State politics

Premier David Crisafulli shared a schooner with residents and local member Pat Weir during a visit to the district over the holiday break ... The December 19 event allowed the politicians, stakeholders, industry leaders and locals to mingle, and share their experiences and concerns...

We now have a bumper crop, a tax windfall for government, and broad agreement across agriculture, transport and local government that the system is stretched. The buy-back was presented as a serious response to a real capacity, efficiency and safety problem. The only question left is whether the government is prepared to act.

The fully refurbished John Houston Memorial Swimming Pool is more than a safe place to swim. It is more than being the largest capital project in Council history. In her official address during the opening ceremony on December 19, Hay Mayor, Carol Oataway said the pool complex was a community hub, a place where families gather, friendships are forged, and active, healthy lifestyles are encouraged.

Michelle Daw. Stansbury oyster growers have cautiously welcomed the reopening of their harvesting area, which had been shut since early May. Growers were informed of the reopening mid-afternoon on Wednesday, December 31 — too late for them to sell for the lucrative Christmas and New Year's Eve markets.

In a marathon pre-Christmas session that stretched into the early hours of December 24, 2025, the NSW Parliament passed the most significant tightening of firearm legislation since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 was fast-tracked by the Minns Government following the horrific Bondi Beach terrorist attack earlier that month.

The debate about buffel needs to be broadened to take account of the weed's current and future commercial as well as social consequences. The pastoral industry, in love with the irresponsibly introduced plant, has leases over half of the NT, land that is owned by the people of the NT. From 31 December they will have just 43 days to comment on how the government should be dealing with the scourge, declared a weed in 2024, yet still expanding in the region's prime tourism areas.

Narrandera mayor Neville Kschenka has returned from a visit to the site of the Western Sydney International Airport convinced that while regional shires struggle to receive funding for important road infrastructure to provide access to markets and ports, city projects appear to have almost unlimited funding ... "Premier Chris Minns spoke about affordable housing, but the conversation was mainly centred around Sydney and suburbs. He did not take any questions on the day," Cr Kschenka said.

A Riverland MP is urging locals and visitors to show their support for the region's wine industry while enjoying the summer holiday season. Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone launched his Local Labels campaign last week, highlighting the range of Riverland wines available from wineries, liquor stores and venues like hotels, clubs, cafés and restaurants. "This summer is the perfect time to celebrate and the exceptional wines that our region produces, while also sending a clear message that this is an industry worth fighting for," Mr Whetstone said.

In September this year, Steve Posselt and Graeme Gibson set off from Ballina in a tinnie to travel upstream towards Kyogle ... The Tinnie Trip was part of the Riverfest and its aim was to highlight the state of the Richmond River.

Hopes that growth in tourism will lift Alice Springs out of its economic slump in 2026 look like wishful thinking. There are no major projects. There are still no accommodation facilities other than camping in the West MacDonnell National Park (2,568 km2), the jewels in our tourism crown, nor in the East Macs. Ross River is available only for special functions and Glen Helen is still closed.

International tourists have descended on WA in nation-leading numbers, with the State out-performing the rest of Australia for growth in overseas visitors. The latest visitor data has WA on track for full recovery to pre-pandemic international visitor numbers by the end of 2025, with the State achieving 99.5 per cent of 2019 numbers in the year ending September 2025.

Six hi-tech monitoring buoys which will automatically detect future harmful algal blooms before they reach our shores are being deployed across South Australian waters. The state-of-the-art oceanographic moorings are equipped with specific sensors for early detection of key harmful algal bloom (HAB) species such as Karenia.

NSW councils looking for a quick fix to the ownership issues plaguing the Red Fleet have been left disappointed. The NSW government has released its Response to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee's Inquiry into Assets, premises and funding of the NSW RFS. Its response to the major recommendations that the assets be recognised as the property of the NSW RFS, has effectively been kicked down the road ...

After requesting a buyback offer of up to $20 million for fishermen to exit the industry, the Clarence Prawn Trawl committee say NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty's offer is embarrassing. Last Wednesday afternoon, CVI was contacted by Minister Moriarty's office with news that the NSW Government would commit $4.5 million toward buybacks for the prawn trawl industry.

Firearms reform is attractive politics because it is administratively complex but morally simple. It produces press conferences, committees, compliance regimes and the soothing language of “community safety”. What it does not reliably produce is protection against terrorism, extremism or ideologically driven murder ... Western Australia’s experience is instructive.

Michelle Daw. A team of citizen scientists is monitoring the impact of the harmful algal bloom on two southern Yorke Peninsula jetties that were home to a dazzling array of sea life. Certified volunteer divers involved in the Edithburgh and Wool Bay Jetties Marine Watch are conducting monthly photography, transects of the seafloor, and quadrat observations under and around both jetties.

Gemco Rail is proud to announce that wagon manufacturing is now established at our Karratha facility, marking a major step in bringing rollingstock capability into the Pilbara and closer to our customer operations.

With the first day of the 2025-26 abalone season underway on Saturday fishers, who are no doubt keen to get their hands on the delicacy, are being asked to keep safety front of mind ... Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) has reported an increase in incidents over the past few years, with their lifesaving services performing 118 rescues during the four hours of fishing last season and 101 rescues the previous year.

Last week marked the International Day of People with Disability ... so it was fitting to consider how the design of a humble pedestrian crossing can make a difference to safety and accessibility.

Horsham Rural City Council is thrilled to welcome The Australian Ballet to Horsham for a magical evening of world class dance, transforming the City Oval into an outdoor theatre. Ballet Under the Stars will delight audiences with a varied program of ballets ...

When koalas were declared as Endangered north of Victoria, the expert guesstimate of numbers in NSW was 36,350, a very precise and very wrong number. Now, two and a half years after effective surveys commenced in NSW, the estimate is 274,000, eight times higher. This is a less precise and more accurate number, but probably an underestimate. In any case it shows that NSW koalas are not endangered.