Opinion

The state government’s new policy to fast-track renewable energy projects by accelerating planning approvals has been strongly attacked by Victoria’s peak farming body and one of the state’s leading planning experts. The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) said the policy was a slap in the face after years of sham consultation with farming communities, while the RMIT Emeritus Professor of Environment and Planning, Michael Buxton, said it would lead to “terrible decisions”, with wind and solar farms being “placed in the wrong location".

David Jochinke. Recent news that the Government has requested a nine month delay in proceedings will be a bitter blow to victims of the illegal 2011 live cattle export ban ... There is no reason for this delay besides petty politics ... The Government is meant to be a model litigant.

Now another TEDxMaldon event is underway. Themed The Brave and the Brilliant, it’s being held ... at Maldon Vintage Machinery and Museum ... TEDxMaldon aims to inspire and cultivate change for the better.

With the Latrobe Valley a possible site for a nuclear power station, the federal Opposition has upped the argument for nuclear as a possible way for the nation to lower greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining a reliable and cheaper energy supply.

Hugo Bombora. Dear Senator Varun Ghosh, Congratulations on your recent appointment to the Australian Senate. Nice to bump into you at a wedding last Saturday night. Thanks for the insightful questions. As acknowledged, it’s hard to put together one’s thoughts with Taylor Swift playing in the background. But as promised, here they are via email.

Meet newly appointed senator, the former barrister Varun Ghosh who recently took his place in the Senate after he was officially confirmed as Labor’s choice to replace the retiring Patrick Dodson. ... The bit in Ghosh's CV that talks about constitutional law is what every sheep farmer in WA should be interested in, as it hints that our new senator might actually understand the concept of States' rights and that any move to ban a trade that is almost exclusively out of one State may well impinge upon section 52 of the Constitution.

Walk out your front door and look down the street.  If you are in the regions or in suburbia, then you will look at a tall wooden pole that carries the cables that gives you electricity. Have you taken much notice of them?  Probably not, but the pole is native hardwood harvested from a native forest where, through the application of science, it was encouraged to grow that straight.  Timber power poles are selectively harvested from regrowth or working forests.

Over the next 10 years 2700 mansions, at a cost to the taxpayer of $1.5m each, will be spread across Aboriginal communities in the NT outback ... It's simple: $4,000,000,000 divided by 2700 houses equals $1,481,481 per house ... we have asked Mr Albanese and Ms Lawler for a break-up of what the $4 billion will be spent on.

Last month at the GRDC Crop Update I put my name down to attend the GIWA breakfast expecting to hear all about how growers' 1 per cent of farm gate returns is being spent on grains R&D, only to find that I had signed up for the Ag Sector Diversity and Inclusivity Breakfast ... Now, don’t think I'm not into equality and diversity; I’m a big supporter of equality of opportunity with the goal of the best person getting the job, and I’m an even bigger supporter of diversity of opinion, as groupthink or lack of thinking is the beginning of the end for most organisations or even whole countries.

Seems the old saying "all roads lead to the city" applies as much to country kids as it does to new migrants who have just arrived. Can you believe that Australia has imported 8.15 million people since 2000? ... The National Skills Commission report has found that 45 per cent of employers struggle to fill apprenticeship positions and even then 53 per cent of starters fail to complete their qualification. Australian kids just don't want to get their hands dirty, while the skilled migrant workforce who are trade-qualified prefer the big cities to the bush.

Alex Vaughan. Why is Central Australia almost the only region nationally at an increased wildfire risk across autumn? The National Council for Fire and Emergency Services unequivocally links this risk to buffel grass invasion and buffel grass regrowth and curing, enabling fire conditions to overcome the longstanding norm for fire regimes across arid and semi-arid lands where “wildfire frequency is typically once a decade”.

“Victorian Labor’s attempt to again reboot consultation on transmission lines is an admission consultation has failed abysmally on VNI-West,” Member for Mallee, Dr. Anne Webster, says. The State Government has introduced a Bill to establish VicGrid, claiming the new brand will “modernise the way new energy infrastructure is planned and developed in Victoria while giving communities a voice in the process”.

I keep hearing that we should emulate European farmers by driving our tractors through the streets protesting against our Federal government’s attempts to stop farmers from farming. However, before farmers rush to the tractor, it's crucial to understand the vast differences between Europe's agricultural sector and Australia's ... This is what happens when farmers get into bed with government and take their coin.  It’s a lesson we should learn.