Business

At the 2024 annual general meeting of the Man from Snowy River Tourism Association (MFSRTA), president Ros McKenzie presented her report of its activities over the past 12 months ... "Our projects are funded from profits from the sale of souvenir items at the Corryong Visitor Information Centre and in the last few years we have also been successful with funding from a number of grants. Ongoing projects of the association are..."

Barham High School and Tulla Natives are two of 17 winners in the 2024 Campaspe Murray Business Awards ... Owners of Tulla Natives, Marc and Stacey Brooke were awarded the Best Agri Business sponsored by Greenham ... diversified their traditional farming pursuits ...

Boehringer Ingelheim has been awarded a multi-year contract to continue to provide antigen and vaccine supply capability as part of Australia’s Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) preparedness ... Head of Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Australia and New Zealand, Christoph Tautphaeus, said although FMD has never been detected in Australia, being ready to combat an outbreak was critically important.

A landmark independent review commissioned by the Albanese Government has found that virtually all the nation’s health professions face restrictions and barriers in working to their fullest – restrictions that are unrelated to their skills, training and experience. The review found that inconsistencies across states and territories make it harder for patients to get the care they need…

As the weather warms up the incidents of snake sightings being shared has increased. Hay Veterinary Clinic’s Wayne Gardam says snake "season" is shaping up to be a particularly bad one for domestic pets, with about twice as many patients as usual being presented to the Hay Veterinary Clinic for treatment for snake bite since September.

Hugh Schuitemaker. State government politicians have been invited to witness ongoing impacts of frost and industry challenges on the Riverland wine industry, following the announcement of a support program that has left senior local MPs "frustrated" … Tim Whetstone said direct state government consultation with Riverland growers impacted by recent frost, and other industry challenges, had been lacking.

Sebastian Calderon. Riverland grape growers gathered last week to tour some of the frost-damaged vineyards at Loxton, aiming to discuss new approaches to manage the weather events, while also voicing opinions with Riverland Wine representatives regarding unknown grape prices. The meeting started at Peter and Michelle Hill’s Loxton North property...

After arriving via the Rural Fire Service helicopter, Premier of NSW Chris Minns and Member for Barwon Roy Butler entered the Golf Club with no fanfare and immediately began to introduce themselves to the 60 Wilcannia, White Cliffs and rural residents present ... Following the Premiers visit, Minister for Energy, Penny Sharpe hosted another, smaller gathering on Sunday the 27th October. Adopting the same approach as the Premier, the Minister spoke to local business owners, before answering questions from the floor.

You need to unplug your laptop, Wi-Fi, and phone every so often, to let it reset, recharge and reboot itself to ensure it performs at maximum efficiency. Everything improves once it has been unplugged. This also applies to humans. No one can work 100 per cent effectively 100 per cent of the time. It is not possible. Being available and accessible 24/7 is a learnt behaviour that has evolved with technology.

Rent land, don't buy it. Produce agricultural raw materials, don't process agricultural products. By following these rules of Ukrainian farmers, foreign investors might achieve great success in Ukrainian agriculture.

John Williams. Foaming horses galloping four-in-hands over the West Wimmera tracks, day and night, in burning sun or drenching rain; washing down damper and salt meat with pannikins of strong tea….this was the lot of Nhill Cobb and Co driver William Nesbitt. Despite this strenuous life, Bill had a romance for the open road, and for many years drove the coach between Bordertown and Nhill with a reputation for being a gentleman and obliging to his many passengers.

Lynne Mowbray. The scaffolding on Maclean’s historic Argyle Hotel is about to be removed, as the long-awaited opening is finally here. Hotel owner ‘Dhugal’ said that the unofficial opening will take place ... “It will be a bar and restaurant dining, with a beer garden,” said Dhugal.

They put their right feet, left feet, right arms, left arms, heads, knees, shoulders, elbows, and bottoms in, and they shook them all about, they did the Hokey Pokey and they turned around, and that’s what it was all about as hundreds of participants attempted to set a new record for the biggest Hokey Pokey in Australian history during the 2024 Grafton Jacaranda Festival.

Sarah Herrmann. Two former Port Broughton residents are set to host a prestigious national radio show. The first is award-winning journalist Sally Sara, who will replace Patricia Karvelas as the host of ABC’s Radio National Breakfast next year. She will be joined by producer Joe Sullivan, also formerly of Port Broughton ...

Live sheep export farmers being forced to shut down their crucial trade will not be given even one cent of support until after the next election. Labor has told Senate Estimates today its ‘transition package’ for farmers won’t roll out until July, 2025, despite farmers starting to change production cycles now and significant reduction in sheep prices from Labor’s decision.

It is not widely known that life-saving treatment is offered three days per week on Donald’s doorstep, but East Wimmera Health Service’s Dialysis unit has been in operation at the Donald campus since 2006 … One such “survivor” is Wycheproof’s Paul Groves, who not only had to go through chemotherapy treatment for leukemia in 2019, he was also born with reflux nephropathy…

Quill McQuilty. A huge crowd turned out for Derby Day in the Country and the running of the Elder’s Mt Wycheproof Cup on Saturday, at Wycheproof … The prestigious feature race was won by Bannerton, trained by Austy Coffey and ridden by Nathan Punch a head and neck ahead of Samurai Star, ridden by Cian MacRedmond for Mitchell Freedman.

“All the Bureau of Meteorology’s predictors in the western part of Victoria are showing a drier than usual lead up to the fire season , with soil moisture low, and a high fuel load ringing alarm bells for the next few months,” said Andrew White, CEO of the Victorian Forest Products Association.

Community anger is simmering, as Wilcannia locals say support efforts don't go far enough. Residents of Wilcannia have taken to social media to vent their frustrations at what they say is an inadequate response to the ongoing power outages and loss of food for many households.

Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP and NSW Minister for Climate Change, Energy Environment & Heritage Penny Sharpe recently met with concerned community members in the Far West village of Silverton ... Mr Butler said Transgrid has now erected its seventh and final replacement transmission tower ...