Dialogue to help Gippsland’s forests
Scott McArdle is blunt. “Gippsland’s forests need our help. Fire, floods, storms, drought, pests, weeds, neglect, exploitation and the changing climate are all taking a huge toll – but if we all work together, the future can be different.” Mr McArdle is the executive officer of a new group, the Gippsland Forest Dialogue (GFD), that aims to do just that – meet the challenges facing the region’s forests and find ways to move forward.
Ag Speak – Budget must grow and protect agriculture
Kristin Murdock. NFF President Fiona Simson said the 43 recommendations in the peak farming body’s Pre-Budget Submission were built around its 2030 Roadmap and high on the list was the missing link in Australia’s defence against looming and existing biosecurity threats like Foot and Mouth Disease, Lumpy Skin Disease and Varroa Mite.
Wet weather delays pool opening
The deluge of rain over recent weeks has stalled the start of the swimming season at Lake Talbot Water Park. The complex opened for the summer season on October 1 but the wet weather has deterred swimmers on many days ... “We’ve been closed more days than we’ve been open,” said pool manager, Troy Lee.
Photography competition features in Jacaranda Day
Winners of the annual Gomaren & Doctor’s Creek Focus on Farms photography competition will be announced at the Jacaranda Day festival in Goombungee this Saturday, 5 November. “No matter where you live, the connection to farming is an important part of our identity as Australians”: competition coordinator Jean Gundry ... the primary school category within the competition has a focus on insects.
Getting the most out of community projects
It doesn’t matter if you’re a grassroots community group or a land manager wanting to roll out a landcare project on private property, how you put that project together is essential if you want to get funding, engage other people and ensure outcomes on the ground. Following the success of its workshop in Clifton last week, Condamine Catchment Management Association (CCMA) will be holding another free workshop at the Harvest New Life Church Hall in Pittsworth on Wednesday, 16 November.
The good and bad of the budget
Last week’s Federal Budget held a few incentives for Narrandera and other centres covered by the Narrandera Argus, including funding for key health worker accommodation across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, a Leeton hospital upgrade, Griffith Hospital redevelopment plus Stronger Country Communities funding for Lockhart and The Rock swimming pools and continuation of the NSW Koala Strategy aimed at doubling koala numbers in NSW by 2050 ... However ...
Murray Crayfish rescue operation
A rescue and relocation operation is currently underway by NSW DPI Fisheries to save Murray Crayfish impacted by poor water quality following flooding along the Murray River. The rescued crayfish will be transported to Narrandera Fisheries Centre for safekeeping until conditions improve and they can be returned to the river safely.
Storms could “make or break”
Kirstin Nicholson. Mick Farrant’s dairy farm is on Flannery’s Road, McMillans and two thirds of his 1,100-acre property is underwater. Excess water from Pyramid and Bullock Creeks has inundated the farm. “It’s a big job moving cattle, it’s just a massive undertaking to shift a whole herd and get set up for them somewhere else. You don’t do that in five minutes,” he said.
In a pinch
It’s been over 10 years since a 5-year moratorium was placed on Murray crayfishing by NSW authorities for our stretch of the Murray River. Sadly, now it seems that Murray cray populations are at risk, not from fishing, but from poor water quality. Dissolved oxygen has fallen to 0.2 in the Murray at Barham and thousands of Murray cray have walked to the edges of the river from Echuca through to Swan Hill.
Wave of cash and hope for flooded Northern Rivers homeowners
There will be opportunities to repair, retrofit, raise or have the Government buy your home if you were impacted by the devastating floods earlier this year under a massive new Australian and NSW Government program announced by Premier Dom Perrottet, PM Anthony Albanese, Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis and others in Lismore on Friday ... The Resilient Homes Program will offer voluntary buybacks to residents located in the Northern Rivers’ most vulnerable areas, where major flooding would pose a catastrophic risk to life.
Bridge built back better
An 83 year old bridge has been replaced by a new concrete bridge that will last 100 years. The $2.6 million Cedar Point Bridge on Edenville Rd, near Kyogle ... is a single span concrete structure, founded on steel driven piles with greater flood immunity than the previous bridge.
Funnel-web spider enjoying the wet
This Funnel-web was found in a Goomburra Valley garden - so a word to the wise - watch out while pulling weeds ... The jury is still out - is it a Monteith funnel-web, found near Killarney or a Toowoomba Funnel-web, the most common species in South-east Queensland?
Goomburra Town Hall happenings
October has been a busy month with a Disaster Big Map Exercise, CPR courses taking responsibility of a Deï¬brillator machine to completing our new roof ... Disaster preparedness is one of the GTH committee’s aims for the Goomburra Valley as there is only one road in and out.
Water management killing the Darling-Baaka
New research published by the University of NSW confirms that it is the over extraction and mismanagement of water that is causing most of the damage to the Darling-Baaka River, not climate change. NSW Nature Conservation Council calls for the Federal Water Minister to stand firm on the timelines for water recovery in the Basin Plan, and restore the voluntary, open tender water buy back process.
River levels at Wilcannia 2022 compared with 1990 – Water report
The river continues to rise at Wilcannia and is now running at just over 10 metres with a flow of 30,043 ML/day. Lake Woytchugga is continuing to fill and the Talyawalka is flowing at 6.7 metres. The river is running at 101,727 ML/day at Bourke and over 135,214 ML/day at Walgett, indicating that there is a lot more to come.
October weather
Hottest day was Tuesday 4th at 29.9C, cooler than the hottest ever day in October at 42.4C on the 25th in 2014. The coldest day was Saturday 8th at 18.6C, well above our coldest ever, 13.2C on the 11th in 2012 ... Mean daily temperature was 24.9C, below the long term mean of 27.5C. Rain for the month, recorded at the Airport, was 207.6 mm, setting a new record. The previous highest ever monthly rain for October was in 1894 when 126.4mm fell.
Tackling the growing food security issue: NSW Farmers
Food security is a growing problem for Australian families, according to a new state government report, with remote communities the worst affected. The Food production and supply in NSW report, from the NSW Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Environment and Planning, found food supply disruption was a driver of food insecurity, and that remote communities were unfairly burdened by the problem.
Hume Dam releases increased to manage airspace: MDBA
Releases from Hume Dam have today increased to 75 gigalitres (GL) per day, up from 50 GL per day yesterday in response to overnight inflows that peaked at 100 GL a day. Further increases are likely with a renewed inflow peak expected later today. Combined with inflows from the Kiewa River – downstream of Hume Dam – the Murray River is expected to approach or possibly exceed the major flood level at Albury in coming days.
Aboriginal working group for cultural fire management: Anderson, Cooke, Franklin
The NSW Government will support an Aboriginal-led working group to develop an Aboriginal cultural fire management strategy ... Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin said that cultural burning is an important practice to Aboriginal communities and wider communities across the State.
Philip Zylstra’s response #3 – self-thinning forest understoreys and wildfire risk debate
The mapped fire histories of the southwestern forests show that bushfires have been most frequent in forests with dense understoreys promoted by previous burns, and far less common in areas that have not been burned for several decades, allowing the understorey to naturally thin. Two new voices have entered the discussion on this here and made numerous claims, but their ill-informed comments have distracted from the point.
Government cracks down on firebugs: Maher, Szakacs
Tough new measures to allow authorities to better monitor the movements of convicted bushfire offenders during the fire danger season will be introduced to State Parliament this week. The Bill delivers on an election commitment to help keep the community safe from firebugs.
8,200ha near Charleville added to Queensland protected areas, great lifestyle: Scanlon
More than 8,200 hectares of former sheep station in Queensland’s south west will become a protected area, the Palaszczuk Government has announced. Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said in an agreement struck between the Palaszczuk Government and Paniri Ventures, the addition of Ardgour Station Nature Refuge, 120km south of Charleville would protect important wetlands and ecosystems that form part of the Wyandra-Cunnamulla Claypans Aggregation.
