State politics

This Labor government’s environmental policy doesn’t look like it’s being run by those in Macquarie Street, but maybe by rooftop protestors who contribute little to society ... These high-end activists are screaming “koala crisis”, all the while happily living in high rise towers built from concrete and steel, wrapped in plastics, stuffed with furniture made from imported timber ripped from forests overseas with zero environmental standards. That’s not conservation. That’s hypocrisy.

A new program is set to revitalise towns across regional New South Wales with the power of arts-led regeneration. Launched by Regional Arts NSW in partnership with Cementa Festival co-founder Alex Wisser, the RALLY program invites artists from across the state to connect and collaborate ... RALLY participant Eliza Wells said as well as enhancing creativity and self-expression, she hoped the program would reduce loneliness and improve wellbeing in her community in Harden-Murrumburrah.

The Walking the Seasons program provides guided walks led by local First Nations Elders and aims to deepen the understanding of local landscapes ...

Hugh Schuitemaker. Peak representative bodies say the Riverland is at risk of "long-term economic" catastrophe, unless direct support is provided for the South Australian wine industry. The Advertiser on Monday reported local grape growers were "grappling with one of the worst crises to hit the industry".

Madison Eastmond. Two Riverlanders have presented a first-of-its-kind survey to SA Parliament, with research findings revealing the challenges that many face while living with Tourette's. Contingent member, and Riverland Youth Theatre artistic director Sam Wannan, and RYT youth intern Rowen Hurrell, joined the Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia to share the Tourette's Impact Report ...

The Covid concerns raised by people at recent community meetings discussing the impact of vaccinations have been recognised by Council now they have to advocate for answers.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has written to state MPs to vote down the contentious VicGrid Amendment Bill that would pave the way for police-backed powers to force entry onto farms and slap landholders with fines of up to $12,100. VFF President Brett Hosking is reiterating previous calls to halt the Bill ahead of it being debated in State Parliament this Thursday.

Sentiment in Australia’s agricultural sector has softened over the winter months, as the nation’s farmers contend with higher input costs and mixed seasonal conditions, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found. The survey, released today, found net farm sector confidence has eased to a neutral reading of zero (down from five per cent in the previous survey).

The World Heritage bid for the Australian Cornish Mining Sites: Burra and Moonta is on track, with hopes of achieving recognition by July 2029. UK-based world heritage consultant Barry Gamble visited Moonta Mines last week and gave an update on the bid to National Trust of South Australia Moonta branch volunteers at the Moonta School of Mines.

Rural Australians are missing out on $1,090.47 in healthcare funding per person every year, compared to city residents – a funding gap the National Rural Health Alliance warns is costing lives. "The Forgotten Health Spend: A Report on the Expenditure Deficit in Rural Australia" tells a story of how we starve our rural Australians of healthcare access," said Susi Tegen, NRHA Chief Executive.

Huge increases to the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, crumbling regional roads, maintaining our biosecurity and forcing renewable energy infrastructure developments on communities topping the list of concerns in the Victorian Farmers Federation’s (VFF) inaugural State of the State: Victorian Farmer Priorities Survey.

...The broadband towers are the first to be completed as part of Connecting Victoria’s Satellite to Fixed Wireless upgrades and provide the nbn Fixed Wireless service to more than 1700 premises. The new towers are also designed to allow for faster download speeds in future. 

Police say they are investigating a report of an alleged cattle theft north-east of Alice Springs. Sources contacting the Alice Springs News say the stock belongs to the Alcoota Aboriginal Cattle Company from the Engawala community who for 30 years have been able to graze and run a cattle enterprise on Alcoota Station.

Miffy, one of the new koalas homed at Yanchep National Park, has given birth, with footage of the mother and her joey released by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions this week.

Queensland Senator Matt Canavan’s REAL productivity roundtable has delivered frank advice to lift Australia’s freefalling productivity rate. Senator Canavan convened the real productivity roundtable ... to discuss the real issues impacting Australians’ standard of living.

Hundreds of farmers at Marnoo today are telling the Victorian Labor Government they do not want VNI West, they do not want WRL and they don't want their farmland made into renewable infrastructure," said Dr Anne Webster MP, Member for Mallee and Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government, Territories and Regional Communications.

The Nationals Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh is appealing to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to repeat its public firewood collection from Barmah Forest in September last year. Mr Walsh said that day saw thousands of tonnes of flood-damaged timber made available to hundreds of locals for heating and, in some cases, cooking.

"People in our region have stopped calling 000 altogether, instead driving loved ones with seizures, chest pain or trauma to hospital themselves because they simply do not believe an ambulance will get there in time. Directly because of this lack of beds, we have seen elderly patients from Corryong discharged from Albury Wodonga Health in the middle of the night with no transport, no money and no plan": Stan Stavros, Better Border Health.

You won't hear it. You won't see it. Not until it's too late. Australia's deadliest predator isn't found in the wild. It's on our roads. Speeding is the killer. A confronting new exhibit popped up in central Melbourne last week, the centrepiece of a Transport Accident Commission (TAC) initiative aimed at changing relaxed attitudes to the deadly consequences of speeding.