News

Hon Keith Pitt MP joined local member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster and Senator Hon Bridget McKenzie, in Mildura today to talk water with the Murray River Group of Councils. Mayors of the six member councils welcomed the opportunity to directly raise their concerns about the impacts of the Basin Plan on the region on behalf of northern Victorian communities.

Koondrook-Perricoota Forest is Australia's largest redgum forest spanning 33,759Ha. As you drive past the KP Forest on the Moulamein Road it is hard to ignore the colossal banks and outlets that lay dormant. The huge engineering exercise costing more than $100 million was the NSW State Government's approach to meeting Murray Darling Basin Plan objectives. Unable to use the engineering white elephant and KP Forest's health still dire, the community is leading the charge to find a workable, pragmatic solution that can be driven by people invested in the outcome.

The place where an Australian tennis legend was born, the Barellan Tennis Club courts, was renamed to honour the local Goolagong family in a moving ceremony on Saturday.

Nicholas Rapulo. The National Party’s efforts to suppress the release of a $500,000 feasibility study into the revival of the Narrandera to Tocumwal rail line has failed with the report set to see the light of day. A motion put forward by the Shooters, Fishers, Farmers Party in New South Wales parliament passed the upper house last month meaning the report, which has been hidden away, will be released to the public.

NSW Farmers supports a decision to lift the moratorium on Genetically Modified (GM) crops, provided farmers have a choice and that any genetically modified organism has been approved by an independent, science-based Australian regulator. The NSW Government will lift the ban on the use of GM crops by allowing an 18-year moratorium to lapse when the Gene Technology (GM Crop Moratorium) Act 2003 is due to expire on 1 July 2021.

Casino artist and children's author Gwendolyn Gray was mowing when she received a call from State MP Chris Gulaptis ... At the official announcement last Wednesday, Mr Gulaptis said Gwendolyn had also donated artwork for auction for fundraising events, including the local bushfire appeal, and donated her time to schools and the community with teaching and lecturing of art.

There are two ideas on how to use the rail corridor between Casino and Bentley. The newly formed Northern Rivers Rail Ltd wants to see trains on the track with a bike path alongside.

Geoff Helisma. Clarence Valley Council is hoping that Page MP Kevin Hogan can help fill the hole left by Rex regional airline’s announcement that it will cease operating its Sydney to Grafton and Lismore routes as of Friday March 26.

Emma Pritchard. A Melbourne bound freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed near Morrows Road at Nana Glen, roughly 50km south of Grafton last week, with one locomotive coming to rest on its side and several wagons scattered abruptly throughout nearby paddocks. The incident occurred shortly after 2am on February 25, following torrential rain and flash flooding throughout the region.

New arrivals to Weipa this year are still on foot as they wait for their vehicles to arrive on the Sea Swift barge. School teachers, child care workers and hospital staff say they are desperate for their cars and can’t get an answer on when they will arrive.

Weipa will roll out the red carpet for passengers on a cruise ship that is expected to dock in October. The 100-odd passengers aboard Caledonian Sky will get the VIP treatment, says Weipa Town Authority chair Michael Rowland.

... Regrettably, your ABC News story posted 2 February 2021 is fundamentally incorrect (undoubtedly, without your knowledge) ...

... Little Penguins are the smallest penguin species, breeding along the coastlines of southern mainland Australia and New Zealand. The penguin that arrived on the shores of Lord Howe Island was, therefore, a long way from home and was most likely helped along by strong ocean currents. This time of year, Little Penguins shed and replace their feathers before the next breeding season, and this particular penguin was a young bird going through its first moult. While moulting, their new feathers are not waterproof and they are especially vulnerable, so it is incredibly lucky that this penguin survived the long ocean voyage to Lord Howe Island.