Kimberly Grabham, Back Country Bulletin

NSW Ambulance is considering establishing a groundbreaking Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) pilot program in Hay, marking the first time such an initiative would operate in a NSW town that already has an existing ambulance centre.

Australians living with Parkinson's disease are celebrating after the Federal Government listed a breakthrough treatment on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), making it affordable for thousands of patients. VYALEV® (foslevodopa with foscarbidopa) is administered through a 24-hour infusion under the skin and helps restore dopamine levels in the brain.

So, after more than a year without a resident police officer, Katamatite's single-member station is about to spring back to life. Detective Senior Constable Charles Ryall is trading his role with Cobram's Crime Investigation Unit for something entirely different – becoming Katamatite's first live-in police officer in about 12 months.

Picture this: you're out checking the back paddock, kilometres from the nearest mobile tower, when your phone buzzes with a text message. Not from a satellite phone or special device, but from your regular iPhone or Samsung, somehow managing to reach up to space and back down to deliver that simple "all good here" message ...

So, you're a police officer in a small Western NSW town, and you've just arrested someone at 10am. Under the new bail system, there's a good chance that person won't see a magistrate until Monday, and you'll be stuck supervising them while emergency calls pile up on your radio ... officers are being pulled off the streets to babysit accused people while magistrates work what appears to be school hours.

Picture this: you're watching the NSW Treasurer deliver a budget that cuts transport spending by 34 per cent, slashes education infrastructure by 41 per cent, and offers zero additional cost of living relief to struggling families. Meanwhile, sitting in government reservoirs across the state is something that could change everything – 450 gigalitres of surplus water worth a potential $6.3 billion.

From July 1, the Seven Network signal will stop broadcasting into homes across the Griffith area, taking with it the AFL, international cricket, and shows like Home and Away that have been part of lounge room routines for decades ... The pattern is clear: regional viewers are increasingly being pushed towards paid streaming services as traditional broadcasting deals fall by the wayside.

Ruth McRae OAM has been in local government long enough to know that some decisions weigh heavier than others. As Mayor of Murrumbidgee Council, she's had to make plenty of tough calls, but few sit as uncomfortably as the one announced this week.

Seventeen workers at Southern Cross Care facilities in Broken Hill have lost their jobs following the organisation's acquisition by its Queensland counterpart, with the takeover finalised this month. Southern Cross Care Queensland confirmed the completion of its buyout of Southern Cross Care Broken Hill operations, with affected positions described as administrative…

Every second Thursday at 7am, Rob Dyson fires up his bus in the opal mining town of White Cliffs and embarks on what has become a lifeline for the remote far west NSW community ... "I'm like the farm dog, you start up the ute and I jump on. He starts the bus and I'm on it. There are so many advantages," said local artist Cree Marshall, who has been using the service since it began three and a half years ago.