Infrastructure

There were four sets of traffic lights on Clarence Way between Bonalbo and Bruxner Highway at Sandilands this week. A lot of work is being done including major flood prevention work at Culmaran Creek and Tunglebung. Clarence Way floods easily and regularly at these two spots.

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 ...

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.”

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.

Ratepayers using the Greenmount Waste Management Facility will be disappointed to learn that the Toowoomba Regional Council 2025/26 budget, handed down last week, includes no major funding for the facility. Toowoomba Regional Council Waste Portfolio spokesperson, Cr Melissa Taylor confirmed with On Our Selection News that no whole scale upgrades are planned for the waste facility in Council’s 2025/26 capital program.

A projected surplus of $1.5 million has been supported by substantial rate rises of over 9 per cent in the 2025/26 Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) Annual Budget. As ‘Other Urban Residential Areas’, properties in the townships of Wyreema, Cambooya, Nobby, Greenmount and East Greenmount, as well as rural residential properties, will receive an average general rate rise of 9.4 per cent to $1,013.

Patricia Gill. Newly-elected Warren Blackwood MLA Bevan Eatts foreshadowed two controversial developments after preliminary talks with the Shire of Denmark earlier this month. They included the new supermarket on South Coast Highway and a pool ... Mr Eatts, who has based his only electoral office in Denmark, closing the Manjimup office from where he ran his campaign, visited with the National Party team including the party's leader Shane Love.

Carey Brennan. Around 200 farmers rallied at Wycheproof on Friday, June 20, outside the Buloke Shire Offices ready to greet TCV staff when they arrived to meet with Councillors … Shortly before the meeting, TCV notified Cr Getley that they had concerns for their safety after receiving advice from Vic. Police and would no longer be attending…

The brutal truth? We’ve hit the wall on new mobile towers in the bush ... If the government wants to be taken seriously on regional development—and on spreading the half-million migrants arriving each year beyond our major cities—then it must stop treating mobile connectivity as a private-sector problem. It’s time to treat it like the essential service it is.

Madison Eastmond. A local council has responded to a long-term state plan for the region through to 2051, outlining key issues within the proposal that are set to limit the Riverland's "ability to grow and thrive". Found within the council's May agenda, a formal response made by the Berri Barmera administration has been submitted to the Draft Murray Mallee Regional Plan, highlighting key issues ...

Woomelang was a sight to behold last Thursday June 12, as vehicles, farm machinery, fire trucks and an extensive range of protest signs and banners lined the streets to mark Cubico Sustainable Investments’ first public visit to the district. The “No Go Cubico” rally, organised by dozens of unwilling neighbours to the proposed Curyo Wind Farm…

Lydia Kindred. Bringing low-emission, passenger train services back to the Northern Rivers railway line is the closest it will ever be, right now. The required reports have been lodged with UGL Regional Linx and Transport for NSW and we now must raise sufficient funds for a licence to be granted. Northern Rivers Rail Ltd, local community-based railway company ...

Yorke Peninsula was left behind by the 2025-26 state budget, with no specific funding announcements for the region. The budget invested $1.9 billion in health, but none was specifically earmarked for Yorke Peninsula, despite the recent parliamentary inquiry into health services in the area.

The building has been open for public viewing on a couple of occasions but not well advertised. The Architect, David Kaunitz visited Wilcannia recently with a professional photographer, and has kindly sent us some good photos including inside views.

A $240m Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is proposed for a site 3.5km west of Naracoorte by renewable company ACE Power. The project will be known as the Kincraig Battery and 60 people are expected to be employed during its construction phase, with two to four people required long term to maintain it.

The community of Birchip, an epicentre of three wind farm proposals and four significant mineral sands mining retention licences, played host to a community meeting addressing turbines, lines, mines and property rights ... Three key speakers addressed an audience exceeding three hundred people from across Western Victoria, who filled the Birchip Leisure Centre to capacity.

Northern Grampians Shire councillors will call on the State Government to find an alternative to its VNI West transmission line project amid fears for the nation’s food security along with community mental health and wellbeing. Victoria to NSW Interconnector West – known as VNI West – is a proposed new 500kV double circuit transmission line connecting high-voltage electricity grids in New South Wales and Victoria.

Hay Library continues to grow in popularity, with an increase of 24 per cent in borrowers in March compared to the previous month and a slight decrease in April due to the two long weekends. In a comprehensive report to Council, the Library Team Leader noted 11 new members, a registration renewal and a busy month with community activities.