Contributor, ARR.News

As this final newsletter of the year demonstrates, rural health does not pause for the festive season. While many Australians take a well-earned break, rural, regional and remote communities continue to carry extraordinary responsibility—for food production, harvest, emergency response, service delivery and the steady functioning of our economy and society.

A radiata pine grown in a Southern Highlands State forest is taking pride of place in the foyer of Government House continuing a grand NSW Christmas tradition. For decades, real Christmas trees selected from State forest pine plantations have delighted guests and visitors at the Governor’s residence ... Forestry Corporation has also supplied a 3.5-metre pine to feature at Vaucluse House.

The peak body for Tasmanian farmers, TasFarmers, is today calling for an inquiry and full analysis of Australia’s food supply chain, from farm gate to supermarket shelf, after revealing that fresh produce is now cheaper in London than in Launceston.

Export market demand has supported elevated prices for Australian lamb, mutton and beef through much of 2025, with favourable market conditions expected to continue into the new year, according to agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. In its Global animal protein outlook 2026, the bank’s RaboResearch division says high cattle inventories will maintain elevated Australian beef production, while sheepmeat production takes time to recover.

Normanby Aboriginal Corporation and Esparq Ventures have announced they have raised $600,000 as part of their mission to raise $10 million to commercialise, launch, and nationally scale their innovative and sustainable enterprise, Bush Beef ... ethical, climate-friendly food sources are in growing demand ... ARR.News found out more from Dominiqe Bird of Esparq Ventures.

Community feedback confirmed grocery and fuel purchases are essential and today’s changes mean that from 1 January 2026, most retailers must accept cash for in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7am and 9pm. Small businesses with aggregate annual turnover under $10 million will be exempted from the mandate, however, the mandate will apply to small businesses that choose to share a trademark with a larger retailer.

Woodfordia’s Festival of Small Halls has announced that Irish/Canadian powerhouse Irish Mythen and Australian folk troubadour Kaurna Cronin will feature on their next tour in March 2026, which takes in 13 regional Victorian towns while also visiting the magnificent Port Fairy Folk Festival.

The Nationals WA have called for urgent action after widespread power outages left more than 24,000 homes and businesses across the Mid West and Geraldton without electricity today [14 December 2025] on a day where temperatures exceeded 35 degrees in parts of the region.

Gemco Rail is proud to announce that wagon manufacturing is now established at our Karratha facility, marking a major step in bringing rollingstock capability into the Pilbara and closer to our customer operations.

Historic sale achieves $170K mare, equal Australian record $110K gelding, and exceeds $8 million for first time. The 51st Annual Dalby Australian Stock Horse Sale has cemented its position as the world's premier Stock Horse sale, delivering a historic weekend that shattered records and exceeded $8 million in sales for the first time in the event's history.