Property

The Delburn Wind Farm developer, Osmi Australia, has allayed speculation that the project would be affected by the federal government's rejection on environmental grounds of the Port of Hastings as a construction site ... Delburn involves the construction of 33 wind turbines each about 250 metres in height on plantation forest land owned by HVP Plantations ... recently deployed new fire detection technology that it said was a first for Australia and the wind farm industry.

A number of landowners on the Eastern side of Allora have been approached by Wind Prospect Pty Ltd to discuss plans for turbines in or near their property. The Victorian-based wind-power company is believed to be planning construction of up to 60 wind turbines and more than 30km of high-voltage power lines and towers in the Allora area.

Confusion reigns amongst farmers and other landowners in southern Gippsland as the state government's new kid on the bloc, VicGrid, has pushed aside their negotiations with existing companies over the various transmission projects that will be built across the region under the government's renewable energy policy. This comes across the background of the blackouts caused by storms last week that brought down transmission lines and electricity poles that led to the closure of Loy Yang A power station.

Greg Davis likes to photograph buildings. Somehow, he captures the essence of a building in his pictures showing the character and history of a town through bricks and mortar ... That trip included Warwick, Stanthorpe – and Kyogle.

Roaring helicopters armed with military grade thermal imaging and semi-automatic shotguns aim to destroy any deer in their path ... Sometimes people on the ground fear for their lives and the welfare of their livestock ... "Someone is going to get shot," several feared.

Remember the Toodyay Boygerring Brook case that fired up the Aboriginal Heritage debate in March 2023? Tony Maddox will see his day in court with the trial starting on 22 February ... The outcome of the case will be pivotal in how farmers approach Aboriginal cultural heritage going forward. Mr Maddox has engaged Christian Porter as his barrister ...

Questions have been raised about the future ownership of 32 hectares of Twelve Apostles land at the centre of the Labor Government’s compulsory acquisition campaign. Despite the current owners being willing and able to develop and privately fund a magnificent visitor centre, the state government is proceeding with its plan to waste at least $108 million of taxpayers’ money on a publicly funded precinct.

It will be the combining of old and young as the historic Gunbower Estate begins its next chapter as an educational facility for the students of Moama Anglican Grammar in the coming months ... Principal Scott Downward says the school is very excited to be the new custodians of the property, and understands the historical significance it has to the Gunbower, Leitchville and Cohuna area.

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.