Land & environment

Among all the animals Pam and Peter Rollinson might have expected to find back on the farm after a recent visit to Bali, a wombat was a very long way down the list ... a very parched wombat had had its thirst assuaged when Peter turned on the garden hose.

The Towong Shire Council intends to keep up its opposition to the state’s Emergency Services Volunteer Fund Levy despite the Victorian government’s announcement last Friday of a 12-month pause on the tax for farmers. At its meeting on May 28th, councillors unanimously opposed the levy, which was due to take effect from 1 July, 2025.

Drought-hit South East farmers need “immediate help” from government-funded relief packages, rather than money for future mitigation measures … That is the view of independent member of the Legislative Council of South Australia Sarah Game, who says her assessment of the state government’s drought-relief packages has been – in part – informed by her communication with South East farmers.

A breakthrough in how we identify pests entering Australia has now been successfully tried and tested in Sydney. ‘MALDI-TOF’ and ‘MinION’ are new diagnostic systems being adopted in our border biosecurity operations that use protein and DNA profiles to rapidly identify species through automated data matching.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has sparked debate around the introduction of a bounty on feral animals. Speaking on radio last week Mr Minns suggested that a system where shooters are paid a small fee for each feral animal killed could be a "novel way" to reduce their populations, which he believes have "taken over a lot of parks."

John O'Donnell presents an analysis of town and city bushfire protection case studies where prescribed burning and other adaptive management and mitigation have assisted in restricting bushfire impacts on communities across Australia and the United States. His extensive review covers some 25 Australian and nine US fires.

Emma Kealy, Shadow Minister for Agriculture. The Allan Labor Government's drought announcement fails to deliver the immediate support farmers have been calling for and desperately need. While doubling drought resilience infrastructure grants and deferring the emergency services tax on agricultural land for a year may sound helpful, it does little to provide immediate support for farmers who are at breaking point.

Last November, a weak and injured Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) was found near the jetty by young Lord Howe Island residents ... The turtle was given the name Howeana ... Howeana was flown back to the Island in April, and taken to Old Settlement Beach for release in to sheltered seagrass meadows.

Michelle Daw. Grain Producers South Australia says new federal drought support measures will offer limited immediate relief to grain producers facing severe financial pressure across SA.

Michelle Daw. Entire marine habitats around Yorke Peninsula could be destroyed by the current algal bloom, a local marine conservationist has warned. Speaking at a community forum in Marion Bay on Sunday, June 1, Andy Cameron of Foul Bay said the full extent of the damage caused by the bloom was yet to be revealed.

In a year when the eastern states have either been drowning under floods or gasping through drought, and here in the west half the state has been left staring at a dry horizon, it seemed timely to stop watching the skies and start digging into the past ... What I aim to do is cut through the rising noise between the climate catastrophists shouting Armageddon and the hardened sceptics waving it all away, versus the climate fatalists like me—convinced that, whatever humans do, nature already has the final say—and put some facts on the table.

A new avian influenza collaboration between CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and Indonesia has gained international recognition in Paris overnight, with endorsement from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) ... The three-year initiative, called BICOLLAB, was formally endorsed at the World Assembly of Delegates during WOAH’s General Session...

Western Sydney University researchers have discovered that drought affected wheat plants are able to call on eco-friendly soil bacteria to survive, helping keep crops healthy, boost yields, and provide pathways to develop extreme weather resistant crops.

In the lead up to Toowoomba Regional Council's planning scheme draft being released, The Darling Downs Environment Council (DDEC) has launched a new community campaign, Protect Trees Toowoomba.

A former Cudgewa man responsible for the early development of the Bluff Falls tourist area had the honour of re-opening the facility on Sunday after restoration work following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. Bill Carkeek (90) travelled from Numurkah for the event and spoke of his memories of those early works.

More than 17 years after the Federal Government commenced water buybacks, without a single environmental impact study, a local Victorian dairy farm highlighted the ideal refuge they have with a family of Brolgas visiting this week.