Land & environment

Panel members have now been appointed to lead the independent review into the Wilcannia Weir Replacement Project, marking a significant step forward in the review process. It comes following the NSW Government’s commitment to undertake a review of the Wilcannia proposed weir design.

A cross-section of the nation’s leading minds have converged in Ballarat, to discuss the goal of creating a healthy and resilient future for Australia’s forests and share knowledge and ideas to ensure forests can provide a wide range of benefits for generations to come. Approximately 300 scientists, researchers, forestry professionals and foresters will gather at Forestry Australia’s National Symposium…

...$12.7 million of taxpayers’ money was spent operating the Howard Springs Accommodation Village for two months to cater for flood evacuees last year. The total bill for cleaning and repairs was $1.3 million for the two-month period in March and April last year. This included $469,000 replacing windows, $277,000 for handyman services, $174,000 on plumbing, and $89,000 on mattresses.

...an art exhibition made from horse poo and priority weeds of the Riverina by local emerging artist Emily Shannon at the Station Creative Workspace. CULTIVATE is an innovative and experimental depiction of some of the most vulnerable plants from the Box Gum Grassy Woodland (BGGW) ecological community.

A long-held theory about the life cycle of one of Australia's most beloved natural icons has been upended in a botanical whodunnit that has revealed an unlikely hero ... researchers at La Trobe University, has uncovered another suspect in the survival of some of Australia’s more unconventional Banksia flowers, in a paper published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.  

Sean Cunningham. This year’s Narrandera Koala Fest at the Brewery Flat Reserve attracted a large number of wildlife enthusiasts. The event is designed to celebrate Narrandera’s furry friends and to raise awareness about their conservation. A Narrandera Shire Council spokesperson hailed the event as a success with many koalas being spotted.

Patricia Gill. Friends of Kooryanderup (Mt Hallowell) are calling for a ban on mountain biking on the 532ha A-Class reserve. The Friends have raised concerns as the Shire of Denmark is set to overhaul the Mt Hallowell Management Plan (2008). The Friends report having seen youngsters with shovels and rakes emerging from the Sheila Heritage Trail Park Reserve.

Riverland-based MLC, and opposition spokesperson for regional South Australia, Nicola Centofanti, has provided the following speech she gave in Parliament regarding concerns for the listing of the Lower Murray as a threatened ecological community as part of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999…

If the various State and Federal Ministers for Agriculture really want to make a statement that offers opportunities for Aboriginal people, then start with the existing 40 million hectares of the Indigenous-owned estate and unshackle them from the dead hand of government bureaucracy and red and green tape. But such a move would give the few Indigenous Australians who live on these properties real self-determination, the right to own their own land outright, access to capital and the right to get rich or go broke ...

Christine Webster. The organisation representing farmers in the Mallee is hoping the arrival of the first decent downpour of rain since January has broken a pattern of drought conditions ... Mallee Sustainable Farming communications and extension manager Tanja Morgan, who is based in Geranium in the Murray Mallee, said for growers who had sowed their crops a bit later in the season, last week’s rain may have been beneficial.

Rachel Hagan. Yorke Peninsula Council is about to undertake almost $100,000 worth of emergency works to address erosion at Mud Alley in Foul Bay. Over the past 40 years, coastal erosion has gradually worn away the beachfront, leaving properties vulnerable to flooding during severe weather events.

Australia is looking towards harvesting a "marginally larger" winter crop this season, despite significant weather challenges experienced in a number of key grain-growing regions throughout the year, Rabobank says in its just-released 2024/25 Australian Winter Crop Forecast. The agribusiness banking specialist says the nation is on track to produce an estimated total winter crop of 47.1 million tonnes…

Tasmanian farmers continue to take wildlife management seriously as new data released by Primary Industries and Water Minister Jane Howlett reveals that 1,373 Property Protection Permits were issued in the 2023-24 financial year. TasFarmers President Ian Sauer said farmers support the government's approach to addressing surging wildlife populations, including deer and wallabies…

Rachel Hagan. The exciting news Coobowie residents have been waiting for is finally here with their precious osprey pair hatching not two, but four chicks on the town’s community-made nesting platform. About two weeks ago, little osprey heads were seen bobbing up and down in the nest, which has caused bird enthusiasts to flock to Coobowie.

Community views are being sought for the Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan. Central Darling Shire Council has engaged consultants to undertake the Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan which will focus on the townships of Wilcannia, Menindee, Ivanhoe, Tilpa and Sunset Strip.

The operators of two chicken farms in the Shire of Gingin have been fined for mishandling waste at their egg farming operations in contravention of conditions imposed in an environmental protection notice issued by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. CCF Cocking Children Farms and CF Farms (formerly Snowdale Holdings) own two parcels of land in Beermullah, in the Shire of Gingin, on which commercial egg farming operations are conducted.

Fire agencies and land managers are developing a Bush Fire Risk Management Plan for the BFMC areas listed. The Central Darling Shire community is invited to participate in this process by having a say on how bush fire risk is managed.

Federal MP Kevin Hogan is disappointed the inquiry into how insurers dealt with flood claims has resulted in more red tape. The Federal Government has released its final report and recommendations for the inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major flood claims.

Jenny Pollard. “Life is better in the garden”. How many gardeners would agree with that?! From the attendance at last Sunday’s North Central Garden Club’s (NCGC) Charlton Open Gardens Day, the lure of that precious space you call your own resonates with a lot of people!

To take a walk through the magnificent and wellkept garden of Gary and Dale Gwynne it is easy to see why they regularly pick up awards in the Warwick Horticultural Society’s Spring Garden Competition. This year their garden at 269 Hendon/ Goomburra Road Allora was awarded the Warwick Horticultural Society’s Shield for the best Large Home Garden…

Sydney has struggled with water shortages since European settlement, relying on various schemes over the years, including the Tank Stream and Botany Swamps ... Warragamba Dam remains one of the world's largest domestic water supply dams, standing alongside iconic projects like the Opera House and the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

The independent advisory body with statutory authority to review Australia’s national water reform has published scathing feedback on the Federal Governments proposed National Water Agreement, calling the approach “detrimental to the conduct of water management in Australia”. The Productivity Commission … said “…the consequences of a shift in this direction should be considered deeply by all governments and their communities.