Business

Emma Pritchard. From sundown until 10:30pm between October 21 and 24, one of Grafton’s most popular recreational areas lit up the exuberance of Clarence Valley residents and visitors to the region, with a dazzling display of lights, colour, and natural beauty.   Created as an additional attraction during the 2021 Jacaranda Festival, the blossoming jacaranda trees in See Park were stylishly illuminated to showcase their exquisite purple radiance, allowing them to be admired during the day and night.

Logan City Council’s Logan Water is looking for parties interested in buying commercial quantities of a revolutionary substance developed from the city's sewage. Biochar is a charcoal-like material that is produced when sewage sludge is treated at high temperatures in a low oxygen environment ... Biosolids gasification dramatically reduces Council’s carbon emissions and destroys harmful chemicals such as micro-plastics, which are present in biosolids. The resulting biochar is sterile, odourless and high in nutrients.

The Territory Labor Government and Core Lithium have announced construction is underway on the $89 million Finniss Lithium Project ... Construction follows the project reaching Final Investment Decision last month, and Core Lithium successfully raising $150 million from institutional investors and shareholders.

Australia’s commercial plantation estate stood at 1.8 million hectares in 2019-20 according to statistics released by ABARES. ABARES Acting Executive Director, Dr Jared Greenville, said the report shows the softwood estate remained relatively stable at about one million hectares. “However, the hardwood estate declined by about 200 thousand hectares compared to the previous estimate for 2014-15," Dr Greenville said.

Aurukun mayor Keri Tamwoy was a little emotional at the opening of the town’s new airport terminal last week, paying tribute to her late mother Alison Woolla, of whom the passenger lounge was named in her honour ... Local builder Cameron Herbert is thrilled with the final product ... Mr Herbert makes his own concrete, the only one to do so in Aurukun, and said he was thrilled he could use locals to help with construction.

NSW Farmers is calling for better long-term national fuel security as higher fuel prices take their toll during a tight harvest season. It’s the latest hit to the grains and horticulture sectors, which have been crying out for better access to harvest workers for several weeks. Not only will farmers be frantically trying to find labour, they will also be frantically trying to secure fuel before the price blows out.

The oldest lighthouse in South Australia is set to host the newest tourism destination on Kangaroo Island, with work commencing on the redesign and roll out of the Cape Willoughby visitor precinct.

Mawsons Concrete and Quarries are planning to dig a quarry in the Blue Hills, which are located on the outskirts of Maldon, and are nestled between Shelbourne and Baringhup. The Tarrangower Times spoke to the Environment and Compliance Officer, Shari Rankin who stated, “At this stage it’s too early to determine a proposed start date but we don’t envisage this being until at least 2023 ..."

The Rockhampton region’s reputation as a hub for start-ups and entrepreneurs has grown even more after the Rockhampton Angel Investment Network was named the ‘Most Active Regional Angel Group’ at the Techboard Australian Angel Awards 2021 last month. Angels invest in start-ups in their early stages to enable them to grow.

New accommodation and improved equine facilities are key features of a $1.6 million investment in an agricultural training centre just east of Tennant. The Juno Centre offers residential and in-reach programs to students from across the Territory.

WA Forestry Minister Dave Kelly has introduced a Bill to amend the Forest Products Act 2000, which will allow the Forest Products Commission (FPC) to trade in carbon assets ... Carbon capture or sequestration in trees such as renewable pine plantations, is one of the most effective ways to remove carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases causing climate change, from the atmosphere.

The Australian Mohair Marketing Organisation’s (AMMO) auction at Narrandera last Friday achieved exceptionally high prices against a slightly downward trend in South Africa. There was a 100 per cent clearance and another Australian record average price of $34.65 /kg which was $4.60 higher than the previous best auction average.

Narrandera’s second supermarket, IGA Narrandera +Liquor opened for business in August with a minimum of fanfare due to Covid-related restrictions but they are now forging ahead with plans to expand services and products ... “The town will see a white delivery van with IGA logo on the streets of Narrandera soon ... We also aim to go live with our online shopping portal ..." : Harry Ajwani.

Australia’s most trusted rural charity, Rural Aid, is helping fill the agricultural worker shortage created by border closures and travel restrictions.    Rural Aid’s Farm Army  website provides a platform  where volunteers and workers apply for jobs that are listed by farmers needing a hand.

Globally, as the aquaculture sector moves operations further offshore, the sector is encountering new challenges to access clean and reliable energy ... Carnegie’s wave-powered barge concept, MoorPowerâ„¢  offers a solution to this energy challenge – providing clean, reliable, predictable energy to support the growth of a diverse sustainable blue economy.

Australia is set for a second consecutive bumper winter harvest, with total production forecast to come in just five per cent shy of last year’s near-record crop, according to Rabobank. In its just-released Australian Winter Crop 2021/22 Production, Price and Inputs Forecast, the specialist agribusiness bank estimates the nation will harvest 52.87 million tonnes of winter grains, oilseeds and pulses this season. While down five per cent on last year’s crop, this is still a hefty 25 per cent above the five-year average.

What better place to taste test fake meat than in the Beef Capital of Casino? Dale Paget and Pete Rogers were filming a segment for Channel 10’s  The Project  to be screened on television. “We wanted to see what people on the front line of the meat industry thought,” Dale said.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) published its submission to the Regional Telecommunications Review 2021. The submission highlighted the concerns of telco consumers living outside Australia’s metropolitan centres and provides insight into phone and internet complaint trends.

The Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ) is going from strength-to-strength with five new tenants bringing more than 150 new jobs to the precinct – cementing BWEZ as an engine room for growth in regional Victoria. Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas visited the BWEZ headquarters of Office Vision, which is expanding its operations to the manufacturing hub.