Qld

A significant milestone in building a future for the commercial and recreational fishing industries has been reached with the next stage of the Queensland Government’s Sustainable Fisheries reforms coming into effect on September 1.

Visitors to the famous Mon Repos turtle-education and conservation centre will soon be able to book tickets to get up close to the ocean’s ‘heroes in a half shell’.

Geoff Helisma. A multi-partisan group of northern NSW politicians is calling “for a regional solution to the border crisis” ... Independent, Nationals, Greens, Labor and Liberal politicians in NSW and LNP politicians in Qld are calling for a border bubble.

A Mummulgum mother-of-two hasn’t seen her four-year-old daughter for three weeks. Sharnee Van Mourik said the lockdown and border restrictions mean Haven-Rose is unable to come home. Sharnee has a one-week-on, one-week-off arrangement with her daughter’s father who lives in Queensland ... “It’s a joke, I’m so angry,” Sharnee said.

This week Rockhampton Regional Council will be sending out copies of a new book full of age appropriate, tips and hints to help children be prepared and stay safe during a disaster.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority met on 30 August 2021 by video teleconference. The meeting was chaired by Sir Angus Houston with all members present ... the Authority released the mid-year  report card on the Basin Plan. This is the sixth report card produced by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and responds to community feedback seeking short and succinct updates on water reform progress.

Katter's Australian Party leader Robbie Katter says he is concerned that the state’s bid to buy Bramwell Station is leading to an inevitable locking up of Cape York ... “We don’t have the cash to be spending money on pointless environmental exercises, that will arguably deliver poorer outcomes than if the land were to remain in private hands,” the Mount Isa-based MP said.

Aaron Smith. A coroner's report on the worst maritime tragedy in the Torres Strait since the sinking of the Malu Sara in 2009 was publicly gazetted last week and community leaders have voiced concerns over a lack of connectivity, affordable transportation and boat safety.

Sawfish - one of the world's most endangered rays - have lost over half of their habitat worldwide and largely disappeared from the entire east coast of Australia. A collaborative study by the University of Southern Queensland and Sharks and Rays Australia will endeavour to fill in gaps in information about the ray’s ecology, biology and distribution.

Emma Price. What a great day it was! The club and entire Muttaburra community couldn’t be prouder of Rodney and Maureen Little’s achievement, winning their first ever Muttaburra Cup with Boingo.

As National Cabinet prepares to meet, farmers have accused state premiers of ‘arrogance’ over border arrangements, saying they seem to have forgotten that growing food and fibre is essential to public health. The National Farmers’ Federation is calling on National Cabinet to recommit to the National Agriculture Workers Code and focus on quarantine solutions for ag workers as a bumper grain harvest looms.

Sunshine Coast Council and Community museums have teamed up to offer a month of  mystery madness.

Gathering data in support of Tweed Cross Border Community Zone. Business owners are urgently invited to share the impact of the current Queensland border closure on their operations, as part of efforts to support the creation of a new border zone.

A dedicated regional quarantine facility will be built at Wellcamp, Toowoomba under a joint agreement between the Palaszczuk Government and the landowner, Wagner Corporation.  

In southern Australia, whether native forests are subject to harvesting or left untouched, if appropriate landscape scale forest fuel management is not undertaken, high intensity bushfires at a mega scale can occur in any summer, particularly when there are two or more years of below average rainfall. Any climate change effects are a reason to do more mitigation by fuel reduction.

We have a fire problem in Australia that is not being addressed. And it has nothing to do with climate change. Nor is logging a major contributing factor since very small areas are available for harvesting each year. It is about the decisions in the 1990s across most states, but particularly in NSW and Victoria to lock up millions of hectares of forest into national parks and manage them by benign neglect and allow the fuel levels to build up.

Frog scientists are concerned about a large number of sick, dying or dead frogs across eastern Australia. The mass deaths in NSW, Queensland and Victoria may be an indicator of a known fungal pathogen or a new strain.

Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the Federal Court will recognise the Warrgamay People’s long-standing rights to more than 185,000 hectares of land and water at a virtual hearing ... the decision covers an area from Lucinda on the coast, up to and along the Seaview Range and into Girringun National Park.