Contributor, ARR.News
2311 POSTS
Eurobodalla Agricultural Show, 25-26 January 2025
Eurobodalla District Show Society
Major concerns in relation to bushfire preparedness across SE Australia: John O’Donnell
In this timely piece, John O'Donnell reviews the state of bushfire preparedness in New South Wales in light of the NSW Rural Fire Service 2023/2024 Annual Report.
Concrete railway sleepers – a growing blight on the environment: Roger Underwood
Roger Underwood. I had an email from a Queensland mate the other day. “I recently took a train trip from Brisbane to Charleville” he told me, “and there were huge piles of concrete sleepers beside the line to the Toowoomba Range and elsewhere.” I knew exactly what he was talking about. In September 2024 I travelled by train from Perth to Adelaide, from Ballarat to Melbourne and from Melbourne to Sydney. Alongside every railway line along this trip were piles of “used” concrete sleepers.
New levies legislation makes obligations clearer: DAFF
New and improved agricultural levies legislation will replace the existing framework next year, making the levy system more user friendly for participants and making it easier for them to understand their obligations. More than 50 pieces of legislation governing over 110 levies and charges – across 75 commodities and 18 bodies that receive levies – are being streamlined into five Acts and subordinate legislation.
NIC welcomes MDBA’s refreshed approach on constraints, calls for firm Government commitments: NIC
National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) has welcomed the refreshed approach proposed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to relax delivery constraints in the Murray-Darling Basin to value add environmental benefits for rivers and floodplains but warns that firm commitments from Basin governments are critical to ensure the program’s momentum is not lost.
Response to Minister Sharpe: Peter Rutherford
Peter Rutherford. On the 24 November 1939, the Coffs Harbour Advocate reported, among other things, that “now there are only 200 known koalas in the whole of New South Wales, including those in captivity.” NSW Environment Minister Sharpe’s media release of 3 December 2024 stated, “that our grandchildren will never get the chance to see koalas in the wild”. I thought she may have been a little behind in reading her ministerial briefings. But then the penny dropped!
Waterbird numbers down almost 50 per cent after drier 2024 – aerial survey: UNSW Sydney
Following the wet La Niña years with widespread flooding, drier conditions have resulted in a drop in waterbird numbers and breeding in 2024. UNSW’s annual waterbird survey, conducted by researchers and government collaborators, has observed fewer waterbirds breeding and a drop of nearly 50 per cent in overall numbers, compared to 2023.
Weld Australia slams Opposition’s nuclear power plan as unrealistic fantasy
According to Geoff Crittenden, CEO of Weld Australia, the Opposition’s plan relies on the misguided notion that coal-fired power stations can continue operating reliabily indefinitely to bridge the energy gap. “It is a fantasy to imagine that coal-fired power stations can keep running without billions of dollars being poured into their maintenance. Many of these plants have already exceeded their design life two- or threefold,” said Crittenden.
Queensland and WA farmers ending year with increasing optimism, while other states take more subdued outlook: Rabobank
Qld and WA farmers reported improved optimism heading into the end of the year, while sentiment was more subdued in other states, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found ... on a national basis farmers were becoming increasingly cautious about the outlook for the agricultural economy, with nearly half (47 per cent) attributing their concerns to dry seasonal conditions, while rising cost pressures are also a worry.
