more substantially filled.
Fuel for thought: Roy Butler MP calls out federal failure on regional diesel security
Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP says the fuel supply pressure now being felt across regional New South Wales was foreseeable, avoidable, and made worse by a failure of planning at the federal and state level that he intends to keep pushing back against.
