Life

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.

The Office of Local Government will take no action against Clarence Valley Council following a fact-finding mission triggered by a significant number of complaints. In November 2025, the OLG announced it would be conducting a review into Clarence Valley Council following multiple complaints and concerns about the operation of Council.

As a medical physicist, specialising in radiotherapy cancer care, Newstead Fire Brigade member Anne Perkins decided she wanted to help her community further when she joined CFA in 2009. Anne and her husband George first joined Newstead Fire Brigade over 17 years ago in response to the February 2009 bushfires, having just moved there three years earlier.

The Allora Men’s Shed has done a magnificent job of giving new life to this old wool classing table. During the past month Graham Hickson has been the main man to work on this unusual project.

The re-elected Malinauskas Labor Government will continue taking decision-making out of Adelaide and into regional South Australia, with Country Cabinet meetings set to remain a key part of how the Government listens, engages and delivers. Country Cabinet ensures regional communities have a direct voice at the Cabinet table, giving locals the opportunity to speak face-to-face with Ministers and senior decision-makers about the issues that matter most to them.

Mount Alexander Shire Council is excited to announce a public art commission by local artist Kirsten Moegerlein ... “Kirsten is a wonderful artist and brings great skills in collaborating with the community. We look forward to seeing how she commemorates the transformation of a degraded river habitat into an oasis of plant and animal life": Mayor Toby Heydon.

Scenic Rim Regional Council is appealing to Tamborine Mountain residents to stop feeding and interacting with wild dogs, which are becoming a problem to the local community. As well as being illegal under the Biosecurity Act 2014, feeding wild dogs and encouraging them into community spaces poses a threat to residents, their pets and other wildlife by increasing the risk of attacks.

NORPA is delighted to welcome Hurford Hardwood as a returning partner in 2026. Owners Andrew and Gaela Hurford have been long-term supporters of NORPA, generously contributing through both their business and personal philanthropy, including as founding donors of NORPA’s new home, The Joinery.

Chosen to lead the mixed junior team at the national championships from the 22 through to 28 June this year, with a costly trip ahead of her, Piper Mortimer and her family are looking for sponsors to enable her to get there ... Piper's mum Leah Mortimer told On Our Selection News about how the sponsorship would be a two way street.

Cohuna is back on the national barefoot waterskiing map, with Sunday's Oz Open drawing locals to Gunbower Creek ahead of the Australian titles' long-awaited return to town. The free exhibition event gave spectators an early look at the speed and spectacle to come before the 64th Australian National Barefoot Waterski Championships got under way on Tuesday at the Cohuna Ski Run Reserve.

Greater Shepparton City Council is intensifying its advocacy and engagement efforts to ensure local community and industry voices are heard as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) review, with public submissions closing on 1 May 2026. As part of its water advocacy program, Council is undertaking targeted engagement activities to encourage community and stakeholder participation in the review process...

Leadership, determination, and the courage to step outside one’s comfort zone propelled Jack Barker to a major regional honour. The 17-year-old Naracoorte High School Year 12 student and 2026 school captain has been named the Upper South East Lions Youth of the Year, a recognition that celebrates academic excellence, leadership, and public speaking ability among young people.

Jim Lagerstedt. Belissima! The descendants of the New Italy settlers couldn’t have asked for a better day to celebrate their 145th Anniversary at the New Italy Community Hall on Sunday, April 12.

Coffs Harbour Yacht Club has set course for an exciting new era which will focus on growing sailing and associated water-based activities for the community.

Miriam Torzillo. Just when we thought the Reconstruction Authority (RA) had got the message that the Big Scrub homes should be deconstructed, salvaged or relocated, reports are coming in from residents about the ramping up of demolition in Lismore. Locals have been recording the destruction and sharing it on social media. The community is not happy.

Victorians doing it tough are getting fresh food on the table thanks to produce grown by Marngoneet Correctional Centre. Participants in Marngoneet’s horticulture program grow and donate more than 30 vegetable boxes each week to help Victorians experiencing food insecurity.

Results for overnight trips were flat for most states and territories in the year ending December 2025 when compared with the year ending December 2024, except for the Northern Territory which saw an increase of 151,000 trips or 18 per cent. The NT is the only to state or territory to see an increase in overnight spend when compared with 2024, up by $523m 43 per cent.

There isn’t anywhere else in the world that celebrates Easter quite like Maldon does and word seems to be getting out. Petrol prices and global crises didn’t appear to keep anyone away: Maldon’s streets were chockas all weekend!

The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has slammed the Allan Labor Government after it was revealed a key review into Victoria’s 2026 bushfires will be delayed until after the November state election. Despite the scale of the disaster, which claimed a life, destroyed hundreds of homes and burnt vast areas of land, Inspector-General for Emergency Management Emily Phillips has confirmed the review has not yet commenced.

In CFA's 75th year supporting the Good Friday Appeal, the generosity of Victorians right across the state has exceeded expectations, helping us raise an incredible $2,150,000 for The Royal Children's Hospital. Once again, CFA volunteers were out in force both on their fire trucks and on foot, making their way around local streets rattling tins all morning to raise vital funds in their communities for a much-loved and well-respected cause.

The current fuel crisis failed to hinder hundreds of motor vehicle enthusiasts descending on Narrandera over the Easter long weekend for the annual Narrandera Rod Run. Although many visitors had to pay high prices for fuel to travel to the event, the situation did not put a dampener on an amazing weekend of incredible vintage vehicles taking to the streets.