Contributor, Naracoorte Community News

Kristin Murdock. The Australian Government has reached an agreement with China that creates a pathway towards resolving the dispute over Australian barley exports, which, since 2020 have been subject to an 80.5 per cent duty. This effectively blocked exports to that market, worth about $916 million in 2018-19 ... In return for Beijing’s cooperation, Senator Penny Wong said Canberra will temporarily suspend its appeal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the trade restrictions.

The Hamilton and Alexandra College is pleased to welcome Mr Michael Horne as the 39th Principal in the school’s 151-year history. Mr Horne is an experienced educational leader and was most recently Associate Principal at Braemar College in Woodend, Victoria. Prior to this role, was Head of Senior School at Braemar College, and has held senior leadership positions including Deputy Principal at Salesian College and Ave Maria College.

The ripple effects of the pandemic continue to be felt by parents, carers and educators as children struggle with basic social skills like sharing and getting along with others. The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is now giving parents the support they need to bridge the gap left by Covid-19 and help their children thrive.

Skye McPherson. The South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Recovery Team and BirdLife Australia is looking forward to the regional Annual Cocky Count in 2023 and is seeking the help of volunteers. This year the Annual Cocky Count will be held on Saturday 6 May, with volunteers searching in stringybark sites across the Red-tails’ range in south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria.

Tony Pasin MP. The Lucindale Area School is a small regional school located in the south-east of South Australia, in my electorate of Barker ... I take this opportunity to read an email I received from a student. It states: I am writing on behalf of myself and my class here at Lucindale area school, about the lack of a dedicated science and math teacher.

Kristin Murdock. The AWI Merino Husbandry Practices Survey contacted 1203 Merino producers from the MLA member database to ask about specific Merino management practices. Results recently released showed a downward trend in mulesing. Ewe lambs mulesed fell from 63 per cent in 2019 to 52 per cent in 2021. Mulesing in male lambs showed a similar decline from 54 per cent to 44 per cent.

Wayne Hawthorne. “A wry return smile” is applicable and an anagram of those influential in MiniJumbuk being what it is today. “Miles, Wray, Turner”. Probus members learnt of the history behind MiniJumbuk when their Managing Director Darren Turner spoke recently ... A contract was written in 1979 to manufacture the world’s first commercially sold woollen quilt under the Onkaparinga brand.

Stewart's Range farmer Heather Heggie is concerned about the rapid spread of weeds throughout the Naracoorte Lucindale Council district ... “My question is in the absence of an engineer, what is the criteria for managing unsealed roads and the potential for weed spread?: Stewart's Range farmer Heather Heggie.

The KPMG report Sector Impact Assessment of Customer Owned Banking in Australia found that the 61 customer-owned banks have five million customers and represent 70 per cent of Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) in the Australian market. And despite their relatively small share of market assets ($158.8 billion compared to $4,370 billion for the major banks), the contribution of customer-owned banks to people and communities is proportionately greater.

Kristin Murdock. Fertiliser is one of the highest input costs on farm, and knowing what happens within this market is important. In good news for Australian farmers, the fertiliser market has started coming off, with prices falling over the past month.