Business

The artists who will transform Casino’s water tower have been decided. The Brightsiders are working on a project in the far south-western Queensland town of Thargomindah and will be in Casino mid-July to start painting the tower.

Geoff Helisma. Corazon Mining announced on the Australian Stock Exchange on June 17 that it has “commenced drilling at the Mt Gilmore Copper Cobalt Gold Project”, which is 25km northwest of Grafton. “Drilling will target the priority 8km-long Gordonbrook Hill – May Queen copper-cobalt/silver-gold anomaly, within the greater 20km long Mt Gilmore Trend,” the announcement states.

Emma Pritchard. Blessed with beautiful winter weather and clear skies, more than 80 rowers and paddlers in 31 boats took to the waters of the Clarence River on June 26 to participate in the Grafton Rowing Club’s annual Rowathon to raise funds for the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter ... eager participants traveled from Maclean, Iluka, Coffs Harbour, Murwillumbah, Lismore, Ballina, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Port Macquarie, with Grafton Rowing Club seniors and rowers from Grafton and South Grafton High Schools also joining in.

The Shire of Derby/West Kimberley is delighted at the announcement today that local flights linking Derby and Broome will be available three times per week by Aviair from 16 August 2021 for a 12-month trial. Shire President Geoff Haerewa has welcomed the news as it has been a long-term priority for the Shire to have affordable and accessible flights from Derby to Perth.

Rising global tensions and the COVID pandemic have created the perfect storm for Australian exporters. Now is the time to protect our business from supply chain interruptions and ensure the resilience of our economy. Australian businesses cannot prevent these external economic shocks, but they can manage risk by diversifying their economic relationships.

“There are a number of strategic benefits and alignments that will result from what is a financially compelling acquisition, which include greater export supply to key Asian export markets, production scale, increased variety offering, including rights to commercialise varieties with plant breeder rights in certain jurisdictions, access to a proven 30-year proprietary breeding program, expanded geographic footprint and extended season timing,” Sean Hallahan, Costa Group CEO said.

Renowned sixth generation cattle and sheep farmer, and wind farm developer Peter Downie has quietly bought one of the Apple Isle’s historic farms in the largest single asset transaction in Tasmania in recent memory. Industry sources told Australian Property Journal, that Downie has acquired Stonehouse Grazing in Lemont, from farmer Tony Seymour for $46 million.

In this issue of The Winemaker, Bill talks about some of the different ways family wine companies, from famous dynasties to smaller private companies, might handle adversity and succession.

Thousands of new jobs and significant infrastructure builds in regional NSW will be delivered through the 2021-22 NSW Budget, supporting the recovery and future prosperity of regional communities following drought, bushfires, floods, the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the mice plague.

The first shipment of iron ore from processed waste materials at Frances Creek Mine are being celebrated this week as a huge sign of strength and confidence in the Territory’s mineral industry. The Territory Labor Government approved the Mining Management Plan for the Frances Creek Mine in March 2020 enabling the processing of existing ore stockpiles at the mine. NT Bullion – the operator of the mine – has been using innovative x-ray technology from German based Steinert to screen waste rock stockpiles at the site to produce export quality iron ore.

For the first time ever, Costa, Australia’s leading fresh produce grower, have sent a shipment of their premium Lovocados to Singapore by sea freight. The order of 3200 trays left Brisbane in May and arrived in Singapore in June, and there have since been twelve more containers shipped to locations across Asia including Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

[CANCELLED on 29 June 2021] The trucks are back. After last year’s truck show was cancelled because of covid, the North Coast Petroleum Casino Truck Show returns to the Casino CBD on Saturday, August 7 ... The team is expecting up to 300 trucks with chrome polished to perfection and some 40 categories to be won including the prestige Tiny Lollback Rig of the Show.

Geoff Helisma. Clarence Valley Council (CVC) is a step closer towards meeting its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy targets ... the '100% Renewables' report was re-engaged “to undertake a preliminary investigation into a mid-scale solar farm on a site located at the Grafton Regional Landfill & Resource Recovery Facility,” the report to the June 22 CVC meeting stated.

Weipa's future continues to be in limbo as Rio Tinto refuses to make a commitment to hand over the keys to the town ... Rio Tinto says it is open to the idea of normalisation, but refuses to make any kind of commitment ... Deputy Premier Steven Miles is also the state’s Local Government Minister and hasn’t even visited Weipa to discuss the issue ... Member for Cook Cythia Lui has also remained silent, despite hearing the concerns from the community during her last visit.

The highly anticipated 150ZK Truth Telling: Coming of the Light 150 Years (150ZK) exhibition was officially opened with great fanfare at the Gab Titui Cultural Centre on Thursday night. Commemorating 150 years since Coming of the Light, the exhibition is the result of a successful collaborative curatorial project with Torres Strait Artists, Badu Arts, Erub Arts and Moa Arts. It investigates the impact of the London Missionary Society and Christianity on Torres Strait Islanders and the region’s way of life.

Humpback whales have been spotted along the spectacular Ningaloo Coast, with Western Australians encouraged to support tour operators amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the humpback whale swim tour season starting soon, visitors to the Ningaloo Coast have the opportunity to swim with these magnificent creatures in their natural environment.

The Barossa’s landmark play destination, Barossa Adventure Station at Angaston, has been named South Australia’s Park of the Year. The Barossa Council took out the award at the Parks and Leisure Australia SA/NT 2021 Awards of Excellence, and will now vie for the national title later this year.

Queensland is one step closer to building its next passenger train fleet after shortlisting three leading train manufacturers to enter the next phase of the Rollingstock Expansion Program (REP). Train manufacturers Alstom, CAF and Downer Rail have been shortlisted to manufacture the first 20 trains of the new fleet in a purpose-built Maryborough manufacturing facility following an extensive Expression of Interest process run by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

The Territory Government is creating investment opportunities for the resources sector with today’s announcement of a new acreage release for onshore petroleum exploration. Applications and submissions for an exploration permit are now invited over two areas in the southern Georgina Basin, on the Northern Territory/Queensland border.