News

Sunita is an emerging writer from Lismore with a passion for helping people tell their stories. She works with post-disability arts company RealArtWorks and in the past 12 months has started writing poetry. The Kyogle Writers Festival competition is the first competition Sunita has entered.

It was their day. There were tears, statements from the heart and jubilation at the Federal Court hearing that determined native title on 52 parcels of land in the Richmond Valley. His Honour Justice Steven Rares presided over a makeshift courtroom in a marquee on Stan Payne Oval at Evans Head on Friday.

Seven years ago the Josephs and other residents fought against coal seam gas mining in the Bentley valley. When the movement spread to Bentley from earlier activism at Glenugie and Doubtful Creek, the community far and wide was mobilised to take action and the decision to mine was eventually reversed ... Members of the renamed Bentley - Our Sustainable Future group know they can “do it again” and stop the expansion of the basalt quarry.

Yamba Buccaneers rugby player Kyah Foster has been selected in the NSW Country Junior Girls Rugby Union U14s team after the NSW Country Junior Rugby titles at Kiama last weekend. Playing for the Mid North Coast Tomahawks, Foster was selected after strong performances against Central Coast and Central West.

Geoff Helisma. Clarence Valley Council (CVC) raised its debt ceiling from $131m to $197m at the Tuesday April 27 council meeting. Councillors unanimously adopted general manager Ashley Lindsay’s recommendation to “update its loan borrowing policy to reflect the increased sustainable debt level of $197m, as outlined in the EY [Ernst & Young] March 2021 debt review update” – Cr Karen Toms declared an interest and did not participate.

Emma Pritchard. He spoke so passionately about his work with Clarence Valley youths, Jeremy Jablonski had to pause several times as the emotion of the occasion overwhelmed him. Mr Jablonski, a youth hub coordinator with the New School of Arts Neighbourhood Centre Inc, was among a small crowd which gathered at Fisher Park in Grafton on April 28 to welcome The Honourable Bronnie Taylor, Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Woman, and Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis as they officially launched the Clarence Valley Youth Hubs, made possible through Round 3 of the Stronger Country Communities Fund.

Agricultural commodity prices continue to perform well for Australian producers with cattle prices the most compelling after the benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) surpassed a record 900c/kg in April. The NAB Rural Commodities Wrap, released today, reports trends in global grain markets point to encouraging news for Australian grain growers, while wool prices continue their upward trend.

Armidale producer Bill Mitchell has won the 2021 Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Producer Innovation Award for his remote cattle weighing system, Optiweigh, that enables in-paddock weighing and monitoring. Mr Mitchell was presented the award last night at the Rabobank Beef Industry Awards presented by Queensland Country Life, at Beef Australia 2021 in Rockhampton. Optiweigh is a fully portable in-paddock weighing system that works in all environments, does not require animal training, and does not require installation of additional infrastructure.

A Surf Life Saving NSW drone has been used to successfully locate a missing man in bushland at Port Macquarie, demonstrating the effectiveness of the technology for search and rescue applications in a variety of settings.

Animal welfare practices and tracking the industry’s sustainability credentials are top of mind for beef producers, according to the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) latest annual update. The latest Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) annual update, the fourth since its inception, was launched at the ABSF’s seminar at Beef Australia 2021 in Rockhampton today.

Tie the Knot, Darby McCarthy, Les Bridge and Bob Charley are among the list of 10 thoroughbred racing greats to be elevated to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame (ARHOF) in Adelaide next month. The ARHOF spreads across four categories – horses, trainers, jockeys and associates – and induction is regarded as racing’s ultimate achievement, with the ceremony an opportunity to formally honour those who have left indelible marks on the sport.

As major work begins on the Wiigulga Sports Complex, 12 local sub-contractors and consultants who have been engaged to date to work with Lahey Constructions on the build were welcomed to the site today by Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan MP, State Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh MP and Coffs Harbour Mayor Councillor Denise Knight. More local sub-contractors will join the ranks as the project progresses.

Researchers Andrew Baird and Tom Bridge from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University and Queensland Museum Network recently visited to document the biodiversity of corals in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, accompanied by field assistants Matt Curnock and Duan Briggs. Andrew and Tom are key members of Project Phoenix, an international collaboration seeking to re-invent hard coral taxonomy, using both old methods and new technologies.

Lauren Tischendorf: The swim was a great challenge and overall I felt a well-earnt title to be the first woman (with ratification, the first recorded in history). The conditions, which I already knew about, were large swell and chop, for most of the swim. I absolutely loved it!

Weipa's first CT scanner is just weeks away from being turned on as the Cape’s biggest hospital undergoes major renovations. The hospital also has a new pharmacy and renal dialysis unit as part of an $8 million funding commitment from the state government.

Member for Cook Cynthia Lui said the relocation and upgrading of the pharmacy and renal dialysis unit was completed last month.

More than 60 leaders from Queensland’s 17 Indigenous councils gathered in Cairns last week to discuss common issues affecting their communities, such as housing and inadequate service delivery. The Indigenous Leaders Forum heard from speakers including Minister for Housing Leeanne Enoch and Assistant Local Government Minister Nikki Boyd over the two days.

A major fuel rupture on a Sea Swift vessel will cause freight chaos in Cape York and the Torres Strait over the coming weeks. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has suspended MV Trinity Bay, the main barge for Weipa, pending a full investigation into the cause of the diesel spill, which leaked into the living quarters on the vessel.