Media Release

This project assessed the impact on honey bee biosecurity of reduced access to public land floral resources as a result of the 2019-20 Australian bushfire crisis. It investigated current biosecurity programs and practices, gaps in biosecurity coverage, beekeeper use of public lands and biosecurity risk as a result of changes in the beekeeper’s enterprise, and delivered recommendations relating to policy change, technology investment and research and development.

This is the Productivity Commission’s second five yearly review into the effectiveness of the implementation of the Plan and it focuses on what needs to change for it to be delivered in full ... The Productivity Commission is consulting widely on its review including with Basin governments, environmental water managers, peak bodies, researchers and academics, Aboriginal people and Basin communities.

Australia has handed over 500,000 doses of lumpy skin disease (LSD) vaccines to Indonesia as part of the Australian Government’s work to fight exotic animal diseases before they reach our shores. The vaccines are part of 1 million doses the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is providing to assist Indonesia to control LSD.

"Australia is the sixth most forested country in the world but is a net importer of timber products. The current approach is not working if we want to continue to provide local timber products to support affordable housing and flow-on benefits to meet society’s needs. We are in effect, exporting our forest management challenges to other nations, when we have high environmental standards and highly skilled professionals and scientists to appropriately manage our resources locally": Dr Michelle Freeman, President of Forestry Australia.

In last week’s Federal Budget, the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, announced a new levy on farmers to help raise an extra $1 billion over four years to help overhaul the nation’s biosecurity protections ... “Australian farmers are not the ones posing the incoming biosecurity threat, so why are they the ones specifically paying for it when every Australian gets the benefits of good biosecurity?”: Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur.

The Malinauskas Labor Government is delivering on its election commitment with the introduction of new laws for stronger penalties for people who disturb or destroy Aboriginal heritage ... The new laws will make the maximum penalty for the damaging, disturbing or interfering heritage offences $2 million for body corporates and $250,000 for individuals and/or 2 years prison.

A new plan developed by Gannawarra Shire Council in partnership with more than 30 agencies will guide the Gannawarra’s recovery from the October-December 2022 floods. The Gannawarra Municipal Flood Recovery Plan features 48 priority actions across 11 recovery target areas that Council and other agencies will work on to guide recovery efforts.

Powerlink has developed a new framework – the SuperGrid Landholder Payment Framework - that significantly boosts payments to landholders hosting new transmission infrastructure. Under the new framework, Queensland landholders hosting new transmission infrastructure will receive higher payments.

The Northern Territory is currently on show at the Northern Australia Defence Summit – a key industry event to promote opportunities and enhance support for the defence industry. The Northern Territory is positioned as a key enabler for defence in the Indo-Pacific region and the Northern Territory Government is undertaking a range of strategic investments to support a capable and resilient defence industry.

More South Australians will be able to access the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) vaccine, with eligibility now expanded even further. The expansion removes the requirement to be outdoors for four hours on most days for people living or engaging in outdoor flood recovery (clean-up) efforts in eligible high-risk areas adjacent to the River Murray.

From kindergarten to high school, Sunshine Coast students are turtle-y in love with turtles ... “Hatchlings are the most popular topic with the kids wanting to know if they can breathe under the sand, how they get out of the nest, what happens if they get left behind and if a mother turtle can find the hatchlings if the nest is relocated": Leisa Baldwin.

Boat operators are urged to take special care in the Tweed River, with several sightings of a dugong reported to Council over the past 12 months. While dugong are known to occur in Moreton Bay, the presence of one of these marine mammals in the Tweed is both unusual and exciting.

The Lockyer Valley knows only too well just what the impact of a severe weather event can look like – physically, mentally and emotionally. Following two severe flood events in 2022 alone, after bushfires and years of drought, Lockyer Valley Regional Council has forged important new partnerships to bring tangible benefits to the community.

Artwork by ten local artists will adorn temporary vinyl mesh fencing around a number of Council-owned buildings while they undergo flood restoration ... "I hope when people walk past these construction sites, the artwork puts a smile on their face and lifts their spirit”: Lismore City Mayor Steve Krieg.

NSW Farmers is calling for a comprehensive, ongoing review of devastating flooding during La Nina to prevent future threats to people, property and livelihoods ... NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said many people had reported unprecedented damage resulting from these floods, and called for a review into floodplains and planning decisions that may have exacerbated the problem.

In line with the Government’s response to the independent Inland Rail review, ARTC is now taking a staged approach to deliver Inland Rail. The section of Inland Rail between Beveridge in Victoria and Parkes in New South Wales (NSW) has been prioritised for completion by 2027.

Leader of The Nationals, David Littleproud, Federal Member for Flynn, Colin Boyce, and Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, and have joined local Kalapa graziers in central Queensland to see first-hand the impact renewable projects will have on the region’s environment and communities. It comes amid concerns over a planned 10,910-hectare Moah wind farm project, 30 kilometres west of Rockhampton.

A commitment to preserving and celebrating the heritage of the Tweed section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT) has been acknowledged with an award at the prestigious National Trust Heritage Awards. The Tweed section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail took out first place in the Conservation – Landscape category of the Awards at a ceremony in Sydney on Friday 12 May.

A fishing season for a high value sea cucumber in the Torres Strait has reopened for the first time in 20 years thanks to a concerted conservation and stock restoration effort ... Torres Strait Islanders will have exclusive access rights to black teatfish, which is estimated to be worth $380,000 to the local economy.

Australia’s beef sector is set for a return to "more normal" market conditions in the season ahead, after a recent extraordinary period marked by record prices levels and volatility, according to Rabobank’s Australian Beef Seasonal Outlook 2023. But while prices are projected to track in a narrower range – at close to current levels – through the year, this is still "historically high’ and expectations are that beef producer margins will remains strong, the agribusiness banking specialist says.