Law & order

The state government’s new policy to fast-track renewable energy projects by accelerating planning approvals has been strongly attacked by Victoria’s peak farming body and one of the state’s leading planning experts. The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) said the policy was a slap in the face after years of sham consultation with farming communities, while the RMIT Emeritus Professor of Environment and Planning, Michael Buxton, said it would lead to “terrible decisions”, with wind and solar farms being “placed in the wrong location".

David Jochinke. Recent news that the Government has requested a nine month delay in proceedings will be a bitter blow to victims of the illegal 2011 live cattle export ban ... There is no reason for this delay besides petty politics ... The Government is meant to be a model litigant.

A Two Rocks man has been fined more than $11,000 and has been prohibited from having a recreational marron fishing licence or possessing marron or marron fishing gear for three years, after being charged for illegal fishing offences last year. The 33-year-old man was caught during a joint overnight patrol by DPIRD fisheries officers and WA Police, three weeks after the 2023 marron season closed.

The Nationals WA have opposed Labor’s contentious Firearms Bill 2024 as the full impact on WA’s health system and individual licence holders was revealed during debate this week. Nationals Leader Shane Love MLA said a months-old briefing note from WA Police, which was only provided to Parliament this week, laid bare the scope of the new mandatory health assessments which WA’s 90,000 licensed firearms holders will soon be subject to.

Asta Hill, with a decade of front line work both as a prosecutor and as a defence lawyer, is a leading figure in creating a policy for the Greens to deal with the noxious crime rate in Alice Springs. Another local woman, Cherisse Buzzacott, is thinking about launching herself into the political arena, also with crime as the main concern, viewing it from the vantage point of health management. 

Member for Barkly Steve Edgington yesterday announced his resignation from the role of Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. Mr Edgington resigned after The Australian revealed one of his staff had a history of domestic violence charges ... Mr Edgington said would not let a job title distract debate on what is a critical crisis across the Territory.

The Victorian Farmers Federation United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (VFF UDV) is stepping up calls for increased transparency as the ACCC’s Dairy Code of Conduct review continues ... “The Dairy Industry Code review has had an overwhelmingly positive impact for Victorian dairy farmers, but strengthening the Code ... will assist farmers in ensuring long term profitability”: VFF UDV President Bernie Free.

Meet newly appointed senator, the former barrister Varun Ghosh who recently took his place in the Senate after he was officially confirmed as Labor’s choice to replace the retiring Patrick Dodson. ... The bit in Ghosh's CV that talks about constitutional law is what every sheep farmer in WA should be interested in, as it hints that our new senator might actually understand the concept of States' rights and that any move to ban a trade that is almost exclusively out of one State may well impinge upon section 52 of the Constitution.

A $26.2 million initiative to tackle regional crime launched last week by the NSW Government that aims to address the increased rate of offending and community safety doesn’t go far enough claims Clarence MP Richie Williamson, who has called for locals to share experiences of crime on a new website.

Neither the Shire of Gingin nor the Department of Local Government will clarify if the shire is being investigated due to complaints and issues raised by ratepayers and residents ... “This means we cannot comment on whether there is an active investigation or complaint or provide any details on progress of matters being looked into,’’ a spokeswoman said.

The Coffs Coast community is urged to come forward and share their experiences about how they’ve been affected by crime, said Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh. Mr Singh said it was clear regional NSW was in the midst of a crime crisis.

In relation to the discontinuation of the case brought by the Nature Conservation Council (NCC) of New South Wales (NSW) against the NSW Water Minister and NSW Environment Minister in 2021 to challenge the validity of the Border Rivers Water Sharing Plan, media releases have been issued by the Ministers and the NCC.

News of an escalation in youth crime in the Clarence Valley has gone right to the top of the Coffs Clarence Police District, with the Commander, Superintendent Joanne Schultz involved in implementing prevention and intervention strategies to prevent re-offending. Superintendent Schultz told the CV Independent the police district has deployed resources locally to tackle the problem of youth crime.

Restoring our Rivers Bill debated at Agribusiness Australia event. The profound implications of the Commonwealth’s Restoring Our Rivers Bill was unpacked in a wide-ranging discussion about the Murray Darling Basin Plan at an Agribusiness Australia event in Melbourne last week in front of nearly 150 guests.

When Bobbie Hill went to bed on Thursday night, the last thing she expected was a car plummeting through the wall of her shop, Bobbie's Baits, Balls and Bullets, at two o'clock in the morning ... They were racing each other when suddenly the driver lost control of his vehicle and went flying through Ms Hill's tin fence, over her lawn, before embedding itself inside the store.

Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, fears laws designed to protect livestock from wild dogs will be scrapped and promised consultation with people in the Upper Murray is nothing but lip service. Member for Northern Victoria Region, Wendy Lovell, told the Victorian Parliament last Wednesday that the Victorian government had surrendered to ill-informed propaganda from lobby groups without talking to the farmers who will be most affected.

A Supreme Court bombshell in Queensland this week as dozens of police and health workers, including paramedics, won a mammoth legal battle over mandatory vaccination, with the Supreme Court declaring they were unlawful ... It’s been nearly three years since Australian state premiers and chief medical officers forced Australians to choose between a novel Covid-19 vaccine within a phase three trial and feeding their families.

Farmers across Australia have been left bamboozled this morning by the Government’s attempt to legislate a new tax on farmers, despite a tidal wave of expert criticism. The Albanese Government this morning tabled new laws to establish the ‘Biosecurity Protection Levy’ - intended to raise $50 million from farmers to bankroll activities that assist importers, airlines and other risk creators.