News

Philip Hopkins. Bushfire policy needs to be driven by rigorous science underpinning politics if the landmark federal-state national bushfire management strategy is to be successful, according to one of the nation’s leading bushfire experts. Dr Kevin Tolhurst, AM, Associate Professor of Fire Ecology and Management at Melbourne University, said fire management was dominated by alternate paths based on politics and science.

Chris Oldfield. Alan Phillips remembers highland dancing in public for the first time during a Naracoorte Caledonian Society function at Bool Lagoon when he was four years old. Now he is a 10-year-old State champion highland dancer, eager to compete in as many competitions as he can. But the prizes are not everything. For Alan, his greatest passion is just being able to perform, meet up with “lots of friends” and have fun.

Chris Oldfield. A desire by parents to get children out of the house, away from screens and in touch with nature is turning the Naracoorte district into a school holiday destination ... “The idea of being able to get out, get the children out of the house and do all the things that we have in the local area that has a nature base, feet on the ground experience, is exceedingly popular.”: Naracoorte Holiday Park Edwards Group regional manager Alison Baker

The Australian livestock industry will work with Indonesian feedlots to help protect their facilities from disease incursions and subsequent trade disruption via a biosecurity support project jointly funded by the Australian Government and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) ... MLA responded to a question from ARR.News about border closures.

The DAFF statement regarding the interception of items containing fragments of Foot and Mouth Disease brings home the urgent need to ramp up the resourcing of Australia's biosecurity systems and implement 100% screening of passengers returning from high-risk areas ... Fiona Simson responded to a question from ARR.News about border closures.

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Parts of New South Wales are in the grip of a Varroa mite infestation, the most serious pest for honey bees ... Narrandera apiarist and owner of King Bee Honey, along with his wife Wendy, David Mumford, is one of the region's beekeepers to be affected. The Riverina region has fared well so far compared to other areas which have had hives eradicated.

Narrandera's iconic koalas are at the forefront of an exciting research project to assess the population, health and genetics of the free-ranging colony. The project, led by National Parks and Wildlife Service, swung into action last month when a six-member team of specialist veterinarians, NPWS staff and a professional tree climber arrived in town to undertake field work.

Kirstin Nicholson. Two of the region’s young farmers will represent Australia at the Young Breeders School in Battice, Belgium. Kaitlyn Wishart and Georgia Sieben are part of the team of five that will represent Australia on the world dairy youth competition stage next month.

The Australian Sheep and Wool show was held at Bendigo on the weekend after a two year hiatus due to Covid-19. The three-day event did attempt to run in 2021, but a snap lockdown saw producers caught out with stock already on site for the show. Wakool stud ram producer, Guy Treweek of Induro White Suffolks, said it was great to be back.

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The latest State of the Environment Report paints a dire picture for the ongoing survival of Australia’s threatened species under ever increasing pressure from feral animals and weeds ... “Invasive species are the common denominator: foxes and feral cats fuelled by rabbits are the major driver of mammal extinctions while foreign plants are a source of major weed problems impacting landscapes throughout Australia. :Andreas Glanznig, Chief Executive of the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.

Landholders in Myrtle Creek, Busby’s Flat, Upper Cherry Tree, Mongogarie, Pikapene and surrounding areas are invited to Fire and Flood Restoration Workshops at the Rappville Pub this month. All Richmond Valley landholders can join in the workshops which will focus on building community capacity and resilience to extreme events.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has released a report highlighting the key drivers behind complaints about mobile services. The report is in response to a shift in complaint trends, with mobile services becoming the dominant complaint type. Between July 2020 and March 2022, the TIO received over 63,000 complaints about mobile services.  

Personal stories keep coming in about elderly people stuck in hospital beds because they can’t get signed out to go into a nursing home. A major issue for people is finding a GP to sign their relative out of hospital.

Emma Pritchard. Rachel King wrote her name in the record books at the Clarence River Jockey Club (CRJC) on July 14 when she became the first female jockey to win the premier staying event of the year, the 2022 Southside Pharmacy Grafton Cup over 2350m onboard the Bjorn Baker trained former French galloper Arapaho (FR). After beginning her riding career in Great Britain, King travelled to Australia and completed her apprenticeship with leading Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse while on her way to becoming one of the country’s premier hoops.

After a two year wait the Laura Geitz Statuette was finally unveiled on Saturday with the help of Tracy Dobie who was Mayor in 2020. A gust of wind arrived just as the unveiling was about to happen, hence the fun photo. The super coach and local Allora hero Wayne Bennett sat by in his comfortable arm chair.

At their Ordinary Council Meeting last Wednesday, Southern Downs Regional Council approved a contentious development application by Arolla Pastoral Company Pty Ltd to build a sheep and cattle feedlot at Mount Marshall ... The feedlot is of much interest to the community, with the application receiving 74 submissions, 11 in favour and 63 against.

Gary Hoey. Blessed with fine sunny weather for a change, The Downs Polo Club hosted the annual Cooke O’Leary carnival which has been running since the year 2000. The fields were in tremendous condition thanks to a joint effort between the club and Rec Reserve groundsman, Bruce Gilbert ... After a tremendous Match going into extra time the winning A Grade team was Downs Webster Cavanagh ... Champion A Grade pony was awarded to James Hoey’s “Polly”.

The NSW Government is backing growing industry calls for the urgent development of a national mandatory sheep and goat electronic identification system in light of the serious threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) entering Australia ... “Individual traceability for sheep and goats will be crucial during an emergency disease outbreak and deliver benefits across the supply chain" : Dugald Saunders, NSW Agriculture Minister.