Business

After careful consideration of what the NSW Government Budget 2025/26 means for rural, regional and remote Councils, the Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) sees a reactionary budget that is fiscally responsible in a time when investment in the regions is needed ... “Overall, not a lot for the CMA in the 2025-26 NSW Budget to be excited about. However, we continue to advocate for equity for rural, regional and remote communities in the State.”

The NT Government is providing a $10m loan to an interstate company for a walk in the Uluru National Park while other publicly funded tourism related projects in The Centre are on hold or merely planned. The conditions of the loan are not readily available. We have asked for them and will report them when and if details are provided by the government.

Dorothy McQueen and Noelene Fuller were 17 year old nurses when they worked at the maternity hospital on Campbell Road, Kyogle in 1959. “I couldn’t count how many babies I’ve delivered,” Ms Fuller said ... Ms Fuller was speaking about the 100th birthday of Kyogle Hospital celebration...

The Minns Government has handed down the NSW State Budget. Here is what is on the cards for communities living in the Back Country... $12.0 million Broken Hill Hospital Emergency Department Upgrade ... Continuing $24.8 million for the Wilcannia Weir Refurbishment Project ...

With the announcement that Bendigo Bank is closing two* of its regional branches at Yarram and Korumburra this week, it’s time to again call bull#%*t on the claims this corporation makes about the size of its branch network ... in deciding to close two of its 75 corporate branches across regional Australia, Bendigo Bank has not selected sites in locations that are well serviced by banks, it is pulling out of towns that rely on it as the only bank left.

The prestigious 2025 Queensland Top Tourism Town Awards were recently held in Brisbane with Stanthorpe winning silver. The announcement, made by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC), celebrates communities that offer outstanding visitor experiences and strong tourism leadership.

This is the 31st Annual Frost Bite Rally to be conducted by the Warwick Chapter of the Historical Motorcycle Club of Queensland. The first Rally started at Leslie Dam all those years ago. Riders from Northern New South Wales, Brisbane, Townsville and around South East Queensland arrive for Allora's frosty weather and they won't be disappointed.

RACV welcomes mandatory fuel price reporting but urges the Victorian Government to share pricing data to support more Victorian motorists. RACV this week announced its support for Victoria's proposed Fair Fuel Plan, subject to the data being freely available to all platforms so that fuel price data remains open and accessible through existing consumer platforms.

After the morning fog cleared away, the skies were clear on Saturday 21 June for the Maldon in Winter Bonfire which was even bigger and brighter than last year in every way. A packed train brought hundreds of visitors — many of them families with children — to excitedly walk across from the railway station and through to the back of the Machinery Museum.

The sudden closure of the Mokoan Hub and Café at Winton Wetlands is incredibly disappointing and has left our local community reeling. My thoughts are with the hardworking staff who lost their jobs with no warning or transparency. They deserved far better.

In regional Australia, hope may lift spirits—but only strategy, adaptability, and action will shape the future.

Eliza Pike. Perinatal depression and anxiety (PNDA) affects up to one in five mothers and one in ten fathers across Australia – and for the seven million people living in rural and remote communities, these challenges are often intensified by barriers to mental health care ... With Gidget Foundation Australia seeing a 132 per cent increase in clients accessing perinatal mental health counselling since 2020, access to timely, specialist care has never been more important.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud is calling for Universal Service Obligation (USO) reform, as a mobile phone outage in the Western Downs continues to cause havoc. Mr Littleproud said a full shutdown and outage of mobile phones over the past week and a half is frustrating and worrying locals, due to a Telstra rebuild of the main tower serving Dalby, a town of over 15,000 people.

Starlink’s SpaceX satellite internet constellation is transforming telecommunications in Australia through partnerships with major telcos like Telstra and Optus. By leveraging its Direct to Cell (DTC) technology, Starlink will enable text and voice services in remote areas, addressing mobile blackspots and enhancing connectivity nationwide. Local farmer, Sam Chapman, said the technology has the potential to be a game-changer.

The Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, Tony Mahar, met with locals in Moulamein on Tuesday to listen to their experience of the country's energy transition to date ... many of the complaints heard were not new to Commissioner Mahar. “Community engagement is nowhere near where it needs to be.”

New data published today by Tourism Research Australia shows international holiday visitors spent a record $3.1 billion, surpassing pre-Covid levels for the very first time. Visitors from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, France and Indonesia led the charge, all spending a record amount while they were holidaying in Queensland. 

Jeff Bourman of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party of Victoria and Member for the Eastern Region, has called for a pilot project for the reintroduction of grazing cattle to the High Country ... "The Mountain Cattlemen's Association has been looking after the high country for more than 150 years and they know the area like the back of their hand."

The new $250 million Griffith Base Hospital is set to open its doors to visitors, patients and staff from today Thursday 26 June 2025. Final preparations are under way for the opening of the new hospital, which will provide state-of-the-art healthcare services to people in Griffith and surrounding communities.

Friday the 13th may be unlucky for some, but it turned out to be a record-breaking day for the Griffith Saleyards recently. A new national record price was set for heavy lambs when prices surged to $431 per head, exceeding the previous record set just a day earlier at Wagga.

Agricultural shows across Queensland have received a welcome funding boost, with the Queensland Government announcing an additional $600,000 to support these iconic events that play a vital role in regional life ... Queensland Ag Shows President David Wilson said the support comes at a critical time for many rural and regional shows.