Japanese encephalitis detected in Eastern Australia
“JEV is a mosquito-borne viral disease that mostly occurs in pigs and horses, but can cause disease in people and rarely other animals. Animals and people become infected through the bite of infected mosquitoes. It cannot be caught through eating pork or pig products. The disease is not transmitted from person to person”: DAWE.
Gas drilling in Gulf?
A patch of underwater land in the Gulf of Carpentaria could hold several trillion cubic feet of natural gas or hundreds of millions of barrels of oil – at least that’s what a company with the rights to drill it for exploration is saying.
National Landcare Program released
The Australian Government has released the final report of the review into the second phase of the $1.1 billion National Landcare Program (NLP). Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud and Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said the NLP is achieving positive outcomes for Australia’s unique environment and natural resources while supporting jobs in Australia’s agriculture sector.
Tick of approval for Urannah Dam bilateral approval
Urannah Dam is a step closer to reality, with the Australian and Queensland governments signing a bilateral agreement to progress the project ... “The proposed dam and hydro-electric scheme are located in the Broken River Valley (within the Burdekin Basin) approximately 86 km southeast of Collinsville and 80 km west of Mackay in Central Queensland” : Qld Minister for Water, Glenn Butcher.
A closer look at the upper Darling River region: Pitt, Toole, Coulton
Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt has announced that new light will be shed on the potential for additional groundwater resources in the upper Darling River region ... Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with the NSW Government, will commence an airborne electromagnetic survey across this section of north-west NSW to better understand the location of groundwater resources and their movement beneath the floodplain and its surrounds.
Sneaky plan to hand out Floodplain Harvesting Licences could be illegal and expose Govt to billions in compensation: Faehrmann
Moves by Water Minister Kevin Anderson to pave the way for the handing out of licences for floodplain harvesting as early as this week are likely in breach of the Commonwealth Water Act and could set up a future government to have to fork out billions of dollars in compensation, says Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and water spokesperson and chair of the recent NSW Upper House Committee into Floodplain Harvesting.
Union call to scrap Ag Visa ‘shortsighted’: NSW Farmers
The state’s peak agricultural body has criticised union calls to scrap the Ag Visa, saying it will only lead to further disruption in food supply chains. The Australian Workers Union waded into the political chaos this week claiming the Ag Visa had failed to attract workers to farms, ignoring the impact of COVID on international travel.
TSRA gives up control of Native Title in the Strait
Traditional Owners and Prescribed Body Corporates will take control in delivering all Native Title services in the Torres Strait from July 1 when Gur A Baradharaw Kod Torres Strait Sea and Land Council (GBK) is recognised as the Native Title service provider. The Torres Strait Regional Authority will cease being the Native Title Representative Body and stop providing Native Title services on June 30. Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said it was the right time to transfer Native Title services.
$86 million on offer to grow Australia’s plantation estate in Cowper: Conaghan
“This is the largest direct investment of any Australian Government in plantation establishment for more than 30 years. We want to partner with NSW to grow this renewable, sustainable industry so that it can continue to create jobs in Cowper and deliver quality, Australian-made products to markets": Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan
Have your say on domestic organics regulation
Public consultation is now open on Australia’s domestic organic regulatory framework, including how to support industry growth and build consumer confidence ... “This is a growing part of the agriculture sector and we are keen to seek a wide range of views": DAWE
Threatened species strategy action plan – Questions for Minister Ley and the Department’s response
Australian Rural & Regional News sought clarification from Minister Ley on a number of points, including consultation with and the role of farmers and landowners generally, and received a response, required to be attributed to a spokesperson (unnamed) from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
Basin brimming with hope
After being nearly empty in early 2020, there’s been a remarkable turnaround in Murray–Darling Basin water storages following widespread rain throughout 2021, resulting in better water availability for towns, industries and the environment, and good cropping prospects in 2022.
Scaling a silo or going up a hill to get signal. Time to end the connectivity drought in country NSW
The inequalities faced by regional Australians with mobile signal and internet connection need to be fixed. The National Farmers Federation telecommunications committee member and farmer Peter Thompson said far from being a luxury, mobile phone coverage and internet connectivity were essentials in the bush, much like power and water.
Max sniffs out koala habitat
Geoff Helisma. Volunteer environmental organisation, Clarence Valley Environment Centre (CEC – established 1989), has released the results of a survey it commissioned, “to undertake koala scat detection [using a specifically trained] dog … in the Shannondale area, [in order] to assess koala presence/absence after the droughts, fires and floods”.
Time for state to play role in insurance costs – feds
The LNP is calling on the state government to do its bit for north Queensland insurance prices by dropping stamp duty on insurance policies ... “The ACCC reports that the state government raked in $65 million in 2018-19 from North Queensland alone in stamp duty, which adds between 9 and 10 per cent to premiums”: Senator Susan McDonald.
Threatened species strategy action plan – Questions for Minister Ley
Australian Rural & Regional News seeks clarification from Minister Ley regarding the Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan 2021-2026 and Threatened Species Strategy 2021-2031 on a number of points including consultation with, and the role of farmers and landowners generally.
Action plan to lead recovery for Australia’s wildlife: Ley
The Morrison Government has released a new five-year Action Plan to underpin the Threatened Species Strategy. This plan aims to coordinate effort for the recovery of 100 priority species and 20 priority places over the next five years with key targets to drive action.
Win for the koala industry means more suffering for koalas
Research using effective survey methods shows that koalas are generally increasing with expanding National Parks and Lock It Up and Let It Burn conservation polices. The valleys are occupied by towns, so the koalas are moving in. Disease, dog attacks and road trauma are symptoms of irruptions, not causes of decline.
Bittersweet win for koalas: Friends of the Koala
Friends of the Koala welcomes the federal government’s decision to up list koalas in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘endangered’.
Increased protection for koalas: Ley
The Morrison Government is boosting the level of protection for Koalas under National Environmental law, and will this week seek agreement from Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory on the National Recovery plan ... “The impact of prolonged drought, followed by the black summer bushfires, and the cumulative impacts of disease, urbanisation and habitat loss over the past twenty years have led to the advice." : Minister Ley.
NFF applauds new Bill to reward farmers for work in promoting biodiversity
Under the framework, biodiversity, unlike traditional farm commodities which are delivered to a buyer, will need to be maintained and/or established within the farm boundaries, much like carbon sequestration in vegetation and soil. There will be an ongoing relationship between the supplier (farmer) and purchaser to manage and report the status.
Bill backs agriculture biodiversity stewardship market: Littleproud
A bill to create the legal framework for a national voluntary agriculture biodiversity stewardship market has been introduced in Parliament ... “The Bill will create a biodiversity certificate, which will be tradeable. This will mean biodiversity outcomes can be purchased, transferred, claimed, or used" : Minister Littleproud.
