Business

The group of riders known as Maldon Cycling has raised funds to purchase a trishaw for the residents of Mountview Nursing Home at Maldon Hospital, who are enjoying the opportunity to view the local neighbourhood at cycling pace … The residents, who simply nominate to have a ride and take turns each Thursday afternoon, are loving the trishaw.

Serena Kirby. A career as a commercial deep-sea diver is not for the faint hearted but it’s been Jason Thornton’s profession for nearly two decades. Jason works for companies that supply divers to the oil and gas industry for the construction and maintenance of underwater pipelines. He says the job is far from glamorous.

Narrandera is said to be losing patients to adjoining towns for medical services due to a problem in recruiting doctors to the town. The Narrandera Shire Council has now stepped in to help overcome the problem by endorsing the actions of its Mayor Neville Kschenka in offering a recruitment incentive of $35,000 to the Medical Centre to cover the cost of subsidised rental of a suitable dwelling and enrolment fee for the next phase of doctor training.

Healthcare workers in the Murrumbidgee region are set to benefit from key worker accommodation, with new units at two hospital sites now complete. The modern accommodation units in Narrandera (pictured) and Finley have been installed on-site, with final touches being made to ensure the units are ready for the first residents to move in early next year.

Picture yourself sitting on the banks of an idyllic creek, listening to wonderful music played by some of Australia’s most talented musicians and celebrating local traditional music and dance… Imagine no more! Upper Murray residents are invited to come and join in the fun and music at the Nariel Recreation Reserve on the banks of the beautiful Nariel Creek and also at the Memorial Hall Corryong, to welcome in the 2025 New Year.

I am a co-founder and Chair of a business (My Word) that enables families to capture the life stories of their loved elders. Storytelling is the oldest and most accurate way to pass on history and wisdom. To know where you have come from is to know who you are ... The elderly, with decades of life behind them, offer unique insights into what it means to lead effectively and meaningfully.

Around 900 people attended the 143rd Moulamein Races on Saturday, December 14. The friendly and joyful crowd made the most of the six-race meet in the warm summer sun. This year marked the loss of the historic bar after the structure was removed due to safety concerns.

Kaniva is buzzing as the doors to Lane 36 officially opened on Monday. Located at 36 Commercial St, formerly LD Tink and Hardware, this bright and stylish new store is turning heads and redefining retail in town. The new store is the creation of Tracie Dunstall, a former nurse, who saw the potential in the double-fronted store situated between Little Guys Pizza & Cafe and Seven & Sage Kaniva.

A new grant is set to enable a Riverland tourism business showcase the region’s environmental sites to increased numbers of visitors ... Canoe the Riverland operator Brenton Carle said the grant would enable the purchase of a 12-seater pontoon boat to conduct tours with larger groups.

Introducing rules surrounding earlier indicative pricing and accepted tonnages would benefit Riverland wine grape growers, according to senior local politicians in attendance at a recent industry inquiry ... Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone said suggested changes surrounding a mandatory code – including the earlier release of indicative prices – would provide growers with more business certainty before annual vintages.

Allan Japp is the first, and possible the only recipient in Hay to receive the Honorary Bearer Medal, some 47 years after he completed his last trip behind the wheel of an ambulance. Allan become an Honorary Ambulance Officer (Honorary Bearer as they were known then) in August 1963. His first case was taking a patient from Hay Hospital to the Royal Melbourne Hospital – a round trip of 917 kilometres which took just under 12 hours to complete.

The annual Boxing Day DMD Nhill Cup is set to take place once again and the scene is set for it to be one of the biggest yet. The Nhill & District Racing Club have catered for everyone with Col Williams who will keep everyone entertained off the track.

Rachel Hagan. From farmhand to company director, local entrepreneur Tyson Adams went out on his own, taking a big financial risk, to bring his new career and mobile app FarmTrak to life ... Gulfview Grain’s Todd Woodley was one of Tyson’s first clients and has now fully subscribed to the app because of how effective it was to keep on top of his seed and storage inventory.

The Albanese Government says it intends to establish a news bargaining incentive to ensure big digital platforms such as Facebook contribute to the sustainability of news media in Australia. As a hyperlocal public interest publisher Yanchep News Online has had some issues in the past with Facebook (owned by Meta) especially during Covid-19 when its algorithm couldn’t seem to work out that information attributed to the WA Department of Health had in fact been provided to Yanchep News Online by the department.

Work on the Mallanganee observatory project is expected to start within the first three months of next year. At the Kyogle Council meeting on Monday, December 9, the meeting went into confidential to discuss the tender for the construction of the Mallanganee observatory at the Mallanganee Lookout.

According to Geoff Crittenden, CEO of Weld Australia, the Opposition’s plan relies on the misguided notion that coal-fired power stations can continue operating reliabily indefinitely to bridge the energy gap. “It is a fantasy to imagine that coal-fired power stations can keep running without billions of dollars being poured into their maintenance. Many of these plants have already exceeded their design life two- or threefold,” said Crittenden.

Chibo Mertineit ... The protestival was longer, bigger and better and there was a large contingent of Northern Rivers residents who joined, organised and facilitated ... Overall, there were 7000 people over eight days, 33 volunteer teams with over 1000 volunteers doing 4500 shifts, cooking 20,000 meals and having 130 spokespersons (delegate of your group) representing 2000 people and meeting twice a day for decision making. It was just huge, and there was such a positive and friendly atmosphere at this drug-free event.

Victoria Mathew reckons her name should be Mrs Christmas. She really loves Christmas – the mother of six children and grandmother to six started making Christmas decorations when she had her first child. “Christmas is my passion,” Victoria said. “I love everything about Christmas. It’s when I shine brightest.”

Qld and WA farmers reported improved optimism heading into the end of the year, while sentiment was more subdued in other states, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found ... on a national basis farmers were becoming increasingly cautious about the outlook for the agricultural economy, with nearly half (47 per cent) attributing their concerns to dry seasonal conditions, while rising cost pressures are also a worry.

The 2026 South Australian Country Swimming Championships are coming to the Port Pirie Aquatic and Leisure Centre, running from 4–7 January 2026. This highly anticipated event, secured by the Port Pirie Regional Council, will showcase the best of regional swimming talent while bringing families, supporters, and the wider country swimming community together in the heart of the region.