Landowners asked to remove Sleeman River salinity barrier
Landowners whose property joins the mouth of the Sleeman River have been asked to dismantle the remnants of a disintegrating weir which has been in place for more than 30 years. The weir was built to block salt water from entering the river so landowners could exercise their riparian rights.
Renewables: “If not us who? If not now, when?”
This was the challenge put forward by keynote speaker, Cathy McGowan at a sell-out event at last week’s National Renewables in Ag Conference and now the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) is calling on the State Government to put communities first when it comes to the energy transition ... "Don’t be the victim, be the beneficiary," she said. "We need to ask for big things, not just little things, and TSBE is the group that can do that.
Constraints strategy not feasible but will proceed to business case
Jan Beer. The Feasibility of Relaxing Constraints in Northern Victoria Final Report has been released by Victorian Water Minister Shing. The report recommends proceeding to the next phase of the Constraints Measures Project, which will involve the development of a detailed business case. This will be the third attempt by the Victorian Government to provide a workable business case.
Broome Night Space helping community and youth stay safe: Papalia, Winton
Broome's new Immediate Response Night Space (IRNS) service - also known as Ngurra Buru - has created a safe service to help get young people off the streets and into care after hours. Funded by the Cook Government, the IRNS program has for two months been offering a culturally secure service led by an Aboriginal organisation to children aged 10-17 for four nights a week from 10pm to 5am ... provides a safe physical location, outreach services including a night patrol, meals and next-day family follow-up.
An oar-some announcement
Hugh Schuitemaker. Collaboration between Renmark Paringa Council, the State Government and a local rowing club is set to support a $1.7m infrastructure upgrade ... "The project will result in a 70m long wharf with 6m ramps down on either side to allow the Renmark Rowing Club to host large meets and become a premier destination for rowers statewide": Tim Tol.
Dalton: “Rogue operators must be held to account”
Independent Member for Murray, Helen Dalton has responded to The Riverine Grazier’s story last week regarding reports of a fuel spill at a district property. "The allegations are incredibly serious and must not be swept under the carpet," Mrs Dalton said. "We cannot have a situation where foreign - owned agricultural enterprises act as if Australian laws do not apply to them."
Council resolves to trade surplus water
Future surplus water will be traded by Hay Shire Council with revenue to be returned to Council’s Water fund for further water projects. A Sale (Trade) of Water policy was unanimously adopted by Council at its recent monthly meeting in a bid to generate additional revenue for the Water Fund as well as improve the efficiency of water usage.
NFF condemns ‘appalling attack’ on cattle class action victims: NFF
National Farmers’ Federation President David Jochinke has labelled the Federal Government’s recent correspondence on the live cattle class action as an “appalling attack on victims”. In a letter the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus sent to the NFF and provided to media last week, the Government has accused the victims of trying to line their pockets.
Findings shared from Australia’s first hydrogen microgrid: Cook, Buti
The Cook Government has ... released a Public Knowledge Sharing Report on the Denham Renewable Hydrogen Microgrid - the first of its kind in Australia. The project, which is now fully operational, includes a 704-kilowatt solar farm, 348kW hydrogen electrolyser and a 100kW fuel cell located in Denham, providing an innovative alternative to diesel generators.
Dozens of boats unable to take part in rally event
Christine Webster. The owners of about 30 boats found themselves moored around Renmark after a build-up of silt and low River Murray levels in two areas prevented them from travelling to Wentworth, in south-west NSW, for a popular rally. Owners of the PB Curlew, Jim and Heather Maywald, from Good Hope Landing, east of Waikerie, said it was disappointing for the boat owners ...
Buybacks to ‘damage’ local communities
Hugh Schuitemaker. Federal Government water buybacks will increase the price of temporary water for Riverland irrigators and the cost of food production, according to senior local politicians ... Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone said Riverland communities and councils were “extremely concerned about what these open slather buybacks will do to their towns, businesses, and local environment.”
Devastating water buybacks on the way for Northern Victoria: Lovell
The Commonwealth government has betrayed Northern Victoria by announcing further water buybacks from irrigation districts that will drive up costs for irrigators and devastate farming communities. Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced on 4 July that as part of the plan to recover 450GL of water in the Murray-Darling Basin, the Government will put out an open tender to purchase 70GL of water from the southern Basin ... latest plan does not apportion additional recovery fairly between states, but merely seeks to buy the cheapest water wherever it is, which could hurt Victoria further.
More accessible tourism for Top End parks: Bowden, Ah Kit, Uibo
A tender has been released to improve disability access for the lower plunge pool at Edith Falls, to supply and install a hoist to provide visitors in wheelchairs safe access into the plunge pool. The hoist will be designed to fit in with the natural landscape and will be fitted with a mechanism so the person in the wheelchair can operate it in a safe manner.
Regional students left behind as absentee rates rise: Cleeland
Regional Victorian students are struggling to keep engaged in the classroom, with new data revealing a concerning increase in rates of student absenteeism across the regions. Department of Education data has confirmed 354,549 days of school were missed by Year 7 students in regional Victorian Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 2023 - an increase of 33.6 per cent compared to 2019.
Reconstruction Authority identifies 370 homes for retrofit or house raising – but where are these homes?
The NSW Reconstruction Authority announced that 370 homes have been identified as eligible for house raising or retrofit. These 370 homes are across seven council areas. IndyNR.com has asked the Authority if any of these 370 homes are in Coraki, Broadwater, Woodburn or nearby. We are waiting on an answer.
Labor’s unfair water buybacks system means South Australia will do the heavy lifting: Centofanti
South Australia is at risk of being taken advantage of as Labor prepares to open tenders for water buybacks to meet the recovery target of 450GL for the Murray-Darling Basin. The Albanese Labor Government has mounted its recovery goal on the destructive model of water buybacks, but there is no fixed volume to be recovered from each state, or each catchment or each water right type, which puts South Australia in the firing line.
Transformed freight vision can supercharge Victorian economy: VFF
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says the Victorian agriculture industry can propel the state’s economy and surpass $20 billion dollars of food and fibre exports by 2030 if the Victorian Government focusses on road maintenance, lowering costs and improving freight efficiency. In a submission to the Refresh of the Victorian Freight Strategy, VFF President Emma Germano said having a plan to maintain and fix regional roads would be key to reinforcing agriculture…
Investing in water security across the Northern Territory: Plibersek, Worden
A joint investment of $8 million is being made to the Community Infrastructure Assessment project which will allow for water services in 55 remote communities to be assessed ... The Federal Government is also investing $2.3 million to develop a detailed business case for the expansion of the Ord Irrigation Expansion project.
Power for the asking, in more ways than one
The NT Government is charging you five times as much for electricity compared to what Fred next door is paying for solar. Got an envelope? Turn it over. Here we go ... Just 13 per cent of the town’s electricity consumption is from solar. A mere 3 or 4 per cent comes from the Uterne Solar Farm ...
Buffel grass declared a weed
Buffel grass has been declared a weed and a management plan will now be formalised towards reducing its impact in Central Australia, according to Environment Minister Kate Worden ... The Arid Lands Environment Centre says it welcomes "this historic decision" following "a decades long struggle to confront one of the greatest threats to the arid and semiarid lands."
Bev McArthur raises councillor bullying case in Parliament: McArthur
Bev McArthur raised the case of a Victorian councillor who experienced the weaponisation of complaints process by their ideological opponents. The Member for Western Victoria and former Councillor of Corangamite Shire said “there is a steady rise in political intimidation of conservative Councillors in Victoria's local government sector ..."
Knuth blasts government for blocking Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill: Knuth
State Member for Hill, Shane Knuth, has unleashed his fury at the Queensland Government for the forced withdrawal of his Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill from the Health, Environment, and Agriculture Committee ... "In my 20 years in parliament, I have never been forced to withdraw a private member's bill on what I would call a technicality. This is another example of how broken our parliamentary system is in Queensland": Shane Knuth.
