Business

Kirstin Nicholson. The whirring of planes could be heard from town on the weekend as the Cohuna Model Flying Club held its first event at the airfield since the pandemic began. Fifteen competitors took part in the Victorian Miniature Pylon Racing Association’s pylon racing competition over two days.

Clarence Valley Council's Tourism team ... presented Clarence Distillery co-owner Adam Freeman with the 2022 North Coast Local Tourism Hero Award for the Clarence Valley. The many ways  this Yamba business epitomises 'local' - which led to their nomination - include ... great collaborators who often work with other local businesses to showcase products from the region ...

VicForests has been given a green light to log areas of Greater Glider habitat in Victoria’s Central Highlands, the Supreme Court has ruled ... Three parcels of forest known to be home to the endangered glider will be opened for logging despite VicForests confirming that they have not surveyed the areas ... ARR.News asked some questions of Kinglake Friends of the Forest.

Emma Pritchard. A project team has been appointed to oversee the $263.8 million redevelopment of Grafton Base Hospital (GBH), after the Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor, and NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole met with Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis and members of the Grafton Base Hospital Community Committee (GBHCC) earlier this month. Mr Gulaptis said the NSW Government’s investment in the major redevelopment of GBH will provide new facilities and upgraded clinical services to transform health outcomes and experiences for patients, their families, and staff into the future.

Samuel Davis. Sly grog swindlers peddling cask wine and spirits are fuelling a spate of senseless and violent acts in western Cape York, angry community leaders say ... “The sly grog has been bobbing up for the last three weeks. There are people not turning up to work, threatening managers ... What is our community coming to? At the end of the day, it’s about personal responsibility": Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Shire Council CEO Edward Natera.

Toowoomba Regional Council has endorsed seeking Ministerial approval to remove regulations to aid new housing supply. TRC Planning and Development Committee chair Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan said this was part of four measures Council would use to simplify and speed up the approval process for new housing across the Region.

The state’s peak farming body says there are 100,000 fewer backpackers in the country than before Covid, putting real pressure on looming harvests. NSW Farmers Workplace Relations spokesman Chris Stillard said there was a shortage of labour across agriculture, and it was having a real impact on productivity.

Samuel Davis. Cape York and Torres Strait residents will fork out more for essential services after northern Australia’s largest shipping company announced it was increasing the cost to ship freight to remote communities. Sea Swift has announced a 14.5 per cent hike for cargo shipments, starting next month.

Samuel Davis. Megastar athletes are nice but meat pies, roadhouse burgers and hugs from daughter Talei are what really fuel this truckie ... The hardest working man in Australian basketball is finally taking a break ... Junior Virantuleo, the Cooktown truckie, who swapped the cabin for courtside at some of the biggest arenas in the world, returned home this month.

The Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Trails) Bill 2022 alters the Transport Administration Act 1988 to provide a streamlined process that may enable regional rail trails where and when the community wants them. Minister for Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes said the Bill unlocks opportunities for communities and fixes outdated and onerous legislation that required a change to the Act for each rail trail.

After the announcement of the launch of the partnership between Escrow.com and the farmer to farmer transaction platform, ONFARM, Australian Rural & Regional News found out a bit more about this new e-commerce and social media venture from ONFARM's co-founders, Melinda and George King.

Agricultural industry leaders have taken a tour behind the scenes at Sydney International Airport to scope out Australia’s biosecurity measures. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Australia's Director of Biosecurity, Andrew Metcalfe AO said the visit was a chance for industry leaders to see biosecurity protections in action.

Senex is set to invest more than A$1 billion in a major expansion of its Atlas and Roma North   natural gas developments in Queensland’s Surat Basin to help secure Australia’s energy future. After years of exploration and studies, Senex is ready to increase its natural gas production to   60 petajoules (PJ) per year with work planned to begin in coming weeks.

“Geoscience Australia has uncovered potential for the development of multiple caverns underground in salt deposits across the Canning Basin in Western Australia, the Adavale Basin in Queensland and the offshore Polda Basin in South Australia ... Chalice Mining, through their Julimar project, have uncovered a massive supply of palladium, platinum, nickel, copper, cobalt, and gold ... ": Minister King.

"Staffing rural and regional schools remains an intractable problem in Australia, and there are no one size fits all solutions,” write Professors John Buchanan and Paul Burke of the University of Technology Sydney. They are the authors of a new study in the  Australian Journal of Education  that evaluates incentives used to attract teachers out of Australia's cities.

The last two and a half years have taken so much from so many, and so Mardi Brown and Pete Gurrie, owners of Sunday House, wanting to find a meaningful way to contribute to the community, have launched an initiative to donate fresh meals for every direct booking made. The money raised will go towards assisting vulnerable people across the country via the superheroes at SecondBite, one of Australia’s largest food rescue organisations.

Elle Petersen. The Naracoorte Poultry & Pigeon Club held their Championship Show at the Naracoorte Showgrounds on Sunday 24th, with 200 pens displaying the finest of local ducks, chickens and pigeons. The club reported it was a pleasure to host Judge Brendan Lloyd from Victoria who awarded Champion Bird of Show to L. Barber.

Riverina Express ran through the Narrandera area at the weekend. The Express is a full time tourist train to service the Riverina-Murray area. It is regarded as superstar in passenger train evolution, offering speed, comfort and air-conditioning.

The Greenridge Group, printer of On Our Selection News, last week celebrated 30 years since its founding ... The company’s printing expertise has been acknowledged on a national level, recently winning multiple awards at the 39th National Print Awards in Melbourne, the highest recognition you can receive in the industry.

Alice Melita. Dentist Renae Philp and her dental assistant Melanie Villella believe they have one of the best jobs in Australia as they travel to remote communities across Queensland. This week, the Royal Flying Doctor Service duo will finish working in Dajarra before a trip to Boulia from August 23 ... “Meeting amazing country folks who are so excited to have us in their community and being able to service the community at no cost to them.”