Politics

Investment in Australia’s oil and gas industries is being hamstrung by net zero policies of the major banks, despite the nation’s escalating fuel crisis ... “I am extremely concerned that the net zero policies of Australian banks prevent them from supporting businesses that have been trying to increase the production of oil, simply because they’re in the business of ‘fossil fuels’.

Broken Hill City Council has been awarded several million dollars following a successful NSW Supreme Court action against a former lawyer whose billing records claimed up to 36 hours of work in a single day. The court found that Keith Redenbach, principal of Redenbach Legal, charged the council $10 million to litigate a building dispute over renovations to the Broken Hill Civic Centre...

It was a truly international affair at the Maclean Highland gathering with competitors travelling from as far as Scotland, Canada, and New Zealand for the 121st event. Rain showers on both Friday and Saturday added a touch of Scottish ambience, said Lower Clarence Scottish Association Secretary Alister Smith, as people travelled from as far as Melbourne to enjoy the annual spectacle.

The Australian Antarctic Program has completed two environmental management and research voyages to Heard Island and McDonald Islands – the first campaign of its kind in 20 years. The islands are an Australian external territory, located in the Southern Ocean, about 4,000 km south-west of Australia.

The Member for Central Wheatbelt and Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food, Lachlan Hunter MP, says the Cook Labor Government is failing to manage the fuel crisis, with the town of Dowerin left without diesel for eight days. Mr Hunter said the situation exposes the growing gap between what the Government is saying and what is happening across regional Western Australia.

The State Opposition is calling for greater scrutiny of fuel retailers who appear to be using global events as an excuse to over-inflate prices. The RAA says unleaded pump prices are between 15 and 20 cents per litre higher than wholesale prices, which compares to margins of between eight and 13 cents per litre before the Middle East conflict began.

Gather Round is much more than a footy festival, with the Malinauskas Labor Government hosting more than 120 interstate investors looking for business opportunities in SA. The State Government is leveraging the event’s popularity to connect South Australian businesses with capital and investment opportunities that will support growth, innovation, and job creation.

FWCA Chair Steve Dobbyns warns hidden cost pressures are overwhelming regional industries. Forest & Wood Communities Australia (FWCA) is warning that recent fuel relief measures are failing to deliver meaningful impact for regional industries, as underlying diesel costs continue to rise sharply across the supply chain.

Timber Towns Victoria (TTV) the peak body representing the local councils whose communities depend on forest industries, has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to list Alpine Ash and White Ash forests as endangered, warning the listing rewards ideology over evidence and risks making the forest management that these ecosystems most urgently need harder, slower, and more dangerous.

They may look cute and cuddly, but these highly trained sniffer dogs mean business. Fire ant odour detection dogs and their handlers were mobilised in the Lockyer Valley last month to search for the highly invasive pest.

The current fuel crisis failed to hinder hundreds of motor vehicle enthusiasts descending on Narrandera over the Easter long weekend for the annual Narrandera Rod Run. Although many visitors had to pay high prices for fuel to travel to the event, the situation did not put a dampener on an amazing weekend of incredible vintage vehicles taking to the streets.

Patricia Gill. Bernard Wong hopes to inspire a shared custodial ownership of the submarine world at Greens Pool. "When people have a strong, intimate connection with a place, they will work hard to look after it," he says. Since 1990 he has observed the movement of rays and their flotilla of cleaner fish, giant blue groper, camouflaged wobbegongs, conspiring old wives and much more submerged among the granite pillars.

A cut in fuel excise to make petrol more affordable and a push for more Victorians to use public transport instead of driving are welcome measures to help navigate the fuel crisis, according to Rural Councils Victoria. The 50 per cent excise cut will mean immediate relief at the bowser for rural residents and business operators including farmers.

A forum highlighting the negative impacts of the basin plan on rural communities was held in Barham recently – hundreds were in attendance or have watched the forum online. Southern Riverina Irrigators (SRI) joined the Central Murray Environmental Floodplain Group, The Bridge Newspaper and Upper Goulburn Catchment Alliance to organise the event which included a variety of speakers across industry, science and agriculture.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and Department of Home Affairs’ Australian Border Force (ABF) have ramped up their compliance efforts across South Australia’s wine regions, conducting coordinated unannounced inspections targeting vineyard owners and labour hire providers.

Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) says the Minns Government’s final Budget before the election is a defining moment to address the growing inequity facing regional communities, inequity now being accelerated by the growing national fuel crisis ... RCNSW’s 2026–27 Pre-Budget Submission highlights a widening gap between rapid regional population growth and the infrastructure needed to support it.

Residents across Yorke Peninsula are being encouraged to support a petition calling for stamp duty to be waived on existing homes for first homebuyers in regional South Australia. The initiative, led by the City of Victor Harbor and supported by Barunga West Council and other regional councils, aims to reduce upfront costs for buyers and improve housing access in country areas.

Council has welcomed the Queensland Government’s plans for a cutting-edge biofuel plantation near Emerald. Mayor Janice Moriarty joined state government, education, business and industry representatives at an initial tree planting of 16,000 Pongamia trees recently to mark the commencement of the project. 

Where is the Green Sheep? is an immersive visual theatre experience based on the beloved children’s book by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek. We meet Blue Sheep who loves blue flowers and Red Sheep who loves to cartwheel in the fields, Bath Sheep who loves bubbles and Bed Sheep who loves to bounce... But where is that Green Sheep?

The White Cliffs Power Station is the first commercially operated solar thermal power station in NSW and one of the earliest of its kind in the world ... It is a popular tourist attraction and "tourism is an important economic driver for our small communities." The Heritage Council of NSW is thinking about putting the power station on the State Heritage register.