Mayor Hill to abstain from council’s Australia Day function
The Town Council ... (19.1.2026) announced its "special Australia Day ceremony" and ... (20.1.2026) Mayor Asta Hill announced that she won't be taking part. "It is my personal view that the 26 January is not the right date to celebrate our national day," she said in a statement.
West Coast shark fishers caught up in demersal ban
A Lancelin based shark fisher says there has been no commercial fishing in the West Coast bioregion between Lancelin and Tims Thicket (south of Mandurah) for nearly 20 years ... Mr Stokke, who also partners with his brother in a western rock lobster boat, said he thought the ban was probably targeting the wet liners but they (the shark fishers) were thrown under the bus with them.
Show Society confidence in games bid
Allora Show Society is moving ahead with an attempt to become involved in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games after discussing the potential for a multi-function stables complex at the showgrounds. It is anticipated that the complex would cost around $1.5 million and would become a valuable asset at the showgrounds beyond the Olympics.
Hole lot of drama on Armidale Road
Several vehicles have had tyres damaged, and rims broken as they’ve travelled along a notoriously dangerous 22km section of Armidale Road between Coutts Crossing and Nymboida in recent months, with one social media user likening it to the Mariana Trench. With countless potholes, some measuring 16cm deep and 40cm wide, creating a hazardous obstacle course on the bitumen, many locals and business representatives ... have shared various warnings online...
Fire fuel load reaching critical levels: TasFarmers
Farmers across the north of the state are increasingly worried by the huge fuel load on the roadside, especially in the Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and Latrobe Municipalities and on roads controlled by the state government. “The risk of a catastrophic fire caused by too much long grass and weeds on the edges of the roads is increasing by the day,” said TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman.
A better lifestyle through a stronger economy – Crisafulli Government delivers aviation academy for North Queensland’s defence workforce: Bates
The Crisafulli Government is delivering skilled jobs and long-term training pathways for Queenslanders, with the Townsville Aviation Training Academy opening its doors and welcoming its first group of defence aviation apprentices this week. Delivered through Aviation Australia the academy will provide specialist training to support Boeing Defence Australia’s new maintenance workforce for the Australian Army’s AH-64E Apache helicopters, alongside the expanding CH-47F Chinook program.
Value of Murray-Darling conference lauded by councillor
The Murray-Darling Association 2025 National Conference saw its new Strategic Plan unveiled, building on the direction of Vision 2025. Narrandera Shire Council was represented by Cr Jenny Clarke, who presented a report to the Council recently.
Aerial shooters engaged to reduce feral pig numbers during flood recovery: McBain, Perrett
Experienced aerial shooters are being engaged to reduce feral pig numbers in flood-ravaged north-west Queensland, backed by the Albanese and Crisafulli Governments. The initiative is part of a $11.32 million Primary Producer Support Package announced under joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) in response to the North Queensland Monsoon Trough and ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji.
Water matters: Practical outcomes needed in Basin
Rosalie Auricht. A lot can happen in a very short time in the water space, and 2026 is shaping up to be a big year in water policy within the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) ... Federal water recovery from intensive irrigation networks across the Basin can so easily rip the heart out of the social and economic fabric of those communities. The underfunded Federal Sustainable Communities Program, now opened in SA, is designed to diversify economies as they transition away from irrigation. The program provides no comfort to irrigators in intensive irrigation network areas like the Riverland.
Large-scale limestone shellfish reef to rebuild lost habitat: Hood
Preparations for a large-scale limestone shellfish reef – the first delivered under the Malinauskas Government’s Summer Plan – are underway on the Yorke Peninsula, in one of the biggest marine restoration projects ever undertaken in South Australia.
Victoria’s bushfires show the need for smart, coordinated approaches to fire: Michelle Freeman, Forestry Australia
Michelle Freeman. Victorians are living through another black summer, with fires burning through more than 400,000 hectares of forest and farmland and leaving communities from Natimuk to Walwa confronting loss. The scale of the damage underscores the need to continue evolving how we manage our landscapes to better prepare for fire.
“I am desperate to get to court”
Facing aggravated assault charges he has denied, member for MacKillop Nick McBride says he is "chafing at the bit, desperate," and "can't wait to get to the court" to tell his side of the story. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The [Naracoorte] News, Mr McBride asked voters for a "leap of faith," urging the electorate to uphold the Australian Constitution and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
The WA Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries has a budget credibility problem
Jackie Jarvis was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Food in December 2022. She picked up responsibility for Fisheries in March 2025, giving her three budgets and one election to get her head around the DPIRD budget papers ... Once again, I’ve gone back to the state budget to point out a glaring problem: the rhetoric simply does not match the money.
Heritage by litigation: How Ben Wyatt is rewriting history to excuse a failed law
“WAFarmers are reaping what they sow,” Ben Wyatt declared recently, reflecting on the looming Maddox case and claims by WAFarmers that the current laws are being selectively targeted by the department ... There is a curious habit among former ministers once they leave office: they rediscover principle. Mr Wyatt’s recent commentary on Aboriginal cultural heritage laws is a textbook example.
CFA Annual Report confirms continued funding gap: VFF
The Victorian Farmers Federation has slammed the State Government's continued underfunding of the Country Fire Authority, with today's release of the CFA's 2024-25 Annual Report confirming a funding crisis that is placing regional communities at unacceptable risk. VFF President, Brett Hosking said the numbers tell a damning story that can no longer be ignored.
Tin mining dangers
Kaali King. Few of us know that tin is one of the fastest growing rare-earth mineral commodities in 2025, outstripping lithium, cobalt, silver and graphite. Demand for electronics and EVs, all of which use tin solder (48 per cent of the global tin market) is fuelling the boom.
Cattle keep land ‘intact’: Pastoral lobby
The Territory’s 45 million hectares of cattle country is “some of the most intact” land in Australia, something that pastoral families, over more than a century, have achieved not “by locking the country away ... Romy Carey, CEO of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, is making a powerful point in her group’s current newsletter, as her $1.5 billion a year industry is facing Chinese trade restrictions and criticism over its position on buffel weed.
Commercial fisher supports call for mandatory recreational reporting
A commercial fisherman affected by the Cook Government’s decision to permanently close the West Coast bioregion from Kalbarri to Augusta for demersal fishing says it should be mandatory for recreational boat fishers to provide data on their catch on the day they fish.
The complexities of managing the waters of Menindee Lakes
The Menindee Lakes system is often described as the beating heart of the Darling-Baaka river system, but in the halls of Canberra and Sydney, it is also a vital "battery" for the Murray-Darling Basin. As we move into 2026, the lakes find themselves at the centre of a major policy shift - the "rescoping" of a controversial water-saving project that has pitted engineering efficiency against cultural survival.
Recreational opportunities in the proposed Great Koala National Park? Government announcement with response from Vic Jurskis
The NSW Government has called for community input on recreational opportunities in the proposed Great Koala National Park. Regular ARR.News commentator on koala issues, Vic Jurskis, responds and has some questions for the Environment Minister ... Where do koalas no longer exist in NSW? What is the evidence they existed there when Europeans arrived? What is the evidence they are no longer there? Do you intend to reintroduce them?
Is there a future for the Snowy Mountain brumbies?
Colleen Krestensen. With the repeal of the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018 (NSW), the Australian Brumby Alliance and brumby rehoming organisations are deeply concerned that the NSW Government and NPWS will move to quickly slaughter the remaining brumbies by aerial culling or other lethal methods ... The ABA strongly believes that with the brumby population in Kosciuszko National Park now as low as 579 horses, and the perceived density problem addressed, there is time to review how the remaining horses are managed and to make animal welfare an imperative.
Lower Murray River ecosystem listed as Critically Endangered – announcement and early reactions
On Thursday 15 January 2026, the Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt, announced the Federal Government's decision to list the Lower Murray River System as being of Critically Endangered conservation status pursuant to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). Minister Watt's statement together with early statements from National Farmers' Federation and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW demonstrate some of the points of difference over this contentious decision.
