Live sheep export legislation passes Australian Parliament
Australian Alliance for Animals. The Australian Senate has this week passed historic legislation enshrining the phase out of live sheep exports into law. The Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Act 2024 prohibits exporting live sheep by sea from Australia by May 1, 2028 and unlocks a $107 million industry adjustment package. Australian Alliance for Animals spokesperson, Dr. Jed Goodfellow, welcomed the passage of the legislation, describing it as a pivotal moment in the history of animal welfare in Australia.
Kookaburra’s Donald arrival draws near
Jenni and Trevor Campbell. On our way home from our holiday in Northern New South Wales, we called in to meet Chris Fussell, the sculptor who is making Donald’s giant kookaburra ... Chris has our kookaburra well on the way and hopes to be able to bring it to Donald in the spring.
Duck hunting hassles
Natalie Krebs. Australians have a dedicated overlanding and camping culture. They cook a leisurely breakfast and then simply wade out into the marsh a few hundred yards to pass-shoot ducks. These lowkey setups make it easy for casual hunters to have a good time, and convenient for activists to interfere.
Table Tennis honours Bill
Jenny Pollard. A lifetime of table tennis service to the Victorian Table Tennis Country Championships saw Charlton’s Bill Freeman recognised with two significant awards ... Showing stellar dedication, Bill has attended every TTVCC event since 1966 – either at the tables as a participant, or in combination with his role as a committee member – a position which he has held for 40 years.
Birchip’s trees – Part 2: more on a “shady” history
Maureen Donnellon. Part 2 will acknowledge the many old Palm trees, Jacarandas, Moreton Bay Fig trees, Peppercorn trees and plantations. One of the best known and most significant varieties of trees in Birchip are the palm trees, the most noticeable to locals and travellers being the four large date palms in the median strip of Cumming Avenue.
Impressive jump outs at Donald
Peter Hibberd. After a very successful racing centre last Saturday, the Donald and District Race Club hosted a series of 15 jump outs. This type of event is for horses that are returning from a spell or close to racing. Over 100 horses were on the course, with the leading country stables in attendance.
TCV’s new approach to Land Access Payments
Transmission Company Victoria. Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) has actioned stakeholder feedback on Land Access Agreement (LAA) payments, increasing the payment to landholders who provide larger areas for survey areas. Landholders can discuss land access agreements for VNI West, which start at $10,000 to a maximum $50,000, with their dedicated landholder liaison officers. TCV spokesperson, Claire Cass, said the change in the LAA payment reflects the project’s ongoing engagement with landholders who communicated the potential impost of survey access on their time.
Transmission lines and turbines – how will they affect you?
Quill. A meeting was held at Birchip Leisure Centre ... Anne Webster, Gerald Feeny, Glenden Watts, Barry Batters and Di Lehmann attended to discuss the issue of renewables coming into the area, the construct company Cubico moving into Curyo West with idea of developing 100 to 200 wind turbines and the ramifications it might have on landholders and the community, should it go ahead.
Environment Effects Statement required
TCV (Transmission Company Victoria). The Victorian Minister for Planning has confirmed that Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) is required to prepare an Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the VNI West project ... In her reasons for the decision under the Environment Effects Act 1978, the Minister noted that the EES process would provide a “robust, integrated and transparent assessment through which the potential environmental effects can be rigorously assessed”.
The trees of Birchip – and tales they could tell
Maureen Donnellon. Do you notice trees and wonder about their history, as I do? Trees can tell us so much about the early settlers, early buildings, the little schools, former church and hall sites, where the original homes were, the sites of the oldest houses, where the birds nest, the best shade ... Birchip has many significant trees in and around the district ...
