Law & order

Government red tape had to be addressed before Naracoorte Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross could take up his position as a local government representative on the SE Water Conservation and Drainage Board (SEWCDB). Operating under special legislation, the SEWCD Act mainly provides for the conservation and management of water and the prevention of flooding of rural land, among other things.

A Wimmera feedlot operator has been convicted and fined $140,000 following the electrocution of a worker while operating a telehandler in 2020 ... The court heard the 29-year-old worker was using a telehandler to stack hay bales at the Gerang Gerung property in November 2020 when the raised boom and bale lifting attachment made contact with overhead power lines.

Major crash investigators are seeking information regarding a fatal crash which occurred in Gabbadah, near Seabird on Saturday, December 2. WA Police said about 3pm, a blue Nissan Navara utility was travelling south on Indian Ocean Dr when it left the road and struck a tree, near Tuart Rise.

“This is one the biggest things any government has done for the environment in a decade. I said from day one that I was determined to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full, including the 450GL of water for the environment. That’s what I’ve done ... we’ve worked with people across the Parliament to strengthen this legislation and make it law ...": Tanya Plibersek.

It’s disappointing the House of Representatives passed the Albanese Government’s Closing Loopholes Bill. We’ve consistently called out this Bill for being fraught with issues that it will make it harder and more expensive to create employment opportunities in farming. 

Federal Member for Groom Garth Hamilton has launched an attack on the proposed Government’s proposed legislation aimed at giving the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) a graduated set of new powers to combat misinformation and disinformation across the sector ... "But who gets to decide what is false, misleading or deceptive? Not you - the Government," Mr Hamilton said.

The Victorian Labor Government voted against a private member’s bill seeking to repeal the prohibition on nuclear energy activities. Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, spoke in support of the bill stating that the future is nuclear. “Nuclear energy is the cheapest and most reliable zero-emission clean energy source of minimal impact." ... As of June 2023 there are 57 nuclear reactors under construction worldwide and 21 are under construction in China. France announced plans to build six new reactors and to consider building a further eight.

In a major nationwide operation against organised crime and illicit tobacco, Australian police have arrested 25 individuals and executed multiple search warrants across several states, including Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. The focus was on disrupting the activities of the Comanchero and Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCGs). As part of this extensive crackdown, Nhill was included in the operation.

Michelle Daw. Prompted by its investigation into 26 reports of off-target impacts of the herbicide Overwatch on Yorke Peninsula, Primary Industries and Regions South Australia says it will crackdown on non-compliant use of agricultural chemicals ... PIRSA has referred the reports to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority but has not yet received feedback. Manufactured by FMC Australia, Overwatch is a pre-emergent herbicide which is applied during seeding time in April/May to control annual ryegrass and some broadleaf weeds in broadacre crops.

Basin communities, farmers and businesses will join forces for the nation’s largest ever protest next week against the Albanese Government’s controversial water bill. The coordinated action led by Deniliquin, Griffith and Leeton councils, along with key farming groups such as NSW Farmers and businesses, will see towns across multiple states host demonstrations on Tuesday, November 21, sharing the message that a rewrite of the Murray Darling Basin Plan will cost thousands of jobs and slash almost $1bn worth of food and fibre from farms.

The Country Mayors Association of New South Wales has joined forces with the Police Association of New South Wales and NSW Farmers to call for a Parliamentary Inquiry into crime, law and order in rural and regional New South Wales ... “It is estimated one-third of New South Wales’ population live outside metropolitan areas,” Mayor Chaffey said. “But we are still second-class citizens when it comes to the safety of our communities.