NSW

Rex has confirmed the withdrawal of services from five regional centres: Bathurst; Grafton; Lismore; Kangaroo Island, Ballina ... "Qantas’ well-publicised predatory actions on Rex’s regional routes have meant that Rex no longer has the ability to cross subsidise these marginal routes. It is unfortunate that these regional communities are the collateral damage of Qantas’ bullying and heartless behaviour. This behaviour is all the more unconscionable after receiving over $2 billion in Federal bailouts over the past 2 years” : Rex’s Deputy Chairman, the Hon John Sharp AM.

There is good news for lovers of Mexican food. Taco Love Bros restaurant has moved from Lismore to Casino. Chef Dylan Morris and partner Sappho Rose had already planned the move well before the floods hit in late February ... Six new shops have come to Casino including Lismore Watchmakers ...

Tegan George. Agents yarded 897  head at the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange regular prime sale on Wednesday, May 25. The yarding consisted of a good supply of young cattle along with a fair penning of cows. The young cattle consisted mainly of light and medium weight weaners with quality on the plainer side. Cattle are starting to see a drop in condition with the wet weather taking a toll.

Rodney Stevens. Residents of the 2464 postcode have sent a strong message to council through a petition calling for a moratorium  on land filling and further developments until a West Yamba Masterplan is developed. Launched  by environmental watchdog Valley Watch, the petition, which has garnered more than 1550 signatures from Yamba, Wooloweyah and Angourie, was presented to Clarence Valley Council Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy at Sunday's Yamba Markets.

Emma Pritchard. Timber producers throughout Northern NSW have been given a massive boost after the State Government announced a $10 million subsidy to assist local mills impacted by recent bushfires, destructive floods and relentless rain to source supplies from outside the region ... With J Notaras and Sons Sawmill presently operating at 60-70 percent below normal production, Ms Layton said the announcement will enable the local business to source timber supplies from further afield, and most importantly, allow the sawmill to remain operational.

Emma Pritchard. The Grafton Greyhound Racing Club will host several regional qualifying heats as part of the inaugural Thunderbolt series on June 4. Set to become the world’s richest race over a short course distance, The Thunderbolt is a new feature event on the NSW Greyhound Racing (NSWGR) calendar following its unveiling earlier this year.

NSW Farmers is encouraging dairy farmers to work with processors to secure the best farmgate deal possible for their milk, with the deadline for processors to publish their supply contracts around the corner... “Sustainable relationships are important, and farmers should work with processors to position their businesses for growth on the back of these prices.”

Loved for both their great taste and awesome sport fishing, the yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) is one of Australia’s most economically important fish species. Despite their importance, little is known about the species’ large-scale movements, fine-scale population structure or behaviours ... Project Kingfish aims to deploy satellite transmitters on mature-sized kingfish across the NSW east coast and key offshore habitats such as the Lord Howe Island Marine Park to gain further insights ...

The 37 Squadron group visited the Island on Tuesday 10th May. The visit marks the 80th anniversary of the first medivac by the RAAF in May, 1942. It will also serve as a training exercise for 37 squadron to maintain currency for crews supporting Lord Howe Island in case of emergencies.

Dr Jennifer Lavers. Since 2007, the Adrift Lab research team based in Tasmania has been fortunate to visit Lord Howe Island in Apr/May to study plastics ingested by two mutton-bird species, Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters. The database contains a wealth of information on the origin of items (e.g., bottle caps, balloon clips) and amount consumed by each bird species. Over time, it’s become one of the longest-running plastic monitoring programs in the world (certainly in the Southern Hemisphere).

Australia’s oldest organic beef company – OBE Organic – is putting sustainability in the spotlight ahead of World Environment Day this coming Sunday, June 5 with the release of a new report that details industry-leading practices in sustainable agriculture, supply chain management and human resources.

The property known as Kurrumbede  was originally part of the Burburgate run, a vast pastoral holding in the 1800s. In 1905, this estate was subdivided into 58 blocks and sold at auction. Two of these blocks were purchased by prominent doctor and politician, Sir Charles Mackellar, Dorothea’s father, who completed building the homestead on the eastern side of the Namoi River in 1908.

Monday's postponed Port Macquarie race meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday (2nd June). Fields remain unchanged with scratchings reinstated ... With two recent victories on the north coast under his belt, Yorikiri is poised to continue his great run of success in the GemLife Rainbow Beach Benchmark 58 Handicap at Port Macquarie.

Farmers and regional communities in the state’s Central West can now readily access detailed, real-time weather observations received by the new Doppler radar at Yeoval. Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW Dugald Saunders said the information provided by the radar will revolutionise how weather-dependent decisions are made, and will enhance the productivity of rural communities.

NSW Farmers is urging Australia’s new Labor government to act on power imbalances in poultry meat supply chains...The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has identified potential unfair contract terms (UCTs) in chicken growing contracts, including terms that allowed processors to vary growers’ supply arrangements or impose additional costs on growers.    

Joan de Bondt. The Nullarbor Links Golf Course opened in 2009 ... an outstanding success, not just in Australia, but internationally... The unique course, an 18-hole par 72, is the longest in the world, spanning 1,365km with one or two holes in each participating town or roadhouse along the Eyre Highway.

Ali Bohn. After five years, two locations and more than 350 print editions, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper (The Bridge) is officially for sale. It has been quite the journey for proprietor, Lloyd Polkinghorne and his family, who took over the newspaper in 2016 after making the transition to journalism and reporting from his first passion, farming.

Local electorates of Mallee and Farrer have resisted the urge for change, retaining the Nationals member, Anne Webster, for Mallee and Sussan Ley for Farrer, who both find themselves in opposition. Little is known of what the future holds for our agriculture, forestry, irrigation and rivers with the change of government.

The Narrandera Shire Council has endorsed its urban stormwater upgrade design for Narrandera and will place it on public exhibition until July 1 for the community to review the design and funding options and make submissions to Council ... Deputy General Manager (Infrastructure) Shane Wilson said the ultimate solution was $1,900,000 over the original pre-design estimate, which was never thought to be able to achieve such a substantial mitigation of the urbanised flooding.

Despite the Liberals losing the 2022 Federal Election, Member for Farrer Sussan Ley continued her dominance in the area to retain her seat which is the second largest electorate in New South Wales ... Her first preference votes numbered 46,966 (53.4 percent) while Labor candidate Darren Cameron received 16,683 first preference votes (19 percent).