Politics

NSW Canegrowers are annoyed and frustrated by government inaction and the failure to utilise the $5 million dollars allocated to the Northern NSW Drainage Reset Program in February this year. "Governments are very good at coming into disaster areas and promising money for recovery, but are extremely poor on delivery," Chairman of NSW Canegrowers Association Ross Farlow said.

WAFarmers met with the Western Australian Minister for Heritage recently. We had an interesting discussion on the roll out of the State's new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Laws. The Minister clearly believes that the new laws won't impact farmers the way our lawyers tell us it will; in his view the roll out is smooth and all it needs is some tweaking ... Minister, some more advice.

With more than 2,500 mattresses dumped each year on the Southern Downs, Council will engage an external contractor to periodically shred mattresses to reduce their volume by up to 85 percent as part of a sustainable recycling program that already addresses environmental obligations from the disposal of fridges and air conditioners ... a fee of $15 will apply for the disposal of each mattress and $12 for each fridge, freezer and air conditioning unit.

Last week the community of Nhill was surprised to find the Nhill Railway Station fenced off and out of bounds to the community, without any consultation, after being deemed unsafe for public use by the Australian Rail Track Corporation. Local resident Margaret Millington said it was a sad situation and that "Sadly, the Nhill station is now inaccessible to passengers wishing to travel on the Overland.

The Authority welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Hon Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water. In response to her request, the Authority provided the Minister its  advice on the current state of Basin Plan implementation.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) welcomes Minister Plibersek’s announcement that she will seek to extend the Murray-Darling Basin Plan deadlines. NFF President Fiona Simson said the extension would buy time for smarter completion of the plan without resorting to devastating buybacks.

The Chief Minister is clearly taking no account of the difference between  the impact on the society of DV – which is horrendous but usually happens in a private space, and needs targeted measures – and  the crime that happens mostly in public locations, much of it committed by children: its reporting in national media – factual and fabricated – has led to a drop in the town’s vital tourism business by about 50 per cent.

Will Hunter. Rural medicine has received a boost as regional Australia continues to face a severe shortage of general practitioners and healthcare staff. The federal government has allocated $114.2 million over four years to permanently increase the number of Commonwealth-supported placements available to rurally trained university students.

Grain producer groups have unified to oppose a flawed planning application which would diminish export capacity for the nation’s grain supply chain and wealth generation for rural communities and the national economy. Grain Producers Australia and GrainGrowers have backed calls by the Victorian Farmers’ Federation Grains Council to reject the Planning Application submitted by the Hamilton Group, to build office space at the Geelong Port.

The latest agricultural lending statistics provided by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) show an increase in aggregate lending to the farm sector of 9 per cent in 2021–22. ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville said the cumulative value of loans outstanding has increased from $100.7 billion at 30 June 2021 to $109.9 billion at 30 June 2022.

The state government decision to close the native forest timber industry culminates eight years of mismanagement that turned VicForests from a profitable business into a loss maker, an analysis by a Traralgon consultant has found ... Mr Cameron said Australian hardwood sawn timber mill gate revenue sold for 3.5 times the price of Australian softwood sawn timber, and contributed to much greater value-adding and job creation than softwood.

John Hassell, President WAFarmers. Sheep farmers in Western Australia have been told by the Federal Labor Government that we have lost our social licence for live exports ... If it was a rash decision then it's time to reverse it and accept that the industry has done everything it has been asked for by the Government and should be allowed to continue.   If not then this decision marks the end of agriculture in Australia as we know it and the Government should tell us.

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade has increased plant surveillance after a confirmed sample of the papaya mealybug was found in the Darwin region.  The suspected Paracoccus marginatus was discovered after the Plant Biosecurity team received a call from a concerned resident in Parap last week, who identified a cluster of white coloured insects on their papaya plants.

Vibrant murals on water assets in Gosnells and Armadale were unveiled by Water Minister Simone McGurk, who also celebrated the successful partnerships between Water Corporation, local artists and school groups ... "Through the Splash of Colour program, we've worked with local community groups to transform more than 60 water assets across Western Australia into something they can be proud of, adding real value to our streets and suburbs": Water Minister Simone McGurk.

Amendments proposed to the Police Legislation Further Amendment Bill 2023 will authorise police to use handheld scanners to detect, seize and destroy weapons being carried by individuals.  Carrying a controlled weapon without reasonable excuse is an offence which carries a penalty of 12 months imprisonment, this term is double if the offence occurs at night time.

On a visit to the Torres Strait, Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner announced the composition of the new 10-person Cape York Special Fisheries Working Group to provide advice on fisheries issues in the region.

The Territory Labor Government is investing $2.2 million in the 2023/24 budget to establish a dedicated Fisheries Compliance Unit, comprising of one manager and eight officers, within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade ... the unit’s core duties will include the monitoring of fishing activities in Territory waterways including catches of high-risk fish stock, such as black jew fish.

The state government has been accused of using a landmark Victorian climate report, which was written without any input from forestry researchers or the forest industry, to prematurely close the native forestry industry. These forestry groups resent the lack of consultation and have attacked the intellectual content of the report ... The report was written without any contribution from leading forestry experts – Forestry Australia, which represents forest scientists, forest managers and timber growers; Forest & Wood Products Australia, the sector’s chief research and marketing arm; the Victorian Forest Products Association; and leading forestry academics.

Government has decided to extend takeaway alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs. Evidence has shown alcohol-related emergency department presentations at Alice Springs Hospital have reduced by a third, and domestic violence has halved since the restrictions were introduced.