Land & environment

The State Government has authorised gunmen with high powered rifles to roam 34 back roads and shoot deer during a time frame spanning almost six months. Now under the spotlight of State Parliament, a series of questions have been asked.

The safety of people, pets and livestock are key concerns of farmers affected by the State Government’s authorised ground shooting program. Reluctant to speak publicly, farmers have told The [Naracoorte] News the operation takes place at night, and it is far too close to homes, pets, sheds, yards and livestock.

Birdlife Australia is launching the Lockyer-Toowoomba Birds on Farms project and needs the help of local landholders. The project is being coordinated by Toowoomba Ornithologist Scot McPhie, who presented to a recent meeting of Cambooya Landcare.

A $2 million program is supporting councils to expand collection points for problem batteries like those found in vapes and e-scooters. The new LNP Government has announced a three-point plan to tackle battery safety risks sparked by a spike in dangerous fires.

When South Australians were trying to turn their estuary into a freshwater dam in the 1940’s, the Mulloway natural migration was devastated. Now, Australia’s only freshwater estuary hangs like a noose around the neck of the Murray Darling Basin, consuming huge volumes of freshwater to raise an artificial lake height for yachting, and an attempt to dilute the Southern Ocean, under the fundamentally flawed Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Serena Kirby. Five drowning tragedies along WA’s southern coastline this summer have again highlighted the ever-present danger our coastline presents. Two people lost their lives in waters off Esperance, two at Conspicuous Cliffs ... and one at Bremer Bay.

In a recent article in Australian Rural & Regional News, I highlighted the overwhelming body of scientific evidence showing that logging does indeed increase the risk of high-severity wildfire. Mr Onfray wants evidence of this effect of logging on wildfire – and there is plenty of it.

In response to the South East Timber Association’s (SETA) critique, I want to clarify the scientific evidence and address the inaccuracies in their claims. SETA disputes the well-documented link between logging and increased fire severity, but the scientific consensus is clear: logging fundamentally alters forests in ways that make them more flammable.

John Williams. "The black clouds had been building up all day. It was going to be a dry storm and the air was full of heat and electricity. The rolling clouds tumbled over a solid layer of still air. You could hear the pods of the desert banksias popping as the temperature soared to 42 degrees ..."

A crowd of more than 50 concerned residents gathered near the intersection of Golding and Miles Streets to hear deputations from 6 local residents to the Land and Environment Court on site Conciliation conference last Friday. The conference was in relation to case 2024/00279190 Garrard Building Pty Ltd v Clarence Valley Council...

Hugh Schuitemaker. A well-known Loxton man is the second Riverland beekeeper to recently claim his bees died due to poisoning by PIRSA. Loxton-based apiarist Ian Cass claims 12 of his beehives were killed due to adverse impacts from PIRSA’s spraying program, aimed at eradicating fruit fly from the Riverland.

“If it’s good enough for the cricketers to have a drink on the ground on a hot day, why can’t I?” ... On this occasion, Maggie has spotted an uncoupled hose, and is making the most of a free drink, courtesy of Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water.

Andrew George. Three years after the catastrophic 2022 floods and the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) are finally getting into the swing of their Resilient Homes Program (RHP) … Pine Street in North Lismore has become a niche of human adaptation in our climate and bureaucracy deranged world. Seven of eight of the houses at the cul-de-sac end of Pine Street are buybacks.

A week before parts of Yorke Peninsula soared above 40 degrees, the Bureau of Meteorology released its official record of Australia’s climate, water and significant weather events for 2024. The report ... revealed South Australia recorded its second hottest year on record, being on average 1.6 degrees warmer than previous years.

Professor David Lindenmayer’s response fails to engage with the key points I raised. The core argument in my piece is that the peer-reviewed studies claiming logging increases fire severity often rely on unknown or poorly defined methodologies, selective data, weak correlations, or literature reviews rather than empirical fire behaviour analysis.

By now, most farmers will have heard that the State Labor Government is “flying the kite” on taking back ownership of WA’s rail network. For some, particularly the Tier 3 romantics, the idea of reviving a government-run rail system is a dream come true.

Join this special February Hazardous Webinar to discuss the lessons we can take so far from the devastating Los Angeles (LA) bushfires and what they mean for Australia. The webinar is bought to you by Natural Hazards Research Australia and AFAC.

Legal action taken by MLDRIN, a Confederation of First Nations from the southern half of the Murray-Darling Basin, has led to the Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek conceding she made a mistake in accrediting the NSW Fractured Rock Water Resource Plan.

Farmers have warned the march of a destructive cactus through NSW could be only the beginning of the state’s weed woes unless ongoing funding for weed control is secured. NSW Farmers’ Croppa Creek and North Star Branch Chair Richard Doyle said farmers in the north of the state have reported a drastic surge in harrisia cactus infestations as the destructive cactus continues to spread south from the Queensland border.

Two Queensland businesses have been convicted of breaching biosecurity regulations that are in place to protect NSW from red imported fire ants. The businesses were ordered by the NSW Local Court to pay $60,000.

“I do not feel the RA (Reconstruction Authority) has actively aided or helped me in any aspect through the entire event. Rather, they have prolonged and complicated every detail” - Luke O'Driscoll.