ABC Esperance

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Town questions education minister's decision to block opposition school visit

Community leaders in Esperance say the decision to block Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas from visiting the local high school highlights the government's disregard for badly needed repairs.

aged sign for Esperance senior high school made from timber beams

Published: WedWed 4 Feb 2026 at 11:51pmSource: ABC EsperanceTopic: Public Schoolsby Andrew Williams and Tara de Landgrafft

Man who committed 'brutal' attack on father jailed for murder

A man who committed a "horrific" attack on his father in regional WA, recording some of it and posting it online, will have to serve at least 21 years for murder.

Close up photo of man with grey hair smiling

Published: MonMon 2 Feb 2026 at 9:22amSource: ABC NewsTopic: Courtsby David Weber

Truckies drive 1,700km to deliver hay amid WA's deepening drought

Volunteer truck drivers and farmers rally to deliver tonnes of hay, providing relief for livestock and pastoralists in a remote part of Western Australia quietly struggling with drought.

An overhead shot of a barren red desert landscape with a line of trucks filled with hay.

Published: 26 Jan 2026Mon 26 Jan 2026 at 9:32pmSource: ABC PilbaraTopic: Charitiesby Georgia Hargreaves, Alistair Bates and Tara de Landgrafft

'Amazing' WA grain harvest set to break record with 27 million tonnes

Western Australia's grain growers are on track to deliver a record harvest this season, breaking the previous 2022 record by almost 2 million tonnes.

a group of headers in the paddock harvesting grain

Published: 24 Jan 2026Sat 24 Jan 2026 at 11:25pmSource: ABC RuralTopic: Crop Harvestingby Kate Forrester and Mark Bennett

Fire rips through habitat of critically endangered parrot

Experts estimate 11,000 hectares of core habitat for the critically endangered parrot has been lost to a recent fire.

A green parrot perched in the middle of wild scrub.

Published: 24 Jan 2026Sat 24 Jan 2026 at 2:17amSource: ABC EsperanceTopic: Conservationby Macey Turner

Suspicious fire sparks overcrowding concern at popular remote beach

Hundreds of people were evacuated from an area near Wharton Beach on Western Australia's south coast in the early hours of New Year's Day after a blaze broke out.

Published: 13 Jan 2026Tue 13 Jan 2026 at 10:57pmSource: ABC EsperanceTopic: Bushfiresby Andrew Williams and Katrina Tap

From giant cows to wild weather — regional WA's 2025 in photos

The stunning photos that captured the stories and people of regional WA in 2025.

A man stands next to a white vehicle covered in dirt. The sideview mirror is broken.

Published: 30 Dec 2025Tue 30 Dec 2025 at 9:59pmSource: ABC NewsTopic: Regional Communities

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Esperance Local News

Local news, updated weekdays at 6:35am.

Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds

Source: Listen

Message in a bottle found on beach from WW1 soldier

A bottle has been found on a beach in Western Australia containing letters from two Australian soldiers who were on their way to World War I.

Duration: 16 minutes 7 seconds

Source: ListenTopic: World War I

Teenage sons save dad on holiday

The Norwood family were enjoying a relaxing seaside camping holiday, along a remote stretch of the WA coast.

Duration: 3 minutes 8 seconds

Source: ListenTopic: Accidents and Emergency Incidentsby Hayden Smith

Rescuing a stranger trapped by waves

Fifty years ago, Greg Kleinig dived into ferocious waves to rescue a man trapped on coastal rocks. It changed his relationship with the sea forever.

Greg sits on a bench overlooking the tranquil ocean

Duration: 3 minutes 52 seconds

Source: ABC Great SouthernTopic: Oceanswith Hayden Smith

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Watch

School children have inspired art works which will be installed on wind turbines in WA's Goldfields.

About 200 school children have inspired art works which will be installed on wind turbines in WA's Goldfields.

Duration: 1 minute 44 seconds

Source: ABC Goldfields

A modern day goldrush

Gold

Duration: 2 minutes 21 seconds

Source: ABC Goldfields

History of market gardens in Kalgoorlie

Excerpt from an ABC story aired in 1971, when Kalgoorlie-Boulder was home to about 600 dairy cows, abattoirs producing fresh meat, market gardens and poultry farms.

Market gardener holding up a bunch of carrots in 1971

Duration: 2 minutes 30 seconds

Source: ABC Goldfields

Several residents across the Goldfields town heard a large 'bang'

CCTV footage of the bang heard just after the likely meteor flash.

A still frame of a black and white CCTV in a garage.

Duration: 5 seconds

Source: ABC News

Features

From giant cows to wild weather — regional WA's 2025 in photos

The stunning photos that captured the stories and people of regional WA in 2025.

Source: ABC NewsTopic: Regional Communities

'We'll soldier on': WA town contends with two mine closures in two years

Ravensthorpe residents are confident the coastal West Australian town will continue to survive the mining industry's ups and downs.

man smiles as he stands in front of large white silos, painted with native flora and fauna

Source: ABC EsperanceTopic: Regional Communitiesby Tara de Landgrafft

Outback burial tries to 'heal the hurt' more than a century on

Eight Mirning ancestors are returned to their country, 140 years after a police report pointed to poisonings and murder on WA's Nullarbor Plain.

Saltbush country giving way to the ocean in the distance

Source: ABC EsperanceTopic: Historyby Emily Smith

'I want my life back': Woman struggles for solution to chronic pain

Jayde Guest spends most evenings lying on the couch in excruciating pain. Frustrated by the health system, she has taken matters into her own hands.

She sits on a bench by the sea and looks at the ocean

Source: ABC EsperanceTopic: Painby Hayden Smith and Emily Smith

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Photoshopped YourSpace Header which reads: 'How are we doing? ABC Your Space'

Published: 11 Jul 2023Tue 11 Jul 2023 at 12:02amSource: Radio

Know your ABCs in an emergency

This summer know your ABCs; action plan, be safe, connect with us. The ABC has a host of useful resources and tips on how to best prepare yourself for emergency weather so you can keep you and your household safe.

Letters A, B and C in pink, yellow and blue with small infographics of people completing emergency safety tasks

Published: 17 Dec 2025Wed 17 Dec 2025 at 5:08amSource: ABC EmergencyTopic: Bushfires

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Published: 27 Aug 2024Tue 27 Aug 2024 at 4:23amSource: ABC BRISBANE

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Published: 17 Jun 2024Mon 17 Jun 2024 at 1:53amSource: ABC BRISBANE

WA Sport

Australia's men and women make perfect start to Perth Sevens

Australia makes a hot start to the Rugby Sevens in Perth, with both the men's and women's teams going unbeaten in securing semifinal berths.

Madison Ashby and Faith Nathan smile and hug after a try

Source: ABC NewsTopic: Rugby 7

Milan: Is this Australia's best ever Winter Olympics team?

Australia's best medal haul at a Winter Olympics is four, back in Beijing in 2022. The 53-strong team sent to Milano-Cortina could be the group to better that result. Can Scotty James complete his Olympic medal set and finally win gold?

Duration: 14 minutes 6 seconds

Source: ListenTopic: Sport

WA premier writes letter to 13yo Austin Appelbee after 'extraordinary' swim

Premier Roger Cook writes to the 13-year-old, who made international headlines after swimming 4 kilometres in rough seas to raise the alarm and save his family.

A close-up shot of a boy with short brown hair, wearing his school uniform shirt, speaking during a media interview.

Source: ABC NewsTopic: Human Interest

The Aussie, the QBs, Bad Bunny: your Super Bowl guide

As Seattle gears up for New England, this is a Super Bowl rich with storylines. There's a revenge arc, a redemption arc, an Australian thread and a half time show controversy. There's a lot to unpack, strap in.

Duration: 13 minutes 19 seconds

Source: ListenTopic: Sport

WA News

Cyclone Mitchell threat not over after wild night in WA's Pilbara

Karratha residents will assess damage from the category three cyclone as it continues to track along the Pilbara coast.

Source: ABC PilbaraTopic: Cyclonesby Samantha Goerling

Australia's men and women make perfect start to Perth Sevens

Australia makes a hot start to the Rugby Sevens in Perth, with both the men's and women's teams going unbeaten in securing semifinal berths.

Source: ABC NewsTopic: Rugby 7

Daytime power prices have never been lower. So why are bills rising?

The benefits of extremely low energy prices during the day are "washed away" by extremely high ones after dark. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

A graphic of a roof with solar PV and a transmission tower with a postive negative chart overlayed

Source: ABC NewsTopic: Energy Marketsby Daniel Mercer

Stakes enormous as Australia considers DNA screening for newborns

From rare cancers caught early to dementia foretold decades in advance, newborn genomic testing raises an unsettling question: Just because we can know, should we?

Illustration of a baby holding a strand of DNA with a man on a hospital bed behind and both have orange hair

Source: Long ReadTopic: Genetic disorders

National News

Fires and extreme heat expose ancestral remains in Victoria

Ancestral remains that could be thousands of years old have been uncovered by erosion, dust storms and bushfires in Victoria.

A dirt track runs along a landscape of trees and brush.

Published: 16m agoSat 7 Feb 2026 at 10:01pmSource: ABC Mildura-Swan HillTopic: Indigenous Australiansby Nethma Dandeniya

Breaking: Coalition reunion expected to be announced after last-minute deal

A breakthrough deal to reunite the Coalition is expected to be announced today after 11th-hour talks between the leaders of the Liberal and National parties.

Published: 21m agoSat 7 Feb 2026 at 9:55pmSource: ABC NewsTopic: Federal Governmentby David Speers

After 30 years, has the time finally come for a national gun register?

First proposed after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, Australia still doesn't have a national gun register.

A middle aged man leans across the front counter of a shop, there's a gun rack and one lays on the counter in front

Published: 51m agoSat 7 Feb 2026 at 9:25pmSource: ABC RuralTopic: Gun Controlby Megan Hughes and Aimee Mitchell

Then and now: Walking the Overland Track with my father

Ron Preuss first walked the 65-kilometre-long Overland Track in 1987. Now, he returns decades later with his daughter Maren to see what has changed.

Two hikers smiling, standing on a boardwalk.

Duration: 12 seconds

Published: 55m agoSat 7 Feb 2026 at 9:21pmSource: ABC NewsTopic: Hikingby Maren Preuss, Loretta Lohberger and Daniel Miller

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ABC Esperance

Town questions education minister's decision to block opposition school visit

Man who committed 'brutal' attack on father jailed for murder

Truckies drive 1,700km to deliver hay amid WA's deepening drought

'Amazing' WA grain harvest set to break record with 27 million tonnes

Fire rips through habitat of critically endangered parrot

Suspicious fire sparks overcrowding concern at popular remote beach

From giant cows to wild weather — regional WA's 2025 in photos

Esperance Local News

Message in a bottle found on beach from WW1 soldier

Teenage sons save dad on holiday

Rescuing a stranger trapped by waves

ABC Radio ESPERANCE

Live. Australia All Over

Connect with ABC Esperance

School children have inspired art works which will be installed on wind turbines in WA's Goldfields.

A modern day goldrush

History of market gardens in Kalgoorlie

Several residents across the Goldfields town heard a large 'bang'

From giant cows to wild weather — regional WA's 2025 in photos

'We'll soldier on': WA town contends with two mine closures in two years

Outback burial tries to 'heal the hurt' more than a century on

'I want my life back': Woman struggles for solution to chronic pain

Tell us what you think about our programs

Know your ABCs in an emergency

Download our free ABC listen app

Sign up for an ABC newsletter

Australia's men and women make perfect start to Perth Sevens

Milan: Is this Australia's best ever Winter Olympics team?

WA premier writes letter to 13yo Austin Appelbee after 'extraordinary' swim

The Aussie, the QBs, Bad Bunny: your Super Bowl guide

Cyclone Mitchell threat not over after wild night in WA's Pilbara

Australia's men and women make perfect start to Perth Sevens

Daytime power prices have never been lower. So why are bills rising?

Stakes enormous as Australia considers DNA screening for newborns

Fires and extreme heat expose ancestral remains in Victoria

Breaking: Coalition reunion expected to be announced after last-minute deal

After 30 years, has the time finally come for a national gun register?

Then and now: Walking the Overland Track with my father

Other ways to listen

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