New report highlights transmission waste
"A damning new report has laid bare the cost blowout and waste of the Western Victoria energy transmission project, threatening prime Mallee farmland," Member for Mallee, Anne Webster says. The Victoria Energy Policy Centre’s (VEPC) "No Longer Lost In Transmission" report highlights the VNI West) costs are understated by the AEMO and already reliant on outdated data.
Union: not enough incentives
Give enough incentives to attract and retain police officers to work in rural South Australia. That’s the call to the government from the Police Association of South Australia, the union representing police officers.
The Great Koala National Park
Vic Jurskis. The facts haven’t deterred the ecowarriors of North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) from trying to hasten the demise of the sustainable, renewable, solar-powered native timber industry. They don’t care about habitat for people, other than themselves. They’ve launched an application for an injunction to ‘save’ the overcrowded koalas that are breeding more rapidly than ever on all the soft new growth resprouting after the Black Summer holocaust that they helped to create.
Police crisis
Bold measures and policies need to be put in place to solve the "crisis" facing police in Naracoorte and its surrounding towns ... Mr Telfer told The [Naracoorte Community] News that the recruitment and retention of officers was a huge challenge, with many police stations failing to get the required number of officers in a day.
New performance website showing more data than ever before: Fentiman
Queenslanders will have access to more health data with the launch of the new-look and easier-to-navigate Hospital Performance website. The redesigned site includes information and data that enables consumers to compare the performances of hospitals and health jurisdictions across the state.
#saveGlenden bigger than fight for small town: Katter
The community-led battle to save the mining town of Glenden from impending demolition represents a “sliding door” moment for the Queensland Government, Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said ... Glenden, a town of 670 people in central Queensland, is progressively being abandoned as its “anchor tenant” – the Swedish mining giant Glencore – wraps up...
VFF powers up petition to halt transmission projects: VFF
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has launched a petition to the Victorian Parliament calling for the VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission projects to be stopped. VFF President Emma Germano said the petition seeks to make the state’s political leaders take notice of decisions that are impacting Victorian farmers and their communities.
Short term accommodation review complete: Miles
As part of planning reforms to create more housing supply, the Palaszczuk Government made a commitment to look into the impact of short-term rental accommodation ... In the first quarter of 2023, there were roughly 19,773 active short-term rentals across Queensland.
Park power lines plan leads to court
Three years after withdrawing a legal challenge to the NSW government’s decision to approve Snowy 2.0 because of the potential legal costs involved, the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) is now proceeding with an action in the Land and Environment Court. The case against the previous NSW government’s decision to allow new overhead transmission lines through Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) as part of the Snowy 2.0 project is set to be heard today.
Tunnel borer relaunched
An important milestone has been reached by Snowy Hydro, the Snowy 2.0 project and for one of its three tunnel boring machines (TBM). TBM Lady Eileen Hudson was the first machine to start tunnelling on the pumped-hydro mega project, the first to complete a tunnel and is now underway on her second tunnel excavation.
Facebook a ‘war zone’ as toxic school debate rages
Patricia Gill. A Denmark counselling psychologist calls on people to choose their words carefully in the Lions Club and Kwoorabup Nature School dispute ... Community discord has mounted while the Lions Club called an electors’ meeting for Tuesday, August 1, to overturn the Denmark Shire Council’s decision on April 18 to terminate their lease at a Reserve in the Heritage Precinct.
Community unites in the line of fire
Community members gathered ... to share information and discuss what they believe is an unsatisfactory time frame to provide feedback on the 500kV VNI West power line development ... it was the consensus of the meeting that community members were still in a process of discovery and lamented that the power companies probably had 18 months to put together their Draft Corridor Reports, and still missed basic information, such as areas of extensive flooding.
Questions still remain
A meeting held at Westbrook on Monday night provided some clarity on the Department of Transport and Main Road’s (TMR) proposed Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor, however some details still remain a mystery. The meeting was organised by concerned community members in conjunction with Member for Condamine Pat Weir.
Automatic flood warning system keeps motorists safe: Lismore City Council
The Australian Government has funded the installation of digital advance warning flood signs at three sites in our Local Government Area to improve safety for motorists during future weather events ... The installations include automatic electric warning signs, as well as a separate camera mounted on a high pole at each site where the stream gauge/sensor is located.
Dog attacks will surge if buffer goes
Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, fears farms in the Upper Murray will again be under constant threat from wild dogs if the rules for trappers are watered down. On Tuesday night in the Victorian Parliament, Mr Tilley called on the Agriculture Minister to visit the region and hear from the landholders who lived through the carnage of the early 2000s.
Taking Downs beef to the States
Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) has secured a grant which will enable it to bolster the Darling Downs’ and Queensland’s market share of grain-fed beef in the United States. In collaboration with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), TSBE is hoping to capture the immense potential for the growth of regional beef producers and the expansion of Queensland’s footprint in U.S. markets.
No prep, all heart
Matt Lawson is a lone figure dressed in a high vis jacket and with a timber walking stick as he walks along the busy highway north of Tocumwal ... A small group had gathered in Finley to welcome Matt as he entered town. The group had erected a ‘Forest of the Fallen’, which is a national campaign displaying the names and stories of vaccinated Australians who died or were injured post-vaccine.
Basin Plan flounders as problems mount
Southern Riverina Irrigators said Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s determination to deliver the Basin Plan in full shows just how out of touch with reality the minister really is ... To date, 83 per cent of water recovered has already come from the southern basin and SRI is urging NSW water minister Rose Jackson to follow Victoria’s lead and put a line through future buybacks ... Despite the devastation caused by the MDBA in the southern basin, MDBA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said most communities are in support of the plan’s implementation.
Biosecurity and land use the focus for Agriculture Ministers in Wellington: Moriarty
Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty met with the New Zealand Minister for Agriculture Damien O’Connor last week to discuss issues of mutual significance during her trip to Wellington NZ for the Food Ministers Meeting. Ms Moriarty said biosecurity was top of the agenda given that both NSW and New Zealand are exposed to the increasing threat of outbreaks from exotic incursions that are rising in volume, complexity, and severity.
Requirements for wind farm developments set for review: Miles
A review of the requirements for wind farm developments in Queensland is underway. The review of the Wind Farm Code (State Code 23) and its accompanying guidelines will aim to build greater community and industry confidence in clean energy projects.
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health visits Wilcannia
Last Friday Senator Malarndirri McCarthy made a not well publicised visit to Wilcannia. Word soon went round town and a number of locals were able to tell her of their health and other concerns. The Senator toured the hospital where she met some staff, the new Maari Ma health building, and met with representatives of the Wilcannia Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Notes from Central Darling Shire Council Meeting, 26 July 2023
The Shires Administrator Bob Stewart reported on a meeting he had with the NSW Minister for Local Government, Hon. Ron Hoenig and the Minister for Water, the Hon. Rose Jackson. Bob reported that the Minister is keen to bring the Shire out of Administration however he also understands the challenges faced by Council in a number of areas, including day-today operations and financial sustainability.
