Politics

Valkyrie the Wedgetail Eagle at the Rockhampton Zoo will be receiving a belated Christmas present with a brand-new enclosure being constructed ... “The new enclosure will be built opposite the Kangaroos at the Zoo which will get Valkyrie down with her Australian buddies in the bottom section": Parks, Sport and Public Space Councillor Cherie Rutherford.

The innovative use of drone technology combined with coding software is helping to improve the accuracy of waterbird monitoring across the Murray–Darling Basin ... "Collecting accurate data about waterbird numbers is vital to building our scientific knowledge and assessing the impacts of the Basin Plan": MDBA’s General Manager of Applied Science, Dr Matthew Coleman.

Australia’s volunteer tagging database Infofish recently became the first citizen science tagging program in the world to tag 1 million fish since its inception in 1986 ... “Community-based fish tagging has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the movement patterns and growth rates of many fish species, and the Infofish program is recognised as a world leader in this space": Mark Furner, Qld Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries.

Private banks are abandoning rural Australians at an alarming rate and are relying on public-owned infrastructure – namely the Australia Post network – to plug the local service deficits left in their wake, Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter has said. Speaking following news that Westpac would close its branches in Cloncurry, Tully and Ingham while NAB would depart Longreach in the coming months, Mr Katter said there was a growing onus on governments to intervene in the growing failure of banks to service the regions.

The recommendation to reinstate alcohol bans in Alice Springs town camps and outback home lands was described as “finally some commonsense” by the Independent MLA for Araluen, Robyn Lambley. But she says Dorrelle Anderson, who made the recommendation, should now go back to her work and “sort out child protection, the most critical problem in Central Australia” and “keep off the streets” children causing trouble.

Large happy crowds turned out for Australia Day at both Naracoorte and Lucindale last week to celebrate local award winners, welcome new Australians citizens and participate in an Australian citizenship affirmation ... Mayor Patrick Ross read a statement from the Federal Member for Barker, Tony Pasin, then introduced guest speaker, Robertson Street Daily Market proprietor, Didar Ali ... “I came to Australia because I ran away from war."

"Since late 2019 Coober Pedy water consumers have been calling on successive State Governments to introduce SA Water pricing in Coober Pedy. This would result in prices being reduced by two thirds. Unfortunately, no State Government commitment has been secured. In that time Coober Pedy consumers have paid $5 million more for their water than if they lived in Adelaide. This is scurrilous": Tim Jackson, Administrator, District Council of Coober Pedy.

Moyne Shire Council has launched a new roads portal to give the community quick access to information about council’s road network and planned upgrade works across the shire. The portal includes a map pinpointing road renewal and resealing works, before and after photos, expected timeframes and information about how the works are funded.

The unusually cold summer weather continued as community members and visitors gathered in Riverside Park Barham to eat together and celebrate the broader community ... "There's no doubt, I often thought the biggest influence in local communities is the volunteers": guest speaker Keith Cummins from Cohuna ... Keith believes one of the biggest dangers we face is the inability to have discussions and listen to other people’s ideas.

Candidates for Clarence in the upcoming state election have expressed their disappointment in the NSW Electoral Commissions decision to scrap the iVote online voting system. Launched in 2011 by the Labor party, iVote provided eligible voters with the opportunity to cast their vote online or over the telephone in state elections and more recently local government elections.

Students in Rochester will return to their schools this week after being affected by the devastating flooding across Victoria last year. It’s the first time the students at Rochester Primary School and Rochester Secondary School will be able to walk back through the school gates since the flooding left both schools inundated with water.

Queensland Health has established a supplier panel of major construction companies to accelerate the delivery of three new hospitals and nine major hospital expansions under the Palaszczuk Government’s Queensland Health and Hospitals Plan ... “The building contractor shortlist of 12 was established based on an expression of interest process and through Queensland Health’s broader engagement with industry": Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath.

Scenic Rim sellers who turned their trash into cash during two weekends of garage sales in November 2022 generated more than $40,000 in sales and saved almost 3.2 tonnes of unwanted items from landfill ... “Programs such as the Garage Sale Trail play a valuable role in shifting community perceptions of purchasing second hand, supporting the transition to a circular economy and enabling more effective reuse and recycling of unwanted items”: Mayor Christensen.

Australian exporters will see faster export documentation and easier access into Singapore’s markets, as certification between Australia and Singapore moves towards paperless trading ... “Using electronic export certification (eCert) means the relevant information is sent directly to overseas government agencies almost instantly, allowing for quicker clearance times so producers can get their goods to market faster”: A/g Deputy Secretary Nicola Hinder.

"We expect that these 51 strategically placed golf events over three years will attract more than 16,000 visitors to the host regions, injecting an estimated $13.5 million into the regional NSW economy": Minister for Tourism, Ben Franklin.

Beekeepers can now apply for a permit to move European honey bees and other related materials into Queensland from the NSW General Emergency Zone (GEZ) after this zone was declared free of varroa mites ... “All states and territories across Australia have reached unanimous agreement that varroa mite is not present in the GEZ”: Qld Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities, Mark Furner.