The Editor

The Repco Supercars championship returns to The Bend (July 29 – 31) with event organisers promising the biggest weekend of racing and entertainment yet in the OTR Supersprint’s five-year history. The jam-packed, three-day event is South Australia’s largest ticketed regional sporting event with all ticket holders getting paddock access to enjoy the once in a lifetime experience.

The current lack of affordable and diverse housing for buyers and renters is a crisis which is confronting all levels of government. A move to regional areas, limited government investment in social housing, a boom in short terms rentals, Covid-19, the recent floods and inflation have put great pressures on the property market.

What the heck is 'placemaking anyway'? - that's the hot topic on the table when Scenic Rim Regional Council hosts its third Arts Dinner of 2022 on Tuesday 2 August. Set against the backdrop of the Life in Focus exhibition, which includes the Scenic Rim Story Marker Trails project, the dinner explores the concept of how public art connects people with places, builds community pride and reflects the space in which it resides.

Amid Australia’s first Varroa Destructor Mite outbreak, the grower-owned research and development corporation Hort Innovation has joined forces with the University of Sydney to develop a world-first hormone-based pesticide that is safe for honey bees but fatal to Varroa mite. As part of the $1.2M initiative, scientists will create molecules that selectively bind to and interfere with the hormone receptors of Varroa mite and fellow honey bee pest, small hive beetle, interfering with reproduction, development, and behaviour.

The Commonwealth Government has established Biosecurity Response Zones at international airports, another strong measure in response to the Indonesian outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) ... “These zones strengthen and widen the powers of biosecurity officers to direct passengers to use foot mats and other biosecurity control measures such as the cleaning of shoes ... I also announced the deployment of sanitisation foot mats at all international airports as an additional layer of protection for returning travellers from Indonesia" : Minister Watt.

Members of the state’s peak agricultural body have voted to support the development of a national electronic tagging system ... NSW Farmers Biosecurity Chair Ian McColl said while electronic tagging could be helpful, it would not be a silver bullet for the threat posed by FMD.

Following the release, the Victorian Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) - Major Event Review of the 2019- 2020 bushfires, the peak national organisation representing over 1,000 forest scientists and professionals have called for active and adaptive forest management to be implemented as a matter of urgency. President of Forestry Australia, Bob Gordon said the organisation has been calling on all governments to prioritise and invest in a year-round active and adaptive management approach to forest management, regardless of tenure.

“The Mulloon Institute heartily welcomes the Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s calls for structural reform and new environmental legislation,” said Mr Gary Nairn AO, Chairman of the Mulloon Institute and former Federal Liberal MP. The Institute restores degraded landscapes across Australia for improved agricultural productivity, enhanced environmental outcomes, improved biodiversity including habitat for threatened species, and greater community resilience to drought, bushfire and flood.

Some academics are happy to comment in areas where they have no expertise or local knowledge. In contrast, the views of locals with years of practical management experience are mostly ignored.