Opinion

Michael Balderstone. Martin Soutar from Lismore Council emailed me with an invitation to check out progress on the walking track ... My walking track would have been all natural paths like the thousands of miles I’ve walked barefoot in the Himalayas. A concrete path is like, weird. So, I had mixed feelings about the Track ...

Councillor Ruth McRae OAM, Murrumbidgee Council Mayor. Enough is enough...things you all should know. Crippling water buybacks will see many communities, currently with their back to the wall, disappear, and the shiny trinkets offered by the Federal Government as compensation are $300 million. The Federal Government plans to buy back up to 450GL of water which, at our estimates, will cost them $8 billion. No surprises, there is an undisclosed amount in the Federal Budget to buy water ...

Many of the 5.7 million Australian electric power users without solar panels on their roofs are likely to face very different power costs when they receive their next quarterly bill. Although we have continually been told in recent times that the already high price of power will be reduced, certain power retailing companies are simply currently advising their customers that “new electricity rates” will apply from the beginning of this month. They do not, however, warn that the new rates will generally sharply increase...

Australian Alliance for Animals. The Australian Senate has this week passed historic legislation enshrining the phase out of live sheep exports into law. The Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Act 2024 prohibits exporting live sheep by sea from Australia by May 1, 2028 and unlocks a $107 million industry adjustment package. Australian Alliance for Animals spokesperson, Dr. Jed Goodfellow, welcomed the passage of the legislation, describing it as a pivotal moment in the history of animal welfare in Australia.

The vulnerable in the district are choosing between heating and eating this winter. If they turn on heating to keep themselves warm during the chilly nights, many say they will be faced with eye-watering power bills. So, what does the public do? The [Naracoorte Community] News asked our decision makers to explain why we have one of the highest electricity prices in the world and what is being done to give regional South Australians some relief.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s annual River Reflections Conference was held last week in Albury. The two-day conference was framed as a chance to look at the art of the possible when tackling complex problems and using the wisdom of the collective to shape a way forward together. Wisdom and the Basin Plan have been mutually exclusive terms to date. Would River Reflections 2024 be a chance to turn the page?

NSW Farmers is urging the new head of the Climate Change Authority not to forget the critical importance of agriculture in feeding the future. This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed that Matt Kean, former NSW treasurer and energy minister, would now head the Climate Change Authority. NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the announcement was concerning to those in rural communities who were still dealing with the consequences of Mr Kean’s decisions as minister.

Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven has been slammed for failing to stay across key changes to South Australian biosecurity measures which have resulted in a downgrade of safety initiatives ... “Clare Scriven’s federal colleagues are making decisions that have the potential to impact biosecurity and farmers here in South Australia and the Minister, who is supposed to protect primary industries in our state, is not paying any attention”: Dr Nicola Centofanti.