NSW

Geoff Helisma. Environmental watchdog, Valley Watch, first began predicting flooding of Yamba, as a result of developing West Yamba, in about 1995; on Sunday May 21, the group will present a more than 1,000-signature petition to the mayor, Ian Tiley (or his proxy), calling for a moratorium on further filling and development approvals on the Yamba floodplain. “Basically, the petition is demanding a well-designed master plan for West Yamba,” Valley Watch spokesperson Helen Tyas Tunggal said.

Emma Pritchard. Flicking through the pages of The Lonely Jacaranda, Manager of The Book Warehouse in Grafton Jess Wood is delighted by what she sees and reads. Written, illustrated and self-published by Grafton author Russell Irving, The Lonely Jacaranda tells the tale of a little jacaranda tree, the first one to arrive in Australia from South America as a seed.

Vic Jurskis discusses data from historical reports and field surveys and concludes that koalas are in no danger of extinction. ARR.News asked some further questions of Vic.

The Australian Rural & Regional News webinar held on 21 April 2022 is now available for public viewing.

Fewer than 50 people have made it all the way from Cooktown to Healesville since the Bicentennial National Trail opened in 1988. Rob Wylie managed to make it from Cooktown to Tamworth when he attempted it 25 years ago, but daughter Libby is aiming to make it all the way to Victoria – likely sometime next year.

Joan De Bondt. Young Jack Thomas from Koondrook has landed a dream job in England as a performance engineer with the Aston Martin F1 team based in Silverstone, around a hundred kilometers from London. Jack has been in his new job for three months. He is a graduate performance engineer, motivated to learn, contribute and win in fast-paced, team environments.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry report into health outcomes in rural, regional, and remote communities but warned that action is also needed at the federal level to ensure the future of general practice care in the bush.

“It is impossible for this to be achieved by 2024. So, what happens then? Will we have huge volumes of water sitting in dams supposedly for ‘environmental use’ that cannot be released because it won’t fit down the system, but not enough water allocated to growing the food and fibre our nation needs? Under this scenario, regional communities will continue to suffer, and every Australian will be hit by increased cost of living" : Speak Up Chair, Shelley Scoullar.

Kirstin Nicholson. Sophie Baldwin wants to make a change. The Cohuna born and bred woman is standing in the upcoming federal election. She is the first woman from this district to stand in a federal election, and the first person to stand as an independent ... Passionate about water advocacy, in 2020, she started working with Southern Riverina Irrigators and it soon became evident that someone needed to have a louder and stronger voice.

A push is on to rekindle interest in establishing a centre to honour one of Narrandera's most prominent figures from the past - Monsignor Patrick Hartigan ...better known under the pen name of John O'Brien, the legendary, internationally recognised pioneer poet ... Australian champion bush poet Noel Stallard took on the role of John O'Brien for 22 years in the annual John O'Brien Festival.

Narrandera has taken a step back in time this week as the town hosts about 80 vehicles featuring iconic names as Renault, De Dion Bouton, Maxwell, Triumph, Humber and more for the Veteran Car Club of NSW rally.

Narrandera-born Renee Kiley was the sole Australian competitor in the women’s professional race in the St George Utah (USA) Ironman event at the weekend when the Brisbane-based former Narrandera athlete finished a creditable fourteenth in the world.

There were 120 applicants for the eight new affordable housing units in Casino. Eight people now have a home to call their own. Momentum Collective with support from the State Government opened the $2 million affordable housing building in South Casino on May 6.

When you head to the voting booth, you will be listing the Page candidates 1 to 10. One is your first choice, 2 is your second and so on. Number 10 is for your least favourite candidate. Your preferences matter.

Geoff Helisma. Election campaigns cost money, lots of money. The major parties, which more often than not form governments in their own right, have a distinct advantage when it comes to funding multi-million-dollar campaigns. But, over recent weeks it’s the ‘teal’ independent candidates who have emerged as a threat to the current government’s re-election. The Independent spoke with teal independent, Hanabeth Luke, who is contesting the Page electorate.

"It is a great honour to be our community’s representative in Canberra. I have and always will have, our community’s interests front and centre. This is the most important election in recent history – it is about jobs, flood recovery and cost of living” : Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan.

Emma Pritchard. It is one of the toughest sporting events in Australia. A challenging 228km journey which physically and mentally tests the endurance, courage and mindset of every participating athlete.

Environment Minister James Griffin said the newest of the seven feral free areas is a 2,000-hectare forest in South East Forest National Park near Bombala, called ‘Nungatta’ ... "when the site is feral predator free, we’ll reintroduce native mammals that were once abundant in this habitat, such as the long-footed potoroo, eastern bettong, smoky mouse, and eastern quoll." ... ARR.News asked a few questions of the Minister and received answers from a departmental spokesperson.