Business

Emma Pritchard & Rodney Stevens. Across the country, more than 10 million Optus customers were left red-faced on November 8 when one of Australia’s leading telecommunications networks experienced a nationwide outage, leaving many without phone and internet access for more than 12 hours ... Following the Optus outage, Australia’s transition to a cashless society has continued to fall under scrutiny.

I recently received a copy of a letter sent from the Federal Department of Agriculture to a farming family in Beverley in response to their letter to the Minister for Agriculture, Murray Watt, asking him to explain the basis of the government’s policy to phase out live exports. Unfortunately, the Minister was too busy searching for the magical new markets for mutton that he promises exist, which will replace live export sheep, to have the time to put his own name to a reply, so he delegated the response to his loyal department.

We all know that the federal Labor government has set itself the impossible task of reducing carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, plus setting itself a target of achieving 82 per cent renewables across the power grid ... Hence the recent announcement by federal anti-agriculture Minister, Murray Watt, offering up the livestock sector as one industry which could be made into an unwilling sacrificial lamb to the climate change gods by imposing rather than hoping for emissions cuts.

Labor failed to undertake modelling on the impact of banning live sheep exports, before announcing the shutdown of the live sheep export trade. The revelations came during Question Time in Parliament, when leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese if Labor had undertaken any economic modelling on the impact of closing the $85 million industry.

Plans to propel the region as a centre of artistic excellence and complement the thriving Queensland screen industry have been unveiled in a landmark report at the recent Sunshine Coast Screen Summit. The highly anticipated Screen Production on the Sunshine Coast Report has been a year in the making, and outlines the strategic direction required for the region to foster growth in the screen industry.

The Keep Farmers Farming campaign has landed in Perth this week, with advertising targeting marginal seats sharing farmers’ fears about a phase-out of live sheep exports ... “This policy is already hurting and frustrating farmers. We’re already hearing accounts of farmers getting out of sheep because they don’t know what the future holds": NFF President David Jochinke.

Patrick Goldsmith. Edithburgh has an operational supermarket for the first time in 14 years, with the new IGA officially opened ... Large crowds greeted the staff, including owner-operators Ron and Peta Turnbull, for their first day, as Yorke Peninsula Council mayor Darren Braund cut a ribbon to commemorate the occasion.

The story about the renowned Muzza’s Milk Bar begins with Murray Powell, aka Muzza ... And it is where Petria and her daughter Caroline Powell remember Muzza in every ice cream and milkshake they make.

Online pool marketplace Poolz is searching for Australia’s best pool as part of the first national Poolz Awards. Around 140 pools have been nominated across 23 categories for a total of almost 1000 entries including Most ‘Insta’ Worthy Pool, Best Hamptons-Style Pool, Best Pool on a Steep Slope, Best Pool and Slide, and Most Expensive Pool (pool builds over $300,000).

“According to Meat and Livestock Australia, some sheep and lamb categories have fallen by up to 70 per cent in the saleyards in the last 12 months. Lamb prices have drastically reduced and cattle prices have fallen by about 60 per cent. Yet families at the supermarkets have barely noticed a difference in prices”: David Littleproud.

Rex Airlines has been recognised as having the South Pacific’s Best Cabin Service in the 2024 Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Awards. The award was presented in Singapore last night where Rex’s Executive Chairman, Lim Kim Hai, accepted it on behalf of the airline.

From Maureen Donnellon, Birchip Probus Member. Friday, October 13, was a day 22 Birchip Probus members will remember forever as one of the best outings they have ever had, when they visited our own Sharp’s Bakery for a crash course in what a day in the life of the bakers could involve and to learn about some of the methods and machines involved and the sheer huge scale of the local business.

Nancy Whittaker. Have you seen Tracey Koolen’s amazing ceramics? If not, you need to do so when she opens her Koolclay Art Studio for the Australian Ceramics Open Studios 2023 ... the Central Victorian Potters Clay Trail is a chance to visit 17 regional studios and peek behind the scenes into the working lives of the artists.

‘Tis the season of the Annual General Meeting, and an attentive audience gathered at the Maldon Community Centre last Wednesday evening for the Community Bank Maldon & District’s AGM ... Bank Chair Ross Egleton thanked the Board’s directors and welcomed new Board members Michael Annear and Jessica Clarke-Hong.

Longridge Board of Governance … have become increasingly concerned about the forecast of intermittent power outages … Given that Longridge does not have a generator ... Bill Vine, recently contacted Tony Pasin … asking the question “why should Longridge need to go to the market to fund a generator?”

“What a difference a year makes,” said Naracoorte Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross, reflecting on his first 12 months as a civic leader. Tough economic conditions are gouging deep into the lives of many – a direct contrast to that leading up to last year’s November 10 SA local government elections.

The ‘precautionary principle’ is not included in the code of Tasmanian Forest Practices Code, where a more pragmatic approach manages any threatened species, according to a senior Tasmanian forestry expert ... Dr Peter Volker said the system had been in place for more than 30 years and had stood the test of time. “We have been able to harvest, reforest and protect threatened species in a sustainable manner.”

The best of Queensland beef has been showcased in Shanghai at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world’s largest import trade fair. Choice cuts were prepared for canapes, sirloin beef rolls and mini wagyu burgers by world class chefs for close to 80 guests...

A report released by ABARES this week has highlighted that weeds and pests are costing farmers $5.3 billion a year through management and production loss ... The sector has told the Government its key concern with the new producer Levy is the apparent abandonment of a Container Levy policy on importers.