Business

The Moah Creek Wind Farm project has recently reached two development milestones. Firstly, it has been granted planning approval from the Queensland State Assessment and Referral Agency ... consent from the Queensland Government under the Planning Act 2016 for the construction of the wind farm and its associated vegetation clearing.

The chief executive of the Australian Banking Association Anna Bligh did not read a single submission to the 2021-2022 Regional Banking Taskforce she was a member of. This astonishing disclosure came out under questioning during a hearing of the Senate inquiry into regional bank closures ... CBA's Matt Comyn was the first to come before the senators and except for dropping the information that CBA will be making its Bankwest brand an entirely digital service he might have snuck through without a mention here.

“The Australian Musical Theatre Festival was developed to bring a cultural festival to our state’s north during winter, and it is now an established feature of our annual events calendar,” Minister  Street said.

NSW Farmers says the federal government must force importers to pay for the biosecurity threats they create. The calls came after authorities admitted defeat on eradicating Varroa mite after more than a year of fighting the invasive pest.

Get ready to dust off those long-forgotten treasures and clear out the clutter because the national Garage Sale Trail is returning to the Bundaberg Region in November. Bundaberg Regional Council is proud to be partnering with Garage Sale Trail  in 2023, the nationwide community-based initiative which encourages friends and families to embrace sustainability...

Tweed Shire Council is inviting businesses and commercial operators to share in the success of the popular Northern Rivers Rail Trail (Tweed section) and sign up to its new Connect Program ... the Connect Program is designed to connect commercial operators and businesses to the award-winning Rail Trail which opened in March.

The George Cartwright oval in Birchip was transformed into a mecca for vehicle lovers on Sunday, September 17, with 154 vehicles of all kinds, including cars, motorbikes and trucks competing in the fourth Buloke  Collectable Vehicle Club annual Show ‘N’ Shine.    

Am I missing something or does this Federal Labor government have a problem with the Middle East? ... The government’s decision to reject extra Qatar Airways flights into Australia gives us a hint of what they are thinking ... Similar to live exports, the Government can give no coherent reason as to what makes up this social licence ...

At the bottom of all those outgoing planes is spare cargo space or what they call belly cargo which we can fill with rock lobster going to China and chilled lamb and beef going to the Middle East ... If the government is banking on boxed sheep meat replacing live exports, then its decision on Qatar is a step backwards.

Post bushfire recovery, agriculture remains a priority for UMI and the Agricultural Recovery Working Group has now become focused on areas identified in the Upper Murray 2030 Vision Plan. Diversity enables resilience and the vulnerability of farmers relying solely on the stability of standard beef or milk prices is a catalyst for this group to investigate what options are worth exploring.

SOURCE Hydropanel technology is bringing reliable drinking water to the underserved community, Irrkerlantye (White Gate), in the Northern Territory. Children’s Ground – a First Nations community-led organisation – is working in partnership with SOURCE to improve drinking water access in remote communities.

A new handbook released by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, will guide businesses – including farmers, forest growers, mining companies and non-governmental organisations – on how to report and account for their natural assets to better protect our environment. Much of the value and growth from our economy is drawn from natural resources as a variety of industries depend on, and profit, from them.

In a major boost for domestic tourism,  Bonza  has revealed Darwin and Alice Springs as the airline’s newest destinations. The airline will add 12 new flights per week to and from the NT with three new routes - Sunshine Coast to Darwin, Gold Coast to Darwin and Melbourne to Alice Springs.

The ability of the Australian grains industry to compete internationally is being seriously hampered by supply chain inefficiencies, with recent record harvests highlighting a need for more capacity in the current network, a GrainGrowers commissioned report has found.  The ‘Connecting the Dots: Improving Australian Grain Supply Chain Efficiency’ report was compiled by independent global strategy consultancy LEK.  

An interesting way to spend a few hours is to visit the big white Historical Museum on the corner of Forde and Warwick Streets, Allora. This building was the old Shire Hall and has special displays and reading facilities.

The Clarence Valley timber industry is still uncertain how many jobs could be lost due to the suspension of logging in the proposed Great Koala National Park as the NSW Government assesses the impact on the endangered marsupials and timber industry jobs ... “They still haven’t actually said what the areas are that they are going to not harvest in and where the actual koala hubs are, so it’s really hard to work out what the ramifications are going to be”: Donna Layton, Marshall Notaras Hardwoods GM and VP of Timber NSW.

One of the oldest and most iconic watering holes in the Lower Clarence, Maclean’s majestic Argyle Hotel has been listed for sale following extensive renovations. Listed with Gold Coast based Republik Property Partners, the Argyle Hotel encapsulates history, charm and investment potential, with expressions of interest being taken for the freehold site at 205 River Street, Maclean.

The proposed redevelopment of the historic Grafton Brewery is in doubt after council posed over 100 conditions on the business including restrictive operating hours ... But Mr Firth said the development may never be realised due to the onerous and duplicitous requirements that make the development potentially unworkable.