Loretta Florance

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Michael Atkin |Loretta Florance

On the top of a hill in Victoria's southeast, Christine Hirchfield's roof is lined with new solar panels, facing the afternoon sun. The panels have been there for a year, but they're yet to produce a single kilowatt of electricity for the 73-year-old pensioner. Unconnected to the grid, they're at the centre of a dispute that began with a Facebook ad, followed by a home visit from a salesman from GC Perfect Solar.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Michael Atkin |Loretta Florance

As the Northern Rivers town of Lismore goes into recovery mode, waterlogged but not as flooded as authorities had feared, Adele Wessell is one of many breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Ms Wessell's home has been spared in the city's recent flood events, including the widespread devastation caused in 2022. This year she chose to live dangerously by under-insuring, after her insurance bill went up by almost $1,000.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Michael Atkin |Loretta Florance

Tara Matteson's home in the Northern Rivers city of Grafton is her safe place. It's where the Wiradjuri woman raised her teenage son in the embrace of a close-knit community. Amidst a housing and cost-of-living crisis, the gratitude she has for this place really kicks in while she's having a cuppa on the back steps. "I really like the view from the back looking out over the paperbark trees … and I love that it's mine," she said.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Rachel Carbonell |Loretta Florance |Jackson Worthington

When five-year-old Queensland twins Louis and Theo started school this year, they had an unusual boast: They were allowed to drink as much water as they liked. It's something most kids take for granted, but throughout their young lives, the Gold Coast boys had strictly limited their intake of water because they were born with kidney disease. "It's so difficult to stick to that — you're watching things like when you're doing your teeth, have I taken an extra sip?" the boys' mother Kath said.

Sep 12, 2024 | abc.net.au | Elise Worthington |Loretta Florance

Warning: This article contains references to mental health, suicide and family violence. A decade after Micheal Barnes returned from a tour of Afghanistan, he woke up one morning and threatened to assault a motorist on his way to work. "I've come very close to pulling someone out the window of their car … driving to work one day," the former navy clearance diver said. The 47-year-old said the rage boiled up out of nowhere and was "very irrational", but at the time, he couldn't stop it.