Federal politics

‘The NSW Coalition and the Shooters Fishers Farmers Party have condemned the Darling/Baaka to longer periods of dry riverbed with stagnant slimy pools. This decline in river health started when floodplain harvesting exploded upstream during the 1990’s. The NSW Government has rewarded decades of unsustainable and unregulated water use with new licences while conducting no assessment of the downstream impacts on Darling/Baaka communities, native fish populations, groundwater recharge and important wetland areas’: Brian Stevens, spokesperson for Inland Rivers Network.

Health leaders gathered on 16 September for an emergency health summit in Lismore to urge the State and Federal Governments to immediately support healthcare services in the region ... “It’s been more than six months since the floods devastated the region and many healthcare service providers have yet to recover”: AMA President, Professor Steve Robson.

After six months of silence, steam from the sugar mill chimneys punches into a clear sky before quietly dissolving into the blue. It is a welcome and familiar sight for residents of the small riverside village. Finally, cane is being crushed again and its back to work at Sunshine Sugar in Broadwater.

An elite stable of dedicated Post Entry Quarantine officers is ensuring some of the world’s most valuable shuttle stallions are happy, healthy – and won’t pose a biosecurity risk while on stud duties in Australia. The 55 horses – hailing from Europe, Japan, the USA and Canada, and worth a combined $450 million – have touched down in Australia for the Southern Hemisphere Thoroughbred breeding season.

When I think of tragedy and tales of woe, it is hard not to go past history’s greats like Romeo and Juliet, but Australia as a nation is penning an even more tragic story, one sadly not confined to fiction ... With water or the environment not being big enough portfolios for the Albanese Government to separate, Tanya Plibersek has the job of forcing Southern Basin communities to swallow the pill promised to South Australia in the federal election.

A diverse range of views were heard at the River People’s Forum held in Swan Hill on September 2. What do we want our river communities and river to look like? What is the balance between regulated flows and floods and natural ones? Do we want concrete giants like the KP regulators? Nothing was out of bounds.

Charles Sturt academic, Dr Joanne Connolly explores what makes koalas unique and how Charles Sturt University is contributing to saving endangered populations, including research into the Narrandera koala population ... ARR.News asks some questions of Dr Connolly.

Exceptional growing conditions and high global prices are continuing to benefit Australian agricultural production and exports. The ABARES September quarter Agricultural Commodities Report is forecasting agricultural export earnings to climb to a record $70.3 billion for 2022-23 – almost 50% more than what it was 10 years ago after accounting for inflation.

Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) has welcomed the announcement by the Albanese Government that Australia’s permanent migration cap will be increased, saying it is a welcome step for businesses currently struggling with crippling labour shortages. RCA Chair and Mayor of Ballarat Cr Daniel Moloney said “We congratulate the Government on today’s commitment to increase permanent migration, and thank them for listening to the collective voices of regional Australia.”

The state’s peak farming group says there is a clear opportunity for the federal government to help businesses transition to cleaner vehicles. NSW Farmers Business, Economics and Trade Committee chair John Lowe said targeted extension of the instant asset write off could be used to encourage farmers and other rural business owners to purchase more modern, energy efficient equipment.

The duplication of the Barton Highway is forging ahead with the focus now turning to construction of several intersections along a seven-kilometre stretch as part of Stage 1 ... ARR.News asked some questions for the Ministers and Members and received a response from a spokesperson for Minister King.

Mount Alexander Sustainability Group’s Healthy Soils team is looking for commercial farmers with soil issues within a 50-60km radius from Castlemaine. This Healthy Soils Project offers the opportunity for 20 participating farms to receive free soil constraint assessments and soil testing, as well as assistance with developing a soil health management and monitoring plan.

No action has been taken to address the explosion of erosion through hundreds of kilometres of Australia’s most iconic river, the Murray. The erosion is consuming red gum forests, one of which is RAMSAR listed, as well as compromising bank integrity, with floods looming. Private infrastructure is also being impacted with pump sheds, fences, lawns and watering systems all falling prey to hydraulic land clearing.

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.