Riverina Local Land Services has reported significant dieback of saltbush between Booligal and Hay, leaving some shrubs completely bare. The damage affects pastoral properties and travelling stock reserves, but its full extent is not yet known. Bladder saltbush has been hit hardest, a key source of livestock feed during drought. Inspections and samples have not identified a conclusive cause, though some borer damage was found. Officials say recovery will take considerable time and depends on rainfall and how carefully landholders manage grazing.
Five emerging innovators have been selected for the evokeAG 2027 Groundbreakers Program. Their projects target rural workforce shortages, high chemical spray costs and livestock disease. Bovision is developing computer vision technology to monitor cattle health in feedlots, while WeedSelector uses cameras to spot spray target weeds. Agriculture Jobs Auswide connects job seekers with primary producers. Over four months, the group will receive leadership development and networking before presenting at the national evokeAG event in Adelaide.
Central Murray and Wimmera football and netball leagues have agreed a two-year interleague partnership, reviving representative fixtures. Four grades will compete: senior men's football, senior women's netball, under 18 football and under 18 netball. Wimmera will host the opening clash on Saturday, 3 July 2027, with the series moving to Swan Hill in 2028. Central Murray general manager Jessie Chester said the deal would test players against strong regional opposition. Wimmera league manager Corey Fox described it as the Wimmera league's first senior interleague fixture since the pandemic.
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Independent MP Helen Dalton has confirmed she will stand for re-election in the Murray seat at the 2027 NSW state election. Dalton is currently the only candidate registered with the NSW Electoral Commission for Murray. Media reports say the NSW Nationals plan to run a rival candidate, expected to be chosen by December. Dalton said her independence lets her focus on voters rather than party politics. The election is scheduled for 13 March 2027.
ABC reporter Will Murray has become known around the world after leaving his camera to rescue a man from floodwaters near Brisbane. The rescue on Thursday 22 October was covered by the BBC and New York Times. Before his fame, Mr Murray was a television journalist in Wagga between 2017 and 2021, where he built a loyal following. In an interview, he said he acted without hesitating because he could not watch someone drown. He said the attention was overwhelming and expects his fame to fade quickly.
Fanny Lumsden will release her fifth album, Traditions, on 30 October and launch it with an outdoor concert at Tooma Recreation Grounds the following day. Proceeds from the show, apart from costs, will go to local clubs, a rodeo association and a hall committee. The album features a duet with Paul Kelly, written after a 2025 tour, and explores family, ambition and motherhood. Lumsden has also toured regional halls across Australia, New Zealand and Scotland since 2012, and her albums have won ARIA awards.
Federal Member for Farrer David Farley says inaccurate forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology are placing financial strain on Riverina producers. He says a drought outlook made banks cautious and led farmers to hold back planting, even though 2026 is tracking as Australia's wettest El Niño year on record. Mr Farley has urged state and federal environmental ministers to reassess environmental water holdings and release more to irrigation. He also criticised the cost of the Bureau's website revamp, which rose from an initial $4.1 million to $96.5 million.
Nearly one in four regional households, 23 per cent, experienced severe food insecurity, compared with 18 per cent in capital cities, according to the Foodbank Hunger Report 2026. Overall, 3.6 million Australian households, or one in three, experienced food insecurity over the past 12 months, up by 100,000 on 2025. Foodbank chief executive Kylea Tink said hunger is now affecting middle-income and working families. The organisation is lobbying governments for a national minimum standard for school breakfast programs by 2030. It welcomed a $700,000 federal surge funding commitment announced on October 11.
Federal Coalition resources spokespeople have pushed back against Greens claims that the mining sector is undertaxed by $45 billion a year. They warn that new taxes could drive companies out of Australia. Shadow ministers say the industry has paid over $430 billion in taxes and royalties over the past decade, funding rural roads, healthcare and education. They say new tax measures would put regional jobs and projects at risk, including Iluka Resources' mineral sands project at Balranald in the Riverina.
A severe thunderstorm band with 100km/h wind gusts and torrential rain swept across the Riverina on Sunday. The storm front stretched about 1,000 kilometres, from Lightning Ridge to Victoria's southeast coast. It brought fallen trees, flash downpours and power outages. In Wagga, temperatures fell 8.3 degrees in 30 minutes. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that further thunderstorms and heavy rain remain possible on Sunday afternoon. Residents are urged to avoid fallen trees, damaged powerlines and flooded roads.
In October 1928, a Wagga Wagga constable arrested visiting Baptist revivalist Thomas William Brogan at a busy intersection, triggering a national scandal. Witnesses said the constable pushed Brogan to the ground and dragged him to the lockup as a crowd booed. Brogan was charged with offensive behaviour. The police magistrate dismissed the charge, saying the preacher had shown extraordinarily bad judgment in preaching at a busy intersection. Local sympathisers later raised money for Brogan.
Former Riverine Grazier journalist Lucy Hayes has published her debut novel, The Country Wedding. The story is set in Hay, Booligal and the surrounding Riverina during a severe drought. It follows artist Tess Matheson, whose past resurfaces on the eve of her first solo exhibition, the same day her ex-boyfriend returns home to marry. The novel uses five character viewpoints. Hayes began writing it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her professional writing career started at The Grazier 30 years ago. The book is available via Amazon.
Lucy Stokes has been nominated for NSW Touch Football Administrator of the Year. Euen Kerr will captain the Murrumbidgee under-16 cricket team at the Riverina Zone Carnival in Wagga. Local cricket teams South Hay Colts and Riverina Rattlers won their opening matches. Martin Jackson won the men’s golf Stableford event, while Hay junior tennis players performed well in Wagga tournaments.
Backpackers say recent changes to working holiday visas have removed the incentive to take regional jobs that many Australians avoid. Under the new system, second-year visas will require a ballot, and the number on offer is falling sharply. Irish backpacker Meghan Morris and Chilean backpacker Catalina Quiroga say the lottery makes regional work less worthwhile. Cherry grower Tom Eastlake in Young and winemaker Darren De Bortoli in Griffith say backpackers are essential to their harvests. The Department of Home Affairs says the reforms are designed to manage demand and support a fairer allocation of visas.
National insurer AAMI says 73 per cent of Australian drivers believe they are safer than other motorists. Yet 52 per cent admit to driving tired, 49 per cent to speeding, and 36 per cent to mentally drifting off behind the wheel. AAMI has identified five driver profiles, including The Zoner-Out and The In-a-Hurry Driver, to help motorists spot risky habits. AAMI Motor Claims Manager Leah James says everyday habits, such as switching to autopilot on familiar roads, can contribute to crashes. The findings are linked to long highway trips, including the Sturt, Cobb and Mid-Western Highways.
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Spring festivals, town shows, markets and food and wine events fill the Riverina this week. The Victorian State Ballet performs its retelling of Aladdin in Albury on 23 and 24 October. Griffith Spring Fest runs from 23 to 25 October and includes a citrus sculpture garden, while the Junee Show marks 125 years on 24 October. Womn-Kind holds a day of conversation for young women in Wagga Wagga, and the North East Food and Wine Festival runs in Wodonga from 23 to 25 October.
NSW primary industries have recorded a second consecutive financial record, with production valued at $26 billion for 2025–26, according to figures from the state's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The total rose four per cent, adding $1 billion to the state economy despite variable seasons and higher input costs. Livestock grew 25 per cent to $11.9 billion, driven by record beef exports of $3.7 billion. Barley reached a record $1.1 billion, while horticulture totalled $3.7 billion. Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty announced the results in NSW Parliament.
A motorcyclist, believed to be in his 40s, has died in hospital after a crash with a car on Mirrool Street in Bilbul, near Griffith. The crash happened just before 7am on Thursday 22 October 2026. The 35-year-old driver of the car was not injured. He was taken to Griffith Base Hospital for mandatory assessment. Police are asking anyone with dashcam or CCTV footage to contact Murrumbidgee Police District or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A motorcyclist has died in hospital after a collision with a car on Mirrool Street at Bilbul, about six kilometres north-east of Griffith. The crash happened on Thursday morning, October 22, shortly before 7am. NSW Ambulance paramedics performed CPR on the rider, believed to be in his 40s, before taking him to Griffith Base Hospital in a critical condition. He died a short time later and has yet to be formally identified. The 35-year-old car driver was not injured but was taken to hospital for assessment. Police are investigating and will prepare a report for the coroner.
