Media Release

Buffel grass is a threat to remote Indigenous communities in Australia because it causes heightened fire risk, damage to cultural sites, and a reduction in the ability to pass on cultural knowledge to the next generation ... Left unmanaged, the weed poses a threat to grazing and cropping systems because it spreads quickly in hotter, stormier weather.

The Water Legislation Amendment Bill delivers on a key commitment by the government to strengthen water measurement in Queensland to improve management of the state’s precious water sources ... New arrangements will help Queensland meet its Murray-Darling Basin commitments, including through telemetry and better measurement of overland flows.

The Malinauskas Government releases its response to the Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission 2019 that will guide action on all 44 recommendations, a key election commitment. The response sets out the government’s expectations, policy positions and proposed actions, focusing on four key objectives...

The state’s peak farming body has welcomed a new Parliamentary Committee to re-examine underground transmission lines following strong community outrage. A recent government-dominated review into undergrounding high-voltage transmission lines ignored community concerns and strong opposition from the farming sector, recommending enormous above-ground towers and powerlines...

The Minns Government’s proposed Great Koala National Park is not an extinction panacea for koalas, says the President of Forestry Australia, Dr Michelle Freeman ... "it is simplistic to suggest that locking away forests is the great panacea for saving koalas from extinction ... In fact, experience shows us that declaring a National Park does not equal koala population growth."  

Mount Isa will next month host a first of its kind, community-led event discussing Australia’s energy future, with a particular focus on nuclear power technology. The Mount Isa Nuclear Power Forum: “What if we went nuclear?” is being staged by Katter’s Australian Party Leader (KAP) and Traeger MP Robbie Katter, who has promised a “frank discussion around the possibilities of nuclear power production in outback Australia”.

Grain growers across central and northern New South Wales are being advised to be ‘alert, not alarmed’ as reports of Russian wheat aphid (RWA) in winter crops come in from across the region. NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) entomologist at the Tamworth Agricultural Centre, Dr Zorica Duric said RWA had been detected in crops on the Liverpool Plains and around Moree in recent weeks.

Australian research project, Farming for the Future releases preliminary findings. In a study of global significance and at a scale never previously undertaken, Phase 2 of the Farming for the Future research program has collected financial, ecological and social data from 130 Australian grazing and cropping enterprises...

Farming groups have come together in Canberra to call out the misinformation peddled in Parliament this week regarding the Government’s rewrite of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. National Farmers’ Federation Chief Executive Tony Mahar said the fact the Government felt the need to stretch the truth just revealed how flawed the proposal is.

Country Road, Landcare Australia and cotton farmers are marking Biodiversity month by celebrating a landmark achievement in their New South Wales Namoi Valley project It’s been three years since ‘The Biodiversity Project’ kicked off in the Namoi Valley and since the first tree was planted, about 60 hectares of cotton farming land has been revegetated.

Ahead of this year’s summer bushfire season, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has created a new resource to help livestock producers prepare and recover. The new manual is called: Bushfire preparation and recovery: A manual for livestock producers and it reinforces the fact that bushfire preparation needs to occur more than once a year or just at the start of summer.

New local laws to better regulate short stay rental accommodation in Bass Coast come into effect, supported by an online portal to streamline applications and approvals for property owners … to better manage short stay rental accommodation across the municipality, paving the way for a more structured, efficient system as visitor numbers surge.

Rural Bank’s Australian Agricultural Exports Report 2022/23 has found that export values reached a record high in 2022/23, driven by the 2022 winter crop. Australia’s top 13 export markets recorded year-on-year growth with the top 12 all achieving record highs, led by China, with Japan and the US retaining their places as Australian agriculture’s second and third most valuable markets.

The NSW Government has announced the process to establish the Great Koala National Park, as well as a halt to timber harvesting operations in the 106 koala hubs within the area being assessed for the park ... ARR.News asked some questions of the Minister about koala surveys and research indicating that properly conducted forestry does not adversely impact koala numbers. A departmental spokesperson responded.

From responding to flood emergencies to trekking through bushland on search and rescue operations, SES volunteers do whatever it takes to keep Queenslanders safe. As SES Week celebrations kick off across the state, Queensland’s volunteers in orange are being honoured for their outstanding efforts in helping their communities prepare and respond to emergencies.

Travel to Rottnest Island is free for kids aged 12 and under this weekend and island admission fees have also been waived as part of the Little Quokka's Big Birthday event. The annual event … celebrates the arrival of new quokka joeys with a program of free activities for the whole family…

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking grassfed beef producers to take part in the piloting of an online platform that is under development in the Environmental Credentials of Australian grassfed beef project ... The platform covers five environmental themes: tree cover, ground cover, carbon balance, biodiversity stewardship, and drought resilience.

The announcement that Indonesia will lift its live cattle export suspension with immediate effect is welcomed. With Malaysia recently making the same announcement, this means our critical live cattle industry can return to normal export routes as quickly as possible.

The National Farmers’ Federation welcomes the agreement to resume the trade of Australian buffalo and cattle following restrictions imposed by Indonesia. We appreciate this has been a challenging time for the Australian and Indonesian industries as these issues were worked through.

The sun and the sea – both abundant and free – are being harnessed in a unique project to create vertical sea farms floating on the ocean that can produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture. In what is believed to be a world first, UniSA researchers have designed a self-sustaining solar-driven system that evaporates seawater and recycles it into freshwater, growing crops without any human involvement.