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Allora residents want more from their Council
A Connecting with Council meeting hosted by Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) in Allora last Wednesday provided an opportunity for residents to speak their minds about issues important to them. Seven of the eight councillors, Mayor Vic Pennisi and a few SDRC officers were in attendance to speak about and listen to issues affecting the town.
A tale of real animal lovers and riding Betsy to school: Bev McArthur
With no thanks to the Animal Justice Party, all Victorian racetracks, race meetings, trial meetings and racing precincts just got safer. The recent passing in the Victorian Parliament of the Racing Amendment Bill 2022 prohibits the unauthorised access to these places and events and any acts that make them unsafe ... Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, said the legislation targeting the radical, animal rights activists, was overdue.
Concern over lack of consultation on superannuation tax increase: TFGA
The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers (TFGA) oppose Treasurer Jim Chalmers proposed increase on the superannuation tax rate to collect an additional $2 billion annually from hardworking Australians and farmers ... CEO of the TFGA, Hugh Christie, said this policy decision to effectively double the tax rate for every hardworking Australian from 15 per cent to 30 per cent would be devastating for future investments into farming.
Cost cutting increases bushfire threat: NSW Farmers
NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said the Government had to explain why it was allowing Transgrid to build more overhead power lines when there was compelling evidence they increased the risk of bushfires.
Erika into the Lions’ den
Alyssa Walker. Last Thursday night ... the 2023 Lions’ Youth of the Year saw a single, brave young Year 12 student facing one of the greatest fears known to humankind: public speaking ... Erika Bickett started with a call for change, stepping up to challenge the ATAR system currently in place within all Australian schools.
Durack MHR says detail on the Voice to Parliament necessary
Melissa Price. Support for an enshrined Voice in the Constitution is not a left or right-wing political issue. Although the Liberal Party is often painted by the left, unfairly so, as a party which doesn’t care about Indigenous issues, the record of history tells a different story.
Bank body silent on disabled access breach of its Code
Today we learned three things: the Banking Code of Practice isn’t worth the paper it is written on, the format for emailing Westpac executives directly and that Anna Bligh’s Australian Banking Association will only engage with journalists who give them an easy run.
Economic Contribution Study of the NSW hardwood timber industry
The North East NSW Forestry Hub has posted a report prepared by Ernst & Young into the economic significance of the NSW hardwood industry to the NSW and Commonwealth economies ... the report shows the critical importance of the industry to the Northern NSW economy, contributing $1.8 billion in revenue, adding $700 million to NSW GDP and employing 5,700 people in the region.
Aboriginal jobs: Time for action, not talk, says Cr Marli Banks
More than a third of the Alice Springs population, some 10,000 people, identify as Indigenous but less than 5% of the Town Council workforce of about 300 is Aboriginal, according to Cr Marli Banks. This makes a mockery of commitments such as the council’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.
State’s best farming land under threat: NSW Farmers Association
Farmers on the state’s best agricultural land have faced years of uncertainty because of complex red tape that threatens food production. New analysis from NSW Farmers revealed a cloud over ongoing farm production on two-thirds of State Significant Agricultural Land because of conflicting mapping and land use definitions from the NSW Government.
Howitt Society weighs into debate
Hiding behind climate change is not a strategy to address the increasing number and intensity of fires and floods across Australia, according to the Howitt Society. The society's president, Rick Cooper, said even if all burning of fossil fuels was stopped across the world tomorrow, climate change was not going to shift into reverse.
What about the war against vermin? The WA firearms debate
Where the line should be drawn between those who need firearms or use them for work, sport and recreation and community safety is a debate that's in full swing in Western Australia where the McGowan government is in the middle of a complete redraft of the laws as to who can have a gun and who can't, along with what size, number, ammunition stocks, property location, size and mental health.
SA Liberals need to get onboard Team SA on Murray-Darling Basin Plan: Close
The SA Liberals misguided opposition to voluntary water buybacks risks undermining South Australia’s position ahead of Friday’s Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council meeting. A united South Australian position is crucial when dealing with the unwillingness of the NSW and Victorian governments to deliver the 450 gigalitres promised when the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was agreed to: Susan Close, SA Deputy Premier, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water (SA).
Bushfire learning, policy and management opportunities: John O’Donnell
John O'Donnell finds that the Treasurer's recent essay opens up an opportunity to discuss whether Australia has in fact learnt and implemented lessons from the Black Saturday bushfires and ways to improve economic and management outcomes for Australia in relation to bushfires.
Westpac’s deception by omission will not be forgotten
I’m sure there will be beers all round tonight for the Westpac communications team who managed to flip the bird at six federal senators this week and pull off one of the most stunning PR subterfuges I have ever witnessed. It was stunning for the range of those who fell into the trap and the breadth of media who picked up and reported the story without question – from the senators themselves to seasoned journalists in national newsrooms.
Four staff, special facility, for one kid on the street a fortnight
The location of the facility in Alice Springs for children at risk, which between its opening on November 27 last year and January 10 has been used by just five youngsters, is a secret. So is its cost.
Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare has no place in Australia: NFF
The peak body for Australia’s farm sector is calling on businesses assessed under the Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare to rethink their links to the scheme. A consultation paper released by the UK-based organisation, which is affiliated with some of Australia’s largest companies, proposes to rank companies based on their commitment to ‘reducing reliance on animal products’ – including a plan to halve the multi-billion dollar livestock industry by 2040.
JEV vaccine stash could be up for grabs as mosquito threat looms: Hurn
The SA Opposition has been advised that there could be a precious stockpile of the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) vaccine up for grabs – but will soon expire – that could be used to protect South Australians from the disease as the flood recovery in the Riverland officially begins. Chairman of the Immunisation Coalition in Australia, Dr Rod Pearce, has indicated that the New South Wales Government is in possession of a surplus of JEV vaccines, with doctors based in the state telling him “they can’t give them away”.
Unlocking the secrets of productivity – A monumental challenge for Australia’s future: Hugh Christie, TFGA
Whilst we are seeing positive changes with international freight capacity returning to levels pre-COVID-19, productivity issues at major Australian container ports identified in the latest Productivity Commission report cost the Australian economy an estimated $605 million annually. These inefficiencies directly impact Australian farmers and if not addressed soon will be a compounding cost for all primary producers as well as exporters more broadly.
Access to National Parks: Bev McArthur
The Victorian Government is overseeing the slow demise of National Parks, ignoring the very rules that established their existence and importance in the state. In State Parliament, the Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, has asked the Minister for the Environment to immediately review a decision made last year to change public access rights to the Grampians National Park.
Inclusively divided
I have vivid memories of Monday mornings from my childhood at Eureka Street Primary School, standing out on the asphalt for assembly in the freezing cold as we joined in singing the Australian National Anthem as the flag monitors rose the Australian flag ... As cold and miserable as it was, I do not once recall any of us complaining about the anthem containing lyrics that offended or made us feel excluded. We students were from all walks of life ... The thing is we were all part of the same thing and nobody even considered the thought of needing their own title. Sexual orientation or preference was irrelevant ...
Families face another cost of living threat under Labor
Member for Maranoa and Nationals leader David Littleproud is backing calls for Labor to rule out scrapping the Fuel Tax Credit (FTC) scheme. Mr Littleproud said dumping the FTC scheme was another cost of living threat under Labor and would hurt families and businesses.
