State politics

David McPherson, NSW DPI. Dr Law is one of Australia’s leading forest ecologists, with the sustained excellence of his research and distinguished service to Australian zoology recognised with his appointment in 2021 as a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW. In the history of the Society there have been fewer than 100 Fellows elected ... Criticisms of the scientific excellence or objectivity of the research undertaken by Dr Law are unfounded.

Janelle Saffin. Jamie Simmonds, the man who directed the relocation of the town of Grantham, shared his story with Lismore when Janelle Saffin MP hosted him during a visit ... Ms Saffin said it was a great opportunity for locals like South Lismore’s Harper Dalton, who established the Relocate Lismore Homes Facebook group, to link with a planning and development expert who nowadays advises disaster-affected communities globally on managed retreat.

The fur seal spent three months in rehabilitation at Sea World before being released outside the heads of Sydney Harbour last week. It was a great success, with tracking data showing Skip travelled 100 km south within the first 24 hours, and he’s currently swimming about 130 km south of the NSW-Victoria border, an impressive 550 km from where he was released.

Katter’s Australian Party is flagging a proposal incentivising Year 12 students to take up the forgotten “wet” trades of bricklaying, concreting and scaffolding in a transitional schedule strategically-timed with the winter weather. In response to predictions that North Queensland would face an alarming lack of willing workers in the “wet” trades of bricklaying, concreting and scaffolding in the next decade, the KAP proposed to incentivise and provide employment pathways for an annually-set number of Year 12 students.

If you understand the difference between 5G low and high band, fixed wireless, repeaters and extenders, then you don’t have to read this. While the tech savvy know their way around digital connectivity, the vast majority of us are staggering around in the dark when it comes to getting information on how to get a couple of extra signal bars on our mobile phones or stop the download lag on our broadband.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is calling on Australian energy ministers to make sure the transition to renewable energy is overseen by a national code, so we don’t sacrifice food security for energy security ... NFF CEO Tony Mahar said energy, agriculture and food prices were inextricably linked and at a time when food security was high on the agenda, careful consideration had to be given to how the energy and farming industries could work together.

Vic Jurskis responds to ARR.News questions including about the different methods for monitoring koalas, sustainable koala populations, koala habitat and the relationship with timber harvesting ... "Gathering numbers should not be an end. Deliberations of the TSSC assume that more is better. The koala’s ecological history of irruptions and crashes in numbers after European arrival clearly shows this not to be the case. Effective monitoring requires an understanding of the reasons for any real changes in numbers."

Chris Oldfield. The Liberal Shadow Cabinet will continue to support a moratorium on fracking in the SE which runs until 2028. It will also continue to work on land access through agricultural properties to mines because “both agriculture and mining are important to the economy”.

Providing rooming accommodation will now be easier after the Palaszczuk Government lifted a requirement for local government planning approval under certain conditions. Deputy Premier and Minister for Planning Steven Miles said the change to the Planning Regulation would provide more housing options in lower density residential zones.

The addition of two Large Air Tankers (LATs) will significantly strengthen Western Australia's firefighting capability as emergency services prepare for a busy bushfire season. A C130 Hercules LAT, which will remain in WA for the high threat fire season, was unveiled on 5 December 2022.

The Glenreagh Bridge is back to its former glory following the completion of painting on the 104-year-old structure. Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis said the steel truss bridge was built at the end of World War I and is unusual for a bridge of its time.

Chris Oldfield. Humour, youth and a passion for rural and regional people were hallmarks of SA’s Shadow Cabinet who last week gathered in the clubrooms of the Naracoorte showgrounds. Member for MacKillop Nick McBride welcomed his Liberal colleagues and local constituents to the forum, which was part of an intense three-day tour of the region.

Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards has been elected for a fourth term with a comfortable majority ... Back in 2010, when Ms Edwards was first elected, Bendigo West was considered to be a marginal seat.  “It’s now one of the safest seats,” she said.  “On Sunday morning, it was the ninth safest seat in Victoria; this figure may very well change as counting continues.”

Boosting Defence Force presence in Central Queensland would provide maximum capability gains for Australia’s Defence Forces while remaining substantially out of range for the most likely enemy long-range weapon systems. That’s the finding of a compelling submission to the Federal Government’s Defence Strategic Review compiled by independent defence consultants commissioned by key local government and regional development authorities in Central Queensland.

David Landini, Riverina State Group. The Victorian election, with the re-election of the Daniel Andrews’ Labor government, and the election of seven Greens Members of Parliament, ensures that the suppression of natural resource-based industries such as irrigated agriculture and timber harvesting will not only continue, but actually accelerate and expand. That these Members of Parliament are all urban-based, while the industries being suppressed are all in the country, demonstrates the cultural and economic division existing between the urban and country populations.

The Narrandera Branch of NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Union members took to the streets as part of strike action last Wednesday (November 23). About 15 Narrandera NSWNMA Union Members and numerous community representatives showed their support during a march in East Street ... Taking a stance, the members highlighted their plight of fighting for safer staffing levels by means of more acceptable nurse-to-patient ratios.

Emma Pritchard. Following a hard-fought campaign which stretched across five-and-a-half years and included a petition with over 11000 signatures, overwhelming community support, and plenty of lobbying by Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis, members of the Iluka Ambulance Action Group and Iluka Bowling Club proudly stood alongside Clarence Valley residents and visiting dignitaries on November 26 to celebrate a significant milestone.

The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation and Transport for NSW with seven Northern Rivers councils are undertaking a whole of network road condition assessment across all sealed roads in the Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley, Lismore, Ballina, Byron Bay and Tweed LGAs.

Drones to detect and spray weeds will soon be deployed out to councils across the Central West as the NSW Government ramps up its war on weeds after months of wet weather ... “Through this program, Local Land Services will roll out drones to councils across the Central West and set them up to help map weed infestations – and ultimately deploy larger drones to spray invasive plants from the air": Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole.