The Editor

A Parliamentary Committee has detailed a number of ways to reform floodplain harvesting in NSW. NSW Farmers President James Jackson said even small steps towards evidence-based regulation of floodplain harvesting were better than the uncertainty surrounding the issue at present.

Planned burning is one of the most utilised fuel management activities, but the safe and effective application of this method is likely to be hindered by climate change (e.g. shrinking and shifting windows of opportunity) and potential adverse societal outcomes (e.g. smoke impact, risk of fire escape). For this reason, fire managers need access to detailed information to help them make informed decisions and select a fuel management strategy that is compatible with a range of factors.

Bushfire risk is likely to increase in the future due to the combined impacts of climate change and urban sprawl. This report presents the results of an analysis combining the outputs from stakeholder consultation with those from the Unified Natural Hazard Risk Mitigation Exploratory Decision Support System (UNHaRMED) to quantify increases in bushfire risk due to different population growth and climate change scenarios in four areas of emerging bushfire risk in Western Australia.

South Australian based group ‘The Headstone Project’ recently dedicated the graves of 18 veterans of WWI who lay in the Port Pirie cemetery in unmarked graves with a dedication ceremony held on 20 November 2021.

Australians are urged to put locally-grown oysters on their Christmas table this year and support an industry that has been hit hard recently. NSW Farmers Oyster Committee Chair Todd Graham said the industry was still grappling with the impacts of bushfires, floods, and a COVID-19 induced downturn in hospitality and tourism.

Community Landcare representative organisation, National Landcare Network, is pleased to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading agricultural research, education and advocacy organisation, the Mulloon Institute. The MoU will deliver ‘Catchment Scale Restoration and Rehydration Pilots’ across the country.

A Christmas tree grown by Forestry Corporation of NSW proudly sits in Government House in the centre of Sydney as a visual reminder of the forestry industry and the value it provides.

Australia has secured an emphatic World Trade Organization (WTO) win against India’s price-distorting sugar production supports and export subsidies a WTO Panel found that India had export subsidies in place which were prohibited under trading rules and it recommended their removal. The Panel also found that India’s levels of sugarcane price supports had consistently exceeded permitted levels.

Council recently hosted two timely disaster preparedness operations, firstly with the Local Disaster Management Group to test preparedness for potential flooding, and secondly with Community Disaster Volunteers from across the Scenic Rim.

Australian farmers are predicting the “magic combination” of high commodity prices, low interest rates and good seasonal conditions will continue in the year ahead – sustaining a continued high level of confidence across the sector.