Federal 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says Victoria’s $25b dollar agriculture sector must not be forgotten in the face of a rapidly expanding data centre infrastructure boom sweeping the state. The VFF has today released an issues paper outlining the scale of potential development and competition for resources like land, water and energy. 

Wildlife and livestock surveillance activities are underway in South Australia following the detection of H5 bird flu in two vagrant migratory seabirds in Western Australia. Ground-based surveillance and drone surveys are being undertaken at sea lion breeding sites along the state’s west and far west coasts, as part of a coordinated response to the ongoing risk of H5 bird flu spreading to SA.

The Albanese Labor Government is helping to keep Australia’s farmers farming and our food production system strong, with the first shipment of urea locked in with industry and the Indonesian Government arriving in Australia today. Docking in Brisbane, this shipment of 47,250 tonnes of urea is part of the 250,000 tonne supply deal between Incitec Pivot and PT Pupuk Indonesia, supported by the Australian and Indonesian Governments.

The Federal Court has determined that a Territory law allowing the retrieval of livestock that strayed onto a neighbouring property operates concurrently with the NT Land Rights Act.

As H5 bird flu has spread around the world the wild birds most affected have included waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey or scavengers. H5 bird flu has also been detected in domestic pets including cats and dogs, farm animals including dairy cows and sporadically pigs, sheep and goats, marine mammals including dolphins and seals and wild animals including foxes and polar bears.

Testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has confirmed H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu) in a brown skua in Western Australia. This is the highly pathogenic strain of concern that has been circulating globally, and is the first detection in Australia.  

Labor must do more to stop China’s 55 per cent imminent tariffs on Australian imports, in what has been described as a major blow to the Australian beef industry. Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said from tomorrow [22 June 2026] , China will start its 55 per cent tariff, after Australia exhausted its 205,000-tonne annual duty-free beef quota.

The Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation (RAMJO) has condemned the Federal Government’s latest Murray-Darling Basin water purchase, saying the reported buyback of almost 86 gigalitres for more than $430 million is another blow to food-producing communities across southern New South Wales.

Farmers for Climate Action has produced a report ‘Energy Sovereignty for Regional Australia: Protecting Farmers, Powering the Future’ arguing that Australia's transition away from diesel should be accelerated through electrification, subsidies, infrastructure investment and changes to fuel tax arrangements ... When did advocacy become less about persuading people to voluntarily embrace change and more about finding another group to pay for it?