Politics

Andrew Morgan. For more than two decades, SFM has worked at the intersection of forestry, agriculture and investment ... In recent years, we’ve witnessed a structural shift in what drives value in plantation development — and it’s been driven by something invisible, yet incredibly powerful: a real, regulated and recognised price on carbon.

The 2025 Forest Carbon Summit commences today, April 10, and continues tomorrow, April 11, at the National Press Club in Canberra, spotlighting the pivotal role of forests and carbon management in Australia’s net-zero future.

State Government Sports infrastructure funding is being used to build a shed that was always intended to house produce stall holders and retail market activities at the Bendigo showgrounds, a planning document from 2019 has confirmed. The market shed is being built instead of a proposed multi-purpose sports pavilion that was to include changerooms, a function room, umpire rooms, toilets and kiosk on the opposite side of the arena in the equestrian precinct.

The hottest place in the Clarence Valley on Saturday will be Maclean as the community comes together to celebrate the reignited Cane Harvest Festival. Harking back to yesteryear, the streets of Maclean will come alive on April 12 with activities, exhibitions, music, and people for the first time in more than 25 years.

With placards in their hands, smiles on their faces, and their fists triumphantly raised high in the air, staff and members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) Clarence Valley Branch at Grafton Base Hospital (GBH) had cause for celebration on April 3 after they finally received the news they had been fighting hard for throughout the past couple of years.

The Northern NSW Local Health District has apologised to the family of a Grafton cancer patient who died last month just hours after leaving Grafton Base Hospital. Terminal cancer patient, 55-year-old Sandra Shipley died within hours of visiting Grafton Base Hospital on Saturday, March 22.

Madison Eastmond. The South Australian Youth Forum (SAYF) All Voices Tour made its most-recent stop in the Riverland last weekend, with their local workshop hoping to further understand the shared passions, hopes, and struggles of regional youth ... the afternoon workshop hosting conversations on climate resilience, mental health resources, and the importance of agricultural wellbeing.

A political war of words has erupted over funding for the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass, with opposing parties accusing the other of holding up the project. Last week, Barker MP Tony Pasin and SA Liberal colleague, Ben Hood MLC, labelled Labor’s $525 million funding announcement a "cruel hoax", because the State Government had failed to commit any money to the project.

Hugh Schuitemaker. Riverland sporting volunteers had the chance to learn new skills and hear from an Olympic gold medallist in Renmark. More than 100 local sporting enthusiasts and local government representatives attended last Saturday’s Gamechanger event, held at St Francis of Assisi College, in Renmark.

A small group of enthusiastic participants from Charlton, Donald, Wycheproof, and Birchip recently came together to trial podcasting and broadcasting equipment in a hands-on, skills-sharing session designed to support future community storytelling and fundraising.

The National Food Security Green Paper released ... by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute is a wake-up call and highlights Australia’s critical food security challenges, industry body GrainGrowers said...

Food Futures is Australia's leading event on agricultural development in the north. The biennial conference is being held today and tomorrow (8-9 April 2025) at the Darwin Convention Centre, bringing together industry leaders, researchers, and government representatives to explore new opportunities for northern agriculture.

Growing demand for high-quality red meat products in the Middle East is opening up this dynamic growth market to Australian exporters. At Gulfood 2025 – the Middle East’s biggest food industry event – 35 Australian red meat producers built new connections with buyers and distributers in the region.

Dead sea creatures are being discovered along the east coast of southern Yorke Peninsula, believed to be linked to a microalgal bloom ... "We saw 30 to 40 dead octopus, and normally you have to really look to see one octopus during the daytime ... It was the saddest and most emotional dive I have ever had": diver Paul Macdonald.

Sarah Herrmann. “If you walk into State Parliament, in the House of Representatives, on the floor — embedded in the carpet — is wheat sheaves and grapes,” Pine Point farmer Brenton Davey says. “That was put there as recognition of what the primary producers have done for this state. And they’re walking all over us — on the carpet.”

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has a long and proud history of delivering vital healthcare to Australians living in rural and remote areas for over 95 years. However, despite this enduring commitment, significant disparities in healthcare access persist, leading to worrying health outcomes for those living outside major cities.

The AEC takes privacy law obligations seriously and advises that political parties are exempt from privacy legislation. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has once again cautioned voters about unsolicited postal vote application forms distributed by political parties via mail and SMS.

It has been through the hoops, weathered every challenge that the century could roll at it and come out the other side to celebrate its one hundredth birthday; congratulations to Maldon Croquet Club!

A community forum at Baringhup Hall on Wednesday 26 March attracted close to 50 attendees, many with comments and questions about the State Government's proposed Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (ESVF). Arranged and hosted by local campaigner Brian Fitzgerald, the forum featured representatives from local and state government plus the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF).

Toowoomba Equestrian Centre to be developed at the Toowoomba Showgrounds will benefit the entire region during and post the Olympics. The Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland (RASQ) CEO Damon Phillips says the project will leave our region with an equestrian centre capable of delivering national and international level events...

Dangerous potholed roads, a crippling drought, the high cost of living, failing and unreliable mobile phone coverage, burgeoning government bureaucracy – as May 3 looms, they are just a few of the concerns people want addressed by the next federal government. The nation is in election mode and Liberal senators Alex Antic and Leah Blyth have been weaving their way throughout the Limestone Coast…