ABC Wide Bay

14/06/2026

Lucky winner Mike from Delan (right) got a front row seat in the studio with Breakfast show's David Dowsett and "How Far Are They Up There" quiz master Rick Whittle this morning.

Listen to the Breakfast Show every weekday from 6.30am on 100.1FM and 855AM (Bundaberg), 1566AM (Gympie), and 88.3FM (Miriam Vale).

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

14/06/2026

A small coastal community is filming its own documentary to capture what life is like in 2026.

Agnes Water locals have banded together to create a visual time capsule of the town.

📝 Grace Whiteside

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-13/agnes-water-films-documentary-to-record-life-in-2026/106786712

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

Schoolchildren starring in a documentary about their quaint home town on the Queensland coast hope the publicity does not change what they love about it.

11/06/2026

Queensland beekeepers and industry experts have met in Bundaberg to discuss ways to combat the invasive varroa mite, which is causing widespread destruction to wild and managed hives.

Apiarists are calling for government assistance in the short-term, with new biopesticides expected to remain in development for years.

📝 Tayla Larsen, Will Murray, Emma Johnson

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

With many managed colonies under threat from the invasive varroa mite, Queensland beekeepers are trying to find ways to protect their industry.

11/06/2026

Residents are celebrating after a hospice facility was saved from entering voluntary administration in Hervey Bay.

Fraser Coast Hospice has received more than $300,000 in donations from two businesses to cover some of its annual operating costs.

📝 Olivia Nunes-Malek

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

A regional Queensland palliative care facility has been given a new lease on life after receiving two major donations from businesses in Hervey Bay.

09/06/2026

We're on the ground in Fraser Coast!

ABC Wide Bay's Peta Johansen spoke with pinball aficionado Andrew Priest in Torquay this morning ahead of next week's tournament.

Last week Olivia Nunes-Malek talked to Hervey Bay Dragon Boat club captain Ebony Blackwood before their weekend regatta.

If you have community news, send your details to [email protected]

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

09/06/2026

The Fraser Coast Hospice Board will continue operating following a second private commitment of $120,000.

Alongside numerous pledges of support from organisations, individuals and businesses -- including $240,000 from Bendigo Bank Hervey Bay branch -- the Board has described the response as nothing short of extraordinary.

In a statement released today, Fraser Coast Hospice chair Ross Zelow said the "decision reflects the confidence created by significant commitments of financial support and the overwhelming willingness of our community to help secure the future of local hospice care".

"To everyone who has reached out, made a pledge, offered assistance, shared our message, or simply stood beside us during this difficult period - thank you," the statement read.

The plan for voluntary administration was scheduled for June 10 but now the plan is to reopen the Heroes of Hospice donation program so the community can contribute to the Hospice's future.

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

09/06/2026

Bundaberg Regional Council has passed the 2026-2027 budget after last week’s budget meeting came to an abrupt halt.

The budget includes a general rate increase of 8.28 per cent, equivalent to about $2.40 per week.

Council said the budget was projected to deliver an $8.4 million surplus which was below the target needed to make principal debt repayments, plan for growth and be able to respond to unforeseen circumstances.

Prior to the meeting, a group of residents gathered outside council chambers to protest the non-principal place of residence rating category, which was implemented last year.

The rate increase on the category will be elevated each year until it is 40 per cent higher than the general rate.

The Bundaberg Regional Ratepayers Association has called the increase a “renter’s tax by stealth” saying landlords would have no option but to pass on the rising cost.

📸Mayor Helen Blackburn and Cr Deb Keslake / Bundaberg Regional Council

09/06/2026

It's been 20 years since sugarcane s**t hit the region.

Rural reporter Tayla Larsen looks back on the agricultural biohazard that almost crippled the local sugar industry.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2026-06-09/twenty-years-on-from-east-coast-sugarcane-s**t-outbreak/106731608

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

Twenty years ago, a Queensland farm became ground zero for a disease the sugarcane industry was dreading. Instead of destroying the industry, the response quietly transformed the state's biosecurity and farming practices.

08/06/2026

Mighty Mitts Boxing is hosting a men's event on June 10 with a general fitness session and a talk from Brave Brothers' David Facer who will reflect on respectful relationships.

Mighty Mitts founder Hami Shelford spent this morning chatting with ABC Wide Bay's David Dowsett.

Listen to the Breakfast Show every weekday from 6.30am on 100.1FM and 855AM (Bundaberg), 1566AM (Gympie), and 88.3FM (Miriam Vale).

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter

08/06/2026

This week marks the start of ABC Wide Bay's Winter Wonderland MEGA Prize giveaway.

Starting off the festivities - the 'HOW FAR ARE THEY UP THERE' draw!

Text or call 'HOW FAR ARE THEY UP THERE' to go into the draw for your chance to play LIVE with David and Rick!

You have to be available on Monday June 15 - next week - at 9am to play in our Bundaberg studio.

The draw is open all week, all you have to do is text or call 'HOW FAR ARE THEY UP THERE.'

Call 1300 221 001 or text 0487 993 222.

Listen to the Breakfast Show every weekday from 6.30am on 100.1FM and 855AM (Bundaberg), 1566AM (Gympie), and 88.3FM (Miriam Vale).

Get more news from ABC Wide Bay: https://www.abc.net.au/widebay
📻 Catch up on your favourite radio program: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/live/widebay
📧 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ab.co/localnewsletter