No Voice, no Treaty: McArthur
Mrs McArthur said, “it seems the starkest dividing line in Australia is not between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people but between the inner-city elites of the eastern states and the rest of the country ... The no vote was not a vote for the status quo or against any action; in fact it has highlighted the failures of the status quo. I hope it will prove the catalyst for a full audit of the expenditure directed to Aboriginal issues across Australia so that taxpayer money can be effectively spent to close the gap without permanently constitutionally entrenching new experimental, ineffective and unnecessary division.”
Census snapshot shows changes in agricultural workforce: ABARES
Australia’s agricultural workforce is steadily growing and changing, with more women and young people joining the sector. The ABARES Insights Snapshot of Australia’s agricultural workforce shows the changing state of the agricultural workforce based on data from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing.
Fuel tax bite
Motorists in the South East are paying eye-watering fuel prices at bowsers as the end of the 22c per litre discount excise bites ... The cost of fuel rose 9 per cent in August compared to the month before, and prices are now 14 per cent higher than a year ago. Average weekly fuel prices in regional towns like Naracoorte, Keith, and Bordertown have been hitting $2.08 for the past 12 weeks.
Leeton Council says no to Murray-Darling Water Amendment Bill 2023
Leeton Shire Mayor Tony Reneker said the Federal Government’s Bill to rewrite the 2012 Murray-Darling Basin Plan endangers the future of businesses and communities in the Murrumbidgee Valley ... Leeton Shire Council, along with Murray Darling Association Region 9 members and key commodity groups in the MIA (such as citrus and rice), urge Murray Darling Association (MDA) members to oppose expanded buybacks and removal of socio-economic protections.
Senate inquiry into spread of red imported fire ants: Littleproud
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has welcomed a Senate Inquiry into the spread of red imported fire ants. Mr Littleproud said the inquiry was urgently needed, with Labor losing control of its National Fire Ant Eradication Program and failing to commit to the funding required.
Regulation of digital and crypto assets: Chalmers, Jones
The Albanese Government is outlining the next steps in its approach to regulating crypto and digital assets to protect consumers, support innovation and provide industry certainty. We are releasing a proposal paper that recommends making crypto exchanges and digital asset platforms subject to existing Australian financial services laws and requiring platform operators to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence.
Call for accountability after Voice fails could snare the Opposition
The Voice to Parliament referendum has failed with voters in Pearce and Durack following the state and national trend of voting No ... Senator Cash did not say if the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) established by the Morrison government in 2019 should be part of that accountability.
Review finds Indigenous groups want more involvement
Timber harvesting was not a concern of Gippsland Indigenous groups, who overwhelmingly want to be involved in direct management of forests before, during and after bushfires, the RFA Major Event Review of the 2019-20 bushfires found ... “Traditional Owners seek to be managing fire directly, with their own crews and equipment. They see themselves as fire givers, not firefighters.”
GPA urges government to listen and act on 10 per cent biosecurity tax: GPA
Australian grain producers have delivered another firm message to Canberra about their unambiguous opposition to paying the Federal Government’s proposed 10 per cent biosecurity levy ... “GPA understands the Federal Government’s intent to deliver a sustainable funding model for biosecurity, but the proposed policy fails to deliver this outcome on multiple levels”: GPA Chair and WA grain producer, Barry Large.
Producers oppose levy over poor policy: NFF biosecurity protection levy submission
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has told the Federal Government it opposes a new biosecurity levy on farmers, saying the proposed levy may erode farmer confidence in the entire levy system. In the NFF’s submission to the Introduction of the Biosecurity Protection Levy: Consultation Paper, Chief Executive Tony Mahar said while the peak farming body supports ongoing efforts to ensure Australia’s biosecurity system is well resourced, it does not support this policy.
Australia must restore the Federation and devolve power to the States and to Local Government
The resounding defeat of the Voice referendum demonstrates, once again, that far too much of day-to-day life in Australia is being dictated by remote and disconnected from the population elites ... The big lesson from the recent referendum is that people want to make their own decisions. They do not need ‘help’ from the elites, who know nothing about how life actually transpires in most of Australia.
Murray–Darling Basin Authority communique, October 2023
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) met on 11 October in person on Ngunnawal Country (Canberra) ... Having returned from a 4-day listening tour of the lower Murray across South Australia and Victoria, Sir Angus shared reflections from farmers, local governments, First Nations, and communities impacted by the 2022 and 2023 floods who now face the prospect of hot and drying conditions.
NFF urges a rethink on fraught industrial relations Bill: NFF
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has sent a clear message to the Albanese Government: The Closing Loopholes Bill is fraught with issues that will make it harder and more expensive than ever to create employment opportunities in farming. The NFF Workforce Committee Chair Tony York told the Senate Committee responsible for the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill would only add layers of complexity to the industrial relations system, push up costs and make doing business more difficult than ever before.
Community plans to bolster regional drought resilience: Watt, Spence
Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt and Victorian Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence announced the Drought Resilience Plans for the Gippsland, Goulburn and Wimmera Southern Mallee regions have been finalised. These are the first of nine regional communities across the state to develop community-led Regional Drought Resilience Plans through the Future Drought Fund’s Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program, jointly funded by the Albanese and Allan Governments.
Voice – yes or no? Two days to go.
... by head of population, we have about 10 times the nation’s Indigenous population, several Indigenous languages are alive and well, and Aboriginal people have freehold possession of half the “state’s” land. Our two Senators are Aboriginal but on opposite sides. The NT was the birthplace of the Uluru Statement from the Heart ... the Alice Springs News major pieces on the Voice collected here reflect the passions and conflicts of this controversial period in our public life.
Regions need to feed into the grid – communities must be consulted
The failure to properly consult with regional communities affected by large-scale renewable energy projects and transmission infrastructure risks delaying or de- railing the transition to a decarbonised energy grid, according to Federal Member for Indi, Helen Haines. In a submission to the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner’s Community Engagement Review, Dr Haines has called for regional communities to be meaningfully involved in the planning of renewable energy projects and receive structural benefit and regional development from these projects.
Reliable connectivity
The district is in urgent need of a robust and reliable telecommunications infrastructure that can support economic growth, create an inclusive community, and help safely manage emergencies. For many years, many stakeholders in the region have called for an improved digital infrastructure that reduces blackspot areas, boosts internet access, and connects the public to essential services.
Govt official says Voice will improve services, cut costs
Patricia Gill. Public servant of 30-plus years, Albany Noongar man Ken Kelly, says a Voice to Parliament will improve social outcomes and reduce future costs. Speaking at the Yes Campaign Walk on September 30, Mr Kelly sees a Voice as a way of keeping the Government of the day on track.
Farmers in Labor’s new superannuation firing line
Labor's superannuation changes are set to disproportionately impact family farms held in self-managed super funds (SMSF) if they exceed new thresholds. Leader of The Nationals, and Federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said family farms, particularly where their properties are in a SMSF, would be hit the hardest by Labor's superannuation tax grab.
Remote voting issues for Referendum – Message from Hon. Mark Coulton, Member for Parkes
Residents from the Ivanhoe area have contacted my office recently to advise that they weren't made aware of a Remote Voter Services team visiting the town ahead of the 2023 Referendum on a Voice to Parliament. I reached out to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as I believe there's an assumption that people Australia-wide receive all of their information online.
No stopping nation’s nuclear discussion now: Katter
Solutions to the nation’s growing energy crisis, which has seen Australian electricity bills rise by up to 20 per cent over the past 12 months, were debated by energy experts, industry leaders and rural and regional representatives in a first-of-its-kind outback energy forum in Mount Isa ... Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter’s Mount Isa Nuclear Power Forum saw dozens converge in the industrial city that is surrounded by “legally un-mineable” uranium deposits.
When next drought hits … farmers left high and dry
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says claims by Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek that Basin farmers are thriving under a decade of water buybacks is untrue, and the reality is farmers are fearing the next big dry ... “The truth is her own Department website produces a summary table of all recoveries and it clearly states 12.2GL has been recovered with a further 13.8GL under contract. That's a total of 26GL towards the 450GL, not the 2GL she keeps suggesting”: VFF Water Council chairperson Andrew Leahy.
