Zara Margolis

Mount Isa

Presenter at ABC News (Australia)

@ABCNorthWestQLD Breakfast Presenter | These opinions are my own.

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Articles

Successful Indigenous Gangalidda language model pitched across Queensland

2 days ago | abc.net.au | Maddie Nixon |Zara Margolis
Groundhog Day for stranded travellers caught in outback Queensland flooding

6 days ago | abc.net.au | Emily Dobson |Zara Margolis

A Sunshine Coast-based couple say they have a new appreciation for the outback after being stranded by outback floodwaters. Bob Esler and Carol Weeks spent four weeks stuck in Bedourie on a planned cross-country trip. Despite comparing the experience to being stuck on a time loop, the pair say the people they met along the way delivered a positive takeaway. Scorched red dirt, hordes of flies, and life stuck on a time loop.
Mornington Island dialysis unit brings life-saving treatment on country

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Maddie Nixon |Zara Margolis

For the first time, the remote community of Mornington Island has a permanent renal dialysis unit. Previously, many patients had to fly to Townsville or Mount Isa for treatment and were displaced for years at a time. Renal dialysis will also be available in the remote community of Normanton after hospital upgrades are complete.
Lizard rescued from drink can by sharp-eyed outback mates

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Maddie Nixon |Zara Margolis

Travelling along a dusty outback road in north-west Queensland, a peculiar sight caught Finn Cain's eye. Not a tumbleweed, but a soft drink can seemingly blowing across the track. The 18-year-old apprentice boilermaker felt something about the scene did not look quite right. He urged his friend Clayton Tait, 19, who was driving, to pull over. "I was like 'Don't run over that can — there's a lizard in it'," Mr Cain said.
CopperString transmission line projected to cost almost $14b amid massive blowout

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Emily Dobson |Georgia Loney |Zara Margolis

The cost of Queensland’s CopperString transmission line project has blown out to almost $14 billion – four times what the state government will spend on the Olympics and Paralympics. Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki is expected to reveal the massive cost increase in a major speech on Tuesday after a review into the high voltage network project. It is a significant increase from the $1.8 billion slated when the project was first announced in 2020.
Tourism providers urge Qld winter holidaymakers to postpone, not cancel, after floods

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Maddie Nixon |Emily Dobson |Zara Margolis

Catastrophic floods and a late start to the wet season have caused havoc and devastation in the Queensland outback. Regions have been cut off from visitors just as tourist season is set to start. Providers urge tourists to be patient, with "flush of green" to bloom when flooding clears. For most of outback Queensland, April is considered the start of tourist season. The Easter long weekend, school holidays and cooler weather mean rodeos, festivals and camping.
Burnt-out Cloncurry doctor ready to quit, leaving GP clinic in limbo

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Emily Dobson |Zara Margolis

The future of Cloncurry's only private general practice hangs in the balance. Its general practitioner says he is burnt out and hasn't been able to attract doctors to the clinic. The North West Hospital and Health Service is considering its options to ensure the health of the community. The owner of the only doctor clinic in a rural Queensland town says he is quitting for the sake of his mental health amid Australia's worsening doctor shortage.
Vet industry graduates launch careers in outback amid workforce shortage

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Abbey Halter |Zara Margolis

The city can seem a good place for job opportunities, but for two young women pursing their career dreams, moving to the outback was their big break. Emily Dingle and Gracie Rowan have put down roots in the remote red dirt of North West Queensland, where they said their career prospects were better than in the city. The pair trekked to the town of Cloncurry, 700 kilometres west of Townsville, to turn their aspirations to join the veterinary industry into a reality.
Bill shock for outback residents as power costs soar over scorching summer

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Zara Margolis |Maddie Nixon

Between November and the end of January residents in the Queensland city of Mount Isa sweltered through a run of heatwaves that sent temperatures soaring above 38 degrees Celsius. There was little relief at night, when the temperature regularly hovered above 22C, and air conditioners were being run harder and for longer than usual. Ergon Energy said residential power use in Mount Isa was up by 10 per cent compared to last summer.
Outcry after outback gymnastics club allegedly burned down by teens

Feb 5, 2025 | abc.net.au | Meghan Dansie |Zara Margolis

Trudy Adams looks weary and teary as she takes in what's left of the building she has called her second home for more than 30 years. Within the lofty gymnasium's walls, the head coach taught generations of families how to spin, balance, and vault their lithe bodies into the air. The Leichhardt Gymnastics Club has been an institution in Mount Isa in outback Queensland for four decades, welcoming hundreds of children through its doors.