Life

QRAM would like to invite you to check out and use the eSafety resources we’ve developed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and other community members from remote communities.

Parents forced to leave town or quit their jobs. Frustrated parents in Weipa are hoping that a survey could lead to a solution for the town’s growing child care issues ... Rio Tinto has lost some of its own employers as a result of the child care shortage and the mining company’s recent call to employ more local women was met with the complaint about the lack of options for care.

Continuing COVID border restrictions are making life difficult for farmers and harvest workers at the start of a bumper season. For the second year in a row, farmers are scratching their heads on how to harvest fields full of crops with limited access to workers and COVID testing facilities that have limited hours of operation. NSW Farmers Grains Committee Chair Justin Everitt said there needed to be a coordinated effort from governments to make sure the season wasn’t wasted.  

Community consultation has begun on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 after Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson received the final draft from Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich.

Tony Piccolo. The local Afghan Community in the South East have told State Members of Parliament of their fear for the safety and wellbeing of family and friends living in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of allied forces and the installation of a new Taliban Government. The community shared their stories with a delegation led by religious leader Sheikh Ghulam Ali Haideri and State Member of Parliament, Mr Tony Piccolo who visited Naracoorte to offer support to people who are dealing with the confronting and difficult fallout from the events in Afghanistan.

Gabrielle Duykers. A Zambian refugee camp seems an unlikely environment to foster an art career, but for one Mount Gambier man, that is where it all began. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sadiki Kamundele is a skilled sculptor and painter, who works in a variety of mediums.  

Western Downs Regional Council’s popular Adopt a Street Tree program is bringing more trees to the streets this Spring as planting commences across the region. Adopt a Street Tree has been a significant initiative of Council since its launch in 2017 and has since received thousands of applications from residents of the Western Downs.

Woodridge residents are thrilled with a decision by Gingin councillors to reject a development application for a new quarry on Caraban Rd but the applicant can take the matter to the State Administrative Tribunal for review. On Tuesday councillor Frank Johnson put forward an alternative motion that the council refuse the application by Sheepco for a quarry to operate on Lot M1332 Caraban Rd.

The Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says regional Victorian students – especially those at smaller schools – will be left at a significant disadvantage under the Andrews Labor Government’s staggered return to school plan ... Research released by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute found lockdowns and school closures – not COVID – are the main risks to children and adolescent health in this pandemic.

As a producer in our highly competitive industry it's important and difficult to keep up with the market. For over 20 years we tried to sell Rose. We made different styles, different grape varieties, fancy packaging. Our Rose wines won numerous show awards. We tried targeting various markets: women, young  people, the gay market. But we were pissing into the wind. So we gave up. Then Rose took off. Wrong place, wrong time.

There have been several house fires in the past two weeks – in Casino, Mallanganee, Deep Creek and Cawongla ... RFS crews from Mallanganee, Mummulgum and Tabulam brigades as well as Fire and Rescue NSW assisted at the Deep Creek farmhouse fire ... On Monday, two bushfires were under control by RFS.

Geoff Helisma. It wasn’t too long ago, Dheran Young was kicking a football around a vacant lot in Young Street, Wooloweyah, along with a lot of other kids from the neighbourhood – on Saturday September 11, Mr Young, 33, was elected to the Northern Territory Government as the Member for Daly.

Emma Pritchard. A proposal by Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) to take Grafton Fire Station offline temporarily in the event of staff shortages has fired up the local community, including Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis. As residents angrily expressed their concerns in response to the proposal on the Clarence Valley Independents Facebook page, Mr Gulaptis said he won’t accept any proposal that puts the community at risk.

A new digital service offering a lifeline to those struggling to access legal support has been launched by Canberra family law firm Parker Coles Curtis. Loungeroom Lawyer, the first initiative of its kind in Australia, gives people who need after-hours legal advice the opportunity to speak directly with a family lawyer via video conference or phone, at a fixed price.

New laws allowing voluntary assisted dying in Queensland were passed by parliament last week. Member for Cook Cynthia Lui was one of the supporters of the legislation, which was a conscience vote for Labor and LNP politicians.

No matter what one's position might be on the many variations of the Climate  Change discussion, it is apparent that this well written book is a call from the heart for immediate action, with the author's focus being - ‘How do we simultaneously achieve good health for people and our planet?’

After the bitter disappointment of not being able to have a concert last year, there was an extra level of anticipation as an audience of several hundred family and friends gathered on the north oval in preparation for an evening of performances by the students with the theme “Books Alive”.

Chris Oldfield. After raising almost $9000 for the community, Lucindale’s Op Shop has grown out of its store, and relocated. Affectionately known as “Harrod’s of Lucindale”, several women have been working around the clock setting up the Lucy Loves Again second-hand community store in the former ANZ Bank building.

A free community stargazing event at Cunderdin on 29 October 2021.

Kendall Jennings. Koondrook Barham was graced with a visit by the paddlesteamer Emmylou on Tuesday afternoon, September 14. Built in Barham in the 1980s and named after American country singer Emmylou Harris, the vessel is a small motel catering for 16 passengers and a small crew of three or four. This was the first visit from PS Emmylou in 38 years and was shadowed by the Pride of the Murray on its Echuca return leg. The Pride of the Murray is returning from Swan Hill, where it was in the dry dock for maintenance.