Longreach hosting Western Queensland Regional Community Forum: Bailey
Opportunities for young people in rural communities to gain training and practical skills to make them more employable have been increased as a result of the Queensland Government’s Western Queensland Regional Community Forum, which meets for the last time for 2023 at Longreach.
Emergency fodder for producers affected by Queensland bushfires: Furner
Primary producers significantly affected by bushfires in Queensland will soon be able to access emergency fodder. The recently established Bushfire Fodder Taskforce has contracted Rural Aid to provide five road trains of fodder to affected areas.
Kakadu delivers third $10,000 barra for Season 9: Fyles, Brown
The third $10,000 red-tagged barra of Million Dollar Fish Season 9 has been caught just five weeks into the season. The season runs from 1 October 2023 until 31 March 2024 ... This season someone is guaranteed to win a million dollars.
Lifeline for critically endangered wetland plant
Two small wetlands in the middle of western Victoria are at the heart of a plan to bring back a critically endangered aquatic plant. Davis’s Dam on private farmland between Lake Buloke and Birchip, and Creswick Dam north of Marnoo, are being managed with water for the environment partly to help re-establish the marbled marshwort aquatic plant.
Our Q&A
The lack of a TAFE, children with special needs, the health bureaucracy, E-tag regulations, arts, rare earth mining, radiation therapy and plastics were among 16 questions asked at last week’s Country Cabinet forum in Naracoorte. During a two-day whirlwind visit SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, his ministers and all department chiefs collectively met with hundreds of people as they travelled to various special spots within our region.
60 new homes
Will the new home plan announced by the state government solve the South East’s dire housing crisis? As part of the Country Cabinet’s recent visit to the South East, the state government announced a new 60-home plan for the Tatiara District, with the hope of attracting workers to regional towns ... the project will cost the state government $2.7million.
CarbonNet pipeline stakeholder consultation
The landmark federal-state CarbonNet project, which aims to take carbon dioxide emissions from the Latrobe Valley and sequester them under Bass Strait, has got the go ahead for a vital part of the project – the plan to build a pipeline that will carry liquefied CO2 to the coast. The 100 kilometre-pipeline – 80km buried onshore and a further 20km offshore – will take liquefied CO2 to a carbon capture and storage hub at Golden Beach, creating a connection for multiple carbon capture projects.
Stats, facts and data exposes government
We live in a digital era where vast amounts of information are collected by government. It is easy to store and retrieve so why is access to this information stuck in the Dark Ages? What we need is for government departments' data to be made far more accessible. We need them to post all the most obvious metrics that we, as taxpayers and consumers of government services, need to hold them to account.
AEGIC oat noodles and oat ‘rice’ destined for supermarket shelves
AEGIC’s oat noodles and oat ‘rice’ are destined for supermarket shelves, with a Western Australian based company set to begin producing the innovative foods. AEGIC’s oat scientists developed manufacturing processes for 100% whole grain noodles and a ‘rice’ product that can be eaten like regular rice.
Joint call for parliamentary inquiry to address crime in regional NSW: CMA
The Country Mayors Association of New South Wales has joined forces with the Police Association of New South Wales and NSW Farmers to call for a Parliamentary Inquiry into crime, law and order in rural and regional New South Wales ... “It is estimated one-third of New South Wales’ population live outside metropolitan areas,” Mayor Chaffey said. “But we are still second-class citizens when it comes to the safety of our communities.
101 homes unaccounted for
How much does it cost to build a three-bedroom home ... That makes it $214,500 per house, around $1500 a square meter. So, when the NT Government forks out $30m of taxpayer’s money, awarding a three year period contract to a local company (Pedersen NT, in this case) then we can expect to get 139 homes, with a bit left over, right? Wrong.
Last resort – LHAC resign over MLHD failures
In a shock announcement, the Moulamein Local Health Advisory Committee resigned en masse at its AGM ... The committee said their positions were untenable after the nearly three years of broken promises, failure to take action and a lack of community support and engagement by Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
Tasmania’s peak farming body welcomes watershed moment: TFGA
Tasmania's peak farming body welcomes the introduction to the Tasmanian Parliament today of the Water Miscellaneous Amendments (Delegation and Industrial Water Supply) Bill 2023. Proposed changes to legislation will mark a significant milestone in Tasmania's water management by enabling water utilities such as Tasmanian Irrigation to supply industrial users for green hydrogen production.
Not council business – phasing out logging motion quashed
As more than 200 timber industry workers and supporters watched, Clarence Valley Councillors voted 7-2 at the October 24 meeting not to pursue a motion brought to council by its Biodiversity Advisory Committee calling for native forest logging on publicly owned land to be phased out.
Tasmanian Farmers reject new fire levy options as totally unfair and unacceptable: TFGA
Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) says it cannot support the government's proposed Tasmanian Fire and Emergency Services fire levy funding models in their present form ... TFGA President, Ian Sauer said, “While we support the move toward a fairer, more efficient funding system with a single source of funding, in some instances we’re seeing farmers' contributions increase under one proposed model by a staggering 1000 per cent, and under the other model by at least 230 per cent in contributions, which is unacceptable and certainly not equitable.”
Police recruitment breakthrough – trainees will be paid to become officers: Minns, Catley
The NSW Government is continuing to rebuild our frontline services today announcing an historic breakthrough agreement to address the ongoing critical shortfall in police numbers by paying Student Police Officers while they study at the Goulburn Police Academy. This is an important workforce incentive to encourage more people to take up a career in the NSW Police Force.
A house for more than just granny
Will Hunter. Granny flats across the state can now be rented to anyone, following recent changes to the State Planning Practice Directions. Minister for Planning Nick Champion wrote to the State Planning Commission to prompt changes which stopped councils from being able to limit the leasing of ancillary dwellings to immediate family members only.
Flood Corporation withered – now we hope FloodCorp3 will provide serious relief
It is the end of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation. From Tuesday, October 31, the NRRC will be dissolved and its assets, rights and liabilities transferred to the NSW Reconstruction Authority. This is hardly a surprise...
As buybacks remove houses, the town shrinks and there’s nowhere else to go
Woodburn needs better solutions for its flood recovery, councillor Robert Hayes said. At Richmond Valley Council’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 17, Mr Hayes asked the council to write to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and the NSW Reconstruction Authority to express concern about the potential impacts of large-scale housing buybacks on the future of Woodburn.
Tower power
Patrick Goldsmith. Recently released plans for a 30 metre Telstra tower on Blanche Street, Edithburgh, behind the post office, have sparked great concern among residents, with some adamant the project shouldn’t go ahead ... Telstra has said other options have been explored but these would result in a poorer product for community members, despite a report in the development application stating otherwise.
$1.3 billion investment to progress CopperString 2032 to construction: Palaszczuk, Dick, Stewart
The Palaszczuk Government has announced a $1.3 billion package to progress work on CopperString 2032, demonstrating Queensland’s commitment to delivering Australia’s largest transmission project. The funding will get the project ready for construction to commence mid-2024, a significant milestone towards unlocking the North West Minerals Province, and the renewable energy potential of North Queensland.
Where self-help is a way of life
Trevor Shiell ... The community approached the [Fijian] government and got a negative response because the government had no money. Dreketi was a subsistence area of the country, so they decided to build a junior secondary school themselves ... Within a year they had a junior secondary school for 320 kids. No help from government, thank you, and they took pride and ownership of it.
