Land & environment

Researchers at UniSA have developed a cost-effective technique that could deliver safe drinking water to millions of vulnerable people using cheap, sustainable materials and sunlight ... A team led by Associate Professor Haolan Xu has refined a technique to derive freshwater from seawater, brackish water, or contaminated water, through highly efficient solar evaporation, delivering enough daily fresh drinking water for a family of four from just one square metre of source water.

The Shire of Toodyay is one of the two WA towns to have achieved ‘wildflower-friendly’ status as a result of the 2020-21 Wildflower Friendliness Award Scheme. The scheme encourages local governments to protect WA’s valuable wildflowers and native vegetation along roads and in nature reserves for visitors and locals to enjoy. WA has one of the largest display of wildflowers with more than 12,000 species – which is a unique selling point for the State.

The past 12 months have seen Forestry Corporation of NSW implement a $46 million bushfire recovery program to repair NSW State forests, the largest in the organisation’s history. The equity injection has seen Forestry Corporation repair priority damaged public infrastructure, expand its Blowering and Grafton nurseries, and start replanting bushfire-affected State forests.

The Coastal Fox Control Program will be underway again this autumn in an effort to protect our native wildlife from the predatory fox in coastal bushland areas from Maroochy River to Peregian Springs.

In the hope to improve native vegetation within the municipality, Greater Shepparton City Council are inviting schools and community groups to take part in the ‘One Tree Per Child’ project, a global project that aims to plant one native indigenous plant for every child under 18 years old between 2017 and 2021.

Steve Dobbyns. The native forests of the north coast of NSW are not just the backdrop for an idyllic seaside lifestyle for its 1.7 million residents, they also sustain a hardwood timber industry that has been in existence for more than 150 years ... The 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires have emerged as a tipping point for the hardwood timber industry on the NSW north coast.

Kirstin Nicholson. A turtle nest – a wonderful construction, dug by the female to lay her eggs in and filled back up to keep the eggs safe from the world until they hatch up to a year later ... Despite being backfilled, the eggs are still in danger from predators like foxes and water rats. While we may not be able to easily identify a turtle nest, unfortunately a fox can ... Graham Stockfeld from Turtles Australia has been visiting the Gunbower and Cohuna area several times a year to protect the nests and collect data.

“Fisher folk, stand-up boarders, kayakers and everyone are invited to bring their sailboats, tinnies or whatever and come along with us to stand up for our inland rivers,” says Carol Carney. Carol is the proud owner of "Sneaky Snag", a beautiful 4.8 metre long blue and white trailor-boat that floats around the Murray River and other waterways near Echuca, one of Victoria's primo river towns. At 3pm on April 16, 2021, boats of all descriptions will launch into the weir-pool above Lock 32, at Menindee in Western NSW.

Geoff Helisma. Damming the Clarence River has long been a controversial subject – and the draft regional water strategy for the north coast rules it out (for now) – but one Clarence Valley man hasn’t given up on the idea, although he’s not talking about diverting the river westwards. Lawrence resident John Ibbotson has spent considerable time and money developing his idea for a dam located downstream from where the Clarence and Mann rivers converge, despite the North Coast Regional Water Strategy discussing dam proposals under the heading “options not progressed”.

A new campaign is set to make a big difference in helping to reduce waste and provide more food security for our region. NE Waste in collaboration with Councils, Northern Rivers Food, Northern Rivers Area Health Service, NSW Environment Protection Authority and the Love Food Hate Waste Program, have been working to address issues around food waste, nutrition, food security and sustainability.

Rous Water has released its revised Draft Plan outlining its future water strategies and community members have eight weeks to respond – amid calls for the Dunoon Dam option to be put back on the table. Rous Water has outlined the challenges it faces in securing water supply in our region, including: population growth forecasts indicate a 37 per cent increase in drinking water demand by 2060; climate forecasts predict a reduction in available surface water of 22 per cent by 2060; and, on current growth, water demand will exceed reliable supply by 2024.

Don't expect the Peninsula Developmental Road to be open for at least a few more weeks as the Department of Transport and Main Roads plays it safe with Cape York’s unofficial highway. Speaking exclusively with Cape York Weekly, TMR district director Ross Hodgman said he did not expect the road to be open in the short term.

The National Farmers’ Federation welcomes the appointment of Mr Grant King as Chair of the Climate Change Authority, as well as new members Ms Susie Smith and Mr John McGee. "The NFF has a core focus on ensuring the design and implementation of emission reduction and climate change responses do not disadvantage farmers, and the independent advice of the Climate Change Authority will be an important contributor to this increasingly important debate," NFF CEO Tony Mahar said.

Walgett Shire Council, 7 April, 2021

At a Tamworth press conference on Wednesday 7 April 2021, The Hon Kevin Anderson, Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation and Member for Tamworth, announced that NSW’s Namoi region will be the state’s fourth Regional Jobs Precinct.

Under the government lead water reforms, water trading is mostly unregulated, not even requiring an ABN to trade water. “There is no law against market manipulation in the Murray-Darling Basin water markets,” ACCC deputy chair, Mr Keogh said. “So, it’s not illegal, even if it is occurring.” In Australia we now have multinational corporates, foreign buyers and the big end of town able to buy, trade and, in some instances, remain capital gains tax free as they bid for water against Aussie food and fibre producers.

Regenerative, sustainable farmland is better for biodiversity and the planet, and done right it can also be more profitable. Land to Market Australia, a program led by Australian producers, is on a mission to promote sustainability and share the agricultural skills needed to regenerate farmland, all with an eye on market realities.

Emma Pritchard. Let it bee known, Grafton couple Ken and Carol Faulkner are extremely passionate about the Clarence Valley’s native bees, and they are dedicated to educating their community, particularly children, about the important roles these humble flying insects play in the environment and how we can all help to keep their population buzzing.

Almost all wild canines in Australia are genetically more than half dingo, a new study led by UNSW Sydney shows – suggesting that lethal measures to control “wild dog” populations are primarily targeting dingoes ... Rio Tinto Weipa and the Weipa Town Authority recently embarked on a “feral animal control” program that targeted “wild dogs”. Both bodies did not believe they were killing dingoes.