Property

The grim reality of the shortage of available housing in Hay hit home to one young family recently. After a career change which saw Mick and Gabby Flattery and six-year-old Connor leave employer-supplied housing, they faced the disheartening search for a rental property in Hay ... “There isn’t even small one-bedroom unit to rent, let alone family houses."

The peak representative bodies for Tasmanian and Victorian farmers have joined forces to call for fair land access rules in the face of rapid renewable energy developments taking over prime agricultural land. TasFarmers and the VFF released the Farm Access Code of Conduct which is aimed at promoting respectful and sensible infrastructure development on agricultural land.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is calling on the Federal Government to quarantine regional Australia’s fair share of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF). We would like to see 40 per cent of the HAFF directed to regional Australia to support population growth, address the regional housing crisis, and unlock the economic potential of Australia’s regional communities.

Regional-specific new build targets; bolstered and quarantined regional housing infrastructure funding; and better planning for growth are among the asks of government from the National Regional Housing Summit ... A Discussion Paper, presenting the latest regional housing stock data and featuring stories of communities who’ve successfully taken action to solve their housing issues, provided context to Summit.

At ... National Regional Housing Summit, the National Farmers’ Federation is calling on policymakers to shine a light on how farmers can be part of the solution to Australia’s deepening housing crisis ... NFF President David Jochinke said: “It’s no secret agriculture is struggling with workforce shortages, and one of the biggest barriers to getting employees on farm is a lack of regional housing.

Serena Kirby. It was a mix of tall tales and tears at the Denmark Surf Life Saving Club recently as past and present members gathered to mark the pending demolition of their 73-year-old patrol room. Built in 1960, the patrol room, featuring its porthole windows, has long been a much-loved icon of Ocean Beach.

After 100 years of growing Australian food and fibre, and enhancing their farm’s environmental assets, the Ettershanks now face their biggest challenge, power lines. Under the recent release of Transgrid’s proposed route for the VNI West Interconnector, Simon and Carly Ettershank’s 2,000-hectare property now has twenty 75-80-metre-tall towers across their home.  

The Grafton Ngerrie Local Aboriginal Land Council is set to take over about half of the historic Grafton Gaol site after a landmark agreement with the NSW Government ... “This site will be used to serve the wider community and provide much-needed job and training opportunities for local Aboriginal people and the broader Clarence Valley community”: Grafton Ngerrie LALC Chairperson Roslyn Kennedy.

Supporters advocating for the protection of Lots 512 and 513, DP727686, identified as part of Kariong Sacred Lands along Woy Woy Road, express shock and dismay over the lack of transparency and fairness during the Community Consultation Phase for the contentious rezoning proposal ... "We estimate over 3,000 public submissions opposing this unpopular planning proposal. It is impossible to contact every person to resubmit their views": Lisa Bellamy.

The Reckless Renewables Rally brought to together 116 regional community groups with a message for Federal politicians to suspend their reckless rollout ... ‘People living in our cities are being deceived. Rural and regional communities are being socially fractured, divided up and hollowed out by our own government and their energy corporation’s working in unison with home grown renewables zealots and foreign renewable energy company carpetbaggers’: Chairman of PRA Jim Willmott.

Wilya Ajjul Janta Aboriginal Corporation held an exhibition last Friday at Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Cultural Centre to unveil its housing model that is more environmentally and culturally appropriate for Warumungu country. CEO Simon Quilty was ecstatic with the turnout and the community’s interest in changing the Territory’s housing models to suit its searing heat, especially in light of climate change.

As Australians were stocking fridges and checking gas bottles before Australia Day, local farmers were receiving word that the towering transmission lines would carve through their properties. One farmer said it was the first contact they had from the company, stating “no personal contact” before receiving the news that left them feeling “side swiped.”

After an incredible almost 100 years in the same family, the historic Gunbower Estate has been sold ... The Gunbower run of 180,000 acres was originally taken up by James Rowan in 1845...

Many will have heard of the popular memoir,  A Fortunate Life,  which follows the story of Albert B. Facey (1894 -1982), and his experiences growing up and farming in the Wheatbelt, a book that has sold over half a million copies ... As an Australian history buff, I’m always on the lookout for stories of our farming pioneers, unfortunately, they are few and far between.

Recent heavy rain has impacted the treatment of fire ants in and around Murwillumbah ... treatment program will resume in Murwillumbah when the ground dries out ... treatment can only be applied with the written consent of the property owner.

The NSW Valuer General has published land values for the Murray Region. The land values reflect the value of land only, as at July 1, 2023 ... The new land values will be used by Revenue NSW to calculate land tax for the 2024 land tax year for landowners that are subject to land tax.

If the property market is any indicator, our local area is among many in regional Queensland becoming more popular with people looking for a better quality of life. The latest data from the PropTrack Home Price Index, released last week, shows the property market in regional Queensland is booming.

A Gulmarrad wildlife corridor that is one of the last remnants of habitat for the endangered Glossy Black Cockatoo in the Clarence Valley which is at risk due to a nine-lot subdivision determined in 2007 has seen a new approach, bringing together the landholder and conservationists to attempt to preserve the habitat and wildlife.

In 1894 the Monbulla School was opened 7km West of Penola on Clay Wells Rd ... Monbulla Hall was built as an addition to the site in the 1950s and would become the primary meeting place for the Monbulla community.