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The politics of heritage are still a worry
You are all aware that the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 (WA) is still in force, at least I hope you are, as nothing has gone through Parliament yet to reverse it ... The problem is the new Act is still live and could remain so well into next year if the State government runs into problems with its amendments with an Opposition that has woken up to the politics of the issue.
Koala dreaming? Too right!
Vic Jurskis. Koala plagues and megafires go together. Koalas are breeding faster than ever on all the soft young growth generated by Black Summer. The scrub development is unprecedented. Our next extreme fire season will kill more people and animals than ever before. But the koala is in no danger of extinction.
Duck hunt for some
A recent inquiry into Victoria’s duck hunting had more than 10,500 submissions, a record for a Victorian parliamentary inquiry. Labor chair Ryan Batchelor said Victoria should end recreational native bird hunting on all public and private land from 2024 ... The report did also recommend transforming hunting reserves into state recreation reserves, and excluding non aboriginals, whilst allowing traditional owners to continue to hunt ducks.
Volunteer crisis could bring down the sport of equestrian
It's easy to go to a big horse event and admire the beauty and talent of the horses, the elegant riders, the enormous size of the fences jumped, but what people should really be looking at and applauding are the volunteers who have made it all possible. These events don’t just happen and unfortunately it is getting harder each year to find the people who are willing to put the time in behind the scenes to ensure the sport we love to participate in and watch continues.
Abandoned wind farms going cheap
What would it cost? And what is the carbon footprint of the physical effort to remove the footing of one of the many 200m tall wind turbine towers soon to be seen scattered across the Wheatbelt? ... I wonder how many of the Greenpeace activist types have watched the doco Thrown to the Wind about the whale deaths off the East Coast of the United States?
It’s bureaucratic, says MP
Member for MacKillop Nick McBride says he does not support the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. Mr McBride said the referendum was bureaucratic and would fail to deliver tangible outcomes for the indigenous people.
Water Bill a recipe for hurt, division and higher food prices: NFF
Farmers are warning that a bill introduced today by Water Minister Tanya Plibersek would obliterate consensus on the Basin Plan and give the Government unchecked power to shut down irrigation farms in Australia’s food bowl. NFF Chief Executive Tony Mahar said the proposal would blow up the Basin Plan and destroy trust and livelihoods in Basin communities.
Environment groups welcome progress on Murray-Darling Basin Plan, but guarantees needed to ensure real water reaches rivers: NCC
In response to a new bill allowing water purchases being introduced to federal parliament, environment groups from across four states have welcomed progress on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, but warn that delays will be costly to the health of our rivers … “While it’s great to see the Basin Plan moving again, it’s important to remember how far behind the Plan is...": Nature Conservation Council of NSW Water Campaigner Mel Gray.
Labor have lost their way on energy: Young
Liberal Member for Franklin, Dean Young, said Labor’s thought bubble of a price cap is a dangerous threat to our energy security. “Labor talks up supply issues but want to interfere in the market with price caps, damaging competition and causing supply to drop,” Mr Young said.
The WA Nationals need to muscle up, not give up
The recent talk in the media of the plan by the WA National Party to trade the leadership of the Opposition for a guaranteed third winnable seat in the upper house was a sign of a political party that was in deep trouble ... If the Nat’s want to survive, they need to take some big policy risks and be more than Robin Hood and Father Christmas wandering around with the Royalty for Regions chequebook that requires the Liberal Treasurer to cash them.
Forester Frank, science and French folly: David Jefford Ward
Although my qualifications lie in other fields, I know Frank Batini as a modest, well mannered, well qualified, and experienced forester. His recent article about his past work on water supply from Wungong Dam, near Perth, has raised concerns with me about the management of water supplies in Western Australia ... Instead of following scientific advice, they seem to have switched their beliefs to the thinking of other kinds of experts, without any qualifications in forestry, fire, or hydrology, but expertly politically aware and active.
Firewood panic – Jarvis’s order leads to double standards: Gavin Butcher
Gavin Butcher. The WA Government’s new forestry policy is unravelling. The responsible Minister, Jackie Jarvis, has started to panic, reportedly ordering 120,000 tonnes of firewood to be produced, and in the process is sacrificing supplies to sawmills. The result is that high quality sawlogs are being set aside for firewood instead of being manufactured for furniture and flooring.
Police are needed in country towns: McArthur
Victoria Police wants to take officers from one-person police stations in 98 small towns and roster them into regional centres and cities to fill police shortages. The rostering change is due to more than 800 police vacancies across the state ... Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, said the move is alarming.
The Voice can be heard in the Communist Manifesto
It’s time for the progressive left and the Yes supporters to give up on the Marxist dream of collectivization and redistribution and instead encourage indigenous Australia to accept that the gap is based on a lack of the opportunities that come with private enterprise, individual enterprise, strong families and less government, not more.
Another incredible story about koalas
Vic Jurskis. Laura Chung from Sydney Morning Herald tells us “Members of one of the healthiest koala populations in Sydney are dying at an alarming rate, as chlamydia-infected koalas and housing development” get closer. Makes you wonder how many different koala ‘populations’ there are in our State Capital ... Premier Chris Minns has a terrible dilemma.
Drought of time to end the drought-funding drip
What would focus the minds of farmers to be more drought resilient is if the State and Federal governments come out together and simply say to all Australia's farmers that 'you are on your own, we are no longer handing out grants when the rains fail' ... If they are going to continue with the Drought Fund, then they should focus on funding some big game-changing projects, not the rats and mice ones that won’t move the dial.
Live sheep ban sets dangerous social licence precedent: GPA
Allan Marshall recently published an excellent article outlining the important role live sheep exports play in delivering multiple benefits, especially improved animal welfare and global food security ... So why does this closure of the live sheep trade concern Grain Producers Australia?
Farm leader calls out Euro ‘madness’: NSW Farmers
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin says it’s time for Australia to stop bending to European demands that would cripple food and fibre production. The latest broadside on Australian agriculture came in the form of a motion to Labor’s federal conference – inspired by European laws – that would directly limit what farmers were able to do on their properties.
How to stifle active forest management – the Wungong catchment trial in Western Australia: Frank Batini
Frank Batini has set down the history of the Wungong catchment trial in order to provide a record that shows how difficult it is to implement any active forest management in the northern jarrah forest. This account may be of interest to forest managers in other parts of Australia.
Captain Cook fighting for political inheritance
Good captains can read not only the shifting winds of the seas and the state of the ship but also the mood of the crew and, when they hit land, have the people skills to mix it with the local population. It begs the question, are our Cook and Buti the modern-day equivalents of Captain Cook and Bligh?
Farmers urged to help stop Labor’s fresh food tax
Leader of the Nationals and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud is urging farmers and families in Maranoa to help stop Labor’s fresh food tax, by registering interest to have their say online. Consultation has now opened into Labor’s Sustainable Funding to Strengthen Biosecurity – Have Your Say - Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
LEAN agenda would drag Labor to the fringe – costing jobs and fuelling inflation: NFF
Australia’s peak farm body has called on delegates at the ALP National Conference this week to vote down a radical anti-farming motion backed by the Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN). Farmers say the “Climate, Clearing and Cows” motion, which calls for methane emissions to be halved in the next 6.5 years, is misinformed and in conflict with mainstream scientific opinion.
