Business

The NSW Government has today released its Future of Gas Statement, outlining plans for the gas industry in NSW, while ruling out gas production under the majority of Petroleum Exploration Licences (zombie PELs), with the exception of those which support the future of the Narrabri Gas Project.

One echidna. One night. Locked in a bottle shop. What could possibly go wrong?

The developers of the proposed highway service station at New Italy have said the design of the project is “deliberately understated”. Memphis Strategic town planner Wayne Gersbach said the single-storey and ‘shed-like’ design will be constructed of raw, uncoloured concrete with a Colorbond roof and cladding to complement, and not overawe the nearby New Italy Museum buildings.

Rappville felt the love on the weekend, dog trial organiser Janelle McLennan said. Despite Covid restrictions causing cancellations from Queensland, there were 200 entries and 40 competitors at the NW Working Cattle Dog Trial. Competitors came from across the state to the Resilience NSW Rappville Rebounds dog trial, the first in Rappville since the 2019 fires.

Rockhampton Regional Council and Livingstone Shire Council have welcomed the State Government’s support for Central Queensland to become a bigger hub for the Defence Industry. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced last week that lease arrangements had been secured at Shoalwater Bay which would allow for 14,000 Singapore Armed Forces personnel to train between there and Townsville.

The barramundi is Australia's most recognisable estuarine sportsfish, with many recreational fishers travelling to northern Western Australia to try to catch one. Local recreational fishing and indigenous communities have long pressed for the restocking of barramundi into their natural range within Lake Kununurra, and eight years ago their dream became a reality when the first fingerlings were released.

The streets of Alice Springs will be transformed into an alfresco art gallery when the Alice Springs Street Art Festival (ASSAF) takes place from 23 July to 8 August 2021. The festival will see four of Australia’s top street artists Kaff-eine (Vic), Gus Eagleton (Qld), Brontë Naylor (Qld) and Miss Polly (Darwin) team up with local creatives Tamara Cornthwaite, Karine Tremblay, Mark Circus and Kim Donald to paint six new murals across the CBD.

A staff shortage in Bamaga has led to criticism of a policy change that snubbed NPA from employing overseas workers. Companies in Weipa, Cooktown and Thursday Island can employ Australian-based overseas workers in hospitality jobs, but businesses in Bamaga cannot ... “There is now a very small and limited pool of skilled labour, especially in the hospitality industry where chefs and food and beverage professionals are as scarce as hen’s teeth," says Chris Foord, Bamaga Enterprises GM.

A representative from the Singleton Horticulture Project was in Tennant this week to chat with businesses and stakeholders about the future of the almost 3,000 square kilometre horticulture lease which will be used to grow grapes and rockmelons. The multi-million dollar project at Singleton Station will be developed in four stages over an eight year period and expected to create thousands of jobs each year in the region.

Catherine Grimley. The Community Lawn sale remains a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Even though it was a little quiet, stallholders still served the needs of locals looking for something different or tasty, with Wan’s Asian food, hand-made earrings from Barkly Bliss and baked goods from the CWA ladies amongst others.

Sadly, it has become painfully clear that our political leaders have lost the capacity, and even, it would seem, the willingness, to compare the impacts of varying public policy positions. The evidence of this is in the crude lockdowns which provide an opportunity for politicians and bureaucrats to look like they are 'doing something' and that they are 'in control' when in fact neither proposition is correct.

Packhorse Pastoral Co has forked out $30 million to acquire large-scale Roma district property Stuarts Creek and cattle, in one of the Maranoa region’s largest single grazing asset transactions, as it embarks on a five-year mission to grow the cattle and carbon fund to $1.5 billion.

Shenhua Watermark Coal has moved to sell off its Liverpool Plains landholdings with expectations of $120 million after the New South Wales government paid the company to give up its mining licence. They comprise three aggregations, Breeza, Tambar Springs and Barraba, covering a combined 16,570 hectares in the north west’s Gunnedah region.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) has launched an equity raising, as the group bets on macadamias, cattle and water in central Queensland. Rural Funds Group is looking to raise $100 million, at an issue price of $2.47, through a fully underwritten 1-for-8.4 accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer.

Australia's northernmost pastoral property, Bramwell Station, has been put up for sale amid heightened demand for domestic travel and some of the best seasonal and market conditions seen in living memory. Located 240 kilometres south of the tip of Cape York, Bramwell Station spans 131,900 hectares and is the last stop before the tip of Cape York and at the start of the famous Old Telegraph Line four-wheel-drive track.

We are blessed with the quality and talent of our local business operators, and the current treatment is, frankly, cruel. We have seen multinational chain stores, who seldom pay tax, operate almost without impunity throughout the COVID-19 fiasco and yet, the beating heart of our country, small and medium business are wearing the impacts.

Gabrielle Duykers. After almost 20 years behind the bar, Jack Jennings and Rhonda Brown say they are excited to get their weekends back, as they rejoice in the successful sale of the Bushman’s Arms Hotel ... Upon reflection of his time in the industry, Mr Jennings said pubs had been unfairly given a “bad rap” in recent years. “I think people forget the good that pubs do for the community,” he said. “Over the years we’ve sponsored nearly every sporting group going around and even the sporting groups from out of town. Pubs are a centre of a community, they’re fantastic for the communication of people, and in really small towns when the pub dies, the town dies.”

Timber Towns Victoria calls on the Victorian Government to provide clarity and certainty for the timber industry, workers and communities following a recently announced Government review of the Timber Code of Practice (Vic).

Casino is about to get fresh with its own weekly farmers market. John and Frieda De Kleuver are organising the market for the Casino Lions Club. The plan is to hold a market every Saturday morning at Crawford Square in South Casino, starting in September.

Butchers inside major supermarkets could soon become extinct. No more stopping for a friendly chat about the cut of your meat with the butcher while you shop ... The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union said the change would see qualified butchers ‘redeployed’ into other roles at the supermarkets.

Geoff Helisma. NSW Fair Trading is investigating ticket reseller Viagogo, as consumer complaints against the company spike in line with the reintroduction of ticketed events. The [Clarence Valley] Independent revealed that tickets for a Paul Kelly concert at Yamba Bowling Club were sold out within minutes of going on sale – some of these tickets were advertised on Viagogo’s website for up to $740 on the same day.