Politics

The Clarence Way is close to breaking point, Kyogle Council general manager Graham Kennett said. “Despite the best efforts of our maintenance crews, the road is literally falling apart in sections behind them,” Mr Kennett said.

The GMA is conducting the annual helicopter survey across Victoria to monitor the abundance of game duck populations, to help improve our knowledge of waterfowl ecology. The aerial survey will be conducted by experienced wildlife biologists recording the presence, species and number of game ducks on waterbodies across Victoria.

Rodney Stevens. Eight years of frustration by local community group Valley Watch over Clarence Valley Council not releasing important Yamba floor level survey results will now be subjected to a review by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Valley Watch spokes-person Helen Tyas Tunggal said 14 years after Yamba’s existing flooding problem was identified in council’s 2008 flood study, and eight years since professional floor level surveys were done in 2014, affected residents are still unable to access the results.

Rodney Stevens. The determination and persistent toil of the Ashby Hall Reserve Crown Land Management committee and volunteers over more than two years has been recognised ... The announcement follows the opening of the Ashby Nature Discovery Trail ... a project born out of the devastation of the 2019 Myall Creek Road bushfire which burned more than 67,000 hectares around Ashby, Tullymorgan, Mororo and Jacky Bulbin Flat.

After 14 work related deaths in the WA agricultural industry over last 18 months, far more than any other state, serious questions need to be asked about why our Ministers have put all their faith in the impact of draconian new industrial manslaughter laws when it's clearly not working.

The WA Government has determined not to proceed with the Southern Forests Irrigation Scheme in its current form, as the climate modelling indicates the dam on Record Brook is not viable. Reports by CSIRO found climate change and lowering of the water table has significantly altered the supply of available water from the Donnelly River.

Time traveller  provides a glimpse into Murray Walker’s vast output of collage and assemblage sculpture over the past 40 years. Born in Ballarat in 1937, Walker has worked in diverse media including painting, printmaking, ceramics and tapestry design. ...with limited access to a studio, he began creating collages to diarise his travels.

The Victorian Farmers Federation’s United Dairy Farmers of Victoria (VFF UDV) says Northern Victoria’s dairy industry would be further damaged by water buybacks and the recovery of the 450GL up-water target ahead of this week’s meeting of State and Federal Water Ministers to discuss the Murray Darling Basin Plan. VFF UDV President Mark Billing said the group strongly opposed the recovery of the 450GL saying it would lead to losses in dairy production and local jobs.

Stow Gardens on the Geraldton Foreshore will mark the final stop on adventurer and philanthropist John Elliot’s odyssey across the heart of Australia to raise awareness about skin cancer. Before Mr Elliot’s departure in 2019, he undertook a routine skin check that revealed a melanoma on his back, which had it gone undetected may have proven fatal.

Work on the Nelligen Bridge Replacement project is steaming ahead with the new bridge now expected to be open to traffic by early 2023 ... “The final deck pour on the concrete bridge deck was completed in July to create a solid base for the asphalt layer, which will start going down in November, weather permitting": Parliamentary Secretary for the South Coast Shelley Hancock.

An aerial cull of feral deer on the Fleurieu Peninsula culled more than 1000 deer from forests, farms and private conservation properties in September 2022 ... Aerial culling is the most effective landscape-scale tool currently available for rapidly reducing the impacts of feral deer.

The Outback Arts region gains another valuable cultural asset today as the Standing Stories Sculpture Walk in Bourke is opened to the public through the release of the brochure for the self-guided tour ... The project, which has seen 8 sculptures installed at the Back of Bourke Exhibition Centre (in Bourke) has been over 5 years in development.

Samuel Davis. Empowering Traditional Owners to create new economic opportunities and improving consultation with mining companies will be two key areas of focus for Cape York Land Council’s newly appointed CEO. Dion Creek wasted little time settling into the role, serving as master of ceremonies at an event recognising the Native Title rights of Traditional Owners in the Northern Peninsula Area last week.

Two parcels of land in Queensland’s far north equal in size to 4,000 Suncorp Stadiums will be added to the state’s protected area network in an agreement struck between the Palaszczuk Government and South Endeavour Trust. Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon announced new nature refuges, the Mount Gibson Nature Refuge and the Oakey Scrub Nature Refuge...

Public consultation is now open on Australia’s first national action plan on soil ... “As the first action plan under the 20-year National Soil Strategy, it is important that there is a focus on setting good foundations for future actions to halt and reverse soil degradation and improve soil health”: DAFF

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said the Queensland Government had partnered with Meat and Livestock Australia, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and US based biotechnology company Tiba Biotech to create a world-first synthetic vaccine for LSD.

North Coast Local Land Services is continuing to make improvements to the water quality and the local environment at the Richmond River following the completion of the latest round of riparian rehabilitation works. The works ... are designed to prevent sediment and nutrients from entering the Richmond River from the Emigrant Creek Catchment area.

The Australian Government has announced the appointment of Dr Kerry Schott AO to lead an independent review into the Inland Rail project ... The review will consider the process for selecting the Inland Rail route, including stakeholder consultation, and assess the project’s scope, schedule and cost.