Land & environment

Renewed focus on weed biocontrol through a collaborative initiative is set to deliver benefits to land managers and the environment in the fight against weeds. The initial phase of implementing the National Weed Biocontrol Pipeline Strategy includes the drafting of a national priority list of candidate weeds for biological control.

“At the same time we have seen these shocking declines in volunteer numbers, without any genuine attempt to stem the flow, Labor governments have embarked on a land lock-up spree that has seen National Park size in Queensland increase from around 6.6 million ha in 2002 to more than 7 million ha in 2022 ... Then we have the Prime Minister running around the country saying he will protect 30 per cent of lands, meanwhile what is currently under lock and key are poorly-managed, ecological wastelands that raise the nation’s bushfire risk": Traeger MP Robbie Katter.

The critically endangered southern purple-spotted gudgeon will be reintroduced to River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari ... The gudgeons have been a missing part of the river system for over a century, and are being reintroduced to the Breakout Creek / Purruna Pari section, which has progressively been restored from an artificial channel to a more natural waterway.

Despite low mouse activity reported around Australia, grain growers are being asked to remain vigilant and harvest cleanly to enhance future baiting effectiveness and increase on-farm profitability. Leading mouse experts recently spoke at the National Mouse Group Meeting supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment, where the link between harvest losses and baiting effectiveness was discussed.

"Our connected solution, PestConnect, collates and analyses emerging trends through millions of data points crunched by machine learning algorithms, identifying patterns and correlations that human observation alone might miss, which enables us to map and predict pest activity more effectively and then control pest activity sustainably": Andrew Stone, Rentokil Initial MD.

The third $10,000 red-tagged barra of Million Dollar Fish Season 9 has been caught just five weeks into the season. The season runs from 1 October 2023 until 31 March 2024 ... This season someone is guaranteed to win a million dollars.  

Two small wetlands in the middle of western Victoria are at the heart of a plan to bring back a critically endangered aquatic plant. Davis’s Dam on private farmland between Lake Buloke and Birchip, and Creswick Dam north of Marnoo, are being managed with water for the environment partly to help re-establish the marbled marshwort aquatic plant.

The lack of a TAFE, children with special needs, the health bureaucracy, E-tag regulations, arts, rare earth mining, radiation therapy and plastics were among 16 questions asked at last week’s Country Cabinet forum in Naracoorte. During a two-day whirlwind visit SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, his ministers and all department chiefs collectively met with hundreds of people as they travelled to various special spots within our region.

The landmark federal-state CarbonNet project, which aims to take carbon dioxide emissions from the Latrobe Valley and sequester them under Bass Strait, has got the go ahead for a vital part of the project – the plan to build a pipeline that will carry liquefied CO2 to the coast. The 100 kilometre-pipeline – 80km buried onshore and a further 20km offshore – will take liquefied CO2 to a carbon capture and storage hub at Golden Beach, creating a connection for multiple carbon capture projects.

A potential new non-lethal and ethical approach to control invasive mammal pests was showcased at a briefing held at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide ... Hosted by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and the University of Adelaide, the briefing introduced guests to a world-first breakthrough in gene drive technology.

BirdLife Australia, leaders for bird conservation in Australia, reveal the preliminary results for the Aussie Bird Count. With more than 420,000 counted, the colourful Rainbow Lorikeet once again comes out on top, beating the Noisy Miner with nearly 220,000 and the iconic Australian Magpie with around 154,000 counted.

North East Water’s work has been recognised with a major award and a high commendation ... North East Water’s complex $6.5 million Beechworth project involved drilling through granite bedrock to construct a one-kilometre pipeline in Beechworth Historic Park, making it one of the longest single shot boring operations attempted through granite in Victoria.

The Ferrero Group is selling its $70 million hazelnut development near Narrandera amid claims that the region’s climate played a key factor in its decision. The move to not proceed with its NSW project is considered a major blow to the establishment of a commercial-scale hazelnut growing industry in Australia.

Two black-and-white ruffed lemurs have been paired together at the Altina Wildlife Park near Darlington Point. The species is critically endangered due to poaching and deforestation and one is from England and will provide genetic diversity to the Australian lemur population.

Australian farmers are requesting donated hay at a phenomenal rate as drought and bushfire conditions bite ... Queensland cattle producer Betty Johnson, of Biggenden, this month received hay from Rural Aid ... “We’ve had no rain at all since about January which means that I’ve been feeding stock for ages. If you’re feeding stock, it costs money.”

Improved accountability would boost progress on the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, according to the Productivity Commission. The interim report of the 2023 Murray–Darling Basin Plan implementation review finds the Australian Government’s recently proposed extension of the Basin Plan timeframes is necessary but won’t be enough. “In the five years since the last Commission review, very little progress has been made on water recovery, or on supply and constraints-easing measures,” Associate Commissioner Chris Guest said.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says the Productivity Commission’s Murray-Darling Basin Plan Implementation Review backing of more water buybacks would irreversibly damage Basin farming communities and tears up a decade-long agreement to collaboratively manage the river system.

As at Tuesday 31 October the Goomburra Fires are under control after many days of fire fighting and back burning. Each day about half a dozen units are attending the fires which are still burning in the hills.

As spring turtle nesting season begins, the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board is asking drivers to play a crucial role in helping to protect the region’s vulnerable freshwater turtles. Turtle fatalities as a result of traffic accidents are a significant contributor to the steep decline in freshwater turtle numbers in the Murraylands and Riverland.