Anthony is his town's 'underground' carer for orphaned joeys
By Anna Cox and Andrew Chounding
Roofus is one of many orphaned kangaroos taken under the wing of unofficial wildlife carers, a vocation one Boddington local found in his adolescence.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/underground-kangaroo-carer-boddington-wa/106196684
#WildlifeTrafficAccidentsandIncidents #Animals #AnnaCox #AndrewChounding
Family watches Boddington heritage property burn in Christmas Day fire
By Anna Cox and Andrew Chounding
Two heritage homes and thousands of hectares of land were lost in a Christmas Day bushfire in Boddington.
#HouseFires #Farmers #RegionalCommunities #Bushfires #Agriculture #AnnaCox #AndrewChounding
Plans to burn rare forest abandoned after man camps in tree for six nights
By Andrew Chounding
The WA government abandons plans to burn a parcel of forest that is home to a species of rare tree after a 70-year-old man spent six nights living in the canopy.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-23/treetop-protester-wins-red-tingle-trees-fight/106171960
#EnvironmentalPolicy #EnvironmentalManagement #Trees #AndrewChounding
Truckies in regional Australia call for public toilet membership
By Andrew Chounding, Andrew Collins, and Atlas Cook
Truck drivers sick of dirty, damaged rest facilities have floated the idea of charging an access fee in regional Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-14/truck-drivers-suggest-paying-to-improve-rest-stops/106130764
#Roads #PublicService #GovernmentFunding #RegionalCommunities #AndrewChounding #AndrewCollins # #AtlasCook
Missing Woogenellup farmer described as 'irreplaceable' by family
By Mark Bennett, Eliza Kavanagh, and Andrew Chounding
Great Southern man Mark Adams went on a short fishing trip on Tuesday afternoon and never returned. His family is devastated by the likely loss of their loved one.
#MarineIncidents #MarkBennett #ElizaKavanagh # #AndrewChounding
P-plater avoids jail for hit-and-run
By Eliza Kavanagh and Andrew Chounding
A 21-year-old woman has been sentenced for being the driver involved in a hit-and-run incident which killed Albany woman Bronwyn Clark in July.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-27/hit-and-run-accused-sentenced/106032134
Conservationists condemn prescribed burn in cockatoo nesting area
By Andrew Chounding
Environmental and conservation experts in Western Australia challenge claims by Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn that two endangered bird species were not present in a patch of Great Southern bushland set ablaze.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-24/prescribed-burn-lit-in-endangered-cockatoo-habitat/106041070
WA records highest number of measles cases since 1997
By Madigan Landry and Andrew Chounding
Authorities and experts urge people in the state's south to be on alert for measles as the number of community transmission cases continues to climb.
Missing safety sign flagged months before WA fatal crash
By Andrew Chounding
A former road safety assessor says he wrote to authorities about missing signage months before a man in his 40s died on a winding road in southern Western Australia.
#RoadAccidentsandIncidents #RuralandRemoteCommunities #DriverEducation #AndrewChounding
Hail stones and heavy rain wreak havoc for WA farmers and businesses
By Kate Forrester, Andrew Chounding, and Joanna Prendergast
Severe weather has swept through large parts of the Great Southern and Wheatbelt, causing significant damage to crops during the critical harvest period.
#Storms #WeatherWarnings #Hail #AgriculturalCrops #CropHarvesting #GrainGrowing #KateForrester #AndrewChounding # #JoannaPrendergast
More hikers getting stuck on popular trail as social media draws tourists
By Andrew Chounding
About 50,000 people climb Bluff Knoll in WA's Stirling Range each year, and emergency services say they are being called to more rescues as hikers underestimate the challenging track.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-03/bluff-knoll-hiker-rescues-increase-stirling-range/105957436
Poisonous five-headed caterpillar photo wins prestigious award
By Andrew Chounding and Paul Cook
An Albany photographer has won an international wildlife photo award for her image of a five-headed caterpillar that was in her backyard.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-26/five-headed-caterpillar-wins-photo-award/105926608
Rex creditors fear they will be left millions out of pocket with US sale
By Rachel Holdsworth, Andrew Chounding, and Toby Hemmings
Creditors owed millions of dollars remain in the dark despite a new owner being found for the embattled airline.
#AirTransportIndustry #RegionalCommunities #LocalGovernment #RachelHoldsworth #AndrewChounding # #TobyHemmings
Call to expand 'cool weather' burns to protect the environment
By Andrew Chounding and Mark Bennett
The success of a small, autumn prescribed burn on WA's south coast has prompted calls to replace the regular program to reduce environmental damage.
#EnvironmentalPolicy #NationalParks #AndrewChounding #MarkBennett
Safety warning over heritage machinery after doctor crushed
By Andrew Chounding and Peter Barr
What started as a routine day of chores for a country GP and his son became a life-or-death situation after he was crushed by a vintage tractor.
#Farmers #AgriculturalMachinery #OccupationalHealthandSafety #AndrewChounding #PeterBarr
Speed dating a solution to the slow dating lives of farmers
By Anna Cox, Andrew Chounding, and Kimberley Putland
When the dating app radius won't reach the edge of your property, and you're harvesting grain from sun-up til sundown, how do you find a partner?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-08/farmers-single-mingle-speed-dating/105843296
#Dating #RuralandRemoteCommunities #Farmers #Relationships #AgriculturalShowsandIndustryEvents #AnnaCox #AndrewChounding # #KimberleyPutland
Widower living in bus as he waits for answers on fire that destroyed home
By Andrew Chounding
Residents who lost their homes in a blaze that ripped through WA's southern wheatbelt in January may have to wait more than two years to seek compensation.
#Fires #HouseFires #ElectricityProductionandDistribution #StateandTerritoryGovernment #AndrewChounding
Girl, 12, killed in highway crash in southern WA
By Andrew Chounding, Rosemary Murphy, and Anna Cox
The fatal collision occurred hours after police urged motorists to drive cautiously ahead of the long weekend.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-26/girl-killed-in-great-southern-highyway-crash-wa/105821522
#RoadAccidentsandIncidents #AndrewChounding #RosemaryMurphy # #AnnaCox
Wheelchair user left to fend for herself during six-hour Rex flight delay
By Andrew Chounding and Peter Barr
Albany woman Debby Butler says she had to ask strangers to help her to the bathroom after Rex delayed her flight home from Perth Airport and left her without a wheelchair.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-16/rex-passenger-issues-albany-perth-wheelchair-user-/105774708
#AirTransportIndustry #DisabilityAccess #RegionalCommunities #AndrewChounding #PeterBarr
Residents call for lower speed limits after van strikes Albany grandmother
By Andrew Chounding and Peter Barr
A crash involving a van and an 81-year-old woman in Albany prompts calls for reduced speed limits from locals and road safety advocates.
#RoadAccidentsandIncidents #PeopleWithDisability #Roads #Safety #AndrewChounding #PeterBarr
