Our annual Tullibigeal Picnic Races was another huge success
Racegoers were treated to a wonderful day of perfect weather and family fun. We had Country Racing Icon, Col Hodges calling the race, our grounds were beautiful and green, the race track carefully maintained and our new under cover betting area further improved our annual Tulli Race Meet.
Rockfest
Congratulations to David Berkman and the team of Rockfest for putting on a great show for the Island this year.
Housing works roll out at Utopia homelands
The Minister for Remote Housing and Town Camps, Chansey Paech, visited a number of homelands at Utopia recently where housing works are rolling out ... In remote communities across the Barkly, there are 74 new homes either completed or underway with dozens more planned.
Happy crowds, town-wide earnings and welcome tips
Maldon’s annual Town-Wide Garage Sale made for a busy Saturday in and across town. With just shy of 70 households opening their gates and putting their unwanted treasures out for sale, the cash was flowing, and visitors and locals alike enjoyed wandering amongst the diverse collection of stuff on show.
Regional NSW transitioning to clean energy
The NSW government has announced a draft declaration of the South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), supporting greater investment in solar, wind and storage projects. The recently published draft would see a fifth formal REZ established in an effort to replace the state’s dependence on coal, this time across NSW’s regional towns of Balranald, Buronga and Hay.
Macquarie wrap up Australia’s largest cotton station
Australia's largest irrigated cotton property, Cubbie Station, is back in local hands after Chinese textile giant Shandong Ruyi sold its remaining stake to co-owner Macquarie Asset Management. Cubbie Station is responsible for around 10% of the country’s cotton output and is now entirely held by the Sydney-based company.
Masters games are set and ready to go
Chris Oldfield. The 2022 Tatiara SA Masters Games are set and ready to go in “The Good Country” – featuring 24 mature age sports, social gatherings and a lot of fun. With sport being the heartbeat of rural communities, the event over four days (April 7-11) is expected to attract more than a thousand athletes, spectators and volunteers combined.
Transmutation wins national award
Sheryl Lowe. Successful Robe business, Transmutation, is owned and operated by Brad and Narelle Scott and has just received national recognition by being announced winners in the Australian Small Business Championship Awards (2021) ... Naming the business Transmutation, is a clever play on words for the award-winning business which is based, like the meaning of the word, on changing the form of plastic bread tags into sought-after retail items.
Producers prepare for setbacks
Gabrielle Duykers. Food and beverage producers from across the region will be meeting to discuss the impacts of drought and climate change to help bolster their preparedness for such events. The Limestone Coast Food and Agribusiness Cluster, established in December 2021, will run a series of webinars and networking events to help foster a better understanding of the risks posed by drought and varying climates.
Skywalk plan ‘up in the air’
Narrandera Shire Council's plans to construct a skywalk at Lake Talbot may literally be ‘up in the air’ following Tuesday night’s public meeting at which some members of the community voiced their disapproval of the project ... “We’ll take what has happened at this meeting on board and it will give us something to think about": Mayor Kschenka.
The Hive – a new creative business opens
The Hive Narrandera is a hub of creativity, bringing together an art gallery, retail space and opportunities for creative classes ... “I’m new to the area. This is my third year in Narrandera and I have seen so many talented people! My idea was to have an art gallery in the front, because it is such a big space and showcase local, regional and rural NSW art”: Melissa Horrell.
Emu Trek journey near end
The Emu Plume Trek which started in Narrandera last weekend is now in the latter stages of its journey to Wagga Wagga after visiting Grong Grong, Ganmain, Coolamon and other villages along the route to Wagga Wagga.
Wings and wheels
Joan de Bondt. The inaugural Kerang Air Show held last weekend was the brainchild of Barry Wood, president of the Murray Valley Flying Club. His vision was to involve the public in celebrating a weekend of aviation, with the addition of motorcycles, military vehicles, the SES, tractors and vintage cars.
$2.57m airport upgrade
Kirstin Nicholson. The expansion and upgrade of the Cohuna Airport has moved a step closer with the announcement of a $2.57 million grant from the federal government’s Community Development Fund. Initially announced as an election promise in 2019, the grant has now been confirmed by Anne Webster MP and former deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack at a presentation at the airport on March 18.
Progressing the world’s largest renewable energy system: NT Gov
The Territory Labor Government will introduce legislation this week to facilitate the $30 billion Sun Cable Australia-Asia PowerLink project ... The Solar Project (Australia-Asia Power Link) (Special Provisions) Bill 2022 will provide certainty that key commitments in the Territory’s Project Development Agreement with Sun Cable will be met. The legislation will clarify and streamline existing processes, increase project certainty, and support Sun Cable to secure project financing.
Grafton to host $75000 greyhound race
Emma Pritchard. The Grafton Greyhound Racing Club will host several races in a new feature series worth more than $200000 following a stunning announcement by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW). Set to become the world’s richest race over a short distance course, The Thunderbolt series will include qualifying heats held at eight regional venues, a semi-final and final.
Head up to the High Country for the Tambo Valley Cup on 17 April 2022!
The Tambo Valley Picnic Races, held on the outskirts of Swifts Creek on the Great Alpine Road, have been entertaining crowds in the beautiful high country of Victoria's East Gippsland region for 123 years.
Government war chest to buy more Cape property
The state government says it has a war chest to spend on land purchases in Cape York in a bid to right the wrongs of the past ... “Since the Goss government, we’ve united more than one million hectares of protected areas and Aboriginal land. But there remains about 400,000 hectares of national park and reserves and more than 200,000 hectares of other state land yet to be transferred": Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon.
CAPS is back on track
Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch believes he will be able to soon cut the ribbon to open the CAPS animal welfare facility after discussions about the centre were fast-tracked. Last week’s Cape York Weekly was the most read edition since publishing began and the front page story about the future of the $2 million facility generated plenty of discussion in the community.
Servo owner speaks up on prices
The high cost of fuel around the nation has put service station owners in the spotlight – sometimes for the wrong reasons. Richard Ireland is one of the directors of Weipa Servicentre and explains why the price in the Western Cape is different to other outlets.
Elvis is open: Bendigo Art Gallery
Elvis: Direct from Graceland opening weekend was a huge success ... Due to your support this was our most successful opening weekend of all time.
Bendigo to Canberra and back by QANTAS – Mandarin Class – only $1808!
This item was mean to be Kookaburra's Post-Budget report, but given the costs and inconveniences of regional air travel in Australia, it is now a Pre-Budget complaint. Not being a government supported Mandarin - merely a lowly citizen - Kookaburra decided that no rational person could agree to pay the fares demanded by QANTAS to fly from Bendigo to Canberra.
