Media Release

The Albanese Government acknowledges the decision of Telstra and Optus to delay their 3G switchover from late August to 28 October to give Australian customers and businesses more time to prepare ... The public media campaign is expected to reach more than 90 per cent of Australians and emphasise the impact on both traditional handsets and other devices that rely on the 3G network…

The Albanese Labor Government is continuing to strengthen our illegal logging regime with the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment (Strengthening Measures to Prevent Illegal Timber Trade) Bill 2024 currently before the Senate.  This legislation will be supported by new rules to replace the current Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 when it expires on 1 April 2025 which are now open for comment.  

Calls to declare productive agricultural plant as a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) are misinformed and risk jeopardising an important livestock feed source, according to the National Farmers’ Federation. NFF Sustainable Development and Climate Change Committee Chair Mr Angus Atkinson said buffel grass was a vital resource for livestock operations and was carefully managed by producers to support grazing operations.

The Indigenous Australian Datathon (IAD) is coming back for its fourth consecutive year in Cairns, from the 1st to the 3rd of November 2024! Spearheaded by KJR and in collaboration with tech pioneers, communities and universities, IAD is set to create waves of innovation uniting Traditional Owners, technologists, data professionals, start-ups, and students in an extraordinary quest to revolutionise the future of Australian communities.

Judy Kennedy. Ticks; a tiny but mighty pain for the Australian beef industry, taking a $146 million-dollar bite out of the sector every year. But after more than 18 years research which began in the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries (now QDAF), a vaccine is showing powerful potential to disrupt the life cycle of the cattle tick.

Australian researchers are peering into the future to prepare for tomorrow’s biggest biosecurity risks. ​The Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA) has developed forecasting models that analyse changing climates and international trade flows to determine which pests will hit Australia hardest over the coming decades.

New data released by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) today shows that the impact of extreme weather on the Australian economy has more than tripled over the last three decades. Insured losses from declared insurance catastrophes have grown from 0.2 of GDP from 1995 to 2000 to 0.7 per cent for the last five years ... The new data analysis is contained in the Insurance Council of Australia’s Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2023-24, released today.

Little heroes are encouraged to prepare for the adventure of a lifetime when PAW Patrol makes their way to the Lockyer Valley! Heroic pups Chase and Marshall, together with their fearless leader Ryder will visit this year’s Laidley Spring Festival come September and remember, no job is too big, no pup is too small for these heroes!

For those who rock, we salute you! Medieval to Metal: The Art & Evolution of the Guitar  hits Ballarat this October.  Exclusive to the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the exhibition features  40  iconic  guitars on loan from the National Guitar Museum (USA) alongside  an awe-inspiring assemblage of photographs, paintings, drawings,  illustrative designs, and  objects.  

A high-yielding, disease-resistant and delicious new strawberry variety has been unveiled at the Ekka, on top of the famous Ekka strawberry sundae. The new subtropical strawberry variety, Stella-ASBP, developed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and Hort Innovation’s Australian Strawberry Breeding Program (ASBP) in partnership with Hort Innovation and the Australian berry industry has hit the shelves this winter.

Laboratory-based study confirms bacteriophages can suppress the growth of rattles-causing bacteria in soil. A ground-breaking project led by Dr Gary Muscatello at The University of Sydney has paved the way for a novel potential management strategy to combat Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals, commonly known as ‘rattles’.

There’s a lot to love about Cooktown; magnificent rainforests, ancient mangroves, reefs home to the legendary black marlin – but weeds aren’t one of them ... But a recent trial with InFarm has brought ground-breaking technology to the top of the country, showcasing the power of AI in weed detection and elimination.

Troubling figures released today show many illnesses among rural, regional and remote Australians could have been prevented or treated better with accessible primary care, thus avoiding the need for hospitalisation. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), many parts of rural Australia have higher rates of potentially preventable hospitalisations, highlighting the need for early interventions and ongoing care, particularly for non-communicable diseases.

As countries including Australia embrace renewable energy production, a recent study sheds light on some overlooked impacts of this transition. While the benefits of renewable energy are well-established, researchers are also examining the less discussed economic and social impacts of the move towards ‘green’ energy.

Charles Darwin University (CDU) researchers are calling out for over 500 citizen scientists living in the northern part of the Territory and Western Australia to collect water samples from their bores using sampling kits in a bid to increase water security.  Groundwater is stored beneath the Earth’s surface and is often seen as out of sight and out of mind, but it is an important permanent source of water in otherwise dry landscapes.  

The Cotton industry’s top awards for the year have been announced ... with the top two awards going to Queenslanders. The 2024 Bayer Cotton Grower of the year is Scott Balsillie, farm manager for Eastern Australia Agriculture in Dirranbandi while the AgriRisk High Achiever award recipients are Steve and Bridget McVeigh from Dalby on the Darling Downs.

With 1 in 6 people aged 65 years and older across Australia experiencing some form of abuse, high-profile First Nations Elders Yalmay YunupiÅ‹u, 2024 Senior Australian of the Year, and Charlie King OAM have joined together to urge community to have a yarn about the abuse of older people ... "We all know the abuse of older people isn’t part of our culture, so we need to come together and yarn about it so we can stop it from happening,” says Yalmay YunupiÅ‹u.

Pioneering Australian benchtop and tile manufacturer Noveco Surfaces and NAB have announced a $7.75 million partnership that will facilitate the development of an innovative new facility, which will scale its local production of crystalline silica-free tiles and benchtops, made from 80 per cent recycled materials ... Nowra-based Noveco Surfaces, in partnership with the SMart Centre at UNSW, the inventors of Green Ceramics, uses waste to product technologies to manufacture sustainable, designer green products.

South Australian producers of sheep and farmed goats and the broader supply chain  will benefit from a new electronic identification (eID) implementation program to  prepare for the traceability system that becomes mandatory from 1 January 2025. A further $900,000 in funding is being provided to establish the eID Advantage  Program to improve producer knowledge and understanding of changed  responsibilities under the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).

At a Community Meeting in Carisbrook ... the findings and recommendations of the Carisbrook Levee Independent Review were shared with residents ... The report has found that overall, there is confidence in the catchment modelling to which the Levee has been built.

The SA Cattle Industry Fund has announced its intention to withdraw funding for the Malinauskas Labor Government’s National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) cattle compliance program, after revelations not all states are contributing equally. Minister for Primary Industries, Clare Scriven, has reportedly pleaded for the decision to be reversed.