Contributor, ARR.News

The Finocchiaro CLP Government is further boosting economic growth in the Territory through a new acreage release for onshore petroleum exploration. The acreage is approximately 4,000 sqkm, more than five times the size of Singapore, and is strategically located near the Amadeus Gas Pipeline and the Stuart Highway within the highly prospective Beetaloo Sub-basin, one of Australia’s most significant onshore shale gas plays.

Bundaberg Regional Council and Bundaberg Tourism are advocating for fairer regional airfares, with the community invited to add their input to the joint submission.

Everyday Australians face another hit to their power bills after Transgrid applied to pass on to consumers the $1.1 billion of their cost over-runs in the 900-kilometre EnergyConnect project between NSW and South Australia. Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster MP said the latest revelation yet again exposes the fallacy that ‘renewable’ energy is not the ‘cheapest form of electricity’.

A new advisory committee has been established to support the reopening of boat-based recreational demersal fishing from Kalbarri to Augusta in Spring 2027. The West Coast Demersal Ministerial Advisory Committee will provide recommendations to the State Government on the future management of recreational fishing to balance a return to boat-based fishing with continued protection for fish stocks to support recovery.

Long-term planning to ensure a sustainable future for the West Coast Wilderness Railway has taken its next steps. The Tasmanian Government has convened a roundtable with key industry and business stakeholders to discuss next steps for the Railway.

If you’re in Bass Coast for the Labour Day long weekend — or lucky enough to call it home — there’s one place to be: the 2026 Bass Coast Sustainability Festival, a free, family-friendly celebration of community, creativity and caring for our environment ... At its heart, the Sustainability Festival is about making big ideas feel simple, practical and fun.

Annabelle Cleeland has criticised the Allan Labor Government’s so-called “Big Switch”, saying it has failed to deliver for regional Victoria, with overcrowded, unreliable services on the Shepparton and Albury–Seymour lines while Melbourne continues to receive the lion’s share of upgrades.

Tasmania’s visitor economy has been given a significant boost, with a record number of travellers passing through Launceston Airport on a single day last month. The airport saw 6880 people passing through its gates on 23 January, the eve of the Foo Fighters concert in Launceston.

Preliminary test results have confirmed H5 avian influenza (H5 bird flu) in additional wildlife species on Australia’s sub-Antarctic external territory of Heard Island following confirmation in southern elephant seals in November 2025.

Generation Z may be on the march to the regions – now the most likely cohort considering a move out of metro areas, according to new survey results released today by the Regional Australia Institute (the RAI). Generation Z (18 to 29 years) has overtaken its older counterpart, Millennials (30 to 45 years), in having the greatest desire to leave the city behind, with almost half (49 per cent) contemplating relocating.