CATEGORY

NSW

The good and bad of the budget

Last week’s Federal Budget held a few incentives for Narrandera and other centres covered by the Narrandera Argus, including funding for key health worker accommodation across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, a Leeton hospital upgrade, Griffith Hospital redevelopment plus Stronger Country Communities funding for Lockhart and The Rock swimming pools and continuation of the NSW Koala Strategy aimed at doubling koala numbers in NSW by 2050 ... However ...

Murray Crayfish rescue operation

A rescue and relocation operation is currently underway by NSW DPI Fisheries to save Murray Crayfish impacted by poor water quality following flooding along the Murray River. The rescued crayfish will be transported to Narrandera Fisheries Centre for safekeeping until conditions improve and they can be returned to the river safely.

Storms could “make or break”

Kirstin Nicholson. Mick Farrant’s dairy farm is on Flannery’s Road, McMillans and two thirds of his 1,100-acre property is underwater. Excess water from Pyramid and Bullock Creeks has inundated the farm. “It’s a big job moving cattle, it’s just a massive undertaking to shift a whole herd and get set up for them somewhere else. You don’t do that in five minutes,” he said.

In a pinch

It’s been over 10 years since a 5-year moratorium was placed on Murray crayfishing by NSW authorities for our stretch of the Murray River. Sadly, now it seems that Murray cray populations are at risk, not from fishing, but from poor water quality. Dissolved oxygen has fallen to 0.2 in the Murray at Barham and thousands of Murray cray have walked to the edges of the river from Echuca through to Swan Hill.

McNeil Hong Kong bound

Kendall Jennings. With four group one race wins under his belt, former Myall lad, Jye McNeil, has been granted his international jockey licence. The 27-year-old heads to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for a six-week adventure, including the Longines Hong Kong International on December 11, with the possibility of the tenure increased.

Wave of cash and hope for flooded Northern Rivers homeowners

There will be opportunities to repair, retrofit, raise or have the Government buy your home if you were impacted by the devastating floods earlier this year under a massive new Australian and NSW Government program announced by Premier Dom Perrottet, PM Anthony Albanese, Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis and others in Lismore on Friday ... The Resilient Homes Program will offer voluntary buybacks to residents located in the Northern Rivers’ most vulnerable areas, where major flooding would pose a catastrophic risk to life.

Bridge built back better

An 83 year old bridge has been replaced by a new concrete bridge that will last 100 years. The $2.6 million Cedar Point Bridge on Edenville Rd, near Kyogle ... is a single span concrete structure, founded on steel driven piles with greater flood immunity than the previous bridge.

Water management killing the Darling-Baaka

New research published by the University of NSW confirms that it is the over extraction and mismanagement of water that is causing most of the damage to the Darling-Baaka River, not climate change. NSW Nature Conservation Council calls for the Federal Water Minister to stand firm on the timelines for water recovery in the Basin Plan, and restore the voluntary, open tender water buy back process.

River levels at Wilcannia 2022 compared with 1990 – Water report

The river continues to rise at Wilcannia and is now running at just over 10 metres with a flow of 30,043 ML/day. Lake Woytchugga is continuing to fill and the Talyawalka is flowing at 6.7 metres. The river is running at 101,727 ML/day at Bourke and over 135,214 ML/day at Walgett, indicating that there is a lot more to come.

October weather

Hottest day was Tuesday 4th at 29.9C, cooler than the hottest ever day in October at 42.4C on the 25th in 2014. The coldest day was Saturday 8th at 18.6C, well above our coldest ever, 13.2C on the 11th in 2012 ... Mean daily temperature was 24.9C, below the long term mean of 27.5C. Rain for the month, recorded at the Airport, was 207.6 mm, setting a new record. The previous highest ever monthly rain for October was in 1894 when 126.4mm fell.

Tackling the growing food security issue: NSW Farmers

Food security is a growing problem for Australian families, according to a new state government report, with remote communities the worst affected. The Food production and supply in NSW report, from the NSW Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Environment and Planning, found food supply disruption was a driver of food insecurity, and that remote communities were unfairly burdened by the problem.

A royal moment in history

Emma Pritchard. A member of the LGBTIQA+ community and a proud Indigenous woman from Gubbi Gubbi Country, Amanda Daffey is the first candidate to assume the title of Jacaranda Ambassador in the 88-year history of the Grafton Jacaranda Festival after the Jacaranda Festival Committee announced in February that Australia’s oldest floral festival would become a gender-neutral event in 2022.

Retrofest 2022 a rocking success

Emma Pritchard. An exuberant crowd turned back the clock to the 1950s and 1960s at Market Square on October 30 as Retrofest 2022 rocked Grafton’s popular recreational area beneath the blossoming jacaranda trees. A vivid celebration of vintage fashions, classic cars and all things rock ‘n’ roll, the annual event is one of the most popular festivities during the Grafton Jacaranda Festival...

Co-op carves its way to top business spot with diverse workforce

Casino’s largest business has plenty to celebrate. The Casino Food Co-op is the winner of the Northern Rivers 2022 Regional Business of the Year ... The win for the Co-op wasn’t only about the meat industry. Earlier this month, the Co‐op launched a Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.

Wilcannia News, November 2022

Out now!

Hume Dam releases increased to manage airspace: MDBA

Releases from Hume Dam have today increased to 75 gigalitres (GL) per day, up from 50 GL per day yesterday in response to overnight inflows that peaked at 100 GL a day. Further increases are likely with a renewed inflow peak expected later today. Combined with inflows from the Kiewa River – downstream of Hume Dam – the Murray River is expected to approach or possibly exceed the major flood level at Albury in coming days.

Aboriginal working group for cultural fire management: Anderson, Cooke, Franklin

The NSW Government will support an Aboriginal-led working group to develop an Aboriginal cultural fire management strategy ... Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin said that cultural burning is an important practice to Aboriginal communities and wider communities across the State.

Great Western Highway upgrade

The Hartley District Progress Association (HDPA) and the community of Hartley welcome the Federal Government’s decision to pause funding on the NSW State Government’s proposed Great Western Highway “upgrade” from Katoomba to Lithgow. Stopping the “upgrade” provides a critical opportunity to reconsider how best to improve travel times across the Blue Mountains and how best to direct infrastructure funding.

Stock horses didn’t miss a beat as sunshine gave way to rain

Australia's own breed was out in force at the Moss Vale Australian Stock Horse Branch show at the Sugarloaf Equestrian Centre at Cobbitty, NSW. Organiser Jackie Long said the venue cannot be matched. “It is the best place to hold a show,” she said.

All categories