Climate

Review – Farm – the making of a climate activist

Serena Kirby, ARR.News - 18 October 2022

A good place to start reading Farm is at the back. That may sound counterintuitive but by taking a look at the extensive bibliography you’ll quickly see how intensely researched the book is which adds weight to the arguments and questions it presents. While Farm is a memoir that chronicles the journey of Nicola Harvey and her husband after they leave their city lives to farm cattle in rural New Zealand, it is far more than that.

NSW Farmers says ‘no’ to Methane Pledge: NSW Farmers

The Editor - 17 October 2022

The state’s peak agricultural advocacy body says it is opposed to Australia signing up to a global ‘methane pledge’ that is killing small towns across the ditch ... NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle said while the federal government had been quick to promise no tax on farmers if it signed up to the Methane Pledge, the experience of New Zealand’s farmers proved talk was cheap.

‘Self thinning forest understoreys reduce wildfire risk, even in a warming climate’: Philip Zylstra responds to Jack Bradshaw

The Editor - 14 October 2022

Mr Bradshaw has expressed concerns about the methodology in our paper, but unfortunately, he seems to have fundamentally misunderstood what we did. Without going into that complexity, we will address his core argument here: that the proportion of an area burnt each year is dependent upon the likelihood that a fire will start there, and the amount and effect of fire suppression that occurs there. We thoroughly agree, but the question is whether this reality biases the trends in a way that will cause our results, as he has suggested.

Comment on ‘Self-thinning forest understoreys reduce wildfire risk, even in a warming climate’: Jack Bradshaw

The Editor - 14 October 2022

Earlier this year a paper was published in an international journal that argued that if left long enough the southern forest of Western Australia was ‘unlikely to burn’. Furthermore that ‘the predicted likelihood of fire in undisturbed forest was 1 in 208 to 1 in 1149 years.’ In my opinion, the methodology used to obtain the results was so badly flawed as to make the conclusions meaningless.

“Let it flood”

Lloyd Polkinghorne, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper - 13 October 2022

Community members have been left flabbergasted and frustrated at government agencies who threatened prosecution over repairing flood banks which have protected local properties throughout previous high rivers. Community members were told “expect to be flooded if you live on a floodplain” by the same authority that wants to build a flood bank to deliver environmental water to artificially flood the bush.

Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council Communique: MDBA

The Editor - 13 October 2022

Murray-Darling Basin Water Ministers met on Ngunnawal Country (Canberra) to discuss the next steps to deliver the Basin Plan, delivery of water market reforms, the impacts of climate change on water resources, and opportunities to strengthen First Nations' role in water management and ownership. Most of the Murray–Darling Basin is the wettest it’s been in a long time.

New direction for Southern Forests water security: MacTiernan, Kelly

The Editor - 11 October 2022

The WA Government has determined not to proceed with the Southern Forests Irrigation Scheme in its current form, as the climate modelling indicates the dam on Record Brook is not viable. Reports by CSIRO found climate change and lowering of the water table has significantly altered the supply of available water from the Donnelly River.

NFF calls on Government to listen to farmers on Methane Pledge

The Editor - 7 October 2022

The National Farmers’ Federation is urging the Federal Government to continue its constructive consultations with agriculture as part of any Global Methane Pledge. As more than 100 countries around the world, including the EU, the US, and Indonesia pledge a 30 per cent global cut in methane emissions by 2030, the spotlight has fallen on Australia to follow suit ... "For agriculture, the best way to reduce emissions further is to arm us with cost-effective technology solutions – not to pursue punitive taxes or regulate farmers out of existence": NFF's Tony Mahar.

Reimagining river futures by reshaping water infrastructure

The Editor - 30 September 2022

Catastrophic floods and droughts are currently being experienced across the world. Paul Wyrwoll and Quentin Grafton argue that our existing approaches to managing water are not working. We need a new paradigm for how we manage water, a rethinking where human societies work with and nurture the hydrological cycle, instead of trying to master it.

Fire protection: ‘Past no guide’

Denmark Bulletin - 29 September 2022

Patricia Gill. Noongar cultural burning may offer historical cues for contemporary ﬁre protection but these cannot be relied on to produce a ﬁre resilient landscape. So said environmental historian Professor Andrea Gaynor at the Royal WA Historical Society Conference ... Prof. Gaynor said Noongar burning practices belonged to a mobile culture and were never intended to protect a sedentary society in a landscape which had been subjected to logging, farming and urban development.

Mitigating the existential threat of fire

Philip Hopkins - 7 September 2022

Climate change threatens our forests, but it is not necessarily an existential threat, according to a leading Australian scientist. “It’s not necessarily the case that we will be wiped out by wildfire. The existential threat of fire can be mitigated, but we must use ALL knowledge,” Mark Adams, Professor of Bioscience and Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology ... This included indigenous people’s use of fire as a management tool.

New opportunities to support and harness underwater forests: Griffin

The Editor - 5 September 2022

Marine ecosystems and coastal communities will benefit from increased investment and restoration projects as a result of the new NSW Blue Carbon Strategy ... “The simplest way to understand blue carbon is to liken it to underwater forests – just as trees store carbon, marine and coastal plants and ecosystems do too, except even more efficiently” : Minister for Environment, James Griffin.

Can community gardens increase our food security?

Susanna Freymark, indyNR.com - 10 August 2022

Bernice Shepherd. Community gardens and city farms have been around for a long time, but they are enjoying a resurgence in popularity in Australia ... We are lucky to have several gardens in our area and I visited three of them; one well established, one partway there, and another in the beginning phases.

Net zero targets won’t last long

Trevor Whittington, CEO WAFarmers - 9 August 2022

This story is about the impossible challenge of feeding a growing world population while staying true to net zero emissions targets ... Something strange happened in June this year when two of the world's most bullish emissions reduction advocates, Germany and Britain, panicked at the huge spike in grain prices and called for temporary waivers on biofuels mandates to combat soaring food prices.

2022–23 Murray River outlook dominated by managing wet conditions: MDBA

The Editor - 8 August 2022

Full water storages coupled with a 50% chance of another La Niña in 2022–23 are driving management strategies in the River Murray System for the year ahead, according to the MDBA's 2022–23 Annual Operating Outlook ... Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) Executive Director of River Management, Andrew Reynolds, said the Annual Operating Outlook explains how the river would be run based on a range of potential climatic and rainfall scenarios.

Call for policy overhaul – prescribed burns

Denmark Bulletin - 4 August 2022

Patricia Gill. The Denmark Shire Council is calling on the State Government to overhaul its prescribed burning practices and policy in line with current science and community sentiment. The council moved a notice of motion from Councillor Jan Lewis to appeal to Parliamentarians for a review of the prescribed burning policy and practices.

Sweet success for HoneyBee Hives

Clarence Valley Independent - 3 August 2022

Clarence Valley business HoneyBee Hives are buzzing with excitement after being announced as the runner's up in the 2022 Australian Rural Business Awards, for the Excellence in E-Commerce Award. The awards are designed to recognise the strength, resilience, and talent of small business owners in rural and regional areas who have, in the last few years alone, gone through droughts, bushfires, mouse plagues, floods, lack of tourism and a global pandemic.

Eastern Bristlebird’s long road to recovery

The Editor - 25 July 2022

A delicate overnight operation recently saw 17 Eastern Bristlebirds successfully translocated from Booderee National Park and Jervis Bay National Park in south-eastern New South Wales to the most southern tip of Australia’s mainland - Wilson’s Promontory National Park in Victoria. The Eastern Bristlebird’s population stronghold in New South Wales was used as a launchpad for establishing Victoria’s second population at Wilsons Promontory.

Bushfire theories versus real world experience

Vic Jurskis - 22 July 2022

Sadly, death and destruction will continue to escalate whilst governments rely on advice from academics and firechiefs and give them increased funding after every disaster. Sustainable fire management would be very much cheaper and better.

The role of academics in influencing the perceived threat from climate change: Frank Batini

The Editor - 22 July 2022

Some academics are happy to comment in areas where they have no expertise or local knowledge. In contrast, the views of locals with years of practical management experience are mostly ignored.

Fire & Climate 2022 – Kevin Tolhurst

The Editor - 21 July 2022

Philip Hopkins. Bushfire policy needs to be driven by rigorous science underpinning politics if the landmark federal-state national bushfire management strategy is to be successful, according to one of the nation’s leading bushfire experts. Dr Kevin Tolhurst, AM, Associate Professor of Fire Ecology and Management at Melbourne University, said fire management was dominated by alternate paths based on politics and science.

FutureSheep project to build strong businesses for 2030 and beyond: DPIRD

The Editor - 12 July 2022

A new project is underway to assist Western Australian sheep enterprises to adapt to a changing climate and build more resilient and sustainable businesses ... The three year project will assess the impact of projected climate scenarios for 2030 and 2050 on the productivity of key WA sheep producing regions, including Bruce Rock, Kojonup and Wagin.

1...567...12 Page 6 of 12

All categories