Vic

Huge interest in new non-energy products based on brown coal shows the big economic opportunity for the Latrobe Valley as the region transitions away from the power industry, according to an industry leader. The chief executive of Australian Carbon Innovation, Brian Davey, said ACI recently went to the market with expressions of interest, looking for projects in the carbon area using the Latrobe Valley's brown coal.

Thorpdale, the hamlet nestled in the Strzelecki Ranges famous for its potato growing, has become the beating heart of Gippsland journalism. Three journalists who grew up in Thorpdale, which has a population of 400-plus, are driving the local news received by thousands of Gippslanders from the Latrobe Valley to West Gippsland, and into East and South Gippsland.

Across two jam-packed days on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 September, central Victoria’s creative capital will host a convergence of creative forces, people and ideas in action for Conflux Bendigo. Bendigo’s thriving arts precinct will be the meeting point for an inspiring group of creative collaborators to deliver a bold, diverse and exciting program of panel discussions, masterclasses, practitioner presentations, thought-provoking conversations, workshops, installations and performances.

Mount Alexander Sustainability Group’s Healthy Soils team is looking for commercial farmers with soil issues within a 50-60km radius from Castlemaine. This Healthy Soils Project offers the opportunity for 20 participating farms to receive free soil constraint assessments and soil testing, as well as assistance with developing a soil health management and monitoring plan.

Last week Maldon Primary School received the first of four visits from two very special guests: therapy dogs Archie and Mo, two members of the PAWS in Schools Program ... Evidence shows that the use of therapy dogs in a school setting can contribute towards improving the overall well-being of students.

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Kendall Jennings. Football and netball finals were held on the weekend, with mother nature delivering sunny skies for winter. It is an achievement for any team to make finals and that fact alone needs celebrating. Saturday, the Raiders Under 16s netball hit the court at Woorinen for the qualifying final to face Kerang. Raiders’ fans gathered courtside to support the girls with club colours, streamers and cheers for outstanding play.

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The turmoil in the native forest industry is deepening, with Australian Paper turning to recycle more paper as its hardwood timber supply dwindles, while a sawmill in the state’s far east is due to close because it has no timber. Recent developments have underlined the crisis facing the Gippsland industry.

A new world-class wildlife hospital at Werribee Open Range Zoo is now fully operational to treat sick and injured wildlife in Victoria’s western region as part of the response to the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires. Minister for the Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio announced the completion of the RSPCA Koala Ward at Werribee Open Range Zoo, which will increase capacity to provide expert, compassionate care for sick and injured koalas, native birds, reptiles and mammals in Victoria’s western regions.

The current shooting, hacking up and burying of Brumby carcasses under piles of branches in the Bogong High Plains, the Victorian Alpine National Park and the Barmah National Park should be stopped immediately. A motion in the Victorian Parliament passed last week, voting in favour of cancelling current, and planned, aerial and ground shooting of Brumbies ... “This is the result that we have been fighting hard to achieve for years now”: Bev McArthur, Member for Western Victoria.

Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) are expanding their plantation timber manufacturing operations thanks to a $1.2 million Victorian Forestry Plan innovation grant ... The new funding will help build a new $2.4 million specialised MASSLAM (Glue Laminated Timber) manufacturing facility to support the mill’s transition to alternative fibre sources ...

The presence of Varroa Mite (a parasite of adult honey bees that weakens and kills colonies and can also transmit viruses) has exacerbated and magnified the regular stresses of beekeeping in Australia ... “Lead by beekeeper volunteers from around Australia, the eradication effort is progressing well; however, if NSW can't contain Varroa Mite, then it will eventually be everywhere in time, including Victoria”: Owner and Managing Director of Warral Maldon, Lindsay Callaway.

The Young at Heart Playgroup, originally designed to connect young children with residents at the Maldon hospital, has been running for over seven years and now has more than 22 families, parents, grandparents and carers attending with their young children ... This year the playgroup has participated in the National Simultaneous Story Time and has started toddler-time sessions with visits from the Castlemaine Library.

Lee Mead. Over the past 16 years, the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group has achieved remarkable success in increasing knowledge about wheel cactus in our local area, and how to keep the problem under control. Now, in this new era of change, the TCCG Committee has decided to plan some different approaches and objectives for our future.

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Mr Beasley’s divisive and abrasive approach to the River Murray is illustrated in his 2021 book, Dead In The Water ... "A successful advocacy role in the Murray-Darling Basin requires having the confidence of the Basin communities – which include irrigators, other businesses, and the public. I’m not convinced that appointing a Sydney lawyer, who believes water buybacks are the only way forward, will wash with these communities" : Opposition Minister for Water Resources and the River Murray Nicola Centofanti.

There has been much said about the Murray-Darling Basin Authority over the 10 years of Basin Plan implementation ... The latest attempt by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to justify the hydraulic land clearing and loss of capacity of the Murray River needs to be called out for what it is – mismanagement in breach of the 2007 Water Act.

Kirstin Nicholson. Leitchville’s Matthew Hawken is part of a new program designed to strengthen the future of regional communities through capacity building and collaboration. The Drought Resilience Leaders Development Program is an initiative of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund offered in 12 regions around Australia. The Mallee region program includes 25 people working in agriculture, financial service providers, irrigators and self-employed business consultants.

A plan to have community at the forefront of co-design was the feature of Western Murray Land Improvement Group’s (WMLIG) Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP) Wakool presentation ... During the night, attendees were walked through the RRCP mapping tool. The maps are generated through computer modelling for various flow options from 15,000 megalitres per day up to 40,000ML/D.

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Incitec Pivot Fertilisers (IPF) has announced it has reached an agreement with Yara Australia to acquire the Yara Nipro liquid fertiliser business in Australia. The acquisition is subject to ACCC clearance. Jeanne Jonns, Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) MD & CEO, said the Yara Nipro business is complementary to IPF’s broader business, and the acquisition of Yara Nipro operations in Moree and Whitton in New South Wales and Boundary Bend in Victoria will provide excellent liquid fertiliser options and enhanced security of supply for farmers across the east coast of Australia.