Council

A milestone in the long road to recovery for a leading Scenic Rim visitor destination following the 2019 Black Summer bushfires has been marked with the opening of new facilities at Binna Burra Lodge ... the bushfire ... not only destroyed the heritage-listed Binna Burra Lodge and pioneer cabins but also the jobs of some 60 staff, who had to be retrenched after the cancellation of 4000 bookings including 15 weddings.  

The tiny town of Dardanup is celebrating its rich history with the opening of a new heritage trail, telling the fascinating stories of its first inhabitants. The trail covers 12 historic locations across the townsite ... The Old State School, Dardanup Post Office and Thomas Little Memorial Hall are just some of the landmarks featured.

The re-established Upper Coastal sporting facilities working group held its first meeting on Wednesday, November 9 at the Lancelin Sporting Complex. Back in June sporting clubs were disappointed with the Shire of Gingin council’s decision to not re-establish the working group to undertake a review of the Upper Coastal sporting facilities master plan, which had proposed “the creation of an active sports space in Lancelin, with more passive sports located in Ledge Point”.

The Kowanyama Rangers were called to fight a large wildfire at the Oriners-Sefton property, located in the western Cape York Peninsula. The fire began in late October after a lightning storm rolled across the region around Paradise Creek and Sellars Creek, at the far-western side of Sefton ... “The cooperation between the Rangers and Traditional Owners was critical to the success of this operation. Everybody was working as a team”: Daryl Killin, Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council.

Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) will explore funding options to undertake koala population mapping within the Toowoomba Region ...“While it’s believed the koala is prevalent throughout the Toowoomba Region, the reality is the total extent of the numbers and their exact locations are not known": TRC Environment and Community Committee Portfolio Lead Cr Tim McMahon.

Chris Oldfield. Patrick Ross has stormed to victory as Naracoorte Lucindale Council’s provisionally elected new mayor and says “thank you” to all residents and ratepayers of the district. The overwhelming result in favour of Mr Ross as a result of the November 10 council election saw him easily surpass the 1761 vote quota with 2111 votes – or 60 per cent of the votes cast.

Flinders Shire Council in North Queensland has announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Frontier Impact Group to investigate a project to harvest and convert woody weeds into renewable fuel and other valuable byproducts. Flinders Shire CEO, Mr Hari Boppudi said he was thrilled that Flinders Shire Council had signed the MOU to conduct a feasibility study on such an innovative project because landholders across the region had struggled with millions of hectares of good grazing land infested with woody weeds, such as Chinee Apple, Prickly Acacia, and Leucaena.

There has been a positive trend of increasing Regional Express passenger numbers at Narrandera-Leeton Airport since the beginning of 2022. Narrandera Shire Council’s General Manager George Cowan advised that positive comments continue to be received from Regional Express that the Sydney – Narrandera/Leeton – Griffith route was one of their most profitable routes flown.

The latest two additions to the Koondrook Barham Red Gum Statue Walk were publicly revealed on Sunday, November 13. The Roy Higgins and Sidney Reid statues brings the Red Gum Statue Walk to a total of 20 features capturing the twin towns’ history, ecology and pioneering spirit ... “This walk is a very unique feature of our towns and highlights the versatility and magnificence of sustainable red gum timber": Tom Chick, KDC chairman.

Rodney Stevens. Organisers of the Yamba Rod Run are already working to have their traditional Saturday Show and Shine held in the streets of the Yamba CBD after a misunderstanding with council saw this year’s event moved to Ford Park. Lew Falzon of Borderline Street Rodders said after a two-year Covid enforced hiatus, more than 400 vehicles, their owners and families were in town for the 29th Yamba Rod Run.

‘A Common Thread is a collaboration between three Kuranda artists — Toni Rogers, Marcelle Dieben and Shiree Burnside,’ said Councillor Peter Hodge. ‘Each artist has a diverse background, but they have all been influenced by their grandmothers’ creative legacy and share passions for weaving, sewing, sculpting, and using recycled and natural materials.'

Tablelands Regional Council’s Christmas Lights Competition is on again! Mayor Rod Marti is looking forward to seeing the festive spirit reflected in light displays on houses, in gardens and across streets in the region.

The Sunshine Coast citizen science program is growing, and council is calling on our community for their ideas. Citizen science is when people volunteer their time to partner with researchers to increase scientific knowledge and collect data about their natural environment.

Daryl Wiltshire from Undera reports that while the floodwaters are receding, the community is waiting and hoping that the rain that is forecast will not affect the region too much. Undera people are "hoping for a show of resolve from the authorities who control levees to future flood proof the farming area."

The NSW Government is hanging regional councils and koalas out to dry with their latest plan to remove the right of local government to be involved with approvals for private native forestry. The koala wars that have defined the last 4 years of this coalition government are being refuelled under the noses of Liberal ministers and democratically elected councils by The Nationals: Sue Higginson, Greens NSW MP.

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle has criticised environmental politics holding up rebuilding efforts across the state, saying we need less talk, more action ... Mr Arkle said the independent Natural Resources Commission described the new Private Native Forestry Codes as a significant improvement over the previous codes, with a number of additional environmental protections relating to koalas, unmapped streams and harvesting intensity limits.

Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis has welcomed the certainty the Bill provides to the timber industry and the significant koala protections included. “Farm forestry is a vital component of the NSW timber industry, generating about $482 million and employing 835 people on the North Coast alone,” Mr Gulaptis said.

Mt Alexander Shire Council has made changes to its Land Management Rate (LMR) Strategy, which was adopted to encourage private landholders on blocks of 20 hectares or more to be responsible property managers in terms of improving the natural environment. The LMR scheme is being phased out ... Maldon resident 'John' believes that the phasing out of the LMR scheme is a retrograde step.