Homes on hold
Joanna Tucker. At least 1000 proposed homes across Yorke Peninsula are being delayed due to a lack of infrastructure within the SA Water network, according to Copper Coast Council. Chief executive Dylan Strong said the issue is not unique to the Copper Coast, but delays in SA Water’s trunk upgrades are affecting local developments.
Fishing club gobsmacked by sudden closure of Bells Bay campground by WaterNSW
WaterNSW is closing Bell’s Bay campground and cottages at Toonumbar Dam in late June ... Kyogle Fishing Club has been using the campground for more than 50 years.
Police look behind violent crimes
Local police intelligence personnel track known regional grievances, according to a spokesman, replying to questions from the Alice Springs News whether initiatives are in place to prevent criminal payback after alleged events such as last Thursday’s in Gregory Terrace ... “As part of preparedness and prevention, Alice Springs police [act] to ensure possible flare ups are managed, for example [by considering] court appearances or community source information."
Fodder drops provide lifeline to flooded farmers: Moriarty
The Minns Government is using helicopters to provide isolated farmers with emergency fodder for their stranded livestock, as part of a range of support available to flood-affected farmers across the Mid-North Coast, North Coast and Hunter.
Barmah Choke trade opportunity for new irrigation year: MDBA
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) Executive Director of River Management Jacqui Hickey said water available to trade downstream of the Narrows (Barmah Choke) on 1 July 2025 would be about 39 gigalitres (GL), around 17 GL less than last season.
Public meeting on Pottinger Wind Farm scheduled for Hay and Deniliquin
The community will be able to have its say at a public meeting on the Pottinger Wind Farm, a State significant development application (SSD-59235464) by Someva Renewables and AGL Energy to develop a 1,300 megawatt (MW) wind farm comprising 247 wind turbines, a 500 MW battery energy storage system and associated infrastructure.
Roy Butler MP action leads new guide for councils
A new guide for NSW councils is set to strengthen consultation practices with regional, rural and remote communities. The guide is designed to build stronger regional communities by delivering solutions tailored to local communities and informed by local knowledge and follows the introduction of the Regional Communities (Consultation Standards) Act 2024, by Independent Member for Barwon, Roy Butler.
Queensland’s coercive control laws now in force: Frecklington, Camm
Domestic violence perpetrators in Queensland who repeatedly use violence or abuse to control others in relationships can now be charged with the new offence of coercive control. The new criminal offence applies to acts of violence or abuse forming a course of conduct committed from today (26 May) and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
Gannawarra Shire Council formalises Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund stance
Gannawarra Shire Council has formalised its opposition to the State Government’s implementation of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund. Councillors approved an urgent item motion at last week’s Council meeting opposing the fund, which will come into effect in July to support VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria, as well as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).
Historic reserve burn complete
Various local environmental groups including Friends of Maldon Historic Reserve ... have been consulting with Fire Forestry Management (FFM) staff since 2022 in regard to the planned burn near the Railway Track in the Maldon Historic Reserve ... Concerns were raised about how the fire might impact flora and fauna in the burn and surrounding areas.
Contentious levy law passes
The proposed State Government levy at the centre of a recent community meeting in Baringhup has been passed by the Victorian Parliament ... During her visit to Castlemaine Station, Premier Jacinta Allan responded to a TT query about the timing of the new levy.
The message could not have been clearer: “Scrap the Tax”
Blake Lee. Thousands of firefighters, farmers and regional Victorians rallied on the steps of State Parliament ... Producing a cacophony of sirens through Melbourne streets during peak hour, fire trucks and volunteer firefighters made the journey from all corners of the state, bringing an estimated 300 fire trucks into the city.
Time to step up and act
This is the Hansard version of a speech delivered in the Upper House by shadow minister for Regional South Australia, Nicola Centofanti, in which she read a letter from Abby Miller of Naracoorte to the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, concerning the drought situation affecting farmers in the region.
Mayor’s heartfelt appeal
“This is an emergency”. That is the urgent message from Naracoorte Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross, who has issued a heartfelt appeal to the government for immediate support for farmers grappling with severe drought in the area.
Planning Victoria’s renewable energy future
VicGrid, the government body responsible for planning and developing the state's renewable energy zones, has released the Draft 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan for community and industry feedback ... It sets out how much more wind and solar energy Victoria is expected to need over the next 15 years and identifies the most suitable locations for new renewable energy and transmission projects.
REZ map redrawn to zero in on Mallee communities
Member for Mallee, Dr. Anne Webster, says the Victorian Labor government has sharpened its sights on Marnoo, Navarre, Beulah, Warracknabeal, Normanville and Quambatook to bear the brunt of the VNI West transmission line, wind turbine and solar panel burden of their energy targets.
Mass livestock sell-off as farmers run out of feed and water amid drought
Large parts of southern Australia are enduring a horror run of dry conditions – the driest on record in some parts. Some drought-stricken farmers are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on hay and grain, and selling livestock they cannot afford to keep. Farmers running out of feed and water for their stock are being forced to sell animals in huge numbers...
State budget insults regional communities
The Victorian government has sacrificed regional and rural communities on the altar of budget repair, according to Rural Councils Victoria (RCV). "The budget is propped up by hundreds of millions of dollars that will be ripped from the state's rural communities through the unfair Emergency Services Volunteers Fund levy," RCV chair, Rob Amos said.
Northern Grampians Shire joins call to scrap ‘outrageous’ Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund
Northern Grampians Shire Council is standing behind its residents – particularly its farmers – by joining an overwhelming call for the State Government to ‘scrap’ its unjust new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, ESVF ... "I haven’t spoken to one person in favour of this new levy. We are very concerned about how people will cope with this on top of everything else": Mayor Karen Hyslop.
Pat Weir goes on parliamentary tour
Condamine MP and Speaker of the Queensland Parliament Pat Weir was recently in the United Kingdom representing Australia at a meeting and learning about how unicameral parliaments work in other parts of the world.
‘We’ll dump tax hike’
The Liberals and Nationals will scrap Labor’s Emergency Services Property Levy (ESVF), Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, vowed at a rally on the steps of Parliament House ... “Labor’s new levy has doubled or even tripled charges for property owners across the state with primary producers hit hardest and facing rate hikes of up to 150 per cent."
Hero to whipping boy, Labor’s latest tax grab push volunteers to tears
In the early hours of Friday May 16, Labor and members of the Animal Justice Party, The Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party, colluded with the Allan Labor Government to pass their latest tax, the Emergency Services and ‘Volunteers’ Fund ... The Nationals Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, has labelled the new Emergency Services Levy as a land tax by stealth – targeting the farming community in particular – and as “socialism gone mad in Victoria”.
