News

The April school holidays are almost here, and with it brings the return of the Critter Trail on Chapman: an interactive experience for young detectives. Coordinated by the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery (GRAG), the Critter Trail is a series of art pieces along the CBD portion of Chapman Road depicting critters that have ‘borrowed’ art from the City’s Collection.

Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said while there were not a huge amount of “big ticket items” for the Cape in the budget, there was enough to ensure residents would be better off ... Labor's candidate for Leichhardt, Elida Faith, was not impressed with the budget ... Katter’s Australian Party candidate Rod Jensen said the Far North’s needs had been ignored in favour of short-term “sugar hits”.

Rio Tinto’s Indigenous Employment and Development team are gearing up for another jam-packed year of programs, activities and events across Cape York ... Weipa operations general manager Shona Markham said she was impressed by what the team offered.

A man as been fined $15,000 by the Cooktown Magistrates Court over the felling of 113 old-growth trees in the Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park. In 2020, a timber export company entered into an agreement to log Cooktown Ironwood trees (erythrophleum chlorostachys) on two Cape York stations that border the national park.

The burgeoning northern Australian spice industry has moved from concept to impact with the first orders secured to replace 100 tonnes of imported kalonji seed ... “We’re currently contracting farmers in Queensland to supply seed to meet this first order, and we’re looking for more farmers to work with us as we build this industry across northern Australia to tap into the booming demand for spices around the world”: Lewis Hunter, AgriVentis Technologies.

Australia signs an historic trade agreement with India, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, that will further strengthen our relationship while making Australian exports to India cheaper and creating huge new opportunities for workers and businesses.

The state’s farmers are disappointed the federal government has failed to crack down on unfair contract terms. A Bill aimed at delivering fairness for small business by making UCTs unlawful was introduced in early February – but has not been progressed by the federal government.

When it comes to the big-ticket items for Tasmania the federal budget doesn’t meet Tasmania’s needs for agriculture. The infrastructure spend on water and roads only provides small change for Tasmania. Water is 0.18% of national spending and roads are 0.55%.

The population projections for the 2022‑23 Budget include population growth and components at the national level out to 2032‑33 and 2025‑26 for states and territories.

Congratulations to David Berkman and the team of Rockfest for putting on a great show for the Island this year.

Luke & Dani. For those of you who remember Pixie Hanson running laps of the airstrip before school (with Elsie, Millie, Ruby and Gale), or charging down Intermediate Hill, or blitzing the LHICS cross country race, you may have wondered why she was always moving faster than the rest of us.

Steve Smith and Ian Hutton. Thanks to everyone who participated in the 5th Lord Howe Island Sea Slug Census. While conditions were challenging, we nevertheless managed to find and photograph 61 species. Seven of these are first records for the island.

Plans for a boarding school for Tennant Creek have been boosted by a $6.3 million funding announcement in this week’s Federal Budget. The funding is in addition to a standing $9.2 million Federal Government investment and a $3 million contribution from the NT Government.

The Minister for Remote Housing and Town Camps, Chansey Paech, visited a number of homelands at Utopia recently where housing works are rolling out ... In remote communities across the Barkly, there are 74 new homes either completed or underway with dozens more planned.

Chair of the not-for-profit foundation Robert Glover told the Times, “We’ve raised over 1.5 million dollars since the beginning, and every dollar we raise goes to the cause. We pay for our own petrol, accommodation and food. The funds raised have provided transperineal biopsy machines and specialist care for rural hospitals around Australia, and today’s ride will assist in providing two more machines, one for a hospital in Shepparton and another for Hobart.”

The NSW government has announced a draft declaration of the South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), supporting greater investment in solar, wind and storage projects. The recently published draft would see a fifth formal REZ established in an effort to replace the state’s dependence on coal, this time across NSW’s regional towns of Balranald, Buronga and Hay.

Australia's largest irrigated cotton property, Cubbie Station, is back in local hands after Chinese textile giant Shandong Ruyi sold its remaining stake to co-owner Macquarie Asset Management. Cubbie Station is responsible for around 10% of the country’s cotton output and is now entirely held by the Sydney-based company.