News

Wanneroo councillors have given their approval for the city to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Wanneroo Trotting and Training Club for a temporary animal relocation area during emergencies such as bushfires. During the 2019 Yanchep bushfire some Seatrees and Breakwater residents with horses, sheep and alpacas had to leave them behind when they evacuated.

In a major coup for Tasmanian sport fans and the visitor economy, Tasmania is gearing up to host seven major hockey tournaments between 2022 and 2027 in Hobart and Launceston with clinics and training camps held on the North-West Coast. Through its continued partnership with Hockey Australia, the Tasmanian Government is providing $1 million in funding which will support the delivery of six major Australian National Championships and one International Pro League match.

It began with a vision to get Sunshine Coast kids back to nature. Now, Wildlings Forest School is teaching outdoor education around the world with one simple goal: to let kids be kids ... From raft building and archery to wood carving and bush cubby houses, the forest school offers a dose of the outdoors enriching the lives of thousands of children, big and small.

New research by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, shows climate change has driven a significant increase in Australia’s forest fire activity over the last three decades. A lengthening of the fire season towards Autumn and Winter were also identified, along with an increase in fire activity in cooler and warmer regions including alpine forests in Tasmania and tropical rainforests in Queensland.

WA Forestry Minister Dave Kelly has announced that the McGowan Government has made an additional 12,000 tonnes of structural pine available over the next three months for the Western Australian timber manufacturing industry and the State's building and construction sector ... In the past, the WA softwood processing industry supplied approximately 65 per cent of pine products to the State's housing and construction market. The remaining demand has been met by timber imported from the Eastern States or overseas.  

The professional association for forest scientists, growers and managers in Australia has expressed its concern at the escalating Victorian forest wars, saying changes are desperately needed in the way the State’s forests are managed. Forestry Australia Vice President Dr Michelle Freeman said the escalating situation in Victoria shows the State’s current approach to forest management is simply not working.

The biggest sporting and cultural event of its kind will come to regional NSW for the very first time when thousands come to see knights and vikings battle it out at the Medieval Faire in Orange next year, thanks to the NSW Government’s Regional Events Acceleration Fund. Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said a $200,000 grant will deliver the world-class two-day Orange Medieval Faire, where visitors can wander through a historical village featuring viking battles, archery, birds of prey displays and a giant medieval catapult.

Block your diaries, book your trip and get your tickets to the hottest festival in Australia, the Boab Metals Ord Valley Muster held 13 to 22 May 2022 in Kununurra in Western Australia’s East Kimberley. A highlight of the ten-day festival is the Aviair HeliSpirit Kimberley Moon Experience headlined by Australian rock legend Ian Moss along with Sheppard, Baker Boy and King Stingray held on Saturday 14 May at the Muster Hub, on the banks of Lake Kununurra and walking distance to town.

Today marks a significant milestone for Phillip Island Nature Park and the very popular little penguins − which were put on the map as a must-see experience 100 years ago today ... Penguin numbers on the island have almost tripled since the mid-1980s − from 12,000 to around 32,000 breeding birds today thanks to extensive conservation work.

"Scarborough via Pluto will be one of the lowest carbon emissions intensity global LNG projects projected to be in production in 2030 and will have the lowest carbon emissions intensity of an Australian originated LNG project at around 0.5 tonnes CO2 per tonne of LNG. The project will minimise its greenhouse gas footprint through development of low CO2 reservoir fluids coupled with energy efficient LNG processing, in close proximity to the end market – meeting market demand at lower emissions intensity" : BHP

Catherine Grimley. With the COVID-19 outbreak facing communities around Katherine and Robinson River, Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation has ramped up its mobile vaccination clinic in the Barkly in order to keep the community safe.

The ladies of the CWA have been getting busy at the moment as they decorate the hall in preparation for the Lions Seniors Christmas lunch to be held tomorrow. The annual event is hosted by the Lions Club, but the CWA members pitch in to help make it special by decorating the hall and creating a festive mood.

Last Sunday Maldon Preschool unveiled their beautiful decorative mosaic. Located at the front of the preschool the mosaic pays tribute to the local area and Mt Tarrengower.   The two metre long project is the culmination of art sessions at the preschool with the children, as well as community outreach activities and incorporates links to families of the region and the local environment.

Last Saturday proved ideal for the second of SteamPacket’s railway platform Blues Masters gigs. The Master this time being the Mistress of the Blues Guitar, Fiona Boyes, who accomplishes the almost impossible task of singing highly expressive lyrics while playing highly complex blues licks at the same time with astonishing ease. (Something B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton never mastered. They sing, then they play: or vice versa.)

Apart from brief periods during April, May and August the Maldon Museum has been closed to the public for most of this past year. Volunteer activities have continued during this time however, and much has been achieved behind the scenes in the way of conservation, cataloguing and indexing. The planned re-opening of the museum is eagerly awaited by the museum’s volunteers who have created a special informative display of Maldon’s mines from days long gone.  

Sheryl Lowe. Members of the Millicent and surrounding district rural community converged on the Wattle Range Council owned saleyards on Tuesday 16 November at 5 pm to find out if Council was going to sell or repair the facility. Millicent Saleyards was discussed at the October and November Council meetings in confidence, amidst claims Council was seeking expressions of interest for the facility.