Federal politics

Dynamic sustainable farming duo Sylvia Leighton and Peter McKenzie were awarded the 2022 Australian Government Landcare Farming award for their work on Wilyun Pools Farm, a 1214ha property near Wellstead on the south coast of Western Australia ... “Sylvia and Peter serve as an inspiration to the farming community across Australia. Their motto of ‘seeking balance’ exemplifies what landcare farming is all about: production, community and environment,”: Minister for Agriculture Senator Murray Watt

As of NCC 2022, new residential dwellings will need to achieve the equivalent of “7  stars”  NatHERS thermal performance. New homes will also have a new annual energy use budget applicable to the home’s major appliances such as space conditioning, hot water, lighting, pool and spa pumps, and any on-site renewable energy generation.

Queensland Minister for Energy and Public Works Mick de Brenni said the changes to the National Construction Code 2022, covered making homes more accessible for people with mobility challenges, and increased the energy efficiency and electric vehicle readiness of new homes.

Mr Beasley’s divisive and abrasive approach to the River Murray is illustrated in his 2021 book, Dead In The Water ... "A successful advocacy role in the Murray-Darling Basin requires having the confidence of the Basin communities – which include irrigators, other businesses, and the public. I’m not convinced that appointing a Sydney lawyer, who believes water buybacks are the only way forward, will wash with these communities" : Opposition Minister for Water Resources and the River Murray Nicola Centofanti.

Prominent barrister and author, Richard Beasley SC, has been appointed South Australia’s Commissioner for the River Murray ... "Having a Commissioner for the River Murray sends a clear message to upstream states that South Australia is serious about defending its water rights, including the 450 gigalitres promised but not delivered": SA Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Susan Close MP

There has been much said about the Murray-Darling Basin Authority over the 10 years of Basin Plan implementation ... The latest attempt by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to justify the hydraulic land clearing and loss of capacity of the Murray River needs to be called out for what it is – mismanagement in breach of the 2007 Water Act.

Kirstin Nicholson. Leitchville’s Matthew Hawken is part of a new program designed to strengthen the future of regional communities through capacity building and collaboration. The Drought Resilience Leaders Development Program is an initiative of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund offered in 12 regions around Australia. The Mallee region program includes 25 people working in agriculture, financial service providers, irrigators and self-employed business consultants.

A plan to have community at the forefront of co-design was the feature of Western Murray Land Improvement Group’s (WMLIG) Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP) Wakool presentation ... During the night, attendees were walked through the RRCP mapping tool. The maps are generated through computer modelling for various flow options from 15,000 megalitres per day up to 40,000ML/D.

A diagnostic tool using nano technology to rapidly detect high-risk plant pests and pathogens in the field will undergo feasibility testing in a biosecurity innovation pilot kicking off this month. The lab-on-a-chip project will investigate if portable nano-biosensors improve the efficiency of plant disease detection at Australian borders and in-field surveillance.

An initiative to help men with incontinence is being rolled out across the Sunshine Coast. In collaboration with the Continence Foundation, Sunshine Coast Council has installed 102 male incontinence product disposal bins at public amenities locations across the region.

Lockyer Valley Mayor, Cr Tanya Milligan recently hosted Federal Member for Wright, Mr Scott Buchholz MP, for a tour of the region’s current federally funded projects. Council was successful in securing grant funding of $675,000 from the Australian Government’s Bushfire Recovery Grants Program. The cash injection is designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic bushfires in the Lockyer Valley ...

Cane farmer Tony Carusi said time was critical for planting sugarcane. “It takes time to get the ground ready and we have ideal weather conditions,” Mr Carusi said at his farm near Woodburn ... A Primary Producer Grant was announced by the State Government five months ago to help farmers after the floods. The criteria for the grant are still unknown and the grant has stalled. No money has been given to farmers yet.

The Mildura weir will be temporarily removed to allow high Murray River flows to pass through, the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and Goulburn-Murray Water announced.   MDBA Executive Director of River Management Andrew Reynolds said the weir needed to be removed ahead of increased flows expected to arrive by mid-September.

Grain growers across the wheatbelt have gathered to hear the latest advice for managing mouse damage to crops this growing season at a series of in-paddock workshops with Steve Henry, leading mouse expert and research officer from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. The field walks visited 11 locations across four days, from Calingiri down to Beaumont, as part of a Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment addressing increased mouse activity in WA’s grainbelt.

Samuel Davis. Cape York mayor Patricia Yusia doesn’t want to talk about the Indigenous Voice to parliament. Not while a desperate housing crisis is crippling her communities in the Northern Peninsula Area. So, when Cr Yusia met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Horn Island last Thursday, the discussion was to the point.

Patricia Gill. The Shire of Denmark is reviewing local laws concerning the keeping of cats with a limit of two animals older-than-six months per household being considered in an effort to curb the feral population. The Shire will also have more power to restrict the movement of cats and those that cause a nuisance ... consultation is underway on the proposed rules which the Denmark Shire Council will likely consider in September.

Over 200 rice growers, industry representatives and stakeholders attended the Rice Growers Australia (RGA) annual conference in Yarrawonga last week ... Neville and Brooke Hollins from Woorak Ag at Burraboi were announced SunRice Grower of the Year.

Six potential options that could address the declining regulated flow through the Barmah–Millewa reach of the Murray River have been detailed in a report released by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) ... Capacity through the Barmah–Millewa reach has been reduced from 11,300 megalitres per day in the 1980s to 9,200 megalitres per day today.

Agricultural industry leaders have taken a tour behind the scenes at Sydney International Airport to scope out Australia’s biosecurity measures. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Australia's Director of Biosecurity, Andrew Metcalfe AO said the visit was a chance for industry leaders to see biosecurity protections in action.