Politics

In response to a report in last week’s Corryong Courier about delays in rehabilitating the Bluff Falls tourism area, Parks Victoria has provided an update on works that have been undertaken or that are underway in the Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.

Community engagement is once again in the spotlight after the North Central CMA (NCCMA), the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) pulled out of a meeting with the Central Murray Environmental Floodplain Group (CMEFG) held in Cohuna on Monday, June 19. The meeting was being held to discuss concerns with the current reporting, management and environmental watering events, such as delivery of environmental water that commenced on June 8 in the Gunbower Forest.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and his Cabinet Ministers will visit Kangaroo Island today [22 June 2023] and tomorrow as part of the State Government’s Country Cabinet. Demonstrating the Government’s commitment to regional South Australia, this is the fourth in a series of Country Cabinets – which has already taken the Premier and Ministers to Port Pirie & Port Augusta, Mount Gambier and Yorke Peninsula.

Ukraine could become the first country in the world where the evolution of agriculture will be replaced by devolution. The war makes farms and large agricultural holdings inefficient. These enterprises use large capital, hired labor, complex machinery, large plots of land and work for export. But war cannot destroy the private farms of the rural people.

A travel subsidy for patients who access essential health care away from their home communities will be increased to help vulnerable Queenslanders manage cost of living pressures. The Palaszczuk Government announced that the recent state budget would fund an increase in the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS).

Hundreds of mountain biking enthusiasts and their families gathered in Rockhampton for the recent Rocky Trail Academy Schools Competition and the Fox Superflow® Gravity Enduro race, two of the fastest growing mountain bike racing formats held in Rockhampton during winter ... “Mountain biking tourism is considered one of the fastest growing recreational activities globally, with AusCycle reporting a $136.9 million direct economic impact to Australia, per annum": Parks, Sport and Public Spaces Councillor Cherie Rutherford.

Goomburra is the first community across the Region to develop a Local Emergency Action Plan. Disaster preparedness is one of the Goomburra Town Hall (GTH) Committee’s aim for the Goomburra Valley and North Branch Road as there is only one road in and out.

A two-year control order preventing the harvesting of prawns from the Clarence River announced as part of a $21.4 million biosecurity response package to White Spot virus could be the death knell for an industry already on its knees, if not managed properly, says the Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-operative ... But Ms Adams said if the control order on the Clarence Estuary is not managed well, there won’t be a prawn industry on the Northern Rivers in two years’ time.

NSW Farmers has welcomed a Parliamentary Inquiry into undergrounding powerlines, calling it a win for common sense and community safety. Multiple renewable energy projects proposed or under construction in regional areas would require new power lines to connect them to the grid, Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said, but too often landholders were being ignored by the big developers.

Ecology, community and renewable timber were on the agenda last week as the NSW Minister for Agriculture, The Hon. Tara Moriarty MLC spent time in Bagawa State Forest near Coffs Harbour. Minister Moriarty said the field visit provided a deeper understanding of how State forests are managed to balance multiple uses and objectives. 

Patrick Goldsmith. The state government’s announcement of a $20 million funding allocation across four years for deteriorating jetties has been labelled as inadequate by Yorke Peninsula stakeholders. Almost 40 jetties across the state, owned by the government but leased to councils on 50-year terms, must vie for the new funding announced in the state budget ...

Patrick Goldsmith. Just four months after focusing its efforts entirely on Yorke Peninsula for Country Cabinet, the state government has left the region without much to celebrate ... "It makes for two budgets in a row where we’ve seen little investment in our area. In the glossy budget overview there was precious little for a number of regions and we suffered the absolute embarrassment of not even being listed": Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis.

Last week, Mayor Suzette Beresford and CEO Ms Cassie White of Paroo Shire Council attended the "Our Communities Our Future" conference hosted by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) in Canberra ... Mayor Beresford had the chance to connect with the Hon. Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Local Government during the ACLG dinner.

In the face of already numerous adversities, the Northern Rivers of NSW is grappling with yet another concern: food security. Floods, bushfires, and the ongoing impact of the Covid pandemic have exposed vulnerabilities in the region’s food system but also presented an opportunity to re-think how food is grown, distributed and consumed.

Do you want the chance to witness stunning wildflowers in bloom and learn why they are so special? Then mark your calendar for Monday, July 3, to book a spot at the Sunshine Coast Wildflower Festival, with guided walks running from Saturday, August 19, to Sunday, September 3, from Bribie Island to Noosa.

Four MPs and seven mayors have sent a letter to the Premier Chris Minns. They are asking the State Government not to forget the Northern Rivers and to deliver the next part of the flood recovery funding for the Resilient Homes program.

Federal MP Kevin Hogan isn’t holding back in his criticism of the State Government halving the number of buybacks of Northern Rivers flooded homes. The decision to drastically cut the Northern Rivers homes buybacks was made even worse by an announcement that the Federal Government would be boosting buybacks in Queensland by an additional 300 homes, Mr Hogan said.