News

Michelle Elvy is happy to bring a little bit of boring to her newly created role as she looks to put her stamp on Rio Tinto in Weipa. The new general manager of bauxite, replacing the GM roles at Weipa and Gove, says that safety and stability will be pillars of her leadership.

Despite years of warnings, public protests, approaches to Ministers and Members of Parliament, and, in particular, the vocal opposition of the very active Community Action for Windsor Bridge (CAWB) group, Roads & Maritime Services in NSW insisted on building the new Windsor Bridge across the Hawkesbury River in exactly the wrong location.

Barkly MLA Steve Edgington met with the team from Sun Cable this week – the company which has signed a milestone agreement to advance the $22 billion Australia-AASEAN Power Link). Mr Edgington said the project will see up to $8 billion invested in the Barkly which will host the largest solar farm and renewable energy system in the world.

“The damage to residents is they don’t feel safe in their own homes and there’s nothing the police can do because the courts just let them go" ... "We have had many break-ins and a lot of public assets damaged and it just goes on and on. Just months ago there was about $80,000 of damage to the Bowls Club and now it’s not available for public use and we can’t afford to fix it. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars fortifying buildings to keep the vandals out. They are not just stealing but destroying everything – it’s ridiculous”: local resident and Barkly Regional Council CEO, Steve Moore.

Last week Kyogle mayor Danielle Mulholland said she couldn’t hold onto the news any longer or she would burst when the announcement was made that Kyogle Council would receive $40.3 million in state funding to replace 84 bridges.

The Wakool Show was back with a fantastic flurry of fun, food, music and entertainment. This year’s show was rolled into one action packed evening and the community support was fantastic with families coming from Wakool, Moulamein, Koondrook-Barham and Deniliquin.

Narrandera’s century old police station has been branded as outdated and the community’s plea for a new station will be on the NSW Police Minister’s desk this week. Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke has heeded the call from Narrandera Shire Council and is due to speak with Minster for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott.

Geoff Helisma. “It is my intention to provide RDA Northern Rivers with a copy of the Clarence Valley Regional Economic Development Strategy [2018 – 2022],” Clarence Valley mayor, Jim Simmons: wrote in his minute, “which identifies [CVC’s] ‘Engines of Growth’ as being tourism, agriculture (beef cattle, blueberries, macadamias and sugar cane), aquaculture, forestry, logging, sawmilling, marine manufacturing and logistics. I see our focus being on growing these ‘Engines of Growth’, along with improving our digital connectivity within the area, to capitalise on the state government’s recent decision to decentralise the public sector workforce to regional areas"

Emma Pritchard. There is a lot of admiration for the unique piece of equipment Grafton Fire and Rescue 306 Station Captain Garry Reardon holds proudly. The impressive state-of-the-art remote piloted aircraft system (RPAS), more commonly referred to as a drone, is the latest addition to Grafton Fire Station and will assist in the protection of the Clarence Valley community and help keep the dedicated team members who make that possible, safe as well.

MidCoast Council is again asking the community to refrain from approaching or feeding Dingoes in the Tea Gardens / Hawks Nest area following the need for lethal control of a sub-adult pack this week. The three males and two females had been involved in at least five incidents involving people and domestic pets over the last month, all increasing in ferocity ... "We are all really disappointed that it has come to this," said Council's Senior Ecologist, Mat Bell.

There will be no Laura rodeo and races this year after both committees decided to pull the pin for a second straight year. Last year’s events were made impossible by the closure of Cape York to outsiders and this year’s event was abandoned as a result of strict COVID-19 rules.

A misleading front page story went viral on social media pages last week, causing great angst for Cape York tourism operators. The Cairns Post ran the headline “CAPE ACCESS DENIED”, with a story pointing to a number of Cape York locations that were closed to visitors.

After nearly 20 years of waiting, a rare World War II artefact has finally been restored to its former glory and unveiled to the public. The 40mm Bofur gun – one of only 11 produced during the wartime year of 1942 – has been part of the Whyalla Maritime Museum collection since the early 1990s, desperately awaiting restoration due to age-related deterioration.