Reto and Heike Bodenburg have been through a lot to get to the point where they are stable, have a thriving cafe, and are part of the Coraki community ... All that is on hold, with an immigration tribunal looming and the threat of Heike being forced to return to Switzerland and leave all they have built behind.

"Today we have released the interim report of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct independent review, commissioned by the Albanese Government. We want a fair go for families and a fair go for farmers. This work is all about making our supermarkets as competitive as they can be so Australians get the best prices possible": Jim Chalmers, Andrew Leigh.

Gardening in extreme conditions is not an educational program anywhere. Ukrainians in the combat zone are learning this from their own personal experience. Many people in other countries believe that this is a useful experience that should be taught to the population in peacetime ... Read Pavel's life hack for gardening in a war zone.

The Member for Barkly has called out Labor for its dereliction to support regional young people at risk after he highlighted the shocking cases of two Tennant Creek children who he says was failed by the NT Government. Mr Edgington, also the Shadow Attorney-General, says the children had a history of neglect and abuse and were allowed to escalate into violent offenders despite 67 child welfare notifications.

The National Farmers’ Federation welcomes the Federal Government’s well-considered response to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) review. NFF Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar said it was imperative to the farm sector the APVMA gets back on track and empowering Ken Matthews AO’s review into the Authority’s future structure and governance was a step in the right direction. 

Farmers can be confident for the future of strong traceability standards across the board, thanks to the trial of data enabled traceability concepts and a new traceability protocol. As part of the first of three trials, Food Agility partnered with industry to develop the Australian Agricultural Traceability Protocol (AATP).

The National Farmers’ Federation welcomes the interim report reviewing the adequacy of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, saying the recommendations would help give the Code the teeth it needs. NFF President David Jochinke said the report backed farmers’ call for the Code to be made mandatory and be bolstered with greater penalties for breaches.

A mandatory code of conduct is urgently needed to protect chicken meat farmers from market power abuse at the hands of processors, an industry report has found ... “The message from poultry farmers was clear: there is little to no choice in processors, growing contract terms are unfair, and there is a deliberate undermining of collective bargaining efforts within the supply chain”: NSW Farmers Poultry Meat Manager David Banham.

The NFF Horticulture Council strongly supports the key recommendations detailed in the interim Independent Review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct ... The Council is particularly encouraged to see recommendations for the enforcement of the mandatory code, and the possibility of increased fines reaching up to 10 per cent of turnover, potentially amounting to billions.

“The frightening thing is that if fire ants get up above the Great Dividing Range, it could potentially get into the Murray Darling Basin and that could effectively see the fire ants go right down to Adelaide. It would impact the whole country and have devastating consequences. Labor now needs to urgently respond to the inquiry and eradication must continue to be the focus”: David Littleproud.

The State Government’s record-breaking fish stocking program has again hit a high-water mark with 10 million fish stocked this year, so more recreational fishers can wet a line close to home across the state. Minister for Outdoor Recreation Steve Dimopoulos, last week stocked more brown trout at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat and announced the major milestone for Victorians.

When I started as a young forester in the late 1980s, I yearned for the opportunity to work in our native forests. While assessing a coupe to plan for a tree harvesting operation, I knew I was inheriting a forest structure that benefited from silvicultural practices adopted by foresters a few generations before me. Foresters aim to make the forest more productive by applying scientific principles to aid in the regeneration of the next crop of trees and to encourage the best growth of the retained trees. My responsibility was to continue that tradition for foresters a few generations ahead of me.

Carey Brennan. On Thursday, April 11, approximately 80 farmers filled the Donald Memorial Hall supper room to hear from the Buloke Shire and several speakers, to find out exactly what the Victorian NSW Interconnector (VNI) West Transmission Lines project means for this district.

City of Coffs Harbour’s bold free bus travel initiative aims to help all members of the community, including people who don’t drive. The free bus travel trial starts on Friday 19 April, and Mayor Paul Amos said it would particularly support older people who no longer drive and unlicensed teenagers...

Government has decided to extend takeaway alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs. Evidence has shown alcohol-related emergency department presentations at Alice Springs Hospital have reduced by a third, and domestic violence has halved since the restrictions were introduced.

With significant planning work and extensive market soundings completed, it is now certain that the cost of hosting the Regional Victorian Commonwealth Games will exceed $6 billion – more than twice the estimated economic benefit the Games would bring our state. In the face of these numbers, the Victorian Government has made the decision not to proceed with hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

The Queensland budget will supercharge CopperString 2032 through a $1 billion down payment from coal royalties, $594 million of which is committed to start construction over the coming financial year ... The announcement was made at the official opening of Vecco Group’s $26 million Townsville Vanadium Battery Manufacturing Facility, which received support through the Queensland Jobs Fund.

John O'Donnell assesses the Productivity Commission's limited recommendations regarding natural disaster management in its latest report, "Advancing Prosperity", and concludes that the PC and governments have missed key opportunities to better nail natural disaster management across Australia.

Australia Rural & Regional News asks some questions about AWC's koala conservation projects and koala monitoring, and land and fire management of Andrew Howe, Australian Wildlife Conservancy Senior Field Ecologist and Peter Stanton, Australian Wildlife Conservancy Senior Ecologist.

What is it about Australian politics that causes a wave of frustration, tinged with resignation and - perhaps more commonly - an eye roll, a sigh and shrug. “It is what it is.” ... For those wanting to avoid the hysteria on social media soapboxes, the left or right leaning opinions of whichever media outlet is screening at the time or arguments that could fracture a family for years, what options are there? Enter the Voices movement.

Some rough numbers: 18 million hectares make up Western Australia’s freehold grain belt. Back in 1970 we had 20,000 growers and farms averaged about 1500ha in size, today we have 4000 broadacre farmers with the average farm about 3000ha ... While we may think our version of the family farm will be here forever, think again. The mega global family farms are on the march and so are the corporates.

Now another TEDxMaldon event is underway. Themed The Brave and the Brilliant, it’s being held ... at Maldon Vintage Machinery and Museum ... TEDxMaldon aims to inspire and cultivate change for the better.

If it’s good enough for the NSW South Coast then it should be good enough for the NSW North Coast – as City of Coffs Harbour fights to keep the prized public land at the Jetty Foreshores in the hands of the community. Mayor Cr Paul Amos has won support for a Mayoral Minute which detailed inconsistencies in the NSW Government’s approach to public holdings. 

The lives of more than 200 residents of Yamba’s Hometown Australia owned Grevillea Waters, whose average age is in their mid-70s, are at significant risk if a proposed 16 townhouse development adjacent to the village is approved by Clarence Valley Council. That was the strong message the Grevillea Waters Residents Committee Focus Group GWRCFG delivered to the Member for Clarence, Richie Williamson, and the CV Independent when we were invited to tour the village...

Toowoomba Region Mayor Geoff McDonald and Deputy Mayor Cr Rebecca Vonhoff last week stepped up the call for external funding for the $270 million Cressbrook Dam Safety Improvement Project ... Without grant funding, Council’s submission to the State Government said the full cost of the dam wall upgrade will be transferred to ratepayers through increased water charges.

It’s a resounding no from leaders across Western Queensland to proposed plans to inject industrial waste into the Great Artesian Basin … The 24 member councils of Western Queensland ... unanimously agree in their opposition to the proposal for foreign-owned mining giant Glencore to undertake an injection test of 330,000 tonnes of liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) over three years into the Great Artesian Basin (GAB).

With an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) decision for Glencore’s proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) expected to be handed down in early May, community, environmental groups and industry remain united in calling on the Queensland government to reject the proposal.

With BCG’s Young Farmer Network rapidly expanding, Senior Manager of Extension and Communications, Grace Hosking, is encouraging more young farmers to register now. "In our role as the Vic Hub’s North West Broadacre Node, BCG has brought together hundreds of young farmers from across the region in recent weeks to build knowledge, create networks and support each other through our BCG Young Farmer Network events...."

In September 1995 a shy young Norwegian girl, Ingvill Backman, came to work on the Campbell farm, “Springbank” at Corack. For eight months she helped Trevor and Adam with all types of agricultural activities ... Now, almost twenty-nine years later her elder son, Stein Sira, has paid a visit to the Campbells.

It is with immense pleasure that we at the Donald Family Clinic would like to welcome a long anticipated new addition to our medical team. Dr. Maryna Aliakseyeva has officially joined us and her books will be open as of Monday, April 22, 2024. 

More than 100 senior leaders will meet under one roof today for a 2-day summit hosted by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to collaborate, listen and share the diverse points of view on current and future management of the Basin ... the summit continues the conversation with First Nations people, industry, environmental, science and community leaders collaborating on the future of the Basin.