Business

Serena Kirby. Dozens of locals have been lining up on Tuesdays to enjoy a bowl of soup as the new local Soupy gets up and running. This weekly community get together is the brainchild of Lindsey Sesin who came up with the idea as a way of using the excess produce she sometimes has from her Denmark Home Grown business.

Belinda Ross. More than 150 athletes from across WA participated in the second ever Denmark Half Marathon held by the Denmark Running Club on Sunday, September 26 ... The newly-developed lookout area at Lights Beach created a healthy vibe of excited runners who travelled to attend the event.

New South Wales is leading the nation’s charge towards a low-emissions energy system after the NSW Government approved stage one of a $1.8 billion transmission  line that would link NSW and South Australia’s energy networks for the first time. Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said stage one planning approval had been granted for the NSW Western Section of Energy Connect, a 900-kilometre transmission line that would run from Wagga Wagga to Robertstown in SA, with a spur line to Victoria.

Bob Mills. Within two weeks of the launch of the Richmond River Independent it was clear this was something our region needed. The community welcomed it ... By early this year, after a lot of effort and backing from the community, our future was looking good ... Then came lockdown and it knocked the stuffing out of businesses across the region. That pushed the Independent into losses we can't sustain.

Townsville is a step closer to a huge industry and jobs boost from a proposed advanced manufacturing facility at the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct that would refine ore to produce critical materials for use in new-technology batteries. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development Steven Miles said the proposed Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) had been declared a prescribed project and would support North Queensland’s economic recovery.

Geoff Helisma. A group of Southgate residents is opposing a proposal to develop a solar plant in an area they say is “visible to residents all around”. Tasmanian-based company, Infinergy Pacific, wrote to residents who live near the proposal on August 5, advising that it is “currently investigating the feasibility of developing a solar farm on neighbouring land at 58 Boorman’s Lane, Lower Southgate” ... Spokesperson for the residents, Steve Grimes, said, “We’re not anti-solar, we’re against the location they are currently proposing.”

There is blooming good news for the Clarence Valley. Following its unfortunate cancellation last year, the 2021 Grafton Jacaranda Festival will go ahead as a Covid-19 safe event and continue its 87-year tradition, while recognising some events are not possible due to the ongoing pandemic ... The Grafton Jacaranda Festival is the oldest floral festival in Australia and its broad appeal has cemented it as a must-do calendar event.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, the Northern Territory Government, industry and engineering companies have joined forces to develop a path towards rapid emissions reduction across the energy sector in Northern Australia. CSIRO will lead the new consortium in the development of a business case to assess the viability of a large-scale low emissions Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Hub outside of Darwin.

Casey Dun. Australian insect farming startup, Solution Blue is seeking investors to scale its black soldier fly protein production system. Providing greater productivity at much lower cost than its competitors, Solution Blue’s world-first technology delivers high-quality, consistent insect protein that has so far eluded insect farmers across the world. And it’s got aquaculture and pet food manufacturers clamouring.

Thousands of jobs are up for grabs as the South Australian agricultural industry braces for a bumper harvest. The jobs, based in regional South Australia, are typically filled by interstate or overseas workers, but due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, companies, like bulk grain handler Viterra, are calling on locals to fill these roles.

Widespread global disruption to supply is set to see Australian farmers again move to lock in fertiliser and other inputs early for the season ahead, Rabobank says in a recently-released report. This is despite global fertiliser prices at near-decade highs and expected to remain elevated in the short to medium term.

Continuing COVID border restrictions are making life difficult for farmers and harvest workers at the start of a bumper season. For the second year in a row, farmers are scratching their heads on how to harvest fields full of crops with limited access to workers and COVID testing facilities that have limited hours of operation. NSW Farmers Grains Committee Chair Justin Everitt said there needed to be a coordinated effort from governments to make sure the season wasn’t wasted.  

An international contingent from NASA have been released from quarantine at the Centre for National Resilience today, to prepare for an historic rocket launch from Arnhem Land. The 27 essential personnel will travel to Nhulunbuy to undertake 40 days of work with Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) at the Arnhem Space Centre.

There is much debate within the scientific community regarding the relationship between bushfire and forestry but what is not debated is the overwhelming impact climate change is having on the frequency and intensity of severe weather events and resulting bushfires. In the past 50-years there has been a 40% increase in very high fire danger days, and this is set to triple in some parts of Victoria by the end of the century according to the International Journal of Wildland Fire.

A family-owned engineering company based in Port Macquarie has been awarded an $8.47 million contract to deliver the Australian Defence Force’s next generation rough terrain vehicle fleet, providing a boost to the local economy.

City of Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin said council welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to hydrogen production on Eyre Peninsula, further augmenting the State Government’s investment in infrastructure and projects that will support Whyalla as a “mega-green” hydrogen hub.

Woodridge residents are thrilled with a decision by Gingin councillors to reject a development application for a new quarry on Caraban Rd but the applicant can take the matter to the State Administrative Tribunal for review. On Tuesday councillor Frank Johnson put forward an alternative motion that the council refuse the application by Sheepco for a quarry to operate on Lot M1332 Caraban Rd.

The Pattisons, from 'Minmi' at Burraboi, market their beef directly through the Pattison Pastoral brand, tapping into consumer demand for sustainably raised beef with provenance. Hayley is excited by the opportunities the new micro abattoir will bring. “It will do wonders for my brand to have local processing ... With my paddock to plate business, the welfare of the animals is so important."