Land & environment

This intriguing book was launched in Warwick last week by Chair of Darling Downs-Moreton Rabbit Board (DDMRB) Lockyer Valley Regional Councillor Janice Holstein. It tells the Board’s story and that of rabbits in Australia. The DDMRB maintains the oldest and longest purpose-built, rabbit-proof barrier fence still in use in Australia, if not the world.

Australia’s farmers are heading towards the end of 2022 with signs of growing optimism, following a year where challenges around high input costs, excessive rainfall and biosecurity concerns had taken the edge off otherwise generally very positive seasonal conditions and commodity prices. The latest quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, released on 14 December 2022, found sentiment was edging back up after four consecutive quarters of decline...

David McPherson, NSW DPI. Dr Law is one of Australia’s leading forest ecologists, with the sustained excellence of his research and distinguished service to Australian zoology recognised with his appointment in 2021 as a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW. In the history of the Society there have been fewer than 100 Fellows elected ... Criticisms of the scientific excellence or objectivity of the research undertaken by Dr Law are unfounded.

Aquaculture has continued its steady growth within the Australian seafood industry, according to the latest edition of ABARES Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics. ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville said the aquaculture sector has continued its recent growth, accounting for 56 per cent of the total gross value of fisheries production (GVP).

New support to improve the mental health of people working in social and community sector organisations will be available in the seven flood-impacted local government areas of Northern Rivers NSW ... “Having worked in the social sector for many years, I’ve seen the almost normalised acceptance of this kind of burnout and mental ill-health across the social sector – a sector that is always on the frontline when disasters and pandemics strike": Julia Keady, founder of The Xfactor Collective Foundation.

Janelle Saffin. Jamie Simmonds, the man who directed the relocation of the town of Grantham, shared his story with Lismore when Janelle Saffin MP hosted him during a visit ... Ms Saffin said it was a great opportunity for locals like South Lismore’s Harper Dalton, who established the Relocate Lismore Homes Facebook group, to link with a planning and development expert who nowadays advises disaster-affected communities globally on managed retreat.

Emma Pritchard. After helping to keep the Clarence Valley community safe for 20 years alongside his fellow crew members from South Grafton Fire and Rescue 307 Station, Graham Richards has been recognised for his selfless contributions and dedication to his role. On December 7, the local firefighter was proudly presented with the long service and good conduct medal by Zone Commander Greg Lewis.

Kym Watling. November has come and gone in Unumgar without the sighting of a Christmas beetle – once a reliable reminder that the Christmas season was about to commence. It wasn’t that long ago that Christmas beetles were plentiful in the Northern Rivers.

The Northern Regional Planning Panel chair Penny Holloway heard 38 people speak for or against the development application for the Bentley Quarry expansion at an online meeting on Wednesday, December 7 ... Ms Holloway announced that the quarry expansion DA was considered to be in the public interest and the DA was approved.

The fur seal spent three months in rehabilitation at Sea World before being released outside the heads of Sydney Harbour last week. It was a great success, with tracking data showing Skip travelled 100 km south within the first 24 hours, and he’s currently swimming about 130 km south of the NSW-Victoria border, an impressive 550 km from where he was released.

Biosecurity and safeguarding were front of mind at the Indigenous Rangers Biosecurity roundtable in the Northern Territory ... Indigenous Ranger organisations contracted to undertake biosecurity surveillance are generally located along the northern Australian coastline, with a focus on high-risk pathways with a potential for pest and disease incursions.

Matt Blakers sees the seasons through a photographer's lens and each season has a unique signature that it scribes across the sea. Spring is playful, even flirtatious, and writes with a light hand.  The waves are smaller with a soft and inviting luminescence. Summer, by contrast, writes with a pen packed full of colour, casting hues from a palette of blues and golds. The falling lips of the waves are lighter, the sunsets are brighter and the water is warmer ... But it’s big waves that excite Matt the most ...

Long-time Weipa firefighter Tony Lankester says he’s excited about the prospect of a new station for the local fire brigade after years of lobbying for better facilities in the region. In an early Christmas present, it was announced last week that more than half a million dollars would be spent on building the new headquarters for the Western Cape Rural Fire Brigade.

Health authorities are encouraging all Cape York residents involved in pig-hunting to take advantage of the free vaccination program for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) ... there was heightened awareness of JEV on Cape York following the detection of the virus in some feral pigs in an area north of the Skardon River in June, and a further detection in pigs in the Mapoon area in September.

Steamy conditions made life tough for participants in the Hope Vale Pig Hunt on the weekend, as more than 100 people took part in the 19th annual event. Hunters weighed in 38 pigs, with an average weight of 49kg.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is calling on Australian energy ministers to make sure the transition to renewable energy is overseen by a national code, so we don’t sacrifice food security for energy security ... NFF CEO Tony Mahar said energy, agriculture and food prices were inextricably linked and at a time when food security was high on the agenda, careful consideration had to be given to how the energy and farming industries could work together.

With the price of Australian fertiliser imports rising by a record 128 per cent, PyroAg, a leader in creating commercial quantities of Pyroligneous acid or wood vinegar, is urging Australian farmers to embrace the next generation of sustainable farming practices, as well as stripping their fertiliser costs significantly, with scientifically backed high density liquid that will provide proven substantial benefits to the Australian agricultural sector.

February is when our first turtle hatchling emerges from its nest beneath the sand. Before that happens, Sunshine Coast Council is calling on our community to come together to tidy up their local beach as part of the 9th annual Clean up for the Hatchlings event on Saturday, February 4, 2023 ... Volunteers can register now to pick up litter at various beach locations between Noosa and Caloundra from 6am to 7.30am.

With the cost of repairing Australia’s flood and rain damaged roads expected to top $3.8 billion, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has joined with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to call for an urgent rethink of road construction, maintenance and funding. Speaking of behalf of Australia’s 537 councils, ALGA President Linda Scott said rebuilding these roads to current standards would only cost Australian communities more in the long term.

Rapidly growing interest in the biodegradable, drought-resistant sunn hemp crop is the basis for increased investment in the sector ... It is a focus in the AgriFutures Australia’s Emerging Industries Program thanks to its diverse application as a fibre, fodder, biofuel and even in pharmaceuticals.

Vic Jurskis responds to ARR.News questions including about the different methods for monitoring koalas, sustainable koala populations, koala habitat and the relationship with timber harvesting ... "Gathering numbers should not be an end. Deliberations of the TSSC assume that more is better. The koala’s ecological history of irruptions and crashes in numbers after European arrival clearly shows this not to be the case. Effective monitoring requires an understanding of the reasons for any real changes in numbers."