Of
Guardian Australia Work
Since 2022, I've reported for Guardian Australia's Rural Network, documenting environmental crises, Indigenous communities, and regional challenges across NSW and Victoria. My coverage spans water management failures on the Darling-Baaka River, alpine brumbies degrading Victoria's national parks, the closure of Broken Hill's 126-year-old newspaper, and the push for Aboriginal-designed housing in remote communities.
Stories range from investigative text to short-form video documentaries, highlighting voices often overlooked in metropolitan media,traditional owners fighting for river health, graziers navigating environmental policy, artists battling institutional control, and regional residents adapting to climate and demographic shifts.
The regional council that voted to ditch the Aboriginal flag
Bangerang country straddles the Murray River, taking in parts of north-east Victoria and the southern Riverina in New South Wales. One of the largest towns on the NSW side is Corowa, a farming community with a population of just over 5,000 people. In November, the local council voted to remove the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from inside council chambers and exclusively fly the Australian flag on all flagpoles in the shire. It did, however, commit to flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on 'available flagpoles' during Naidoc and Reconciliation weeks. It also proposed not allowing welcome to country ceremonies for council events unless they were 'approved by an adopted council resolution' and instead relying on an acknowledgment of country – which does not need to be given by a traditional owner. Guardian Australia's Douglas Smith visited the regional New South Wales town to chat to locals about the move
Residents return to find destruction by Victoria fires
As the bushfire threat in Victoria eases, residents and business owners in Harcourt return to see the impact. Jess and John Bell, two Harcourt residents and CFA volunteers, say they were fortunate their home wasn't one of 51 houses destroyed by the Ravenswood and Harcourt fires. 'We were very lucky the Castlemaine captain managed to get the bobcat ... and he sort of cut in a containment line around the back here, and we think that's saved a lot of the property.' Businesses in town were not so fortunate, with Coolstore cafe owners Remy and Bonnie Sowman returning from Woodend to find their business destroyed. 'It doesn't feel real,' Bonnie Sowman says. 'Remy said yesterday, just go get the Starlink from the cafe and we'll hook it up at home. Then we looked at each other, and like, it's gone'
What Victoria’s historic apology means to First Nations people
In a formal statement issued in the Victorian parliament, premier Jacinta Allan gave an apology to First Nations people for the harm inflicted upon them by the state and colonisers. First Nations elders and community leaders in attendance spoke with Guardian Australia about the significance of the apology, and what makes this different from other apologies made before
In the arena with Australia's jousting champions
In 2018, Renae Marisma went to Kryal Castle theme park to watch a medieval show; six years later, she was the arena's defending Australian national jousting champion. The reconstructed fortress in Ballarat hosts year-round jousting demonstrations, drawing visitors into its fantasy of drawbridges and battlements. Otis Filley went to this year's championships, speaking with both jousters and fans about their love of the sport
Crossing Bass Strait in a boat made entirely of rubbish
Samuel McLennan has spent two years salvaging fish farm waste and other marine debris from Tasmanian shores for his oceangoing vessel. McLennan's boat, which he named Heart, has slowly made its way across the Bass Strait to Victoria. Otis Filley joined McLennan aboard for part of the journey
A reactor in the backyard? What Latrobe Valley residents think of Dutton’s nuclear plan
Samuel McLennan has spent two years salvaging fish farm waste and other marine debris from Tasmanian shores for his oceangoing vessel. McLennan's boat, which he named Heart, has slowly made its way across the Bass Strait to Victoria. Otis Filley joined McLennan aboard for part of the journey Communities in the Latrobe Valley – and those in six other locations around Australia – are on a new energy frontline. On Wednesday, the Coalition promised that, if elected to government, a part of the Loy Yang power station would be one of seven sites to host a nuclear reactor. But what do residents think of Peter Dutton's nuclear plan for their area? The Coalition's decision seems to have split opinions.
Trampling Victoria's Alps: how brumbies are destroying the native habitat
At Native Cat Flat in Victoria’s Alpine national park, four fenced-off areas show a strikingly different ecology, highlighting the damage wrought by more than 2,700 feral horses in the area. Behind the fences, lush sphagnum, dense vegetation, grass tussocks, shrubs and herbs thrive. Outside the plots, the ground is pockmarked with deep hoofprints, and the native grasses are overgrazed, exposing endangered animals in the area — which rely on dense vegetation — to predators ‘Feral horses don’t know state borders’: the push to protect Victoria’s Alpine national park
Menindee reacts to latest fish kills: 'An Australian disaster like bushfire and floods'
Members of the Menindee community are trying to come to terms with how another mass fish kill incident has occurred in the Darling-Baaka River. 'This is an Australian disaster and it should be treated as such: like a bushfire, like a flood. Fish kills and unhealthy river systems have got to be taken seriously," says Barkandji woman Denise O’Donnell
Officials challenged to drink town water in Menindee where millions of fish died in Australian river
Officials at a heated town meeting in Menindee, outback New South Wales, are challenged to drink a mug of town water in front of the crowd after assuring the community that it meets Australian drinking water standards. The request is issued by Jan Fennell, a resident who says the town is tired of being given instructions by authorities without being granted meaningful involvement or reassurances.
Menindee community wants answers after 'ecological disaster'
Community members react after a town meeting at the Menindee civic hall which was held to address concerns relating to the cleanliness and security of the water of the town following the deaths of millions of fish in the Darling-Baaka river.
‘Everyone’s on edge about it’: rabbit numbers on Phillip Island reach ‘plague proportions’
Coastal residents face thousands of dollars in damage from the invasive species – which one expert warns could be becoming immune to Australia’s main biological controlREAD
Knights in shining armour gallop into battle at Australia’s national jousting championship
Mental challenge matches physical intensity for the men and women who clash on horseback at Kryal Castle in regional Victoria
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Trash to transport: crossing Bass Strait in a boat made of Tasmanian fish farm debris
Samuel McLennan spent two years salvaging for his ocean-going vessel and has slowly made his way to Victoria. Otis Filley jumps aboard for part of the journey
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Could Aboriginal-designed housing help solve the health crisis in remote communities?
Tennant Creek residents say the hot, overcrowded homes built by government contractors are not fit for purpose, so they’ve drawn up their own plans
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Feral horses don’t know state borders’: the push to protect Victoria’s Alpine national park
Native species are losing ground in Victoria’s Alpine park as the brumby population booms
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Broken Hill council to stop paying traditional owners for performing welcome to country
Council voted on the decision in National Reconciliation Week, timing that Reconciliation Australia says was ‘unnecessarily provocative’
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Ceremony held in Menindee to release offspring of native fish rescued from 2019 Darling-Baaka mass kill
Silver perch fingerlings released in ceremony designed to address community’s collective trauma over ecological disaster that left millions of dead fish in river
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Menindee farmers scramble for stock water after tests show river has ‘potentially toxic algae’
Local authorities have delivered 147,000 litres of water for household use to properties along the Darling-Baaka River, but do not cover livestock
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New NSW premier Chris Minns commits to investigation into Menindee mass fish kill
Locals happy to see Labor ministers visit town days after election and are hopeful they will help stop destruction of Darling-Baaka River
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At Menindee, the lifeblood of the people has turned to bitter sludge
The fight for a healthy Darling-Baaka River is becoming a ‘recurring nightmare’ for the communities that depend on it
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Darling-Baaka River Menindee cleanup begins six days after mass fish kill
Locals live with the stink of rotting fish as millions of submerged carcasses raise concerns about water quality
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‘All this here will kill this river’: traditional owners grieve for the Darling-Baaka after mass fish death
Barkandji people say they are tired of fighting for the health of the river after millions of fish died in a hypoxic blackwater event
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Four resignations and a ‘deflated’ artist: inside the battle for the artistic legacy of Broken Hill
The curator, gallery manager and two other senior staff resign from Broken Hill’s art gallery as the council exerts its influence over what constitutes ‘local’ art
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‘What comes, comes’: Menindee residents stoic in face of looming flood peak
Locals prepare for isolation as record water levels predicted to inundate the far-west NSW community
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Midnight Oil and Missy Higgins bring thousands of older festivalgoers to Broken Hill
The Mundi Mundi Bash is one of an emerging trend of remote, ‘red-dirt’ music festivals aimed at demographics other than teenagers
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‘Share our country’: changing the cycle of sorrow with Mutawintji cultural festival
Traditional owners of Mutawintji national park in NSW have created a celebration of food, music and art
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From Lake Menindee to the English Channel: outback grazier completes marathon journey
Brendan Cullen started swimming to help with his depression. Now he’s overcome rough seas, jellyfish and fatigue to swim from England to France in 17 hours
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