Property

Thousands of generations of shared history across Cape York and the Torres Strait has been formally recognised by the Federal Court of Australia. Celebrations were held on Thursday Island as Justice Debbie Mortimer announced the historic Native Title consent determination, which covers about 65,000 square kilometres of land and sea.

Providing rooming accommodation will now be easier after the Palaszczuk Government lifted a requirement for local government planning approval under certain conditions. Deputy Premier and Minister for Planning Steven Miles said the change to the Planning Regulation would provide more housing options in lower density residential zones.

In less than 48 hours, Bracknell Lodge was transformed into an arena, hosting the ‘Ride for a Roof’ event raising money for the newly-formed Common Ground Foundation. The event was organised to raise money to purchase a house in Toowoomba in which families can stay while they have a loved one in hospital. And raise money it did.

If you love the view from the top of your farm looking out over the surrounding countryside, then let’s hope you are not near the coast or major power lines or in a windy part of Western Australia because the state and federal governments and the men and women with white shoes are quietly pouring over maps looking for sites that will become tomorrow’s wind farms.

The Territory Government is changing the way it collects rent for remote tenants in Tennant Creek and Barkly communities ... In rolling out the new framework, historical rental arrears accrued up until 11 December 2021 have been waived. Nearly $70 million in rent was not collected for more than 11 years, providing a major shortfall of reinvestment back into repairs and maintenance of public housing.

Jeff Hanson. The future of Ardlethan Picnic Racing Club appears to be murky after the land on which it is located, which is a smaller part of the larger ‘Warri’ property, was put up for sale earlier this month. Located three kilometres south of Ardlethan, 'Warri' is one of the most well-known properties in Southern NSW, and that is because for over 60 years, the iconic Ardlethan picnic meeting has been conducted there on the banks of the Mirrool Creek.

1.5 million sandbags and almost 8 km of flood barriers have been secured by the South Australia Government to help protect flood affected River Murray communities. Three kilometres of DefenCell barriers from India arrived in Adelaide on Saturday 19 November with a further four kilometres of product expected to arrive on 28 November from Italy.

The state government body tasked to handle the business operations of Bramwell Station say they are committed to keeping the roadhouse and tourist park open, but questions have been raised over the transparency of the dealings. In a statement to Cape York Weekly, the Department of Environment and Science said it was dealing with existing sublease holders to keep the tourist businesses up and running beyond November 30, when the keys are officially handed to the Queensland government.

The NSW Government is hanging regional councils and koalas out to dry with their latest plan to remove the right of local government to be involved with approvals for private native forestry. The koala wars that have defined the last 4 years of this coalition government are being refuelled under the noses of Liberal ministers and democratically elected councils by The Nationals: Sue Higginson, Greens NSW MP.

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle has criticised environmental politics holding up rebuilding efforts across the state, saying we need less talk, more action ... Mr Arkle said the independent Natural Resources Commission described the new Private Native Forestry Codes as a significant improvement over the previous codes, with a number of additional environmental protections relating to koalas, unmapped streams and harvesting intensity limits.

Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis has welcomed the certainty the Bill provides to the timber industry and the significant koala protections included. “Farm forestry is a vital component of the NSW timber industry, generating about $482 million and employing 835 people on the North Coast alone,” Mr Gulaptis said.

Mt Alexander Shire Council has made changes to its Land Management Rate (LMR) Strategy, which was adopted to encourage private landholders on blocks of 20 hectares or more to be responsible property managers in terms of improving the natural environment. The LMR scheme is being phased out ... Maldon resident 'John' believes that the phasing out of the LMR scheme is a retrograde step.

Ben Evans settled on his 2,600-acre Mellool farm just two months ago ... His entire property, bar six acres, is underwater ... Daniel Monk, has never seen floodwater inundate the area as widely or as quickly ... Marcus and his wife, Bree, have 90 per cent of their 4,000ha farm inundated at Mallan ... “I have never seen so much water ever,” said Ken Spence.

Major flooding of the Murrumbidgee River at Narrandera has led to the evacuation of residents in 14 households south of town. Warnings for major flooding are still in place. Narrandera Shire Council Deputy General Manager Infrastructure Shane Wilson said ... the volume of water flowing through the river in a 24-hour period was 130,000 Ml megalitres which equated to 130,000 Olympic swimming pools as against the normal flow rate of 40 megalitres. SES volunteers are keeping a close watch on water levels and checking on residents in low lying areas.

The future of two iconic tourism destinations is unclear as the state government fumbles over deals to keep them running beyond the end of the month ... “I have no idea who is taking over and I’m not even sure they do,” Ms Kozicka told Cape York Weekly on Sunday.

The NSW national park estate is expanding with an additional 1,300 hectares of land added to permanently protect important habitat for threatened and endangered species. Minister for Environment James Griffin said the NSW Government’s commitment to conservation and biodiversity has seen more than 602,500 hectares secured for reservation since 2019.

It’s the sale of the century: six and a half acres of freehold land, right in the middle of Maldon: the former Derby Hill Blue Light Youth Camp in Phoenix Street is on the market. The camp was closed down by Blue Light Victoria in September owing to financial problems caused by the shutdown during the Covid pandemic. Blue Light Victoria is now selling it off...

It doesn’t matter if you’re a grassroots community group or a land manager wanting to roll out a landcare project on private property, how you put that project together is essential if you want to get funding, engage other people and ensure outcomes on the ground. Following the success of its workshop in Clifton last week, Condamine Catchment Management Association (CCMA) will be holding another free workshop at the Harvest New Life Church Hall in Pittsworth on Wednesday, 16 November.

Kirstin Nicholson. Mick Farrant’s dairy farm is on Flannery’s Road, McMillans and two thirds of his 1,100-acre property is underwater. Excess water from Pyramid and Bullock Creeks has inundated the farm. “It’s a big job moving cattle, it’s just a massive undertaking to shift a whole herd and get set up for them somewhere else. You don’t do that in five minutes,” he said.