State politics

Last Friday night the Minns Labor Government voted down NSW Nationals amendments to strengthen laws for repeat youth offenders. While the Government’s Bill essentially adopts the Victorian position - the machete capital of Australia - our amendment would’ve seen NSW adopt the Queensland position that has been in place since 1899 ... ARR.News asked a further question of Mr Kemp.

Member for Central Wheatbelt, Lachlan Hunter MP, has slammed the Cook Labor Government for signing off on the controversial Perth waste dump planned for York. He says this is one of the most blatant betrayals of a regional community in recent memory. “After years of sustained community backlash, countless submissions, rallies, petitions and meetings, Labor has arrogantly pushed ahead with turning York into a dumping ground for Perth’s rubbish,” Mr Hunter said.

The Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) has called on the Australian Government to reject proposals to reduce the default speed limit on unsigned roads outside of built-up areas, warning that such a change would impose unnecessary costs, undermine regional productivity and fail to address the real causes of road trauma in rural and remote Queensland.

The Crisafulli Government currently subsidises and regulates seven air routes to ensure Queenslanders living in regional and remote communities can continue to have access to essential medical, educational, social, and business services. Over the coming weeks, 22 consultation sessions will be hosted across regional Queensland to hear directly from locals about how future air services can better meet community needs.

The designated fishing sessions for the 2025-2026 Roe's abalone season have been released, with recreational fishers reminded to fish safely and sustainably this summer. The highly popular one-hour fishing sessions are scheduled to occur over four Saturday mornings between 7am and 8am, dependant on conditions, between Busselton Jetty and Greenough River Mouth.

Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster has released the views of over 5,300 Mallee voters showing strong opposition to Labor’s energy policies and highlighting that her advocacy is consistently in harmony with what Mallee voters believe ... Mallee’s Biggest Survey was circulated within Mallee to every letterbox and online in the wake of the May election and took months to receive, manually process and analyse over 5,300 responses.

Mick Harrington, East Gippsland Community and Stakeholder Lead, Gippsland Critical Minerals. The 2021 Fingerboards proposal did not receive approval, and that was the right decision for that project at that time. Now led by Gippsland Critical Minerals, new leadership has taken the time to learn from the past and rebuild the project from the ground up ... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build good jobs, back local business and care for the land we share. Let’s grab it with both hands and make it ours.

Hugh Schuitemaker. A senior Riverland irrigation sector figure, and local politicians, say a decision to buyback more water volumes for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is relying on the "easy" and "lazy" option. Federal Minister for Water Murray Watt, at last week's Basin Leaders Summit, held in Adelaide, announced buybacks for an added 130GL of water to go toward Murray-Darling Basin Plan targets.

"Is your Rego finish? (sic) Need to transfer registration from one state to another? Need an Unseen Pink Slip, Blue Slip Or Roadworthy Certificate? We've Got You Covered! Is your vehicle due for its annual safety check or registration? Don't stress—we make the process quick and hassle-free!" That is how one scammer sets the scene to prey on unsuspecting vehicle owners, in just another fraudulent business that effortlessly slips through Facebook's community guidelines.

A vivid ode to Country and an intimate portrait of an Aboriginal elder’s final year as he strives to preserve his culture and heal his homeland, scarred by the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere.

Extensive flood resilience works to protect communities in Mount Sylvia and Woodbine from future flood damage are now complete. The $1.8 million rehabilitation project, led by Resilient Rivers SEQ, involved major creek bank stabilisation and revegetation works at three priority sites along Blackfellow Creek, and was officially unveiled today.

AMA (NSW) supports the Rural Health Action Plan put forward by Dr Joe McGirr MP today and is calling on the NSW Government to take immediate action. The April to June 2025 Bureau of Health Information report showed only 65.1 per cent of elective surgeries at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital were completed on time, a fall of 15.8 percentage points from the previous year.

Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP is continuing to talk to stakeholders, in his push to set up residential alternatives to sending kids to gaol ... He has long argued for a mandated, residential option for young offenders - something between being released back into the community and being sent to custody.

For the first time, a contingent of Nepali fire and forest management professionals have visited Victoria to learn from our fire experience. The visitors were hosted in Victoria by the Australian Himalayan Foundation through the Australia Awards Fellowships program.

After a decade of Labor “modernisation,” the federal wage system now comes with a hidden tripwire buried deep in the fine print — and it’s farmers who keep stepping on it. Under the Pastoral Award 2020, a harvester driver on a base machine operators’ rate of $32.90 an hour can suddenly cost you $48.50 once the 152-hour overtime cliff kicks in. That’s not rational economics; it’s central planning with double penalty rates.

While the Victorian Government is moving to ban pet crocodiles, the Finocchiaro CLP Government is backing them - with 63 Territorians already licensed to keep 123 crocs, it's proof our unique Territory lifestyle is alive and thriving. Now, the CLP Government is inviting Territorians to have their say on new safety and welfare guidelines to make owning a pet croc simpler and safer than ever.

Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food, Lachlan Hunter MP, says the Cook Labor Government has shown extraordinary negligence on biosecurity, sitting on an independent review of the State’s laws for nearly two years before quietly tabling a watered-down response in Parliament with zero public announcement.

Terry Collins. The NSW Government has come in for strong criticism for allowing just three days extra for public comment on its controversial Draft Central Coast Strategic Conservation Plan ... "The Plan proposes 14,000 new residential lots; it outlines how our unique biodiversity will be managed for the next 30 years and it describes how the NSW Government will deliver its housing targets by unlocking new lands for development": Acting Mayor John Mouland.

Many stakeholders have been left shocked by yesterday’s Federal Government announcement to fast track an additional 130 gigalitres of water purchases from farmers in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin, despite evidence that the Basin management needs to move beyond “just adding water”.

Following community consultation held in 2024 on the Castlereagh Country Drought Plans, the Gilgandra and Warrumbungle Shire Councils, supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the NSW Government, are pleased to announce the launch of an innovative free event aimed at building resilience, empowering communities and showcasing opportunities.