Business

Escrow.com, the leading provider of secure online payments and a wholly owned subsidiary of Freelancer Limited (ASX: FLN, OTCQX: FLNCF), has announced a partnership with ONFARM, a world-first agricultural meeting and marketplace founded in Australia and available worldwide. The partnership will help secure farmer-to-farmer transactions for livestock, hay, grains, machinery, farming equipment and more.

Castlemaine Central Wine Store specialises in wine from small and medium-sized producers (mostly family owned and operated) from around Victoria. You will find a wide range of varietals such as Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon - surely specialties of our part of Central Victoria - to wines made from less well-known grapes including Durif, Grenache, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Mataro and of course Pinot Noir.

Excellent reviews from tourists have resulted in a big tick for the Mount Isa Underground Hospital and Museum. The city’s top tourist attraction was picked for the Best of Queensland Experiences Program, which should lead to greater exposure through Tourism and Events Queensland.

Horse racing is the lifeblood of many North West communities and there remains pressure on our once-a-year clubs to stay afloat. Earlier this month, North West Weekly editor Matt Nicholls caught up with Racing Queensland CEO Brendan Parnell about racing’s future in the bush.

A recent controversial social media post has highlighted the importance of communication, engagement and balancing expectations. The target of the post was the red gum forestry operations on Campbells Island back in early 2020. A meeting held at Murray Connect on Monday, July 25, saw industry, community members and forestry start a conversation over harvesting, management, rules and sustainability. In a three-part article, we will break down some of the rules, regulation and concerns.

Southern Downs Poultry Club recently staged their popular Annual Poultry Show and Treaty at the Allora Showgrounds. Exhibitors and interested parties came from many parts of Queensland as well as New South Wales.

The country’s racing-elite return to our region for Round 5 of the Australian Superbike Championship this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle expects that the event will be a much anticipated and welcome highlight for both spectators and riders.

It’s most likely you know about Casino’s unofficial town crier Brenda Armfield. And you definitely would have heard her voice. Brenda’s spruiking of the town she loves was recognised when she was named Local Tourism Hero for her support of Richmond Valley events and tourism.

Clarence Valley business HoneyBee Hives are buzzing with excitement after being announced as the runner's up in the 2022 Australian Rural Business Awards, for the Excellence in E-Commerce Award. The awards are designed to recognise the strength, resilience, and talent of small business owners in rural and regional areas who have, in the last few years alone, gone through droughts, bushfires, mouse plagues, floods, lack of tourism and a global pandemic.

Rex has announced record high passenger numbers and revenue across both its domestic and regional networks in the first month of the Financial Year 2023 (FY2023). On the domestic front, July’s pre-audited base passenger revenue was at $13.6m, almost double that of the monthly average of the prior three months at $6.87m.

Victorian irrigation innovator Rubicon Water is maximising water use on farms from the Murray Darling to India and beyond, driving jobs growth at its key Shepparton base ... In Karnataka, the Rubicon Water system manages the water supply to more than 400,000 hectares of farmland through 1,250 kilometres of canals.

Samuel Davis. Cold beer and refreshments can be savoured in Lockhart River again after the community’s new social club finally opened its doors to patrons ... The club, which opened its doors on Friday night, operates under a Restricted Liquor Permit that aims to provide a safe space to socialise and drink responsibly ... In a community with high unemployment, Cr Butcher said the social club provided more than just a gathering place.

More than $5 million was pumped into the local economy in the first half of the year thanks to two local festivals, economic data shows. The Port Fairy Folk Festival and Long Weekend Street Fair, held in March, and the Koroit Irish Festival, held in late April, resulted in a $5,118,949 increase in spending across the Moyne Shire. Spending associated with The Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Port Fairy Street Fair totaled $3.58M, up 40 per cent from the previous year when the festival was postponed due to Covid.

NSW Farmers members called out a lack of fairness in the energy transition during debate at the organisation's annual conference ... “You cannot simply build infrastructure to benefit substantially city users without addressing the impact on regions and rural landowners who have invested in their biodiversity and production capacity,”: NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group Chair, Reg Kidd

The Ultimate Festival of Wheels, Red CentreNATS returns to the stunning heart of Australia in September, and this year’s program takes things up another notch with the inclusion of a Thursday evening qualifying program at Alice Springs Inland Dragway (ASID). The additional evening is to cater for the ever-growing program, and will see ASID open for qualifying for both Round 1 of the 2022/2023 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship and Top Doorslammer Australia. This means the fastest cars on earth will be heading to the Red Centre.

In recent years, main streets and town centres have faced many challenges to their survival. First, shopping centres, then online and finally, COVID. Now they’re faced with worker shortages and price increases. However, in comparison to metro main streets, regional precincts have done it even tougher with a smaller population to call on for support and drops in tourism. It is for this reason Mainstreet Australia are bringing their one-day conference, normally held in Melbourne, to regional Victoria also – and you can attend!

The latest quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, has shown a continuing rise in Australian food price inflation, with June 2022 quarter food prices increasing 5.9 per cent compared with the June quarter last year. Rabobank senior food retail analyst Michael Harvey said this was the highest year-on-year increase seen in food prices in the CPI since the September quarter 2011, when yearly food price inflation had peaked at 6.4 per cent.

Pilbara Ports Authority and Yara have signed a collaboration agreement for a feasibility study into ammonia bunkering in the Pilbara ... an important step on the path towards a net zero shipping industry and will assess potential demand, feasibility, infrastructure requirements, safety considerations and the establishment of ammonia bunkering guidelines.

A small central Queensland state school now has a secure drinking water supply, after six years of dry taps and plastic bottles. Australia’s most trusted rural charity, Rural Aid, has facilitated the installation of a SOURCE Hydropanel array at Valkyrie State School and believes that this technology could help facilitate drinking water security for other struggling schools.

Welshman’s Reef resident, and experienced yoga teacher, Amy Sonsie, opened Take a Breath Wellness Studio at the beginning of 2022. Amy offers a range of well-being services to people who are feeling overwhelmed and need valuable skills to help in times of stress, mental illness, and anxiety.