State politics

Farmers for Climate Action has produced a report ‘Energy Sovereignty for Regional Australia: Protecting Farmers, Powering the Future’ arguing that Australia's transition away from diesel should be accelerated through electrification, subsidies, infrastructure investment and changes to fuel tax arrangements ... When did advocacy become less about persuading people to voluntarily embrace change and more about finding another group to pay for it?

The Shire of Broome is calling for greater State Government support and clearer policy direction around public housing and community housing rate exemptions, amid growing concern about the long-term financial impact on regional local governments and ratepayers ... Across parts of the Kimberley, public housing accounts for around 30 per cent of housing stock, compared to approximately three per cent in metropolitan Perth.

Ready, Set, Esky: Scenic Rim Eat Local Month’s much-loved Winter Harvest Festival returns to Kalbar on Saturday 27 June, bringing together the region’s farmers, growers, producers, Food Ambassador chefs and artisans for one unforgettable day of food, farming and country hospitality. 

For communities across Lismore, recovery is no longer just something being planned - it’s being felt, as Lismore City Council reaches a milestone 150 projects now complete. Across the Local Government Area, works completed since the 2022 disasters include reopened and repaired roads, restored community buildings and sporting facilities, and enhanced flood pump infrastructure.

Nearly 85 per cent of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s environmental water target has now been achieved ... over 380GL of water has now been recovered towards the 450GL target, through a combination of federally-funded water-efficiency infrastructure projects and voluntary water purchasing.

Regional Cities NSW (RCNSW) has called on the Minns Government to prioritise regional water policy and investment after the release of the NSW Auditor-General’s Water management and regulation in NSW report on Monday. RCNSW Chair, and Mayor of Lismore, Cr Steve Krieg said the Auditor-General’s report highlighted the state’s water framework remains complex, fragmented and constrained by poor data and unclear responsibilities.

The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board is urging the Riverland community to report deer sightings following the detection of a sambar deer in an orchard near Loxton North, captured on a remote trail camera. Sambar deer are a large species, reaching up to 1.6 metres tall and 300 kg, and can pose risks to people, road users and horticultural operations.

Energy Minister Penny Sharpe has cut the ribbon on Australia's first eight-hour battery near Balranald, with RWE's Limondale storage system promising steadier power, local jobs and money back into the community. A property on the outskirts of Balranald is now home to a national first.

Australia’s first dedicated central hub for algal bloom research has opened in Adelaide. The $3.2 million Office for Algal Bloom Research has been established within the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), placing Adelaide at the forefront of algal bloom management and research.

Victorians will be safer and guns will be kept out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them under new laws. The Firearms Amendment Bill 2026 acts on four recommendations from the Rapid Review into Victoria’s Firearms Laws conducted by Ken Lay AO APM.

The Finocchiaro CLP Government has marked World Crocodile Day with the opening of a new “Croc Squad” headquarters in Palmerston for the rangers who keep the Territory’s waterways safe for locals and visitors. Parks and Wildlife rangers removed 240 crocodiles across the Territory, including 199 from designated crocodile management zones and 41 from outside those areas, between 1 July 2025 and 31 May 2026.

Mallee’s food exporters face huge spikes in Commonwealth export fees after the shock release of data under the cover of a quiet Friday after sunset. The Albanese Government’s final Export Cost Recovery Implementation Statements confirm fee increases of up to 384 per cent on agricultural exporters.

The NSW Reconstruction Authority has begun rolling out a new series of targeted information and industry sessions to help flood-impacted residents in the Northern Rivers move from the planning phase into active construction and relocation. This comes in the wake of the NSW Auditor-General's scathing report on the performance of the $880m Resilient Homes Program and...

Buyback homes and temporary home pods will be part of a housing reuse initiative by NSW Reconstruction Authority and Homes NSW. The homes will be offered for affordable, social, transitional, crisis or key worker housing, or as community spaces.

The Albanese and Crisafulli Governments have partnered with the City of Gold Coast to deliver Australia’s first council-managed Conserved Area.

It’s all smiles and melted hearts as three baby bilbies emerge from their mothers’ pouches at the Alice Springs Desert Park. Under the careful watch of Alice Springs Desert Park staff and researchers, the three bilby joeys will remain with their mothers on display in the Nocturnal House, just in time for the school holidays.

Murray Industrial Hemp (MIH) is thrilled with news the NSW Government has granted $10 million for a new hemp manufacturing business in Barham ... MIH will use the government funding, along with investments from local and national shareholders, to build industrial hemp processing and block manufacturing facilities in Barham.

"The latest housing market figures highlight growing confidence in the Northern Territory economy and property sector," trumpet Joshua Burgoyne and Bill Yan in a media release. The Ministers for Land and Housing Construction, respectively, clearly consider the Northern Territory to consist exclusively of Darwin.

Soaring aviation fuel costs are forcing the children's charity flight service Little Wings to cut back, with consequences for some of the most vulnerable families in the far west. The organisation has had to reduce its number of flights, limiting access to vital developmental assessments and therapy for children in Broken Hill and other remote communities.