News

Tweed Shire Council, with partners Social Futures and Boosting the Local Care Workforce Program, are inviting Commonwealth Home Support Program providers to attend a free educational forum ahead of major changes to the in-home aged care sector next year. Strategy In The Face Of Change – Community Aged Care Forum will inform the sector of changes coming into effect in July 2024.

Wimmera grain growers have an opportunity to directly contribute ideas and raise local issues to help the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) invest in locally relevant research, development and extension (RD&E) at upcoming forums. As part of GRDC’s National Grower Network (NGN), grower forums will be held at Goroke, Wallup, Rupanyup, Toolondo and Kaniva from 27 to 30 March, 2023.

The uptake of genomic technology among the commercial beef industry is on the rise as producers understand the power of taking their breeding decisions to the next level. Neogen Australasia NSW Genomics Territory Manager Hannah Powe said the utilisation of genotyping had exceeded expectations with 79 per cent of Angus bulls listed in catalogues in 2022 carrying genomic predictions...

Scenic Rim Regional Council is set to put the bite on wild dogs with its biannual baiting program ready to roll out mid-April. The program, which uses sodium fluoroacetate baits more commonly known as 1080, assists owners of larger land holdings in managing pest animals which not only pose a threat to native wildlife but also pets and other domestic animals. 

Contempt of the Senate is a pretty easy thing to get your head around. Witnesses at hearings who give false or misleading evidence run the risk of being hauled in front of the privileges committee for a “please explain” ... There’s a lot that could be considered as misleading in NAB’s testimony at Sale but saying they are “committed to being where its customers are” is the first outright fib given in evidence to this parliamentary inquiry.

The Strategic Plan for the Forestry Centre of Excellence has been launched by the State Government, laying out the vision behind this $15 million 10-year collaborative project. The Centre, the first of its kind in South Australia, is being developed to create long-term research and development capability to enhance the Green Triangle’s economic prosperity, generating more jobs and investment in the region.

Queensland’s agriculture industry will play a big part in reaching the state’s 2050 net zero emissions target, with the pathway set out by the 21 March 2023 release of the Low Emissions Agriculture Roadmap 2022-2032 by the Palaszczuk Government. The Roadmap charts a clear route for Queensland to achieve even cleaner and greener food and fibre production, while remaining a world-leader in agriculture.

"Landowners and farmers have made it clear at a rally held in Widgee on Friday 17 March, Powerlink and the State Government are not listening to the community ... The community has attended so-called stakeholder meetings in rural and regional Queensland only to discover that the consultation process is tokenism with little to no consideration of alternative power corridors on State owned land": Chair of Property Rights Australia (PRA) Rob Atkinson.

While the Centre is facing what experts say is likely to be the biggest bushfire season in recorded history, the question is not what the NT Government is doing about it, but what it is not. The first blaze is already under way, in the Ormiston Gorge area of the West MacDonnells.

Out now!

The new battery is one of the next 12 large-scale, electricity network-connected batteries that will help Queensland communities reap even more benefits from rooftop solar. Emerald is home to over 1,920 solar systems, and the battery will allow locals to capture cheap renewable energy and drive down power bills, easing the cost of living.

South Australian food, wine and beverage companies continue to reap the rewards from Japan’s largest e-commerce site, connecting with millions of new customers as sales keep surging. Rakuten – a platform described as the “Amazon of Japan” – boasts more than 100 million Japanese users and is home to 27 per cent of Japanese e-commerce, a figure that equated to $40 billion in 2020.

Ports Minister Rita Saffioti has officially opened a new boat building facility in the Geraldton Fishing Boat Harbour. The facility will be the new home of local boat building firm Dongara Marine and will form part of a new precinct within the harbour.

A special installation featuring a dragon and fiery BENDIGO letters has been unveiled at the Rosalind Park piazza to celebrate Richard Wagner’s epic opera series, Ring Cycle, taking up residence in Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre for the next five weeks.

In Ukraine, the best place to make homemade wine is the Odessa region. Here, grapes are grown in almost every rural house. Ukrainian law allows foreigners to buy such houses. But there are no buyers from abroad. Because no one promotes the rural real estate of the region on an international scale. The war further diverted attention from this region. But right now is the time to make profitable deals.

A clever project that makes it easier for people of all abilities to get out and enjoy the Sunshine Coast way of life, is being expanded ... “The project provides a clear solution for those with disabilities to plan and map their routes and is a comfort to travellers and visitors to our region with mobility issues in identifying where they can get to with ease": Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson.

Despite the public perception that the only way to protect species is to create more conservation reserves, Forestry Australia’s view is that koala recovery can best be achieved through a landscape-wide approach to active management of these populations and their forest habitats across all land tenures. There is considerable evidence that the National Park estate is continuing to be degraded due to unnatural fire regimes, pests and diseases, and a lack of active management to mitigate their impacts.

Bunyip and District Agricultural Society Inc. Bunyip Show

Donald High School. After a two-year break, Year 11 students undertook a week’s work experience last week. Fifteen students travelled to Ballarat to work at a variety of workplaces, and two students stayed in Donald. Students worked in the fields of aged care, education, hairdressing, fitness, tourism, civil engineering, accountancy, building and construction, steel fabrication, and agriculture.

The Labour Day long weekend saw the Birchip community celebrating its many talents and services at the Mali Heart Festival, as the most recent Mali Heart Art piece nears completion on the Historical Society wall.