The Editor

Last week, I supported a motion by the Liberal Democrats’ David Limbrick to end COVID-19 mandates in Victoria, sending the matter to the new ALP-fortified ‘independent’ body to review Pandemic Bill impacts. Quite simply, it went to the heart of freedom of choice, liberty and the right of individuals to be individuals.

The mosquito-borne disease Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus has been detected in a commercial South Australian piggery. The disease has also been confirmed in piggeries in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

For International Women's Day, Pennie Scott, independent candidate for the federal seat of Riverina, outlines her policies on key issues affecting women and answers some questions on this from Australian Rural & Regional News.

John O'Donnell identifies the multiple barriers to effective low intensity or ecological maintenance burning of forest areas across south east Australia and opportunities to address these.

ABARES Executive Director Jared Greenville said the latest ABARES Insights report: Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2022 demonstrated that while there have been fluctuations, the agriculture sector was still on an upward trajectory.

The Morrison Government has granted Major Project Status to a $560 million cobalt project near Broken Hill. Cobalt Blue Holdings’ Broken Hill Cobalt Project will produce 16,700 tonnes of high purity cobalt sulphate per year – a highly sought after form of this critical mineral, used in the manufacture of lithium ion batteries.

The current flooding in Lismore and Nimbin, and associated power outages, have affected Council’s water supply and sewage systems. Residents are asked to conserve water as much as possible as we are currently unable to replenish water reservoirs. Nimbin has approx. 24 hours of water supply left based on normal usage rates and residents are asked to conserve water.

Shipping millions of tonnes of high quality product across the world’s oceans safely calls for great people and world-class processes.

GrainCorp entered 2021 with a new vision, purpose and strategy: partner with growers around the world and connect them with customers and communities, to deliver value through innovation and expertise.

Manager Water and Wastewater Operations Brie Jowett said the extreme weather had washed soil and debris into creeks and rivers that flow into Council’s water treatment plants and caused power outages at the plants and several water pump stations ... Council has been tankering water into Uki but flooding and no road access is preventing deliveries.