Politics

WA Forestry Minister Dave Kelly has introduced a Bill to amend the Forest Products Act 2000, which will allow the Forest Products Commission (FPC) to trade in carbon assets ... Carbon capture or sequestration in trees such as renewable pine plantations, is one of the most effective ways to remove carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases causing climate change, from the atmosphere.

Retiring Shire of Gingin councillors Jacqui Lobb and James Morton have been replaced by Robert Kestel and Erik Sorensen. Sitting councillors Kim Rule and Frank Johnson were returned for another four-year term.

Paroo Shire Council would like to invite you on behalf of the Royal Flying Doctors Service (Wellbeing Out West) to the “Your Story Roadshow”.

A new project to bolster water sustainability in northern Australia is about to start, gathering the insights Northern Territory producers  need for greater crop yields while reducing water usage ... Minister for Northern Australia David Littleproud said the water productivity trial will set the scene for future water planning and decision-making.

A project is getting underway on Kangaroo Island to provide producers with the tools, skills, and management options to ensure ewe fertility and lamb survival is not compromised because of the bushfires impacting on pasture composition.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) published its submission to the Regional Telecommunications Review 2021. The submission highlighted the concerns of telco consumers living outside Australia’s metropolitan centres and provides insight into phone and internet complaint trends.

The Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ) is going from strength-to-strength with five new tenants bringing more than 150 new jobs to the precinct – cementing BWEZ as an engine room for growth in regional Victoria. Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas visited the BWEZ headquarters of Office Vision, which is expanding its operations to the manufacturing hub.

New research from the University of Wollongong, a partner at the NSW Bushfire Research Hub, has found climate change will expose larger areas of forest in coastal NSW to higher frequency and more intense fires, amplifying the changes to fire regimes brought about by the 2019/20 fires ... Amongst other findings: Previous timber harvesting did not increase the fire extent or severity of the 2019/20 fires. However, there is potential for cumulative impacts in harvested landscapes that are subject to fire, particularly in the next 5 to 10 years.

The Grass Tree Lookout at Mount Archer is ready for visitors once again, following upgrades completed by Rockhampton Regional Council and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) ... “In addition to the amphitheatre and the skywalk, we are really pleased that residents and visitors can once again enjoy this beautiful vantage point, taking in the incredible views Mount Archer has to offer."

Another successful haul from the Scenic Rim Carp Cup in September at the II Bogan Lagoon near Beaudesert has supported Council's efforts to protect the biodiversity and health of local waterways by targeting two invasive fish species, the Carp and Tilapia. In November, the long-established Scenic Rim environmental group, the Logan and Albert Fish Management Association, is hosting a similar family-friendly education-focused event, called the 'Carp & Tilapia Eradication Competition' at Wyaralong Dam.

An open letter from Chris Hardman, Chief Fire Officer, Forest Fire Management Victoria. As the Chief Fire Officer for Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), my role is to keep the community and our environment safe from bushfire risk. More than ever, the impacts of climate change and its impact on the work we do is at the forefront of our thinking, planning and actions.

Called the Reef Credit Scheme, the market-based collaboration allows farmers and other property owners in reef catchments to undertake projects that improve water quality to generate a tradeable unit of pollutant reduction or Reef Credit, which is then sold onto businesses who want to protect the reef or meet their corporate responsibilities.

The Victorian Government has tabled the second phase report from the Inspector-General for Emergency Management’s (IGEM) independent inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian fire season.

There was nothing new or unexpected about the recently announced NSW Natural Resources Commission research on timber harvesting and koalas ... There’s nothing in the NRC report that actually deserves a tick. It’s a well-established historical and scientific fact that koalas are an irruptive species which responds positively to soft new growth ... Declining trees continuously resprout soft young growth until they eventually run out of resources. Koalas breed up in declining forests.

The Northern Australia Committee has tabled the final report of its  Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.  The report follows on from the work of the Committee’s interim report  Never Again  tabled on the 9 December 2020.