Gooramadda, Indigo Creek and Bells Flat Roads update
The scale of the damage to Gooramadda, Indigo Creek and Bells Flat Roads means that we’re still assessing the best way to restore access: Within the 24 hours of Monday 14 November and Tuesday 15 November, what initially appeared as a small sink hole on Gooramadda Road, Rutherglen has now totally eroded a large section of road.
Murray Darling Basin Authority is out of touch: VFF
The Victorian Farmers Federation has expressed outrage towards the comments made by Murray Darling Basin Authority Chief Executive Andrew McConville in his Rural Press Club address, 10 years after the Basin Plan gave the green light to take water from farming communities. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said Mr McConville’s commentary ignored the ongoing impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan on farming communities and sounded like it was designed to appease the Federal Labor government ... “We expect the MDBA CEO to be professional and impartial, not a political sycophant. It seems he needs to re-read the Basin Plan as he forgot to mention in his speech that the 450GL is only possible if there are no negative social and economic impacts”.
Major Event Review of the 2019–20 Victorian bushfires shows need for major forest management overhaul: Forestry Australia
A comprehensive report into the 2019-20 Victorian bushfires highlights the need for a major overhaul of current forest management strategies ... “This report confirms that to avoid future repeats of 2019-20 and protect human life and biodiversity, forest and fire management must be viewed and managed at a landscape scale, with active management over long timeframes, using expert knowledge of forests and their processes”: Forestry Australia Vice President Jim Wilson.
More on koala monitoring: Brad Law
Australian Rural & Regional News followed up with some further questions for Dr Brad Law, NSW DPI Principal Scientist ... "We state that koala occurrence or site occupancy has been stable in hinterland forests of north-east NSW, which is not the same as koala numbers" ... "We don’t have any evidence that koalas are irrupting ..." ... "It does appear to be the case that nutrition is high in epicormic leaves produced after fire, and that koalas rapidly recolonise burnt areas if there is good connectivity with unburnt forest."
Clean-up at Baringhup after the floods
“This is the worst flood I have encountered in the 10 years since I have been here. We experienced flooding in 2010, 2011 and this one which came into the house, the shop and other buildings for the first time. These buildings had remained flood-free for the past 100 years": Loddon House Caravan Park proprietor Robert Wilson.
Pipeline secured for local towns
Cambooya, Greenmount and Nobby are set to be connected to the Toowoomba to Warwick pipeline after Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) gave its approval last week, subject to conditions. The pipeline will see the townships of Cambooya, Greenmount and Nobby, as well as Clifton, connected to treated water supplied from Wivenhoe Dam via Toowoomba.
Cambooya Landcare going strong
Felton Community Hall played host to the Cambooya Landcare Association 2022 Annual General Meeting last week, which saw the group retain a strong financial position and the current committee continuing into the new year ... The meeting included a presentation by guest speaker Ken Keith, who gave a background explanation of Agro-Ecology through his presentation ‘Transitioning to Agro-Ecology in Australian Agriculture - The Landcare Way’.
Right mix takes Raintree off grid
Serena Kirby. The Birkbeck family’s Raintree Farm distillery and restaurant arm is completely ‘off grid’ after more than a decade of research and infrastructure construction. By being energy self-sufï¬cient Steve said The Dam expected to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by between 105-150t a year. The move to energy self-sufï¬ciency has been a long-term goal that has cost more than $1 million.
Blackwood attacks Andrews Government after timber ruling
Native timber harvesting in Victoria has stopped after a ruling on 4 November in the Supreme Court, prompting a savage attack on the Andrews Government’s culpability by the Liberals Gary Blackwood ... “This is a disgraceful indictment on the Andrews Government, who have been lobbied for months to adjust the Code of Forest Practice so that it reflected exactly what has been in place to protect the Greater Glider for many years”: Gary Blackwood, retiring Member for Narracan and Opposition forestry spokesman.
Flood emergency: Council to levy governments for funding of upgrades
Both the Narrandera Shire Council Mayor Neville Kschenka and General Manager George Cowan will lobby the State and Federal Governments for funding for upgrades to highways as well as the town’s water supply and stormwater systems ... Submissions will be lodged with the NSW Government seeking support for routine flood damage repairs, highlighting the importance of betterment to the Newell and Sturt Highways and the Narrandera town water supply and stormwater systems.
Moulamein flood meeting held
The Moulamein Club was packed as community members gathered on Monday to hear the flood advice from Murray River Council, SES and NSW Police ... “Since we started the last meeting last Monday, the prediction was 6.1m. By the time we left that meeting, the prediction was 6.2m and on Sunday morning, I believe it reached 6.099 metres which is now the highest we’ve ever seen": Murray River Council’s Director of Infrastructure, Jack Bond.
Detour distress
On any given day, the streets of Moulamein would see the odd fisherman or ute laden with dogs trundling by, but not last week. Moulamein was the highway of detour distress ... From road trains to hot rods, race cars to caravans, Moulamein exploded with Sturt Highway traffic desperately trying to find their way without the traditional Sydney to Adelaide route.
Food industry warns government of long-term food supply chain disruptions: National Food Supply Chain Alliance
The National Food Supply Chain Alliance, made up of nine influential national food industry associations, says long term supply chain issues, including ongoing natural disasters and labour shortages, are set to increase food prices for the foreseeable future ... The Alliance has, over the past two days, met with government and the opposition to explain the risks to the economy and Australians’ wellbeing should a National Plan not be developed and implemented as a matter of urgency.
Bees at home in Allora
Some proactive person has given our local bees a helping hand by constructing a nest in a tree outside the Blue Cow in Herbert Street. A group of tourists was amazed by the unique structure saying how good is this, as they watched the bees buzzing around their modern nesting site.
Andrews SEC plan is a mixed bag
When Daniel Andrews announced his plans to revive the State Electricity Commission (SEC), he said: “Unreliable, privatised coal will be replaced by clean, government-owned renewable energy.” This is a distorted claim.
Stop building on floodplains chorus growing
Rodney Stevens. The united chorus of ‘Stop building on Floodplains’ from federal and state leaders during the devastating and ongoing flooding in NSW during 2022 could reshape communities and country towns. Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt last week called for new laws to be introduced to stop homes being built on floodplains and other disaster-prone areas.
Soil carbon markets: science or snake oil? Matthew Harrison, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Matthew Harrison's presentation covers a range of issues relating to soil carbon markets, from changes in soil carbon over time to whether we should rethink soil carbon markets, beginning with the key question: why all the hype about soil carbon?
SA River Murray update
Notice of community meetings, flood information, SES status, advice and links provided by Alexandrina Shire in South Australia, where the River Murray meets the sea and flooding is predicted.
Royal recognition for trailblazers
Sarah Martin. A group of Indigenous women rangers, led by Cape York environmental warrior Larissa Hale, has been named as the first Australian finalist for Prince William’s prestigious Earthshot Prize ... “To be showcasing these amazing projects right across the world is a powerful way for First Nations women to see and imagine their futures in conservation management": Larissa Hale.
By their deeds you will know them
The NSW Government last week withdrew what is referred to as the dual consent private native forestry bill, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Private Native Forestry) Bill 2022. It is possible in the past week to look at news headlines concerning all mainland eastern States and see open contemptuous rampant hypocrisy at play. But the conduct around this Bill is possibly the better example.
Philip Zylstra’s response #4 – self-thinning forest understoreys and wildfire debate
The critique of our study of fire history in southwestern forests illustrates the difficulty of discussion around such emotive issues. We reported that according to Departmental records, bushfires were seven times more likely in areas of forest that still had the dense understorey that had been germinated by prescribed burns than they were in other areas where the understorey had self-thinned because it had been left alone. These are the facts, but they leave us at an impasse.
State government secures flood defence resources for River Murray communities: Malinauskas, Szakacs
1.5 million sandbags and almost 8 km of flood barriers have been secured by the South Australia Government to help protect flood affected River Murray communities. Three kilometres of DefenCell barriers from India arrived in Adelaide on Saturday 19 November with a further four kilometres of product expected to arrive on 28 November from Italy.
