Katrina Tap

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Katrina Tap |Jarrod Lucas

A cash-strapped regional shire in Western Australia's Goldfields is pushing on with plans to hike mining rates despite significant public backlash. The move has drawn the ire of industry titans in Perth and local prospectors. The Shire of Coolgardie, which was founded on the discovery of gold in 1892, has taken drastic steps since March when it revealed it was facing a $6.5 million budget deficit.

4 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Katrina Tap |Emily Smith

Rhonda Thorncroft's eyes start to fill with tears as she speaks to a remote school community for the last time. It is not every day most of the community's 200 residents can be found gathered at the school. But for principal Ms Thorncroft's last day, everyone has come to say goodbye. Inside the school's library, walls were adorned from floor to ceiling with photos of her time at the school.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Emily Smith |Katrina Tap

Michael Stevens has gone a long time without a cigarette. The Spinifex man has worked as a health practitioner in the remote community of Tjuntjuntjara, 1,300 kilometres east of Perth, for a decade. Among the countless challenges he faces — from resourcing, to chronic illnesses, to his vehicles' broken windows — is the region's incredible rate of smoking. "I used to smoke. Not anymore," he says. "I don't know why people smoke."Across Australia, about 8.8 per cent of adults smoke every day.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Emily Smith |Katrina Tap

Lennard Walker's eyes widen as he recalls the roaring desert rain. Last year the Spinifex elder, who was born in the Great Victoria Desert, spent four days stranded on a dirt track in one of the most remote parts of the country. Alongside him was Noli Rictor, who lived a traditional nomadic life in the bush with his family until 1986, the last known Australians to do so.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Jarrod Lucas |Katrina Tap

Goldfields Women's Shelter chief executive Suzie Williams says domestic violence perpetrators will move outside Perth to avoid being captured by electronic monitoring. WA's Justice Department conceded this week that it was unable to monitor people accused of serious DV offending outside Perth. Concerns have been echoed by domestic violence prevention groups across country WA.