Business

Now in its sixth year, Donald’s annual Esoteric Festival continues to evolve and grow, with this year’s event, to be held over over 5 days from Friday, March 10 through to Tuesday, March 14, having the potential to attract an estimated attendance of 7,000 patrons. Speaking to the "[Buloke] Times" on Monday, with final preparations being carried out at the site, off Harris Road, promoter Sam Goldsmith said everything was in readiness for the region’s biggest event.

More and more people are rediscovering South Australia’s natural beauty with visits to some national parks skyrocketing 35 per cent over the past year. Naracoorte Caves saw a 35 per cent increase in visitors in the past 12 months while Seal Bay had a 33 per cent increase over the same period as tourists and locals head back out to explore our unique national parks.

Victorian regional communities are being delt the brunt of brutal job and skills losses since the timber supply issues stemming from a Supreme Court order in November 2022 locking up Victoria’s native forests causing mills to close down. It was announced in 2019 by the State Government that the native timber industry would be phased out by 2030 and since then activists have been relentless in attempting to speed up the process by taking out court injunctions stopping timber harvesting operations leading to short supply.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has fined 14 furniture importers over $186,000 last week because they didn’t act to minimise the risk of importing illegally harvested timber. Head of Compliance and Enforcement at the department, Peter Timson said Australia has strict requirements for importing timber and it is essential to hold importers to account.

February is always a busy month, and even more so this year with the Lord Howe Island Festival happening - including Discovery Day, which was held on the 16th of February ... The tourist incentive to visit Lord Howe continues to be high with many visitors struggling to find seats on QantasLink and Eastern flights or accommodation on the Island.

Last week’s power outages in Maldon affected several homes and businesses, including the Maldon Rose Cafe, which suffered a loss of earnings for a day. Arriving on Wednesday morning with a fully booked house, the discovery was made that the fridges were not running at the correct temperature due to a power outage from 4am to 9am in the morning.

Land dwellers may have asked what the hovering helicopters were doing flying above Maldon ... Powercor has been conducting inspections for its vegetation and tree-cutting program ... The work is necessary in order to prevent power outages and fires.

Well the ABC came a-knocking yesterday, asking Yours Truly about my new role at Barkly Regional Council ... yes I am indeed the new Media and Communications Officer at Barkly Regional Council.

The long awaited Kurrajong Facility in East Street Narrandera officially opened its doors at a ceremony led by Kurrajong Executive Officer Ray Carroll from Wagga last Thursday ... This new building provides a modern environment to support Kurrajong’s lifestyle choices services and includes a spacious kitchen designed for group cooking programs and specific spaces for living skill training and activities.

Community water and sewer systems across north-east Victoria are now more resilient to the growing impacts of climate change and natural disasters ... John Day, General Manager Environment, Systems and Operations, said ‘behind the meter’ power systems will help keep water and sewer infrastructure operating in emergency situations.

The loss of power in the Upper Murray region during and after the 2019/2020 bushfires placed an additional strain on communities and emergency services but the shortfall has now been addressed by boosting systems on critical sites. Under the Upper Murray Place Based Power Plan - Energy Resilience and Reliability Project, a combination of solar, battery and generator systems have been supplied and installed across 23 sites in the region.

The South West Timber Hub 2023 Carbon & Framing Conference on 7 March 2023 is essential for farmers and the agricultural industry to understand the impact carbon will have on their business. Speakers (including Trevor Whittington, CEO WAFarmers) will discuss the global picture and how international factors will impact your farm, what is driving the change and potential solutions that make sense in reducing your carbon footprint

Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) has released the plans for its new school, St Francis Catholic College at Westbrook, and there’s an opportunity for locals to have a say on the project ... Covering nearly 10 hectares of land, TCS plans for the college to include educational, cultural and sporting facilities and to become a hub for community use outside of school hours.

Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA) has announced a long-term national partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). This major national partnership will assist with delivering better health outcomes to Australians living beyond the reach of mainstream medical services, through financial support and the provision of a fleet of Isuzu D-MAX and MU-X vehicles.

Regional Express Holdings Limited (‘Rex’) announced an after-tax loss of A$16.5 million (M) for the six months ended 31 December 2022 (1HFY23), an improvement of 55% over the prior corresponding period. This loss includes a negative impact of A$23M related to mark-to-market valuation of the Convertible Note and Warrant facility entered into with PAG in 2020.

Space companies from the United Kingdom have landed in Adelaide on a mission to explore why more global companies are investing in South Australia’s cutting-edge space sector ... The contingent follows recent announcements that global companies Airbus, SSTL and Equatorial Launch Australia will all establish bases in South Australia.

The Aussie Invader - World Land Speed Record Challenger was transported by the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls Inc and stopped at Kaniva on Friday for young and old to have a look ... The Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls Inc headed from Karratha to Perth in preparation for carrying the Aussie Invader - World Land Speed Record Challenger to the Australian International Airshow in Avalon, Victoria!

Maclean can now proudly boast that they have one of the world’s best supermarkets right on their doorstep, after Ritchies IGA Maclean received international acclaim, winning the coveted title of IGA International Retailer of the Year. The award was presented to James Cameron, Peter Lee and Matthew Saunders from Ritchies Stores, at the international IGA conference in Las Vegas, USA.