WA

Is there life after the ban on live sheep exports? Bindi Murray joins us from Sheep Producers Australia with some good news! Plus we catch up with local legend Mat Dunn from Beacon who is in Harvest for an update and all of your local weather with Jessica Lingard from the Bureau (of Meteorology).

I’ve stood on the bridge of the Fisheries portfolio before, watching the charts, reading the soundings, and warning the captain that reefs lay ahead. As a former Chief of Staff to a Fisheries Minister, I recognise the signs when a government vessel starts taking on water and the crew pretend it’s just spray over the bow. WA is again steering toward the same rocks: science shouting from the crow’s nest, lobby groups whispering on the bridge, and politicians tightening the sails to catch votes instead of heeding the compass. Now Captain Jackie Jarvis has the helm. We will see whether she keeps a steady course guided by evidence or follows her predecessor into the shallows of cheap populism and political drift.

Long-suffering readers know my refrain: Western Australia can build stadiums, museums and Metronet tunnels, yet still cannot build a permanent home for its agriculture department. Call it DPIRD or the old Ag Department, or—as I prefer—the Department of People, Inclusion, Re-education and Diversity. Titles change, logos change, ministers change. The reality stays the same.

Australia's export-oriented crocodile industry depends on public opinion in foreign countries and the actions of legislators in those countries. This is the industry's primary problem. Two secondary problems arise from this. Australia's crocodile industry has too little economic potential, and lobbying regulations in Australia are too imperfect for Australian farmers to quickly follow global trends.

Construction is complete and Stage 2 of the Dwellingup Mountain Bike Trail network is now officially open for riding. The multimillion-dollar Dwellingup Adventure Trails project has now delivered a world-class 108-kilometre mountain bike trail network and contributed to establishing Dwellingup as a leading trails destination.

Steel power poles are being trialled in part of Yanchep with their installation expected to be completed at the end of October, according to Western Power. This week a Western Power spokeswoman said the trial of steel poles was aimed at increasing network resilience.

Out now! Available here!

Confidence in Australia’s farming sector has lifted, as the nation’s farmers hang their hopes on continuing strong commodity prices – particularly in livestock sectors – and better seasonal conditions in a number of regions, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found.

Marine biologist Kat Mason may have only been in Australia a matter of months, but her connection to the ocean runs deep. Raised in Bournemouth, a coastal town in the south of England, Kat’s early years were filled with an appreciation of the ocean but it was a childhood stint in Florida that truly sparked her curiosity about marine life.

Originally from Perth, Flight Lieutenant Hayden Krammer was back at Pearce air base this week at the controls of a C-27J Spartan ... The C-27J, which bridges the gap between army helicopters and bigger air force aircraft, was in Perth taking part in flying activities as part of the preparedness and integration exercise Amarok reach ... WGCDR Porche ... said Defence was getting back to pre-Covid 19 coverage.

Riverside Park Barham was bustling as the Veteran Car Club of Australia took over the park ... with the stunning Barham Bridge built in 1904 making an appropriate backdrop ... The day was a feast for the eyes!

Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump this morning signed a USD$100m equity investment in the Arafura Nolans rare earths project at Aileron, 135 km north of Alice Springs. "Once operational, this project will produce 5 per cent of global rare earths - essential for energy security and defence," says a statement from the Prime Minister.

Matt Canavan’s exposé at the recent Senate Estimates, which had the Department of Agriculture’s executives sweating in their seats, deserves wide circulation ... “There’s lots of talk about the need to increase reforestation—effectively, the conversion of agricultural land to forests ..." ... If Matt Canavan is the Senate’s zealot hunter, then Western Australia’s Senator Matthew O’Sullivan is its Maremma the Sheepdog that protects its flock ... In committee, O’Sullivan’s questioning tore open the government’s $139.8 million Sheep Industry Transition Assistance Package ...

A new koala has taken up residence at Yanchep National Park and as part of a double celebration the name of the first joey born at Yanchep National Park in 15 years has been announced. The new koala called Poppy is five-years-old and comes from Ballarat Wildlife Park.

Australia is forecast to harvest a larger winter grain crop this year, with Rabobank estimating total volumes to reach 62.8 million tonnes in its just-released annual 2025/26 Australian Winter Crop Forecast.

Supply Nation ... announced a new national milestone with members recording a total of over $5.83 billion in procurement spend with verified Indigenous-owned businesses in the 2024-25 financial year ... Supply Nation’s recently released report The Sleeping Giant Rises found that for every dollar of revenue produced by Indigenous-owned businesses, $3.66 of positive economic and social value was generated into the Australian economy.

Patricia Gill. You hear the air raid siren, see the window shudder and rumble and it (the sound) hits you in the chest, then all of a sudden there's this smoke coming up." While serving as a media security adviser in Ukraine, Jesse McNeilly watched through his hotel window as a rocket hit in the city of Kharkiv.

Out now! Available here!

Australian farmland values continued to plateau across the first half of 2025 according to the latest report from Bendigo Bank Agribusiness. The national median price of farmland fell to $9,885/ha, representing a minor dip of 3.1 per cent year-on-year.

As a critic of the climate catastrophists—and someone who prefers a long-term, science-based view of climate change—I thought I’d share a basic understanding of the science and terminology behind the BoM forecasts we rely on ... Every time a farmer glances at the Bureau’s forecast, the same terms pop up: Indian Ocean Dipole, El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Southern Annular Mode, cold fronts from the Great Southern, tropical moisture feeds, and the Leeuwin Current ...

NSW Farmers warns the impacts of a new merger between two major farm supply companies must be closely monitored to ensure prices for essential inputs do not skyrocket ... NSW Farmers Vice President Rebecca Reardon said many farmers feared the new merger would reduce competition and drive prices up within the agricultural supplies market.

Grain Producers Australia notes ... decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) of conditional approval being granted to Elders Limited’s takeover of Delta Agribusiness, requiring divestment of Delta stores, only in WA ... GPA Southern Region Director, Andrew Weidemann, said he was disappointed the ACCC had not realised all of the concerns expressed by growers, in GPA’s submission, about the Elders takeover reducing competition in 33 regional locations/communities.