SA

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says claims by Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek that Basin farmers are thriving under a decade of water buybacks is untrue, and the reality is farmers are fearing the next big dry ... “The truth is her own Department website produces a summary table of all recoveries and it clearly states 12.2GL has been recovered with a further 13.8GL under contract. That's a total of 26GL towards the 450GL, not the 2GL she keeps suggesting”: VFF Water Council chairperson Andrew Leahy.

Michelle Daw. Barunga West Council is looking to recoup up to $305,000 a year in expenses and lost income associated with council land and buildings ... The audit covered council land use and unmade road reserves for cropping, grant payments and public liability as well as personal accident insurance premiums for progress associations and groups. Payment of water and power bills and building insurance for buildings not owned or used by council, council mowing the ovals at the Bute and Port Broughton sports clubs, and council’s community grants program were also audited.

The debate on the upcoming vote for the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum has become “divisive” in the region, says Member of Barker Tony Pasin ... “Differences of opinion and robust debate in an MP’s office are to be expected and indeed encouraged, but the tirade of abuse directed at my staff (I was interstate) was totally unacceptable ... Ordinarily, a constitutional convention is held prior to a referendum to seek consensus."

Australian Geographic has announced the release of ‘Silo Art, Australia's Outdoor Art Revolution’, a visually stunning book that pays tribute to Australia’s silo art phenomenon and chronicles the transformation of Australia into an expansive outdoor art gallery. It features a comprehensive map detailing each silo, silo owner, and silo artist across Australia and locations of the street art, festivals, murals, and water tower art featured in the book.

Some of the criminal activity in the district is reported by SA Police on its website. According to the site, reports in recent months included the arrest of two men who triggered an alarm in June at a Blackwell Rd waste management business ... In late July CCTV footage was released by police on their website regarding a May 11, break in of a Naracoorte chemist.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has put its full support behind a proposed legislative change to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan ... The Authority has been the arbiter of truth, with them holding the reins on running the rivers (to the SA border), implementing the plan, reviewing their own work, setting the terms of reference for independent reviews of their own work, managing community concerns and even running defence for the lower lakes.  

Patrick Goldsmith. Opposition to a proposed seawall at Coobowie is growing louder, with more than 60 people gathering at a town hall meeting on Sunday, October 1. The event was organised by the newly formed Friends of Coobowie Foreshore and attendees heard from ecologist and marine biologist John Douglas and aired their own grievances with the Yorke Peninsula Council proposal.

If you’re experiencing difficulties paying your council rates, the Tatiara District Council says help is available for you. Council chief executive officer Anne Champness said financial hardships and unemployment have topped the council’s list of reasons for rate arrears and nonpayment of rates. “We are very aware of the extra burden council rates can mean for those residents or businesses that are struggling financially,”

Naracoorte-Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross is ready to engage with the Country Cabinet when it holds its seventh meeting in Naracoorte next month. And Mr Ross says at the top of his list of things to be discussed with the Premier and his ministers will be the “region’s desperate need for an extra 1,000 homes”.