Business

The system which protects and manages Aboriginal cultural heritage in Western Australia will be modernised and improved from July 1 to prevent another incident like what occurred at Juukan Gorge. The improvements include new practical exemptions and a simpler, fairer system to manage activities that may harm Aboriginal cultural heritage across WA ... The State Government has also announced the appointment of four new members to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Council, including former Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister and respected Yamatji and Wongi Elder Ken Wyatt.

Australia’s largest regional writers festival explores the theme of 'Wild Imagination' - Featuring more than 120 writers, thinkers and commentators ... The festival also offers  writers’ workshops, an engaging program for children and several feature and satellite events in venues across the Northern Rivers.    

Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) is excited for the future after the trial of specialised long-range drones on the state’s Far North Coast provided a glimpse into the enhanced coastal safety and emergency response capability the technology can provide.

Owners of the Darling Downs Zoo, Steve and Stephanie Robinson have reluctantly placed the popular tourist attraction on the market due to Steve’s health. The Robinsons opened the Darling Downs Zoo in 2005 after many years of working with authorities to enable the project to go ahead.

The arrival of a DC3 aircraft on the morning of the Nhill Airshow on April 13th 2024, will be a special treat for visitors. For older Nhill residents, the sight of the magnificent DC3 landing on the airstrip will bring back memories of the regular passenger service that ran between Adelaide, Nhill and Melbourne from the 1940s to ’60s.

Patrick Goldsmith. Southern Yorke Peninsula residents are concerned about their phone coverage after being hit with a 12-day outage. Angela Schmidt, who operates Charles Street Hair and Beauty, Yorketown, was without phone reception from Saturday, June 10 until Wednesday, June 21.

Fin Hansen. All local hotels could soon be forced to serve meals, pending a review into the Liquor Licensing Act. Moonta Hotel has been the only licensed venue serving regular meals since the Black Rhino Group purchased all three hotels in Moonta last year ... Copper Coast Council elected member Brent Walker says he is incredibly disappointed in the lack of communication from Black Rhino Group.

Mildura Rural City Councillor for Recreation and Events Mark Eckel has highlighted the success of the Penrite Hattah Desert Race as the iconic event prepares to mark its 25th  anniversary this weekend ... Cr Eckel said the event was now one of the most popular and sought-after off-road events in the country, evidenced by the fact the more than 800 available race entries are now snapped up in just seconds once they open.

Barossa Mayor Bim Lange is thrilled about the return of the 2024 Santos Tour Down Under, saying the Barossa will welcome not one Stage, but two ... “This is another great opportunity to put the Barossa on the world stage, and we couldn’t be happier Race Director Stuart O’Grady has yet again recognised our capacity for hosting this major international event”: Barossa Mayor Bim Lange.

The new WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws will have far reaching consequences to the farming community, many of which are only just coming to light as the WA Department of Heritage workshops the changes across the State. This is how WAFarmers responded to one of the workshops in the central Wheatbelt.        

The independent panel appointed to consult with stakeholders on the phase out of live sheep exports by sea will complete its public consultations this week. The panel was appointed by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Murray Watt to provide advice on how and when the Australian Government can give effect to a phase out of live sheep exports by sea.

The Queensland budget will supercharge CopperString 2032 through a $1 billion down payment from coal royalties, $594 million of which is committed to start construction over the coming financial year ... The announcement was made at the official opening of Vecco Group’s $26 million Townsville Vanadium Battery Manufacturing Facility, which received support through the Queensland Jobs Fund.

Food and Fibre Great South Coast released a comprehensive suite of interactive classroom resources designed to build school students’ exposure to Victoria’s diverse food and fibre sector. Drawing on a wide-range of resources from leading industry and education bodies, these free classroom resources have been selected and aligned with key areas of the Australian curriculum for teacher ease and direct student relevance.

Of the two budding NT government art galleries, one is making news: The one in Darwin, because construction is under way. At the opposite end of the Territory, and of government attention, there is no news about the Alice Springs “national” Aboriginal gallery because its senior director, Tracy Puklowski, is not able, not willing, not permitted, not whatever to answer media questions.

The Maldon in Winter festival kicks off tonight (Friday 23 June) with the long-awaited for Kangaroo Art Trail coming to life! Twenty-four life-sized kangaroos lovingly decorated by an array of local artists and community groups are creatively displayed in shop windows along Main & High Streets in Maldon throughout the festival.

Have you seen the new hand crafted signs for the Maldon Vintage Machinery & Museum? The eye-catching artistry was meticulously created by Signwriter and Graphic Designer Kim Johnson of Signsation, based in Hepburn Springs and each sign depicts one of the vintage machines on display at the museum.

One of the standout stalls at the recent High School Market Day would have to be the leather goods made by one of the students under the business name Rennie’s Leather Works. Thomas Hicks has been creating the leather goods now for almost two years and spends about 10 hours a week creating wallets, purses and belts that not only get sold at High School events, but also has started doing a stall at the fortnightly local Community Lawn Sale.

National online removalist booking platform Muval, which has the most up-to-date internal migration figures showing where Australians are moving right now, has crunched the May numbers to show the impact a year on from the start of interest rate rises.

The Grong Grong School of Arts hosted a successful fire circle session at the Royal Hotel over the weekend ... "We ended up with 17 musicians, many of whom didn’t know each other, playing at the pub all day… they came from Griffith all the way to the border and just drove up for the day, it was great": Gemma Purcell.

A local home business that was born out of the pandemic has been nominated for an Australian Rural Business Award. The extended lockdowns were the catalyst for Shelley Neale to create her business, The Khancoban Kitchen, which specialises in gourmet pantry products.