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Open for comment
In the interests of healthy discussion and debate on issues relevant to our readers and to rural and regional Australia, in 2025 Australian Rural & Regional News is opening some stories for comment.
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Flood recovery - biosecurity
Flood damage
Neighbour builds flying fox to get supplies to farm cut off when bridge washed away in floods
When the access bridge to a farm is washed away by flooding caused by ex- Cyclone Alfred, who is responsible for fixing it? On a property at Upper Duck Creek, near old Bonalbo, a woman in her 80s living with her son, in his 60s (both asked not to be named) have no access in and out of their farm because the bridge was washed away during recent flooding. The damaged bridge is not on their land.
Flood damage - fish kill
OzFish fears large fish kill after reports from locals about fish gasping for air
Reports from the public about fish gasping for air have been coming in to fish habitat charity OzFish ... The organisation has received messages and photos from locals who said thousands of fish were gasping for air, or washing up dead, following the recent cyclone and flooding.
Farmer mental health
Murray-Darling
Independent Member for Murray, Helen Dalton, has declared South Australians to be Australia’s worst water wasters.
She is arguing they don’t need, or deserve, access to water from NSW and Victoria. In her new social media video Mrs. Dalton contends that the reason South Australians don’t have enough water is because the State wastes the water it already has.
NT
Debt, crime, gallery make heavy lifting for Bill Yan
The debt exceeding $11 billion and growing, costing the taxpayer “a million bucks a day” in interest. The number of people in prison at an all time high. Crime exceeding the courts’ capacity to deal with it … Who would want to be a minister of the current Territory Government?
Innovation
Cancer nanotech nurtures sustainable agriculture innovation: UNSW Sydney
Cancer drugs and agrichemicals can be powerful, but toxic, tools. Now, UNSW scientists are applying nanomedicine insights on a project to make greener agrichemicals more affordable.
Technology
LifeFlight capability clear with night vision goggles
LifeFlight’s specially trained aeromedical crews must learn to see in the dark. New data released this week shows 32 per cent of airlifts in the year’s first quarter so far have taken place at night.
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LAST WEEK’S STORIES
Property
Outstanding rural property portfolios up for grabs
A portfolio of three well located mixed farms near Narrandera offers potential buyers economies of scale and operating efficiencies. Rockvale, The Station and Clifton are located on the Newell Highway, 10km north of Narrandera.
Sheep breeding
Full house for sheep night at Wakool
“I'm actually embarrassed to say now that I used to think sheep farmers had it easy.” said sheep expert Geoff Duddy, addressing the Best Wool Best Lamb meeting at Wakool. Geoff spent 27 years with NSW DPI in both Sheep and Wool research and extension roles before establishing his own private sheep consultancy ...
Brewery
Business idea has been brewing
A transition from the health sector to making beer might seem a quantum leap but Frank Evans thought it was time for him to indulge his passion while he had the opportunity. "After leaving the health care industry, I wanted something to keep me busy for at least the next five years. And beer seemed like a great idea!"
Media
Grazier takes out national award
An article by Krista Schade described as a powerful and courageous piece of journalism has won a national award. Australia’s largest association of independent news publishers acknowledged the very best of the best at the Country Press Australia national awards in Adelaide last month, with The Riverine Grazier story, Explosive Allegations winning the Best Story category.
Tourism - Riverland
Eight leadership myths and truths
Credible leadership is a widely discussed topic, and in recent times we have seen some great and poor examples of leadership qualities on the world stage ... Credibility is the basis for leadership and requires a leader to adopt their own unique style. Just like parenting.
Health
Robot arrives at Toowoomba Hospital
Darling Downs Health patients requiring joint replacements will benefit from the arrival of the MAKO robot that uses 3D CT-based surgical planning to help orthopaedic surgeons complete joint replacements in a more accurate and precise manner ... "The MAKO robot assists us to accurately perform hip and knee replacements in several ways," Dr Wall said.
Koalas - Qld
Multicultural
Kerang Lunar Festival
It has been nine months in the making and all the hard work put in by the Kerang Progress Association has well and truly paid off as the town’s first Lunar New Year Festival took place on Saturday afternoon at Atkinson Park in Kerang.
Development
Darlington Point’s new residential subdivision named ‘River Red Gum Estate’
Murrumbidgee Council is pleased to announce the new residential subdivision in Darlington Point will be called 'River Red Gum Estate'. The name was chosen to honour the iconic river red gum, a tree species that is deeply intertwined with the region's natural landscape, environment, and cultural heritage.
Health - Vic
Councils vow to fight on
Despite the Victorian Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas, turning a deaf ear to their pleas, regional councils and medical workers will continue their campaign for a greenfield site for a new Albury Wodonga hospital, which would service outlying areas including the Upper Murray.
Open for comment - DEI
Universities: The last woke holdout
Somewhere between Trump’s second term, the corporate world rediscovering common sense, and the general public finally tiring of being lectured by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) zealots, Australia’s universities seem to have missed the memo: going woke is so yesterday.
Council - Buloke
Campers everywhere – except at festival site
They came from all Australian states, and even from overseas. Their destination was the annual Esoteric Music Festival site, north of the Donald township. Sadly, though the weather was ideal, their journey was cut short by several kilometres, when the popular event was cancelled early on its first day, Thursday last.
Coming up - Bourke
Tourism - Riverland
Food and Wine better than ever
Madison Eastmond. The Riverland Food and Wine Festival took over the Berri riverfront for the first time in six years last weekend, with the showcase selling out and returning with zero behavioural issues. With tickets completely sold out before the 12noon start-time, the revamped day-long festival focused on local produce, wine, and entertainment that was enjoyed by 1200 Riverlanders.
Murray-Darling - SA
Water debate continues to flow
Hugh Schuitemaker. The Federal Government says it is reaching new milestones in recovering environmental water, however senior Riverland politicians claim a focus on fulfilling the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is harming local growers and irrigators. Statistics released last week by the Federal Government show 286GL of water for the environment has been recovered under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Opinion
Childcare - SA
Regions unite to tackle childcare desert
Michelle Daw. Families, employers, and representatives from 23 council areas gathered in Port Broughton last week to launch a project advocating for fairer access to childcare across the vast federal electorate of Grey.
Charity
Education
CYS welcomes new SAASTA students with a deadly funny performance
Rachel Hagan. Central Yorke School's South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy students had a big welcome to a new year of SAASTA with visits from Port Adelaide Football Club and two Deadly Funny comedians stopping off at Yorke Peninsula.
WA Election
Clarke wins Butler while Winton and Love retain their seats
Lorna Clarke has won the seat of Butler for WA Labor despite a 17.6 per cent swing to the WA Liberals, according to the ABC’s Western Australia election 2025 results ... Despite the swing away from Labor, on Monday, March 10 about noon with 63.8 per cent of the votes counted, the ALP had won 41 seats, the Liberals five and The Nationals four.
Open for comment - forestry and fire
Megafires thrive on high per hectare fine fuel loads across the forest landscape, regardless of land tenure: SETA’s further response to David Lindenmayer
One of the key drivers of fire behaviour that Professor Lindenmayer seems to pay little attention to is the ground fine fuel load across the forest landscape. The key driver of fire intensity, with a given fuel moisture content, wind speed, air temperature and relative humidity, on the day, is fine fuels.
Technology
Manufacturing expansion fuels push for national rollout of powerline safety technology: IND Technology
Victoria has long faced the devastating impact of powerline-related bushfires, with outdated Single Wire Earth Return powerlines responsible for 30 to 40 fires each year. Despite almost ten years of successful trials, partially funded by the Victorian Government, which prove that early fault detectors for powerlines can prevent bushfires, the technology has yet to be widely rolled out ... ARR.News asked some further questions of IND.T CEO, Professor Alan Wong.
Council - roads
Councils - transmission lines
Forestry
US Tariffs
Renewable energy
Solar power helps empower local independent schools
Kate Stapleton. Rainbow Power Company (RPC) has been working collaboratively with two local schools this year to help keep schools powering on. The Rainbow Ridge Steiner School and Tuntable Falls Primary School received funding ... both schools have batteries and solar, it means they can continue to operate when the power goes out.
Small business
Merging fashion with caring
Aged care residents in the Northern Rivers are benefiting from an innovative initiative called Our Timeless Threads, which merges fashion with caring. Founded by nurse and fashion designer Maia Willow, this program offers 1950s-inspired shopping experiences within care homes, ensuring that residents can enjoy style and self-expression in a comfortable setting.
Mayoral response
Mayor slams coverage of Pine Street squatters
Steve Krieg, From the Mayor's desk. I write this after last issue’s (Nimbin GoodTimes, February 2025) appalling coverage of the illegal squatters in Pine Street Lismore that three years after the worst natural disaster in Australia’s recorded history is diverting attention and resources away from our recovery.
Council - Rockhampton
Council goes for gold with Mount Morgan recreational fossicking plans
Rockhampton Regional Council has reached the final stage of establishing a recreational fossicking area on the land surrounding Mount Morgan No 7 Dam, after Councillors voted to formally request the creation of a General Permission Area (GPA) from the State Government.
Banking
Research
Award
Floods
Safety
Lifesavers on alert as heatwave and tropical cyclone create perfect storm: Surf Life Saving NSW
As flood relief efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred remain ongoing, volunteer surf lifesavers and lifeguards are imploring the public to take safety seriously, with the use of rescue water craft likely to be significantly hampered ahead of the weekend.
Flood
Clarence Valley soaked as rivers rise
Moderate and major flooding was occurring across Northern NSW as the Clarence Valley Independent went to print this week, and while coastal communities including Iluka and Yamba avoided the worst of the severe weather event, further inland, residents in Grafton and surrounding areas endured a nervous wait as heavy rain associated with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred continued to fall locally and in the catchment area.
Weather
Weather
Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet – or if you’re a dog you leap right into it
I’ve been tied to my computer typing stories about flood updates, rescues and river heights. It’s been so intense that sometimes I forget to look outside. Fortunately, I have a bluey called Jelly (don’t ask, it’s a long story) who keeps tapping me with her paw ... I walk around town with Jelly and take some pictures.
Disaster recovery - Council
Disaster recovery - State
Superintendent Scott Tanner is new recovery coordinator for our region
Rain is expected to continue today, Monday, March 10 with severe thunderstorms predicted for west of the range. As a pre-emptive step to boost recovery efforts for impacted communities, the State Government has appointed NSW Police Superintendent Scott Tanner as the recovery coordinator for the region.
Law & order
Council - flood recovery
Water infrastructure
Barwon MP calls for review on weirs
Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP has moved a notice of motion at the most recent sitting of NSW Parliament. In a statement made on social media Mr Barwon said weirs are integral in Western NSW.
Water restrictions
White Cliffs hit with water restrictions
Central Darling Shire says the restrictions will remain in place until drought conditions improve. Level two restrictions came into effect on March 3, and will remain in place until conditions improve.
Police - NT
Union asks Police Commissioner to resign
The entire executive board of the NT Police Association (NTPA) is calling upon Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to tender his resignation. This follows his outing himself as the senior executive public officer found by ICAC to have displayed unsatisfactory conduct in relation to the management of a conflict of interest in a recruitment process.
Opinion - roadkill
Biosecurity - Qld
Varroa mite detected in Lockyer Valley
Biosecurity Queensland is advising of the preliminary identification of varroa mite (Varroa destructor) for the first time in Queensland, in the Lockyer Valley. Initial samples from a recreational apiary in the Lockyer Valley have returned a positive diagnostic result for Varroa destructor.
Kangaroos - Vic
Labor’s kangaroo court on incorrect population count: McArthur
The Labor Government’s kangaroo harvesting quotas have been significantly reduced for 2025, exacerbating the escalating overpopulation crisis in Western Victoria. Peter Riddle, a professional kangaroo harvester with 10 years of experience, was allocated just 50 tags for the first quarter of 2025 ... Bev McArthur remarked that it is “barely enough to cover one and a half nights of work.
Music festival
Home Ground Sounds
The Cohuna Kangas hosted the inaugural Cohuna Home Ground Sounds music festival at Cohuna Recreation Reserve on Sunday and it was a big success ... Special guest artist, Shannon Noll, was a surprise bonus for the festival goers as he performed with his Australian Idol compatriot Rob Mills.
New release
A new chapter in Barossa’s food story
The legacy of Australia’s most enduring cookbook, The Barossa Cookery Book, is being honoured with the launch of the companion edition, Rolling Up Their Sleeves. The creative inspiration of Those Barossa Girls, Sheralee Menz and Marieka Ashmore, Rolling Up Their Sleeves explores the remarkable history of the iconic cookery book, which was compiled in 1917 as a war fundraiser.
The Archibald
Exhibition
Public art
Honouring two Birchip legends
More than 55 years ago, despite being 6,000 kilometres apart, Birchip residents Frank Hunt and Ray Naughton made history on the very same day. Now, their legacies are forever captured in a mural by artist Matt Hannah.
Local history
Goroke unseals 25-year time capsule
The Goroke community came together on Sunday at the Goroke Hall to open a 25-year sealed perpetual time capsule, revealing a treasure trove of memories from the past ... The honour of opening the time capsule was given to Goroke's oldest resident, Max Carter, who, at 94, was surprised to witness the moment.
Kaniva
Military history
The story behind the WWI handkerchief
A handkerchief issued during the First World War has made its way to Hay, in pristine condition. It belongs to Brian Cunningham of Gunbar who initially offered it to the War Memorial in Canberra, but decided to keep it in the family ... Brian’s handkerchief appears to be rather rare as no one has seen this particular design before.
Art
What’s happening at the gallery
The countdown is on for the Lowan Art Prize Competition, with entries closing on March 28. Interest in the event has been overwhelming, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! The Official Opening will take place at 2 PM on Sunday, April 13, where winners of each section will be announced.
Public piano
Guerilla piano in Maldon for Castlemaine Fringe
An underground piano movement is putting donated upright pianos in prominent locations around the shire as part of Castlemaine Fringe Festival, which runs from Friday 21 March until Sunday 6 April. One of the pianos will be plonked at Maldon Bakery and available to be played by the public or in pop-up concerts by ‘Pianists at Large’.
Coming up
Events calendar
Find shows and picnic races coming up in the Events Calendar
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Equestrian
New talent on display as SA showcases rising stars
Ty Manning. The 2025 Rising Star Show in South Australia brought together some of the country’s finest horses and riders, all vying for the opportunity to secure a spot at the 2026 Grand National Championships.
Maldon
Maldon Campdraft turns 50
Maldon and District Campdraft Club celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend over Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March, filled with horses, dust and riding challenges for all levels. The occasion inspired some reminiscing and a chance for some to reflect upon campdraft events in Maldon going back to the 1970s, while others were just focused on the competition!
Harness racing
Mallee Bull Cup – abandoned
Peter Hibberd. The famous after party for the Mallee Bull Cups meeting at Birchip started early when H.R.V. stewards abandoned the last three races, for the health and safety of all concerned with continuous lightning in the local area.
Martial arts
Karate kid Dean takes gold
Not quite a teenager yet, Dean Skinner of Booroorban and former Hay Public School student, fought his way at the weekend to take first place in the teens/adults division of the All Stars Martial Arts Academy's continuous karate sparring tournament.
Archery
Moonta archer sets his aim on Olympics
Peter Argent. Moonta Area School student Brock Penna is targeting a future in Olympic recurve archery ... he is South Australia's top-ranked under 18 archer and sits second nationally in his age group.
Rugby league
Burns burns for Barrett Shield success
Glyn Rees. To say local league guru Travis Burns is burning for Barrett Family Shield success on March 22nd is a serious understatement, the former NRL star has his first-grade line-up focused on nothing less than a positive 2025 season start.
