Nathan Morris
Toowoomba, QLD
Nathan Morris is a national regional affairs reporter, based in Toowoomba, Queensland. He started at the ABC in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in 2014, and his work has twice been nominated for a Walkley Award.
Latest by Nathan Morris
Analysis
analysis:Will the cost of living ever go down? Food prices are on the rise despite multiple supermarket inquiries
By national rural reporters Kath Sullivan and Nathan Morris
Food, mortgages and power bills — with the cost of living dominating, will this week’s supermarket inquiry make a difference?
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Thousands of people are being funnelled into a multi-level marketing scheme promising 'financial freedom', but there's a cost
By Nathan Morris and Andy Burns
Women in regional Australia are being funnelled into a multi-level marketing scheme promising a "multiple-six-figure business online" — but the "freedom" they seek comes at a cost.
Born in the bush, 95-year-old Kevin Waters takes one last trip back to Old Toomelah
Kevin Waters is the last surviving Gomeroi man born at the Old Toomelah Aboriginal mission near the NSW-Queensland border. His life's purpose now is to ensure his family remains connected to a culture they were once forced to forget.
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Fruit, veg growers say biggest customer 'is the rubbish bin', as millions of tonnes of food is wasted
By national rural affairs reporter Nathan Morris
Fresh produce growers scramble to meet "forecast" supply deals with supermarkets, but every year millions of dollars of surplus food goes to waste. So what's going on?
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Should Australia's largest groundwater system be used to produce food or store waste CO2?
By national regional affairs reporter Nathan Morris
The Great Artesian Basin generates about $13 billion of product and supplies water to hundreds of towns, but a big coal company wants to store waste CO2 in it.
Is there a looming crisis when it comes to soft cheeses? It's complicated
By national regional affairs reporter Nathan Morris
Cheese lovers are aghast at claims some French soft cheeses are "under threat" from a lack of genetic diversity in cheese cultures. But it's a bit more complicated than that.
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The Murray is a lifeline for Australia's food and water supply, but the climate's changing
By Kath Sullivan and Nathan Morris
Its water creates a home, a playground and a food bowl – but those who live on the Murray believe it can be managed better. We take a look at life on Australia's longest river.
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'Not a plaything': Anger grows over mining giant's plan to inject waste into Great Artesian Basin
Environmentalists and farmers are hardening their resolve against a proposal to inject liquefied carbon dioxide into Australia's biggest underground fresh water reservoir.
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How water buybacks are draining country towns in the Murray-Darling Basin
By national rural affairs reporter Nathan Morris
For many Murray-Darling Basin communities, the water provides far more than what's grown on the land. Talk of drought and water buybacks have some worried about the future.
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Glossy mags are making a comeback thanks to 'lipstick effect'
By Catherine McAloon, Sinéad Mangan, and Nathan Morris
Among the long rows of glossy publications that cater to the reading needs of home renovators, gold hunters, hobby farmers, celebrity watchers, and puzzle lovers, this newsagent is witnessing a resurgence in demand for print magazines.
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Farmers 'stunned': Controversial gas pipeline step closer after Santos agent buys land
By national regional affairs reporter Nathan Morris and Amelia Bernasconi
Farmers fighting Santos's Hunter Gas Pipeline suddenly noticed survey pegs along the route. A title search shows the surveyed land is now owned by the directors of the company negotiating land access for Santos.
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Queensland bushfires claim a life as conditions worsen and evacuation center forced to move
By Nathan Morris, Jay Bowman and staff
Five homes and five sheds are destroyed in multiple bushfires burning in sparsely populated bushland near Tara and further south near Millmerran, and authorities expect more will be lost.
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Drought looms after record-low rainfall, but this extreme turn in the weather is not unusual
By the National Regional Reporting Team's Kath Sullivan, Nathan Morris and Amelia Bernasconi
El Niño is back and drought is on the doorstep. Some farmers have been feeding livestock for months. Here's what it might mean for the economy and food prices.
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This neurotoxin is now suspended from use on mangoes and avocados after harvest, so why not oranges?
By national regional reporter Nathan Morris
Dimethoate is already banned in Europe, and now Australia's chemical regulator has suspended its post-harvest use on the popular fruits, so what's the risk if you've been eating them for years?
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'They feel really ashamed': Millions of Australians are lonely, but many find it hard to admit
By national regional reporter Nathan Morris
Almost 33 per cent of Australians feel disconnected socially, and one in six feels severely lonely, according to a landmark study. But there are ways to feel less alone.
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Cattle prices are down and the herd is growing, so why is steak still so expensive?
ABC national regional reporter Nathan Morris
Australia's unemployment rate is the lowest in almost 50 years. That's good news, but not if you're throwing a barbecue. Here's why.
Love chocolate? Prepare to fork out or cut back, as prices set to keep soaring
By national regional reporter Nathan Morris
If you think your favourite chocolate treat seems a bit more expensive than usual, you are not wrong — and analysts say factors including weather and war will keep pushing the price up.
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'Cage eggs' are on the way out in Australia, but what does that really mean for hens and consumers?
By national regional reporter Nathan Morris
States and territories have agreed to phase out "conventional cages" in egg production by 2036. Could this make it easier to buy eggs from happy hens?
As a possible El Niño looms, what will this mean for the people growing your food?
By national regional reporter Nathan Morris
Tony Gibb employs hundreds of people to help run his farm – but with the climate one of his key challenges, he's also now got a world-leading climate scientist on the books.
New support available to landholders as Queensland wind and solar continue exponential growth
Over the next decade, renewable projects in Queensland are set to generate enough new energy to power about 6.6 million homes. But what does this mean for the communities that will host this infrastructure?
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Almost 2 million rental households struggling to make ends meet, new report finds
By national regional reporter Nathan Morris
Financial pressure on households has never been higher, and more of us are spending beyond our means than ever before, according to a long-running survey.
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Outback travellers put on notice after increase in car fires
By the National Regional Reporting Team's Erin Parke and Nathan Morris
Thought snakes and crocodiles were the main hazard in the outback? Think again. Motoring experts say after the big wet season cars are catching alight due to vegetation growth.
'It's magical': This musical with 87 Australian children was rehearsed almost entirely online
It's a feat of persistence and imagination — 87 children come together to perform a most unlikely musical. Whether they're bull riders, dancers or lawn bowlers, they're all discovering themselves in isolation.
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Some farmers are cashing in as wind farms expand, but it's tearing towns apart
Power and money are pitting neighbour against neighbour as one old farming community grapples with a new, rapidly growing industry.
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Previous government ignored advice, let Inland Rail cost blow out to an 'astonishing' $31b
Australia needs an inland rail, but a new report finds advice was ignored, the board does not have the "skills required", and there has been an "astonishing" cost blow-out to $31.4 billion.
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