Business

"I remember getting my first teaching position in the outback and just wanting to connect and learn from others as much as I could about what I was heading into ... We want teacher success because teacher success equals student success": Hakea Hustler. ARR.News found out more from Hakea and fellow remote teachers Carl Merrison and Lynette Gordon.

Fin Hansen. A shared path for cycling, walking and running on the Copper Coast has been fully connected. The final stages of Copper Coast Council’s $1.6 million project were completed when the final section from Cornish Terrace to Magazine Road, Wallaroo, was sealed recently. The region’s trail network spans about 25 kilometres and links the Kadina to Wallaroo Copper Rail Trail with the Wallaroo to Moonta Shared Path, which finishes/starts at the Moonta Tourist Office on Blanche Terrace.

Patrick Goldsmith. Five troublesome parcels of unalienated Crown Land within the Yorke Peninsula Council area will stay in the care and control of the state government after discussions regarding the environmental impacts of increased visitation numbers ... Unalienated Crown Land is public land which is owned and managed by the state government, giving council no authority over the activity which takes place on it.

In what will be music to travellers’ ears, Bonza has launched its Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Tamworth route on 2 May 2023. The new route, connecting Australia’s Country Music Capital with its Cuisine Capital, will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays with fares starting from $59 per person (one way).  

Planning is underway for the nation’s largest gathering of harnessed draught animals, The Good Old Days Festival, at Barellan in southern NSW on September 30-October 1, 2023. The committee is putting together a full program of authentic heritage events ... Barellan Working Clydesdale Committee member Bruce Bandy, and Aleks Berzins, of Exeter, will drive a team of over 20 heavy horses pulling a wool wagon around the arena.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has called on the Victorian Government to step in and take over planning of the state’s transmission network following the consultation on the proposed VNI West project. VFF President Emma Germano said the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) had failed to take the impact on agricultural production into account in planning for transmission on behalf of the Victorian Government, and that the government needs to take back control.

The Kimberley’s Ultimate Festival is back in 2023. The Boab Metals Ord Valley Muster will be held 19 - 27 May 2023 in Kununurra, Miriwoong and Gajirrabeng country, in Western Australia’s northwest ... A curated program of special events, from big concerts to lunchtime sessions, station luncheons, comedy, Indigenous culture and arts and family-friendly festivities kick off the East Kimberley’s tourism season.

National Farmers' Federation Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar said the industry had long called for a purpose-built migration system designed to meet its labour and skills demands, rather than the current mixture of haphazard solutions ... Mr Mahar said there was real concern among industry regarding the review’s recommendation to limit or even scrap the requirement for Working Holiday Makers to work on farm.

Regional South Australia has rocketed toward its 2025 tourism target and a new record-high, hitting almost $4 billion in 2022 – some three years ahead of schedule. Latest data shows regional visitor expenditure hit an all-time high $3.98 billion in 2022, just $200 million shy of its $4.0 billion target set for December 2025.

The ‘Bird in Hand’ gold deposit area at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills has been proclaimed by the Governor at the request of the State Labor Government, protecting it from future mining applications. The land protected under the proclamation is the same area that was subject to a previous development application by Terramin Australia, with the move effectively prohibiting any future applications over the known Bird in Hand gold deposit.

As part of the Australia Government  Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program, council has engaged a contractor to undertake the design and construction of pavement rehabilitation works on the  Rolleston Aerodrome Landing Area runway.  The design phase is expected to commence in early June and conclude in mid-June 2023 with the construction phase to commence between July and September 2023.

The region is set to enjoy a boost to economic, cultural and educational opportunities as The Barossa Council gears up to enter into a formalised  sister-city agreement with the  City of Grapevine, Texas  which is the fifth largest wine producing state in the United States. Barossa Mayor Bim Lange said as major wine and food destinations, the two regions share many similarities and a global reputation for premium wine, food and events.

Increased supply good news for consumers, but a challenge for Queensland growers. Sunshine Coast-based macadamia supplier Nutworks has revealed that macadamias are set to become more accessible for the average Australian, with increased supply of the premium product expected to lead to lower prices on supermarket shelves in the months ahead.

The Manager of the Goldfields Hotel was not a happy camper this week when a customer emailed him the latest Tourism Central Australia (TCA) Dining Guide publicised on its website to promote restaurants and caf̩s in the central NT region ... "The Barkly seems to be the Bermuda Triangle of the Territory Рforget the Berrimah Line Рit should be the Capricorn Line Рeverything north of Alice is forgotten about": Jason Groves.

Powerlink is seeking community feedback on two recommended corridors for proposed new transmission line connections in the Gympie, Somerset and South Burnett regions. Powerlink’s Draft Corridor Selection Report (CSR) has been released publicly and provides detailed analysis of a number of corridor options against social, environmental and economic criteria.

The 45th annual All British Rally, held last weekend, brought classic vintage British motorcycle enthusiasts from as nearby as Yandoit and as far as the Apple Isle into Maldon’s Main St for a day of riding revelry ... The full canon of vintage British bikes was all on display; Norton, Triumph, Royal Enfield, BSA, Velocette – all the big hitters.

A new $150,000 walking trail has been unveiled in Kununurra's Mirima National Park in the heart of Western Australia's East Kimberley ... This is the fourth trail within the national park and the longest at 3.5 kilometres.

As our immediate community comes to terms with the Bendigo and Adelaide Banks’ decision to rip bank services from Barham, Cohuna and Pyramid Hill, three of 16 agency closures the Better Big Bank is implementing, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) is calling on the major banks to stop closing bank branches in metropolitan and regional areas while a Senate Inquiry into Regional Branch Closures is underway ... The FSU stated NAB refuses to acknowledge community concerns and has announced branches at Jeparit and Inverloch in Victoria will close. Branches at Boonah, Qld and Queanbeyan, NSW will also be shut down.

"When the House is Empty" is the working title of an upcoming community initiated feature movie being shot on location in Narrandera with the future intention of creating a small film school in the town ... It is the story of a young woman who resides in the city but inherits a house from her father in a small country town.