Politics

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has released the planned location of the proposed Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor, which will direct traffic away from the New England Highway through Toowoomba.

The Friends of Jondaryan Woolshed Inc. are holding a reunion for all who have been involved in "the Jondaryan Woolshed Project" since its inception in 1973, including volunteers, staff, committee members, directors, stall holders, event organisers and other supporters.

It was a packed house at the Moulamein Recreation Reserve as community members from across the region gathered for the landholder information session on the proposed 500 kilovolt double circuit transmission line ... It was fantastic to see a town hall meeting ... the ultimate ‘pub test’.

South Australia is leading the nation in removing feral deer, with the 10-year South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program aiming to eradicate the pest from the state by 2032 ... There were an estimated 40,000 feral deer estimated in South Australia in 2022, and since the program’s commencement in May 2022, over 8,000 feral deer have been removed.

With significant planning work and extensive market soundings completed, it is now certain that the cost of hosting the Regional Victorian Commonwealth Games will exceed $6 billion – more than twice the estimated economic benefit the Games would bring our state. In the face of these numbers, the Victorian Government has made the decision not to proceed with hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

Transitioning agriculture to low-emission vehicles will take time and requires a coordinated, strategic and responsive approach, with collaboration across the supply chain, GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel said. The comments follow discussions on Transport of the Future at the Innovation Generation event in Adelaide, with presentations from John Deere, Viva Energy and Aclimate Partners.

Angry Angourie locals have taken it upon themselves to clean up kilos and kilos of debris from the 15-metre steel ketch Chinook that ran aground on Saturday July 8, on rocks near Spooky Beach, after the boat’s owner abandoned the vessel ... Angourie local Kim said as the yacht was left scattering debris for six days in the ocean and surrounds.

Yamba residents will continue to endure wait times of up to a month to see a doctor with the news the development of a medical centre, pharmacy and four units on Coldstream Street is in limbo, with no anticipated start date. A Development Application DA to build the medical centre, chemist and four residential units in the Yamba CBD was lodged by Brisbane based Go Ahead Enterprises Pty Ltd with Clarence Valley Council CVC in March 2021 and was approved by council in August 2021.

South-west Victorian dairy farmers have learnt about the potential benefits of virtual fencing to manage herd grazing and movement, during a New Zealand study tour. Farm consultants Angus Drummond and Fiona Smith organised and led the tour of the SW Farm Business Discussion Group (SW FBDG) to Christchurch, New Zealand.

A southern Yorke Peninsula mothers’ group has had to buy its own scales to weigh newborn babies because of what members say is a lack of local services provided by Child and Family Health Services ... "The wait time for a face-to-face appointment was three months. We have had babies up to 7 months old coming to the group who had only been seen by a CaFHS nurse once as a newborn": Katie Hughes, facilitator of Yorketown's new Mama Meet Up group.

The ambitious design for the Mallanganee Lookout has been shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival in the Future Projects category ... The description on the festival website says “Mallanganee Lookout is an iconic destination – a place that has the centre of the galaxy crossing overhead”.

Michelle Daw. Barunga West Council says its ratepayers are not getting value for money from the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board levy ... " ... no Landscape SA staff members are stationed within the Barunga West local government area. Moreover, the council receives infrequent visits from officers and there is minimal engagement regarding the board’s activities or support for the Barunga West region": Maree Wauhope, council CEO.

Part of the Gingin Brook will be assessed under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 by the Aboriginal cultural material committee when it meets on August 25. The Gingin Brook is accorded cultural importance and significance due to a creative dreaming narrative, according to consultation information available on the Department of Planning Lands and Heritage website.

Communities across South East Queensland and the Fraser Coast will benefit from more resilient and reliable telecommunications, with the completion of a new $4.4 million project to keep the NBN running during natural disasters ... An innovative and environmentally friendly technology, Hybrid Power Cubes power NBN fixed wireless towers using a combination of solar panels, a battery, and a compact diesel generator, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to fixed wireless towers when it is needed most.

The NSW Government is ramping up efforts to tackle rising feral pig populations across the state, providing an $8 million boost to help fund a new coordinated control program ... The one-year program will bring the NSW Government spend on control of feral pig populations to $13 million in the 2023-24 financial year.

The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) and Queensland United Egg Producers (QUEP) are carefully considering the ministerial endorsement of a national update to the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry (S&G) following a joint meeting of the federal and all state agriculture ministers in Perth last week ... As part of the update to the S&G, conventional cage egg production will be phased out, with each state left to decide the timeframe for this transition.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles unveiled concept designs for the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre’s $10 million transformation in Tennant Creek yesterday. The investment is part of the Territory Labor Government’s Arts Trail initiative, which aims to make the Northern Territory a world-class tourist and cultural destination.

Trent Twomey. Sixty-day dispensing may sound good, but dig a little deeper and it’s rural and regional Australia that will pay ... “You don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone.” It may as well be the theme song for 60-day dispensing, where pharmacists will be required to dispense two months’ worth of medicine for the price of one month.