Infrastructure

Patrick Tucker. Close to 100 people gathered at Murrabit on Sunday to celebrate the Gonn Crossing Bridge's 100th anniversary. Hosted by the Murrabit and District Heritage Group, the ceremony at Miss Keats Picnic Park included speeches, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the raising of the bridge's historic lift span.

Origin day should be a day that unites Queenslanders, but there’s more and more of a Brisbane vs the rest divide emerging with the government laser focused on the Olympics, the Leader of the KAP and state Member for Traeger Robbie Katter has said.

Leading Australian-owned renewable energy company Tilt Renewables has started construction of the 288MW Palmer Wind Farm, 70km east of Adelaide. Construction is expected to take two years and once completed the project will generate up to 288MW of renewable energy, enough to power up to 142,000 homes.

Riverland communities are preparing for the increased infrastructure and service needs required by growing populations, according to Renmark Paringa Council's CEO, and the Loxton Waikerie mayor. The latest Regional Movers Index (RMI) study – released last month – showed a desire to shift toward regional living reached a record peak in the March 2026 quarter.

The Albanese Labor Government has quietly abandoned 14 water infrastructure and river management projects across the Murray-Darling Basin, with irrigators and water users fearing more devastating water buybacks are to come.

Hussein Dia. Plunging battery prices and cheap running costs mean battery electric vehicles are now outselling petrol cars across Europe and China. In Australia, battery EVs have reached 23 per cent of new car sales. That figure could be higher still – if it wasn’t for the question of charging.

Regional Australians are finally seeing a clearer picture of mobile coverage, and it confirms what many have known for years: mobile coverage maps and real-world experience do not always match.

Patricia Gill. A plan to ‘rationalise' historically-named parks in Denmark has drawn outrage from residents. A stream of letters to the editor in the [Denmark ]Bulletin supports leaving the parks intact citing community wellbeing and environmental reasons.

After years of waiting, Donald's long-anticipated flood levee project has reached completion, with construction of the town's second demountable flood barrier recently finished by Eco Infrastructure. The second wall, located on the town side of the Richardson River, has been under construction since April 13. It completes Donald's pair of demountable flood barriers designed to protect the township from future flooding.

Naracoorte Lucindale ratepayers will face a second consecutive 5 per cent rates increase as the council commits to its biggest-ever investment in roads, while a heated debate over a controversial $415,000 rural road upgrade exposed divisions over spending priorities ... Despite the budget's overwhelming focus on roads, the proposed upgrade of the Mundalena Road became the centrepiece of debate before councillors voted to retain the project.

The final report of the CSIRO team behind the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative has been delivered, Scenario testing and recommendations for future flood mitigation activities in the Richmond River catchment in the Northern Rivers region, NSW, Australia. NSW Greens MP and spokesperson for the North Coast, Sue Higginson and Kevin Hogan, Federal Minister for Page, respond notably differently to the Report's findings and recommendations.

Minister Shing announced that desalinated water is now flowing into Cardinia Reservoir, as Melbourne’s storage falls below 64 per cent - the lowest metropolitan storage levels in more than six years ... Without a connection to Melbourne’s water supplies, which are bolstered by the Desalination Plant, Geelong water storages would be under 10 per cent full right now - with severe water restrictions.

Casino has a suspension bridge – and it’s a beauty. The 160 metre long bridge arcs over the Richmond River in a feat of engineering made possible by the Forge team.

The 2026-27 Budget delivers lower debt, $73.5 billion lower than it would have been under Labor, based on MYFER 24-25, by 2029-30, and delivers a surplus in 2029-30. 

Labor's announcement of yet another massive Southern Murray-Darling Basin water buyback is a direct attack on Australian families already buckling under the cost of living, according to One Nation Member for Farrer David Farley ... Mr Farley said that if the 2007 Water Act review, the 2026 Basin review and the national food security work were not being set up as foregone conclusions, Labor would have waited for their findings instead of rushing into another buyback that struggling families and farmers will pay for.

Patrick Tucker. Gannawarra Shire Mayor Garner Smith said communities hosting major renewable energy projects should receive more in return for the changes they will bring to the district. The comments come as projects including VNI West, solar farms and battery developments continue to expand across northern Victoria.

Australia Post’s Group CEO and Managing Director, Paul Graham, will have tough questions to answer when he fronts a Senate inquiry into Australia Post’s secret plans to close up to 36 metropolitan licensed post offices and entice regional and rural LPOs to move from perpetual to fixed-term licences as part of a ‘format conversions’ strategy.

The statement of the Minister for Regional NSW and responses from Regional Cities NSW and the Member for Oxley highlight the NSW Budget 2026-27 measures aimed at rural and regional NSW, and the strengths and shortcomings of those measures.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says Victoria’s $25b dollar agriculture sector must not be forgotten in the face of a rapidly expanding data centre infrastructure boom sweeping the state. The VFF has today released an issues paper outlining the scale of potential development and competition for resources like land, water and energy. 

The 2026-27 NSW Budget delivers cost-of-living relief now, while continuing to rebuild the essential services and economic strength NSW relies on. Households are under severe pressure. Mortgages, rent, groceries and fuel costs are a constant challenge.

Ned Thomas. Scientists and government authorities are at odds over what a noticeable shift in desalination monitoring data is really showing. The Adelaide Desalination Plant at Lonsdale has come under renewed scrutiny following months of debate about the cause of the harmful algal bloom which has affected South Australian waters.

Farmers for Climate Action has produced a report ‘Energy Sovereignty for Regional Australia: Protecting Farmers, Powering the Future’ arguing that Australia's transition away from diesel should be accelerated through electrification, subsidies, infrastructure investment and changes to fuel tax arrangements ... When did advocacy become less about persuading people to voluntarily embrace change and more about finding another group to pay for it?