Media Release

A new Sustainable Procurement Policy has been implemented across the State Government’s infrastructure and transport programs as we continue working to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 ... The introduction of this new policy by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport will ensure sustainability risks...

There have been growing community concerns about the frequency of thefts of metals including copper from energy, communication and transport networks, as well as local schools, sporting clubs and other properties ... The inquiry will look at options for curbing the ability of criminals to dispose of, and profit from, the sale of stolen metal through the scrap metal industry.

Scientists are tracking Australian native stingless bees to determine what they like to eat, and how diet impacts overall hive health and their ability to pollinate crops effectively ... “The incursion of Varroa Mite has placed us in a position where we have had to reassess how we think about pollination”: Hort Innovation chief executive officer Brett Fifield.

Victorian farmers will descend on Parliament House in Melbourne next Tuesday 15 August for the ‘Stop the Towers’ rally, in response to the proposed VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission projects.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has extended the timeframe for making a decision on the  dispute raised by Moorabool and Central Highlands Power Alliance Inc. (MCHPA) in relation to AEMO Victoria Planning (AVP) and TransGrid’s Joint Victoria NSW Interconnector West (VNI-West) regulatory investment test for transmission (RIT-T).

With a legendary lineup of Australian talent, featuring James Reyne, The Beautiful Girls, Kingswood, Dragon, Ash Grunwald, Sunny Coast Rude Boys  & more,  KickAss Festival  have announced the addition of another Australian mainstay, with iconic rock band  The Choirboys joining the lineup. With  3 x ARIA Top 30  charting albums between 1983-1991,  The Choirboys amassed a cult-like following of adoring fans, with 1987’s single ‘Run To Paradise’ a track reminisced by audiences of all ages, even today.

With land sales hitting an all-time high in Quilpie Shire, the vibrant local community is gearing up for a surge of new developments for both residential and industrial properties ... "I’m sure land hasn’t changed hands at such a rapid rate since Opal mining exploded in the region in the early 1900’s,” said Stuart Mackenzie, Mayor of Quilpie Shire Council.

Remember the names, Esther Elder and Adria Cunningham. While each aspires to establish a theatre career, individually their goals and passions differ, and now, beneath the wings of JUTE Theatre Company, the two emerging theatre professionals are gaining valuable experience aboard the team of its latest production, Higher Faster Louder by Marilyn Marsh-Booth.

What do bum-breathing turtles, conservation dogs and giant rat’s tail grasses have in common? It’s all on the schedule as Sunshine Coast Council hosts the Invasive Plants and Animals Workshop event at Obi Obi Hall on September 2 to arm residents with the knowledge to fight invasives on their property.

Optus has improved their coverage and increased network capacity in Brooms Head in Northern New South Wales, by switching on a new tower in the region to help residents, businesses, and tourists stay connected and give them a choice of network provider ... ARR.News asked a few further questions of Optus about the Brooms Head tower.

Media reports of  a new government plan to combat the spread of Red Imported Fire Ants only serve to further highlight the government’s continuing failure to fulfil one of its most basic responsibilities ... CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan has said ... a much smaller treatment area around the Scenic Rim and Gold Coast will be targeted, effectively allowing one of the most dangerous and destructive invasive species in the world to continue spreading north and west unhindered.

The decision by China to remove duties on Australian barley is welcome and opens the way to rebuild a $1.2 billion annual trade flow, grower representative body, GrainGrowers, said on 4 August 2023. GrainGrowers said dialogue between the Australian and Chinese governments had delivered an outcome in the longer-term interests of both countries and Australian growers.

Shuttle stallions are highly valuable, male thoroughbred and standardbred horses who are ‘shuttled’ between the Northern and Southern hemisphere to mate and produce valuable offspring for the racing industry. Renowned for their race-track performance and historic pedigrees, these stallions will mate with some of Australia’s top broodmares.

NSW Farmers Energy Transition spokesman Reg Kidd says upgrading existing powerlines would short-circuit community pain over transmission projects. A proposal from the Victoria Energy Policy Centre to use existing powerline easements to house 80-metre-high pylons and high voltage powerlines was worth investigating for NSW as well, Mr Kidd said.

The Shire of Derby/West Kimberley is very pleased to hear the news that Tassal seafood producers will purchase Marine Purchase Australia, the company behind Cone Bay barramundi. Shire President Geoff Haerewa said that he was delighted to hear that the business will continue, and possibly even expand, and that 50 jobs will also be saved.

Tassal Group Limited (“Tassal”) has completed its acquisition of MPA Fish Farms Pty Ltd and MPA Marketing Pty Ltd (“MPA”), which operate Australia’s only ocean-based barramundi farm at Cone Bay, Western Australia ... Tassal remains focused on its purpose of ‘Sustainably Feeding Tomorrow’ and are delighted to add barramundi to its ever-growing list of products.

The Palaszczuk Government has recently finalised the purchase of around 8000 hectares of land near Hughenden which will form part of Queensland’s newest National Park ... So far in 2023, the size of Queensland’s national parks estate has grown by more than 12,500 hectares

The NSW Government is seeking feedback on a proposed amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan. The proposed amendment would allow aerial shooting as an additional option for the control of wild horses alongside the existing methods such as trapping and rehoming, and ground shooting.

Two citizen science initiatives have been named as finalists in the South Australian Citizen Science Awards 2023 ... Insect Investigators and Find our Fungi are both collaborative projects on which the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board is a key partner.

Queenslanders will have access to more health data with the launch of the new-look and easier-to-navigate Hospital Performance website. The redesigned site includes information and data that enables consumers to compare the performances of hospitals and health jurisdictions across the state.

The community-led battle to save the mining town of Glenden from impending demolition represents a “sliding door” moment for the Queensland Government, Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said ... Glenden, a town of 670 people in central Queensland, is progressively being abandoned as its “anchor tenant” – the Swedish mining giant Glencore – wraps up...

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has launched a petition to the Victorian Parliament calling for the VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission projects to be stopped. VFF President Emma Germano said the petition seeks to make the state’s political leaders take notice of decisions that are impacting Victorian farmers and their communities.