News

Pam Dillon. Students from a remote Barkly school have been developing their swimming and water safety skills during a fun-filled visit to Tennant Creek. Seventeen students from Canteen Creek School hit the pool for several days of aquatic instruction under the watchful eyes of Swimming NT Pathways Manager Thomas Noblett and Barkly Sports Education Coordinator Pam Dillon.

The meeting started with a community conversation with attendees forming groups afterwards to brainstorm ideas which were collected and collated to be presented at another meeting to be held in the coming weeks. Speakers included Barkly MLA Steve Edgington, The Mob Aboriginal Corporation’s Josephine Bethel, local business owner Steve Baldwin and Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation’s Dr Geoff Evans. The meeting was a civilised affair with residents and interested stakeholders focused simply on solutions.

A bitter stoush has erupted over a proposed water tower mural at Yerong Creek with the community labelling the art work as garish and cartoonish. A deputation to Lockhart Shire Council’s March meeting pleaded for a replacement design, with their petition of 100 signatures and suggestions passed on to a selection committee and a decision was due to be made this week. Residents were “insulted and angry” over the short consultation time frame on a design already endorsed by Council.

Kirstin Nicholson. “Everyone has their own role and responsibility. The three events are all different technicalities where you’ve all got to gel together and work as a team, but there’s also a bit of speed put in. Between first and third place sometimes there’s not even one second,” explained Brigade captain, Matthew Trigg. Matthew cannot speak highly enough of the team and it is clear he is impressed with their effort and achievement. “The crew works really well together. We haven’t had much training, and it shows you their dedication. When we get down there, we make every minute count.”

They had been planning to construct a lake out the back of the Rappville Pub. But publicans Lisa Rosenbaum and Col Foyster didn’t expect the deluge last week to leave a body of water so vast it lapped at the steps of the back veranda as Rappville faced flooding ... Through it all they kept serving drinks at the bar. Dave Newby came to the pub in a tractor to get through the floodwaters, she said.

Geoff Helisma. The NSW Government has granted $30.8 million in funding to Clarence Valley Council (CVC) to replace 31 timber bridges in the Clarence Valley. The council was successful with 31 of 32 applications to the Fixing Country Bridges (FCB) program. Staff wrote in the report to yesterday’s March 30 CVC meeting that it was “an unprecedented amount of funding for timber bridge replacements in the Clarence Valley over the next two years”.

Emma Pritchard. The temporary causeway across the Mann River near Whytaliba on Old Grafton Road was destroyed during the recent flood, leaving many locals stranded and facing an additional drive of more than 100km via Buccarumbi to access Grafton.

Amy Foxe. A significant event occurred on 5th March which is certainly worth mentioning and celebrating whilst the project team continue to work towards practical completion. A combination of slightly lower than average overnight demand and very clear morning skies provided the perfect conditions for the solar PV and solar-charged battery to take the island load for a full 24 hour period.

Ian Hutton. With the removal of the rodents and owls in 2019, we are seeing another dramatic increase in bird life - not just the Woodhens, but all land birds, especially Emerald doves. There are also more seabirds: Black-winged petrel numbers are increasing; Grey ternlets are being seen on rock cliffs from Ned’s Beach to Middle Beach, Brown noddies are increasing in areas where they breed.

Rabobank. The long price surge in Agri commodities markets subsided last month, as la Niña weather worries eased and South American crop advances pushed frenzied speculators to catch their breath. Wary consumers start to think of the most consequential US summer harvest in the last eight years. Then, as now, high US acreage and inputs will be no panacea; corn and soy must also yield well to keep corn and soy stocks from falling into scarcity.

FRDC. An historic, Traditional Fishing Agreement has been signed between the Narungga Nation in South Australia and the South Australian Government.

CSIRO. The US government has announced it will fund a pilot-scale test facility to demonstrate a next-generation concentrated solar thermal (CST) technology that Australia helped develop. The falling particle CST technology is 100 per cent renewable and can store multiple hours of thermal energy for firm, fully dispatchable power generation.

The vaccination rollout across the remote reaches of the Torres Strait has been made easier thanks to the generosity of Skytrans. The airline has committed to supporting the vaccination rollout by transporting vaccines and supplies for free across the region to all locations serviced by the airline on Cape York and the Torres Strait.

“Policing can’t just be about responding to crime,” says Senior Sergeant Warren Flegg. “It’s about having a connection to the community and encouraging strong behaviours, especially with the younger generation.” ... “It’s on every community member to do their bit to stop domestic and family violence,” he said.