Celebrating a new book honouring May Gibbs, Nutcote and wild koalas: Australian Koala Foundation
The Australian Koala Foundation is delighted to have sponsored a new enchanting book celebrating the life of May Gibbs and her love of wild koalas ... Written by Fiona Starr and created for Nutcote’s centenary, this stunning 100-page book brings together May’s own words, artwork, and rich imagery to tell the story of the place she called home.
Young Yanchep koala gets his first health check
The first koala to be born at Yanchep National Park in 15 years has passed his first full health check with flying colours. In May the Parks and Wildlife Service at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) said Djilba, who was born in February last year, weighed a healthy 4.5kg.
Genetic bottlenecks: Vic Jurskis
Another study of koalas’ genetics has been published but a key result flowing from this research was not clearly identified by the authors ... The crashes in unsustainably high numbers of koalas, consequent to the Federation Drought but attributed to shooting for pelts, didn’t cause genetic bottlenecks.
Koala numbers crashed across Australia 100,000 years ago. Global glacial cycles are likely to blame
Toby Kovacs. As my new study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution shows, koalas experienced a population crash about 100,000 years ago. This finding rewrites our understanding of the genetic history of koalas in Australia – and overturns previous theories about what caused their decline in ancient times.
New licence supports SeaStock to scale up seaweed production: Jarvis
The Cook Labor Government has granted an aquaculture licence to Fremantle-based company SeaStock Pty Ltd for Western Australia's first commercial scale, land-based seaweed production facility, now under construction in Oakford. In recent years, algae aquaculture markets have developed significantly both locally and abroad for a type of red algae known as Asparagopsis.
Investing in regional jobs and RFS fleet management: Dib, Hoenig
The Minns Labor Government is backing regional communities with a $470 million investment in the 2026-27 NSW Budget to modernise management of the NSW RFS fleet ... The Minns Labor Government will also introduce legislation to transfer ownership of the State’s ‘red fleet’ of more than 6,000 firefighting vehicles from councils to the RFS.
Grain growers can increase drought and waterlogging resilience by 300 per cent
The new practice of Seedbed Conditioning not only improves the physical, biological and chemical properties of the root zone of cropping soils, it also produces very large and near-permanent improvements in the drought and waterlogging resilience of cropping soils.
Nationals demand Labor Ag Minister finish the State Barrier Fence: Rundle
Member for Roe Peter Rundle MLA has raised a Grievance with the Minister for Agriculture over the Cook Labor Government’s continued delays to the Esperance Extension of the State Barrier Fence - a critical piece of infrastructure designed to protect Western Australia’s agricultural and livestock industries from invasive species and agricultural pests.
Murray-Darling Basin compliance activity and outcomes report released: IGWC
The independent Inspector–General of Water Compliance (IGWC), the Hon. Troy Grant, has released the second Murray–Darling Basin Compliance Activity and Outcomes Report (CAOR). This Basin-wide report covers activities in 2023 to 2025, building on the 2022-23 report, and presents a picture of how Basin State regulators monitor water take, apply compliance tools and report publicly on their work.
Budget relief, big projects missing
The Limestone Coast is set to benefit from a range of cost-of-living, education, and health measures announced in the state government’s first budget since the March election - but member for MacKillop Jason Virgo says the region continues to miss out on the major investment it deserves.
Researchers explain the complexity of a plant enzyme at the atomic levels: Adelaide University
Adelaide University research into the complexity of plant exo-hydrolytic enzyme could have multiple benefits for medical, pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnology industries. For more than a decade, Professor Maria Hrmova, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, and a team of around 30 experts have been exploring the fundamental catalytic properties of plant exo-hydrolytic enzymes.
It’s official! Dark Sky Reserve declared for Sunshine Coast hinterland
The Sunshine Coast hinterland is now officially home to Queensland’s first internationally recognised Dark Sky Reserve, uniting the community, levels of government, agencies and businesses to preserve our star-filled sky. The Sunshine Coast International Dark Sky Reserve’s official designation by DarkSky International comes after a community push to preserve our starry nights...
Bendigo Bank Agribusiness June Insights: Rains rally cattle, while macadamias set to crack records
“The recent rain has given cattle producers the confidence to hold onto stock, abruptly tightening availability and driving a major price lift...”
Carp for Crocs and landscape photographer Christian Fletcher joins us
Carp for Crocs and landscape photographer Christian Fletcher joins us for the day to day on owning a Tesla in the country, and a colab between James and Christian Fletcher's band Chain Ave?
Lovell demands Labor rule out compulsory flood easements
Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has demanded that the Minister for Water rule out introducing legislation to more easily enable the compulsory acquisition of flood easements, and confirm the previous commitment not to use existing powers to flood private land without consent.
Indigenous-led conservation confirms return of guraban (koala) across Wadbilliga National Park: Firesticks
On the far South Coast of New South Wales, Gadhu Bagan, the Southern-Yuin Firesticks team, is celebrating the persistent presence of Guraban (koala) across multiple locations in Wadbilliga National Park, following on-Country survey and monitoring work undertaken in partnership with the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
NSW Government’s new brumby estimates don’t pass the pub test
Colleen Krestensen. New estimates of brumby numbers in Kosciuszko National Park imply a dramatic and biologically impossible increase of up to 315 per cent over a 12 month period ... The concern for the community is the government is accepting this alleged increase without question as a basis to resume aerial culling of brumbies, commencing in the coming days.
Eric’s a winner as Carp to Croc wraps up
The Australian Reptile Park's crocodiles and alligators were the big winners as Central Coast Council's 2026 Carp to Croc fishing event wrapped up recently. The community came together to help tackle one of Australia's most damaging invasive species.
Narrandera water: Pressure pays off with deed of release executed for critical design works
The Deed of Agreement concerning Narrandera's future water treatment plant has been executed following sustained pressure from the Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke. The deed was critical in enabling Narrandera Shire Council to progress detailed design and business case work for the project, which aims to deliver clean water to the town.
How much water and power will AI data centres use in Australia? Ironically, we don’t have the data to know
Michael Vardon. Australia’s data centre rush now rivals the mining boom. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman last week said Australia could become a “data centre capital of the world”. This would come at an environmental cost ... Before committing fully, we need granular detail on how much water and energy these centres use.
New research finds sugar gliders, not forestry, are killing off swift parrots: Timber Towns Victoria
A peer-reviewed study concludes that predation by an introduced species is the primary driver of swift parrot decline, and that conservation strategy needs to catch up with that reality. TTV ... says a new peer-reviewed study vindicates what the forestry sector has long argued: that native forest harvesting is not the primary cause of swift parrot decline…
New scientific review confirms native forestry can deliver wood, biodiversity and environmental outcomes: FWCA
Forest and Wood Communities Australia has welcomed the publication of a major peer-reviewed scientific review that concludes Australia's native forests can be sustainably managed for timber production while protecting biodiversity, carbon values, water resources and other environmental outcomes.
