The Editor

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the official livestock and production figures for the second quarter of 2022. The data also provided insights on slaughter, production, value and carcase weight for sheep and cattle for the 2022 financial year.

A diagnostic tool using nano technology to rapidly detect high-risk plant pests and pathogens in the field will undergo feasibility testing in a biosecurity innovation pilot kicking off this month. The lab-on-a-chip project will investigate if portable nano-biosensors improve the efficiency of plant disease detection at Australian borders and in-field surveillance.

An initiative to help men with incontinence is being rolled out across the Sunshine Coast. In collaboration with the Continence Foundation, Sunshine Coast Council has installed 102 male incontinence product disposal bins at public amenities locations across the region.

Lockyer Valley Mayor, Cr Tanya Milligan recently hosted Federal Member for Wright, Mr Scott Buchholz MP, for a tour of the region’s current federally funded projects. Council was successful in securing grant funding of $675,000 from the Australian Government’s Bushfire Recovery Grants Program. The cash injection is designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic bushfires in the Lockyer Valley ...

The Mildura weir will be temporarily removed to allow high Murray River flows to pass through, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and Goulburn-Murray Water announced.   MDBA Executive Director of River Management Andrew Reynolds said the weir needed to be removed ahead of increased flows expected to arrive by mid-September.

The Minister for Small Business, Ballarat based, Jaala Pulford, has tried to downplay her refusal to support Sebastopol businesses that her Government is destroying. Since February, state roadworks in Albert Street have effectively cut off access to the businesses. Some have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars ... “It is a terrible condemnation of the project, of the complaint management, that these citizens may be forced to sue their own government to get a fair hearing”: Bev McArthur MP.

South Australia is getting closer to finalising its bid for World Heritage status for the iconic Flinders Ranges National Park, with the lead authors of the nomination touring key sites in the region ... More than 600 million years old, the Flinders Ranges is one of Australia’s magnificent landscapes.: Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Susan Close

A chlamydia vaccine for koalas could increase the species’ resistance to the potentially fatal disease in a trial in south-west Sydney, which is part of an almost $1.7 million NSW Koala Strategy investment across the region ... “Chlamydia is a serious issue for koalas, leading to blindness, infections and infertility in this precious species. This disease weakens koalas and can make them more susceptible to dog attacks and other threats,”: Minister for Environment James Griffin

Sunraysia residents are being urged to ensure their properties are prepared for the upcoming Fire Danger Period. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) declares an annual Fire Danger Period from October through to April, and it’s important that everyone in our region does their part to reduce the risk of fire.