Business

The Scenic Rim's reputation as a leading destination for food tourism was reaffirmed at the 2022 Queensland Tourism Awards on the Gold Coast. Winning a silver award for Excellence in Food Tourism, the region has added to this year's accolades after being named as Best in Travel 2022 by the Lonely Planet guide and the Scenic Rim's Tamborine Mountain taking the title of Top Tourism Town in Queensland in June.  

The future of two iconic tourism destinations is unclear as the state government fumbles over deals to keep them running beyond the end of the month ... “I have no idea who is taking over and I’m not even sure they do,” Ms Kozicka told Cape York Weekly on Sunday.

Tropical retreat Cape York Peninsula Lodge has won gold at the annual 2022 Queensland Tourism Awards. The Bamaga-based business also earned silver for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism category ... the Lodge had a record-breaking year in 2021-22 with a 92 per cent increase in visitors and a 54 per cent rise in group bookings.

A proud Gamilaroi man who recently started his own native grains business is partnering with a research team from the University of Sydney to share knowledge, revitalise country and help grow the emerging native grains industry. Les Knox, who owns and operates Garaah Gundal, will this summer lead a harvest collaboration with local farmers as part of a project to modernise Indigenous native grain processing and produce flour from the region’s traditional grain varieties.

Australian engineers from global company RingIR will visit the US Department of Agriculture in Boston next month, to test whether their revolutionary technology can be used to ‘sniff out’ pests that attach themselves to containers or other cargo (known as hitchhiker pests).

Farming community Mypolonga has been named the 2022 Ag Town of the Year during Friday night’s Regional Showcase event at the UKARIA Cultural Centre at Mount Barker. Located in the heart of the Murraylands, the entrepreneurial community finished ahead of Crystal Brook, Kapunda, Orroroo and Waikerie to take the prized title of South Australia’s premier agricultural community.

The Opposition has slammed the McGowan Labor Government’s failure to see flow-on effects of banning native forestry on industries which rely on timber to provide goods and services. Opposition Leader Mia Davies said more than a year had passed since the announcement to end the native forestry industry yet many businesses still don’t have clarity on what their futures hold.

The Tasmanian horse community has been given a one-month reprieve after being cut off from the mainland following a decision by the operators of the only sea link to the island state, the Spirit of Tasmania, to ban livestock transport ... The decision by TT-Line to ban livestock on the Spirit of Tasmania threw the horse community into chaos and led to some horses missing racing in Melbourne on Cup Day.

When Karen Parrish decided to run an online youngstock show, judged on photos by the noted British judge Gill Wright, the show got entries not only from each Australian state, but from Germany, the US, France, UK and New Zealand. Almost every Mountain and Moorland breed was represented in pure and part-breds, up to three years of age.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Victoria has found state-owned logger VicForests has logged illegally, and ruled for the first time that VicForests must protect threatened Gliders. Environment East Gippsland and Kinglake Friends of the Forest brought the case in 2021, to protect endangered Gliders in East Gippsland and the Central Highlands ... The groups are calling for the state Labor Government to end logging now, not in 8 years’ time.

Rex announced its regional pilots have overwhelmingly endorsed a new industrial agreement with the airline, the third key workforce group to have done so in the last two months. A staggering 86% of the pilots, who operate Rex’s fleet of 61 Saab 340 turboprop aircraft to 58 regional destinations Australia-wide, voted in favour of the new four-year agreement.

Four tourism operators across the Northern Territory are creating new evening experiences for visitors, to enhance their attractions and encourage more tourists to visit the NT ... “These new evening experiences enhance our tourism offerings in the NT, which in turn helps to generate positive reviews and attract more visitors to explore our regions"; Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Nicole Manison

The first shipment of magnetite from the revitalised Peko Rehabilitation Project was heralded by media across the Territory but the news didn’t go down well with Tennant Creek locals. The announcement angered local businesses after the good news coverage of Elmore Limited’s maiden shipment because they are waiting to get paid for services provided to the company.

Following the opening, the Tarrangower Times published the Hospital’s rules. The first rule required the Hospital to provide medical and surgical aid to poor persons ‘irrespective of their creed, country or colour’, and for casualties. It went on however to say that any person found able to afford medical aid would be liable for all expenses incurred for their treatment.

Beth Knights. The wet and cold weather did not deter more than a thousand delighted music lovers from their pilgrimage to Maldon for the 47th year of the Maldon Folk Festival.  This year saw the addition of a Welcome to Country smoking ceremony, and an opening party to celebrate the volunteers; the very backbone of the festival.  

Timber processors at Heyfield and Yarram may lose more wood supply after the state government announced a halving of the native timber supplied by VicForests by 2024 under the Victorian Forestry Plan ... The chief executive of the Victorian Forest Products Association, Deb Kerr, said the government's actions were totally undermining any industry confidence that it would be able to guarantee supply timber until 2030, as promised.

Federal Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor visited Tennant Creek last week to meet local employers, service providers and learners at a jobs and skills forum. The forum was hosted by Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour and Charles Darwin University.

Scott McArdle is blunt. “Gippsland’s forests need our help. Fire, floods, storms, drought, pests, weeds, neglect, exploitation and the changing climate are all taking a huge toll – but if we all work together, the future can be different.” Mr McArdle is the executive officer of a new group, the Gippsland Forest Dialogue (GFD), that aims to do just that – meet the challenges facing the region’s forests and find ways to move forward.

Winners of the annual Gomaren & Doctor’s Creek Focus on Farms photography competition will be announced at the Jacaranda Day festival in Goombungee this Saturday, 5 November. “No matter where you live, the connection to farming is an important part of our identity as Australians”: competition coordinator Jean Gundry ... the primary school category within the competition has a focus on insects.