Business

Here is a summary of the Kyogle Council meeting on Monday, August 14. Councillor Danielle Mulholland brought up the issues around the Bonalbo Multi Purpose Service … The monthly financial report elicited a discussion about how and where council invests its money.

Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) has refined the 5km to 50km VNI West area of interest into a draft corridor for the VNI West project ... Each landholder will be appointed a landholder liaison, who will be their key contact and able to help answer questions on important issues...

People are not taking time off work every Friday during footy season to drive hundreds of kilometres to the next closest bank to get money to pay the players and run the bar for the fun of it. Or drawing on their annual leave to get the cash float for the local show. You don’t clock up more than 500km in two days trying to find a bank that is open to make a security deposit to see the country and you don’t place advertisements in the local paper for coin to provide change at the post office to make new friends.

Allan Marshall recently published an excellent article outlining the important role live sheep exports play in delivering multiple benefits, especially improved animal welfare and global food security ... So why does this closure of the live sheep trade concern Grain Producers Australia?

Oaten hay is more than a simple source of fodder fibre, and new research is backing up this well-known theory. A study from the University of Melbourne has shown that high-quality oaten hay could improve animal production, especially in dairies and feedlots, and support the sustainable development of dairy production both in Australia and overseas.

Behind every rider, from the smallest pony club member to the elite competitor at the Olympics, is a person following with a box full of grooming equipment ... the annual FEI Best Groom Award has paid tribute to the heroes behind the scenes ... last year’s winner, Emma Olsson ... works for six-time world driving champion Boyd Exell.

Blake Lee. Businesses of every size, in every industry, in every corner of the country, are experiencing the worst skill and labour shortages in decades – a challenge that is worsening by the day, particularly in rural communities. Skilled migration is one of the policy levers available to governments to address workforce shortages in the economy.

Alyssa Walker. A group of over 50 archers descended upon Dunolly on August 4, preparing to defend the realm for the annual medieval shoot. With no one too old or too young to join the ranks, archers seized their cloaks, bows, and quivers (and in some cases, their armour) and took to the shooting range for the two-day competition.

Maldon is soon to have a new music-bar-pizza cocktail lounge–the Blue Cockatoo. Somewhere to eat, drink, relax, socialise, and go karaoke ... The Blue Cockatoo name is in honour of their three birds. People come from all around Victoria to see them. And to hear them.

Farmers rolled into Melbourne on Tuesday on tractors, prime movers and utes, urging Labor to rethink its plans to destroy prime agricultural land throughout Victoria. The farmers, from all different parts of the state, are warning that our food and fibre production is at risk, with thousands of kilometres of prime land set to be ripped up and replaced for wind turbines, towers and transmission lines.

The delay in youth centres in the Barkly region has been a major talking point in the region of late ... The project was in dire straits, with a funding extension granted until 31 December due to planning issues with the sacred tree in its original plans ... The Youth Centre is going grey whilst the crickets are chirping, awaiting occupancy certification from the same department.

Serena Kirby. Arborist Ben McGovern is keen to dispel misconceptions about his profession and wants more young people to take up arboriculture as a career. Ben moved to Denmark with his family seven years ago and has been working with Ecologic Tree Service for the past four years. "We are all about caring for, and managing, trees," Ben said.

Fitness fans are in for a treat when the Redback MTB Stage Race and Run Larapinta Stage Race return to Central Australia this month. The mountain biking and running events will test the fitness and mettle of even the toughest competitors as they race against the stunning backdrop of the MacDonnell Ranges.

When the 27th Historic Leyburn Sprints hits the streets this weekend, it will be thanks to the efforts of local residents to keep their historic little town on the map. On that map, the town comprises around 350 residents, one post office, two churches, a school, pub, police station, general store and a handful of houses. Except during the Sprints this weekend - August 19 and 20 - when up to 15,000 historic and classic motorsport fans ...

Melbourne’s Spring Street had a break from monotony as cars and buses were replaced with tractors, trucks and utes with banners as hundreds protested the planned Victoria-NSW Interconnector West project. An estimated 45 tractors, 10 prime movers and about 20 utilities brought commuters to a standstill as part of a ‘Stop the Towers’ rally...

The REA Wagga Wagga Horse Trials held their biggest event to date in Narrandera last weekend. The competition boasted 268 starters on the day from all over Australia including Albany (WA), Mornington Peninsula (Vic), the Central Coast, Sydney and locals from throughout the region.

Teacher shortages continue to impact regional schools as a scathing report found "considerable gaps" still exist between metropolitan and regional students' access to education in NSW ... Luke Di Salvia of Leeton and formerly Narrandera said the lack of data being gathered was "concerning" but he was unsurprised at the report's findings around teacher shortages.

Narrandera's talented fashion designer Lillardia Briggs-Houston has been named fashion designer of the year at Australia’s fourth annual National Indigenous Fashion Awards. These awards recognise excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fashion and textile design.

Gowrie residents are concerned about the proposed North-South road corridor that will "split Gowrie in two" to provide easy transport from Highfields and Westbrook to Charlton. The atmosphere at last Thursday’s consultation meeting was tense.

Port Pirie Regional Council is thrilled to announce a captivating commemorative project that will breathe life into the military history of the region. South Australian artist Sam Brooks, renowned for his extensive portfolio of public art, has partnered with his assistant Mark Harding to create a stunning mural on the side of the last remaining WW2 Belmont Hangar at Port Pirie Aerodrome.