Politics

The Australian Government's "Improved Forest Management in Multiple-use Public Native Forests method" incentivises state governments to cease certain native forest harvesting purportedly to reduce Australia's carbon emissions. The Department's announcement and the response from the industry body, Forest & Wood Communities Australia may be the start of much debate over a contentious scheme.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) must now reveal what it intends to recommend after their recent release of the 2026 ‘What we heard’ report failed to outline the next steps. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said the report accurately reflected the fact that communities hold differing views on issues such as water buybacks, but it fails to answer the most important question.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation says the decision by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority means grain growers will continue to have access to the herbicides, paraquat and diquat, under new restrictions.

A 30-year professional fisherman who grew up surfing and spearfishing says he’s too worried about the shark numbers he sees in the ocean every week to paddle out at his favourite break ... Ben Hay spoke to the Clarence Valley Independent about the explosion in shark numbers he has seen during his career, what has contributed to this population increase, and possible remedies to the current problem.

A spate of shark attacks around Australia in the first half of 2026, including four fatalities and a recent local incident has seen calls for protections on sharks to be lifted or a cull to occur. This year the attacks began on January 18, at Sydney Harbour’s Shark Beach at Vaucluse, when a 12-year-old boy was killed by a suspected Bull shark.

South Australia has recorded its first confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a vagrant migratory seabird found on a beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The confirmed case - a southern giant petrel - was found by a wildlife welfare organisation on 14 June at Knights Beach, Port Elliot.

...South Australia has recorded its first confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a vagrant migratory seabird found on a beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The confirmed case, a Southern Giant Petrel, was found by a wildlife welfare organisation on 14 June on Knights Beach at Port Elliot in a debilitated condition and taken into care.

The 2026-27 Budget delivers lower debt, $73.5 billion lower than it would have been under Labor, based on MYFER 24-25, by 2029-30, and delivers a surplus in 2029-30. 

The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) welcomes the Queensland Government’s reintroduced Regional Planning Interests (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (the Bill), which has adopted the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee in full.

The new One Nation MP for Farrer has blindsided families and farmers, by voting with the Teals and Greens in Parliament House against Australian regional jobs and communities. The amendment, moved by a Teal MP, demanded the Labor government cap the fuel tax credit – a scheme which allows for a rebate to businesses that use heavy machinery for the fuel tax they pay.

Terry Collins. In a landmark decision on June 18, the Federal Court dismissed Asset Energy's application to overturn the Federal Government's rejection of the controversial PEP 11 application. Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 11 has long been a point of controversy, as it sought to pursue offshore petroleum exploration over a large expanse of the eastern coastline including the Central Coast.

Labor's announcement of yet another massive Southern Murray-Darling Basin water buyback is a direct attack on Australian families already buckling under the cost of living, according to One Nation Member for Farrer David Farley ... Mr Farley said that if the 2007 Water Act review, the 2026 Basin review and the national food security work were not being set up as foregone conclusions, Labor would have waited for their findings instead of rushing into another buyback that struggling families and farmers will pay for.

Patrick Tucker. Gannawarra Shire Mayor Garner Smith said communities hosting major renewable energy projects should receive more in return for the changes they will bring to the district. The comments come as projects including VNI West, solar farms and battery developments continue to expand across northern Victoria.

Australia Post’s Group CEO and Managing Director, Paul Graham, will have tough questions to answer when he fronts a Senate inquiry into Australia Post’s secret plans to close up to 36 metropolitan licensed post offices and entice regional and rural LPOs to move from perpetual to fixed-term licences as part of a ‘format conversions’ strategy.

Today’s publication of the ‘What we Heard’ Report following public consultation on the Basin Plan Review shows a clear united message: priorities have shifted, move on from “just adding water”.

The MDBA today released the What we heard report, reflecting the key themes and perspectives raised during the public consultation on the 2026 Basin Plan Review. MDBA Chief Executive, Andrew McConville said people have plenty of different views about how water should be managed, but there was a clear message underneath it all: the Basin Plan matters, and people want it to work better.

The statement of the Minister for Regional NSW and responses from Regional Cities NSW and the Member for Oxley highlight the NSW Budget 2026-27 measures aimed at rural and regional NSW, and the strengths and shortcomings of those measures.

A central Leeton carpark is set to be handed over to the Leeton and District Local Aboriginal Land Council, after the NSW Land and Environment Court ruled the NSW Government had wrongly rejected a land rights claim over the site. The court has ordered ownership of the gravel lot on the corner of Oak and Church streets, next to the Leeton courthouse, be transferred to the Land Council within six months.

Naracoorte Lucindale ratepayers could wait an extra five months to elect their next council under extraordinary state government legislation ... Speaking to The [Naracoorte] News, Mr Ross said the five-month delay left councils facing uncertainty around budgets, governance, and election planning.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has delivered its long-awaited regulatory decision on the herbicides paraquat, and diquat. The APVMA announcement of the decision, together with the responses collected here, from Grain Producers Australia, Parkinson's Australia, Graingrowers and NSW Farmers, show that the decision has been neither universally approved nor condemned.