Media Release

Australian scientists have observed signs consistent with H5 avian influenza (bird flu) in wildlife during a management voyage to sub-Antarctic Heard Island ... Scientists observed unusual levels of mortality in elephant seals on Heard Island in recent days.

Law practices in country NSW have embraced a new ‘regional jobs board’ for the state’s legal profession seeking to attract solicitors wanting a tree-change and brighter career opportunities.

The Northern Territory Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (NT DAF) Livestock Industries team together with farm staff at the Old Man Plains (OMP) Research Station, are running an Artificial Insemination (AI) program to introduce new genetics to the OMP research cattle herd.

Neoen, one of the world’s leading producers of exclusively renewable energy, is today celebrating the inauguration of its 412 MW Goyder South Wind Farm in South Australia. Located on the lands of the Ngadjuri Nation near the town of Burra in SA’s Mid North region, Goyder South is the largest wind farm in the State and in Neoen’s portfolio.

University of South Australia and Kangaroo Island Research Station ecologists have made a remarkable discovery about the mysterious and endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart: it is partial to climbing trees ... “The last thing I expected to find in one of our pygmy-possum nest boxes some distance up in a mallee eucalypt was a dunnart.  It was a wonderful surprise,” says Peter Hammond.

South Australia’s Ikara-Flinders Ranges and Outback has been named one of the world’s top travel destinations for the year ahead; the only Australian place to make the list. Global travel authority, Lonely Planet, unveiled its top destinations with the release of its Best in Travel list for 2026 today with the Flinders Ranges & Outback listed among globally renowned tourist destinations...

The state’s peak farm body says Newcastle and the Hunter Valley have a golden opportunity to build a strong future around agriculture as it transitions from coal. On Thursday NSW Farmers Board Director Bronwyn Petrie launched Beyond Coal: New Growth for Newcastle and the Hunter...

Gulf and North West deserve service, not continued failures, Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Leader and Member for Traeger Robbie Katter has said. Mr Katter reiterated his call for genuine reform to air transport services in the region, noting that the fleet that the new American owners have acquired is not fit for purpose in the Gulf.

On 21 October 2025, a Sale and Implementation Deed to purchase Regional Express Holdings Limited (Rex) was entered into by US corporation Air T, Inc. (Air T) and the Rex Voluntary Administrators. The Australian Government welcomes these announcements, which mark a positive step towards bringing Rex out of voluntary administration.  

The National Aerial Firefighting Fleet is now in position and ready to respond when disasters hit, as Australia gears up for the 2025-26 Higher Risk Weather Season ... These aircraft are primarily used for firefighting, but can also contribute to supporting Australian communities across the country...

Aboriginal communities across NSW are working with Forestry Corporation to integrate cultural burning into government bushfire management frameworks. These local partnerships, under the Federal Government-funded program Fire, Country and People, aim to strengthen community resilience to major bushfire events and improve land management practices across traditional Aboriginal lands.  

Forest Fire Management Victoria’s (FFMVic) newest recruits are gearing up for the summer bushfire season, undertaking intensive training camps across the state.

Australian livestock producers have been facing an unprecedented period of market volatility over recent years, with swings in cattle and sheep prices reaching record extremes, Rabobank says in new research. In the report Managing increased volatility in Australian livestock markets … volatility has long been a feature of livestock markets, both the scale and frequency of price swings have intensified significantly over the past five to 10 years.

James Oxenham, CEO, HRIA ...Australia's agricultural equipment market reached $7.8 billion in 2024, with rental and leasing models experiencing significant growth as farms increasingly choose to hire machinery during peak seasons rather than commit to outright purchases. This shift represents a fundamental rethinking of how Australian farmers approach their operations, and it's reshaping the industry from the ground up.

Country Mayors Association of NSW Chairman, Mayor Rick Firman OAM has commended Westpac Bank for opening a new Regional Service Centre in Moree, in north-west NSW and for what appears to be a vastly improved attitude towards servicing country NSW communities.

Australia is forecast to harvest a larger winter grain crop this year, with Rabobank estimating total volumes to reach 62.8 million tonnes in its just-released annual 2025/26 Australian Winter Crop Forecast.

Supply Nation ... announced a new national milestone with members recording a total of over $5.83 billion in procurement spend with verified Indigenous-owned businesses in the 2024-25 financial year ... Supply Nation’s recently released report The Sleeping Giant Rises found that for every dollar of revenue produced by Indigenous-owned businesses, $3.66 of positive economic and social value was generated into the Australian economy.

After 165 days at sea, British adventurers Jess Rowe (28) and Miriam Payne (26) arrived in Cairns last night, completing their extraordinary non-stop, unsupported 8,000-plus-mile (15,200 km) Pacific Ocean crossing from Lima, Peru to Cairns, Australia. Their 9-metre rowing boat, Velocity, crossed the finish line off Cairns Yacht Club at 6.42 pm (local time in Cairns, Australia)...

The Allan Labor Government is supporting an Australian luxury skincare brand working to in-house 100 per cent of its manufacturing by the end of the year, after relocating to Kyneton ... RATIONALE, a Victorian-owned skincare product manufacturer, invested $7.8 million to relocate its headquarters from Melbourne to Kyneton in 2022...

Get ready to join Australia’s biggest pre-loved treasure hunt—the annual Garage Sale Trail is next month! Happening over two weekends, November 8-9 and 15-16, the trail is returning to Whyalla, and we already have sales registered, offering an incredible range of items to browse.

Have you heard of the Koala Karaoke program? ... Koalas were heard at 23 per cent of sites in 2020, 32 per cent of sites in 2021, 17 per cent of sites in 2022 and 47 per cent of sites in 2023.

Guulabaa – Place of Koala, the world’s first purpose-built wild koala breeding and visitor centre, has been recognised with the Australian Good Design Award Winner accolade in the Built Environment category at the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards.