Rushworth Rail Trail now heritage listed
Campaspe Shire Council and Heritage Victoria have been working on the new Rail Trail project in Rushworth. After detailed historical and site investigations, Heritage Victoria have placed the former Rushworth Railway Station on the Victorian Heritage Inventory (number H7924-0100).
Rebound predicted for Australian agriculture: ABARES
Australia’s farm, fisheries and forestry sectors are set to rebound in 2024-25. The most recent Agricultural Commodities and Australian Crop reports are predicting that the gross value of production in 2024–25 will again increase after poor seasonal conditions affected outcomes in 2023-24.
Meta puts news at risk
Andrew Schreyer, Country Press Australia President. Australia's largest organisation of newspaper publishers has attacked the announcement by Meta it will no longer negotiate deals with publishers once current agreements expire ... Meta’s actions undermine our democracy in the way the company displays such disdain for the work of the news industry ... The most popular Facebook pages in most regional and rural communities are those of the local news publishing company, yet Meta says people don’t go to Facebook for news or political content.
Prosperity in the Spencer Gulf
Patrick Goldsmith. Premier Peter Malinauskas has earmarked Upper Spencer Gulf as the future of the state’s potential prosperity. Speaking at a public forum in Port Pirie on Tuesday, February 27, Mr Malinauskas outlined his government’s plan to invest in green energy, including making the most of abundant solar, wind, copper and magnetite iron ore resources.
Microgrid research will benefit renewable energy needs of country Australia: Charles Sturt University
A Charles Sturt University team is researching the deployment of microgrid projects that aim to meet the energy needs of regional communities in Australia ... The team’s research explores a range of topics relating to microgrid business models, ownership structure and project financing.
No growth expected in global beef consumption in year ahead: Rabobank
With limited or negative real wages growth expected in 2024, coupled with the higher cost environment, Rabobank expects global beef consumption will at best remain steady and possibly decline through 2024, with some notable regional variations ... sales are often expected to suffer when economic conditions put pressures on consumer spending.
The Ukrainian grain market withstood a coordinated attack from friends and enemies
Due to import restrictions, Ukrainian farmers lost about 10 per cent of their income. Although imports have increased, the domestic market of Ukraine is still characterised by an oversupply. The selling price of wheat on EXW terms is less than the cost price. This means that imports using gray schemes and dumping prices will continue.
What Facebook’s decision to quit news means for local followers
Facebook's announcement it will no longer support news on its platform means that members of community pages where Yanchep News Online now posts will instead need to follow the local publisher’s Facebook page to be able to access that content. But Yanchep News Online, who has never been part of a deal with Facebook is also concerned that if the Australian Government and Facebook get into a stoush over the social media platform’s decision to stop supporting news in Australia it could result in another news ban.
Millie the BreastScreenNT bus begins Territory tour: Uibo
Over one thousand women in remote communities visited ‘Millie’ the bus last year to be screened for breast cancer, assisting women across the Territory to access early detection. Of the 6,000 Territorian women who were screened in 2023, Millie changed the lives of 49 women who were found to have breast cancer.
For better or worse, here’s the ‘final’ story on the NRLX dispute
I have chosen to write this as an opinion piece rather than an article. My reason for this is I have struggled to get information about the NRLX dispute even in its resolution. This opinion piece is an exit story on the dispute.
Community collaboration – more than a racecourse
When you live, work, volunteer in a place like Wycheproof – it’s inevitable that the community becomes a strong knit working unit. Such strong knit working units, in the form of community clubs, are set to be on display in abundance this forthcoming March long weekend.
Government’s failed training pledge: Mallee apprenticeship slump
Mallee tradies will be hard pressed to find apprentices to address a skills shortage due to a collapse in trade training under Labor, Member for Mallee Anne Webster says. New data from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) shows the number of apprenticeships and trainees in training fell by 12.63 per cent in Mallee after the Albanese Labor Government’s first year in office.
Newstead Open Studios art trail
Newstead Open Studios art trail is a locally inspired and crafted event, held annually since 2015 and based in and around Newstead, in the heart of Victoria’s goldfields region. This, our tenth-year, features 10 studios with 17 artists participating.
Maldon’s motorbike mystery solved
Thanks go to Maldon resident Barry Murfett, who read last week’s article in the [Tarrangower] Times about a postcard (c. 1907) which pictures an early motorbike. Barry put the [Tarrangower] Times in touch with Greg Smith, the owner of an antique motorbike which is almost certainly the machine pictured on the old postcard.
Coonawarra’s wine community gathers to herald in the new vintage
The Coonawarra Grape and Wine industry are set to herald in the 2024 Vintage (aka. V24), with the clinking of glasses and sound of bagpipes, as community members and dignitaries gather at the iconic Coonawarra Railway Siding for the official Vintage Launch Ceremony ... wine industry stakeholders and supporters will ‘raise a glass’ to the upcoming Coonawarra grape harvest and bid farewell to the season past.
Sick and waiting
Sick and waiting for hours to be seen by a doctor at the Naracoorte Health Service (public hospital). How does that feel? And if that’s not bad enough, how about waiting for four hours for an ambulance transfer?
Letters from Home: Buying “online”
The pandemic taught us many things, some good, some bad, and apart from the possible terrible damage to our health, it has done some bad things to our credit cards. We learned, first by necessity and then by total impulse, to buy things online. We began timidly.
Maldon Classic tomorrow
Mark Blythe. Tomorrow (Saturday 2 March) at the Maldon Progress Hall you can attend the third biannual Maldon Classic Bike Show ... You will be privileged to see possibly the biggest and best display of classic pre-2000 road racing bikes anywhere in Australia.
Leaders only get one chance to create a great first impression
Attracting the right staff or volunteers is difficult at the best of times. Creating the right first impression is key. This starts with the very first interaction someone has with people, and the recruitment process they undertake. If it should be a warm, inviting, and hassle-free experience. This is a key leadership responsibility.
Patient waiting times worrying
Public waiting times for life-saving treatments at regional hospitals like Naracoorte are “creating real anxieties.” That’s the word from Shadow Minister for Regional Health Services Penny Pratt, who says it is concerning that people are losing confidence in country health systems.
Creditors owed $350,000
Creditors of Naracoorte’s closed Morris Bakery are owed more than $350,000, and investigations confirm the company was not insured for employee dishonesty. New information ascertained by this newspaper [Naracoorte Community News] on the business’s liquidation process confirms that the company’s director has completed his report on “company activities and property,” which has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Mystery investor backs the future of Mossman industry: Canegrowers
The future is looking a little brighter for the Mossman cane-growing community after a mystery investor swooped in to save the local mill just hours before the company was due to be liquidated. Earlier this week the administrator advised grower and mill representatives that a potential investor had come forward to provide funding alongside energy company, Clever Power.
