Media Release

The NSW Government and NRMA charging network has enabled more than 13 million zero emission kilometres – or the distance to the moon and back more than 30 times – of electric vehicle (EV) travel across the state. The impressive milestone was reached as the network continues to expand, with new chargers along the Mitchell Highway at Nyngan and Bourke and out to Brewarrina along the Kamilaroi Highway.

Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan has launched Dive Ningaloo's new dive charter vessel at an official naming ceremony in Exmouth. The newly restored Lady Ningaloo will provide tourists with access to the underwater wonderland of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef and Muiron Islands.

Construction has commenced on the Kimberley Conservation Hub, a world-class conservation centre at Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Australia ...the important infrastructure will act as a base for critical scientific research, fire management, feral animal control and other conservation projects across 4.3–6.1 million hectares across the Kimberley.

The NSW Government is hanging regional councils and koalas out to dry with their latest plan to remove the right of local government to be involved with approvals for private native forestry. The koala wars that have defined the last 4 years of this coalition government are being refuelled under the noses of Liberal ministers and democratically elected councils by The Nationals: Sue Higginson, Greens NSW MP.

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle has criticised environmental politics holding up rebuilding efforts across the state, saying we need less talk, more action ... Mr Arkle said the independent Natural Resources Commission described the new Private Native Forestry Codes as a significant improvement over the previous codes, with a number of additional environmental protections relating to koalas, unmapped streams and harvesting intensity limits.

Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis has welcomed the certainty the Bill provides to the timber industry and the significant koala protections included. “Farm forestry is a vital component of the NSW timber industry, generating about $482 million and employing 835 people on the North Coast alone,” Mr Gulaptis said.

A North Queensland football coach and first aid officer who has spent his life working with troubled youth has put his hand up to assist in rehabilitation of criminal offenders through a trial of Katter’s Australian Party’s Relocation Sentencing policy. Relocation Sentencing, which has long been touted by the North Queensland-based party as “circuit-breaker solution” to the unrelenting youth crime crisis, would involve repeat offenders being sent to remote properties to work the land while completing compulsory therapeutic programs over a 6-12 month period.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority will increase the release of water from Hume Dam [Friday 11 November] morning ahead of potentially heavy rainfall from Sunday 13 November as forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology. Releases from Hume Dam will increase from 85 gigalitres (GL) per day to 95 GL per day.

A record number of Australian Catholic University pre-service teachers have headed into regional, rural, and remote areas nationally to complete their teaching placements this year. More than 250 teaching students will have travelled far and wide to learn on the job by the end of 2022 ... “We are hoping they will love it so much they will want to return to these regions as teachers on graduation.”

Livingstone Shire Council and leading e-scooter operator, Neuron Mobility, have announced the city’s first e-scooter programme is due to start on Thursday, 10 November. The 12 month trial will see the gradual roll-out of up to 150 of Neuron’s distinctive orange e-scooters throughout the city, including central Yeppoon, Farnborough Beach and Rosslyn Bay Harbour.

Key scientists, conservationists, wetland managers, birdwatchers and farmers from across Australia with a passion for the iconic Australasian Bittern will meet early next year for an Australasian Bittern Summit ... the Bringing Back the Bunyip Bird: Australasian Bittern Summit is the first time such a conference has been held where delegates can see and hear all things Bittern.

Firefighters will be better protected from exposure to dangerous carcinogens than ever before with Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) rolling out world-leading decontamination technology and new fire station designs ... FRNSW Commissioner Paul Baxter said the Clean Firefighter, Clean Appliance and Clean Buildings Plan helps to understand the risks confronting frontline staff and take appropriate action.

Campaspe Shire Council would like to reassure the community that the mosquito monitoring program is continuing right across the shire, treating breeding sites, and trapping insects. Acting Director Community, Mr Andrew Fletcher said the program, jointly funded by the State Government and Council, usually operates across the summer season, from around November to March, however did not stop at the start of 2022 due to the presence of the Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV).

The Scenic Rim's reputation as a leading destination for food tourism was reaffirmed at the 2022 Queensland Tourism Awards on the Gold Coast. Winning a silver award for Excellence in Food Tourism, the region has added to this year's accolades after being named as Best in Travel 2022 by the Lonely Planet guide and the Scenic Rim's Tamborine Mountain taking the title of Top Tourism Town in Queensland in June.  

Alexandra Pastoral & Agricultural Association Inc. After being in a holding pattern for the last two years, the Alexandra Show is finally back and ready...

Omeo & District Agricultural & Pastoral Society Inc. Victoria’s Highest Show Since 1885 is back for 2022. It kicks off with Quick Shears Friday evening 11th...

Australian engineers from global company RingIR will visit the US Department of Agriculture in Boston next month, to test whether their revolutionary technology can be used to ‘sniff out’ pests that attach themselves to containers or other cargo (known as hitchhiker pests).

Farming community Mypolonga has been named the 2022 Ag Town of the Year during Friday night’s Regional Showcase event at the UKARIA Cultural Centre at Mount Barker. Located in the heart of the Murraylands, the entrepreneurial community finished ahead of Crystal Brook, Kapunda, Orroroo and Waikerie to take the prized title of South Australia’s premier agricultural community.

The Opposition has slammed the McGowan Labor Government’s failure to see flow-on effects of banning native forestry on industries which rely on timber to provide goods and services. Opposition Leader Mia Davies said more than a year had passed since the announcement to end the native forestry industry yet many businesses still don’t have clarity on what their futures hold.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Victoria has found state-owned logger VicForests has logged illegally, and ruled for the first time that VicForests must protect threatened Gliders. Environment East Gippsland and Kinglake Friends of the Forest brought the case in 2021, to protect endangered Gliders in East Gippsland and the Central Highlands ... The groups are calling for the state Labor Government to end logging now, not in 8 years’ time.

Rex announced its regional pilots have overwhelmingly endorsed a new industrial agreement with the airline, the third key workforce group to have done so in the last two months. A staggering 86% of the pilots, who operate Rex’s fleet of 61 Saab 340 turboprop aircraft to 58 regional destinations Australia-wide, voted in favour of the new four-year agreement.

Four tourism operators across the Northern Territory are creating new evening experiences for visitors, to enhance their attractions and encourage more tourists to visit the NT ... “These new evening experiences enhance our tourism offerings in the NT, which in turn helps to generate positive reviews and attract more visitors to explore our regions"; Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Nicole Manison