Life

I am very pleased to the deliver the Regional Budget Statement on behalf of the Government ... This Budget delivers on our election commitments and provides funds for the Government’s purposeful and targeted approach to investing in regional Australia. It contains more than 760 initiatives which the Government is delivering to boost regional communities and industries.

Emma Pritchard. As vibrant explosions of mauve and lilac blossoms engulf the streets in a collage of colour each spring, we know the jacaranda season has arrived, and as a community, we come together to celebrate the Grafton Jacaranda Festival.  An esteemed annual event, rich in local history, culture and tradition, the oldest floral festival in Australia draws people from across the country, and the world, to the Clarence Valley each year.

The first 40 flood displaced residents to move into temporary housing at the Coraki pod village were officially handed the keys by the Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke on Friday, October 21. There are 56 units at the Spring St site with the capacity to house up to 240 people.

Tom Zaunmayr, National Indigenous Times. It may be hard to believe for outsiders conditioned by years of negative national headlines, but Sean-Paul Stephens is adamant the Pilbara town of Ieramagadu (Roebourne) is one of the safest, most beautiful communities he has lived in.

Don’t be fooled by their age because some of Australia’s most elite cricketers are out to prove they can “knock ‘em for six” when they converge on the Barossa for the Veterans Cricket Australia Over 50s Cricket Championships. From 20 November, 42 teams across 5 Divisions will play four games over five days on South Australia’s finest turf wickets with Tanunda, Angaston and Greenock included among the venues outside the metropolitan area.

Samuel Davis. A growing regional centre can double in population, easing Cape York’s housing burden while creating new business opportunities, Cook Shire mayor Peter Scott says ... Among the suggestions raised at the event, Cr Scott proposed changes to zoning laws that would allow for more medium density developments to be built in places like Cooktown.

The Biosecurity (Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Biosecurity Response Zone) Determination 2022 covering relevant international airports has been extended to 30 June 2023 ... "Australia is currently free of FMD and we want to keep it that way. Extending this determination is a key part of our response": Director of Biosecurity and Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Andrew Metcalfe AO.

Former Australian Diamond and SP Netball Founder Susan Pettitt is coming to Narrandera to run a clinic for 6-12 year olds at the Narrandera Netball Courts. Susan Pettitt (nee Prately) represented Australia in the 21/Under Team from 2003-2005. She began her Diamonds journey in 2006, playing the Commonwealth Games (silver) and continued to be a part of an impressive Diamonds lineup...

Kirstin Nicholson. Turn back the clock three years and Cassidy Bullock was unaware that her life path was about to take a different direction ... Cassidy was encouraged by her trade school teacher to enter the Victorian Apprentice of the Year competition run by the Australian Meat Industry Council ... “I was so nervous – it was very nerve wracking. A lot of them were Melbourne butchers, so they were a bit more fancy than a small town butcher" said Cassidy.

Located in WA’s deep south with a population of around 6,000, Denmark has always been known as a creative kind of town. Now home to one of Australia's newest community radio stations -  Denmark FM - station manager, Matt Sivyer, said he first started looking into the idea of putting local voices and local content on the airwaves more than a decade ago ... But Matt had no experience in radio so he knew he’d need help. As luck would have it one of Australia's most experienced radio directors was living in Denmark. Sue Howard, ex National Director of Radio with the ABC, had been with the ABC for nearly 30 years and to say she knew a bit about radio is an understatement.

Over my life I have come to the conclusion there are two type of people: the “could have, should have, would haves”, and the helpers. The “could have, should have, would haves” are the majority. They would have handled things differently, ie, “you should have done things differently and then you could have not been in the trouble you are in”. They were out in force this week when television stations showed the frantic efforts to save broodmares in the Goulburn Valley floods.

Rodney Stevens. Maclean athletics legend Tom Hancock is showing no signs of slowing down at age 86, recently breaking four Australian Records and winning male athlete of the Australian Masters Athletics Winter Throws Championship. The Master’s Games stalwart competed in the throwing only event from October 1 to 3, against 60 of the nation’s best, experienced athletes, aged between 30 and 86 - making him the eldest competitor.

ACALS has opened in Casino in a prominent position near the roundabout at Centre and Barker streets. ACALS stands for Accessible Care and Lifestyle Services.  The Casino office has 10 staff who help people in all kinds of situations.

Samuel Davis. Striding past Buckingham Palace, Joyrah Newman felt a burst of energy as she neared the London Marathon’s finish line. “It’s this painful happy thing,” Ms Newman said. “It’s one of the best experiences" ... The Canberra-based public servant, who still calls Bamaga home, joined the Indigenous Marathon Project in April, 2021. Started in 2009 by Aussie champion, Robert De Castella, IMP uses running to create inspirational First Nations leaders.

The 2022 Muval Index has revealed that the desire to live in a better home or location is the main reason Australians relocate, that rising cost of living has overtaken Covid as a motivating factor to move, that the search for affordable housing is prompting new waves of internal migration from capital cities into the regions and interstate, and that west is a popular direction to go post-pandemic.

Samuel Davis. Simmering tensions between Queensland Health and a Cape York medical service over a major cyber security breach have surfaced in a leaked email sent to community leaders. Apunipima Cape York Health Council staff have been locked out of information systems since the remote service suffered a ransomware attack two weeks ago.

The Commonwealth and Victorian governments have come together to prepare the Centre for National Resilience at Mickleham to provide crisis accommodation for Victorians affected by widespread flooding. From Tuesday, 250 beds at the Mickleham facility will open to help people whose homes have been inundated.

Rita de Bon is a 15-year-old event rider with dreams of competing at the highest level. Despite being born with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and battling the disease all through her young life, horses have been part of it. “She is determined,” her mother, Bhakti, said. “And even though at times the CF interferes, she knows what she wants to achieve and continues on.” ... Although her mother said no Thoroughbreds, they did look at one, a 16hh gelding named Puffin and Rita instantly fell in love.

Get Rhythm is an all-family band from Melbourne, starting with the lead singers Mark and Joanne Caligiuri who are married in real life and the singers band include; sons Chris on bass, Lucas on drums and cousin Adam on lead guitar. They have travelled all over Australia and have spent years recreating the authentic Johnny Cash sound that was very distinctive to the man in black.

People in cardiac arrest will have a greater chance of survival thanks to a $2.5 million partnership between NSW Ambulance and the pioneering smartphone app GoodSAM. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the technology alerts trained responders to someone nearby in cardiac arrest, so CPR can be started before paramedics arrive.