Hey Baz,
I finally got around to watching a locally made movie called 'Red Dog' (produced in 2011) last night. Entertaining movie, and ticks all the boxes - a story about a cattle dog and and characters of the outback.
It's loosely based upon a true story about an outback legendary dog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dog_(Pilbara) .
A sad ending but mostly a funny story. If you haven't already seen it, I'd highly recommend it.
Cheers