News

David Bruce, Natural Hazards Research Australia. Fire and Climate 2022 (Pullman Melbourne, Albert Park, Monday 6 to Friday 10 June 2022) is an International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) conference on Fuels and Fire Behaviour, Human Dimensions and Safety Summit, in the tradition of past IAWF conferences.

There is good news for lovers of Mexican food. Taco Love Bros restaurant has moved from Lismore to Casino. Chef Dylan Morris and partner Sappho Rose had already planned the move well before the floods hit in late February ... Six new shops have come to Casino including Lismore Watchmakers ...

Tegan George. Agents yarded 897  head at the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange regular prime sale on Wednesday, May 25. The yarding consisted of a good supply of young cattle along with a fair penning of cows. The young cattle consisted mainly of light and medium weight weaners with quality on the plainer side. Cattle are starting to see a drop in condition with the wet weather taking a toll.

Rodney Stevens. Residents of the 2464 postcode have sent a strong message to council through a petition calling for a moratorium  on land filling and further developments until a West Yamba Masterplan is developed. Launched  by environmental watchdog Valley Watch, the petition, which has garnered more than 1550 signatures from Yamba, Wooloweyah and Angourie, was presented to Clarence Valley Council Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy at Sunday's Yamba Markets.

Emma Pritchard. Timber producers throughout Northern NSW have been given a massive boost after the State Government announced a $10 million subsidy to assist local mills impacted by recent bushfires, destructive floods and relentless rain to source supplies from outside the region ... With J Notaras and Sons Sawmill presently operating at 60-70 percent below normal production, Ms Layton said the announcement will enable the local business to source timber supplies from further afield, and most importantly, allow the sawmill to remain operational.

Emma Pritchard. The Grafton Greyhound Racing Club will host several regional qualifying heats as part of the inaugural Thunderbolt series on June 4. Set to become the world’s richest race over a short course distance, The Thunderbolt is a new feature event on the NSW Greyhound Racing (NSWGR) calendar following its unveiling earlier this year.

Australia is laying the groundwork for a third consecutive bumper harvest, with this year’s total planted crop area forecast to reach a record 23.83 million hectares, Rabobank says in its just-released 2022/23 Winter Crop Outlook ... Locally, the bank says, “hopes are on” another large winter crop to allow Australian farmers to secure good margins in the face of high costs for inputs including fertiliser, fuel, freight and agrochemicals.

The Victorian Government has confirmed it intends to slaughter hundreds of wild brumbies in the Alpine National Park and Barmah Forest, and has issued a tender document specifying the carcases will be hacked up and left to rot ... “It’s brutal,” Beverly McArthur, Member for Western Victoria said. “It means 400 broken up carcasses in the Barmah, alone. Worse still, little real effort seems to have gone into the alternative – rehoming the animals – as promised by Parks Victoria."

NSW Farmers is encouraging dairy farmers to work with processors to secure the best farmgate deal possible for their milk, with the deadline for processors to publish their supply contracts around the corner... “Sustainable relationships are important, and farmers should work with processors to position their businesses for growth on the back of these prices.”

Loved for both their great taste and awesome sport fishing, the yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) is one of Australia’s most economically important fish species. Despite their importance, little is known about the species’ large-scale movements, fine-scale population structure or behaviours ... Project Kingfish aims to deploy satellite transmitters on mature-sized kingfish across the NSW east coast and key offshore habitats such as the Lord Howe Island Marine Park to gain further insights ...

The 37 Squadron group visited the Island on Tuesday 10th May. The visit marks the 80th anniversary of the first medivac by the RAAF in May, 1942. It will also serve as a training exercise for 37 squadron to maintain currency for crews supporting Lord Howe Island in case of emergencies.

Dr Jennifer Lavers. Since 2007, the Adrift Lab research team based in Tasmania has been fortunate to visit Lord Howe Island in Apr/May to study plastics ingested by two mutton-bird species, Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters. The database contains a wealth of information on the origin of items (e.g., bottle caps, balloon clips) and amount consumed by each bird species. Over time, it’s become one of the longest-running plastic monitoring programs in the world (certainly in the Southern Hemisphere).

Cook Shire Council has refused to be intimidated by lawyers for the Irwin family and Australia Zoo, voting unanimously to keep the track known as Bertiehaugh Road open. The track, accessed via Stones Crossing, north of Weipa, has been a hot issue in the Cape for more than a decade.

The Cowboys didn’t get the result they wanted but Margaret Mara was still proud of their performance in jerseys she designed.

A slow tourist season should spring to life in the coming weeks as travellers embark on their trip of a lifetime to Cape York... “The tourist park is running as per usual and we’ve got live entertainment every night” : Ken Godfrey, Bramwell Station ... Cape York Mountain Bike Adventures has become popular ... ride all the way to the Tip via the Old Telegraph Track.

Australia’s oldest organic beef company – OBE Organic – is putting sustainability in the spotlight ahead of World Environment Day this coming Sunday, June 5 with the release of a new report that details industry-leading practices in sustainable agriculture, supply chain management and human resources.