Media Release

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.

The Pilbara region has achieved a remarkable milestone, with a record 758.3 million tonnes of exports passing through its ports in the 2023-24 financial year. This marks the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking throughput for Pilbara Ports.

I’m Sam Freeman, and alongside Justin Walsh, Adam Nikitins, and our team, we have been working to ensure Rex’s regional services continue through – and beyond – Rex’s Voluntary Administration.  As we shared on social media last week, we’ve been focused on ensuring our regional network operates without disruption and I’m proud to say that since Wednesday last week, we’ve carried thousands of passengers across hundreds of sectors.

Today  Aither, a Ricardo company, released their eleventh annual Aither Water Markets Report. It summarises water trading activity and trends in the 2023-24 water year and provides insights into the outlook for 2024-25 ... Following a decade of 21 per cent compound annual growth, the Aither Entitlement Index (AEI) has fallen 12 per cent since reaching an all-time high in February 2023 ...

Northern Slopes Landcare Association and Tamworth Regional Landcare are running a series of events for farming communities across the North West to inspire conversations about the importance of soil health and understanding water in our landscapes to build more resilient and profitable farms and communities. The events also feature the screening of new Australian short documentary Thankful for Soil...

A team of CFS volunteers and staff are heading to the United States this morning, ready to assist with dozens of wildfires burning across the country’s west. The eight-member SA deployment will travel to Boise, Idaho, to help fight major fires in the Pacific Northwest, across the states of Oregon and Washington.

A special event is set to celebrate the Sunshine Coast’s magnificent ocean and coastline like never before. If you are a thalassophile – a lover of the ocean – then get ready to take part in the inaugural Sunshine Coast Marine Bioblitz...

Gannawarra Shire Council has welcomed the tabling of the Victorian Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee’s Final Report for the Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria, and will advocate for various key recommendations to be actioned.

Australia must act now if it is to seize the opportunity to play a significant role in decarbonising domestic and global steel production and utilise the nation’s significant international comparative advantage to create a competitive Green Iron industry, Magnetite Mines has asserted in the company’s submission to the Australian Government’s Green Metals Consultation Paper.  

As the Federal Government gets to the pointy end of its Regional Migration Review, peak bodies for farmers, backpackers and tourism have released a new report highlighting the economic value of backpackers in the regions. The report by Aither was commissioned by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), Backpacker & Youth Tourism Advisory Panel (BYTAP) and Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC).

The Albanese Government will strengthen competitive settings through an open approach to market for the Sydney Airport Slot Manager, as part of overarching reforms to the slot system at Sydney Airport. The competitive tender to be released today (Monday 5 August) will require prospective slot managers to demonstrate how they will deliver on the Government reforms announced earlier this year, following recommendations from the Harris Review and the ACCC.

Farmers have renewed calls for meaningful competition reform as experts warn the aviation sector faces similar problems to the supermarket sector ... While Rex’s regional routes were still in operation, NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the similarities between aviation and supermarket concentration were too big to ignore.