North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency CEO Priscilla Atkins, who says she is currently on leave, discloses she was “excluded from the beginning” from an investigation by KPMG, a world-wide professional services firm which produced a scathing report about the law firm, the Territory’s biggest.
“The decision to cease services was abrupt and without consultation, and it puts our community at risk,” said Dr Peter Barker about Bendigo Radiology’s decision to withdraw its services from Cohuna. Bendigo Radiology withdrew its services from its base at Cohuna District Hospital effective from the end of April, leaving the town without a replacement service, and leaving residents across the region to travel out of town for vital scans.
There are currently 64 people known to be homeless on any given night in the Mount Alexander Shire, and more than 200 families are seeking assistance for the housing crisis ... At a community housing forum presented by My Home Network held last Sunday at the Town Hall in Castlemaine, three tiers of government came together to discuss ways that they are committed to addressing the crisis...
The proposed immigration reforms recently announced by the government have the potential to hobble the economic growth of smaller South Australian towns in the future. That’s the view of Shadow Minister for State Migration and Regional Population Growth, Sam Telfer, who argues the reforms are “focused on the wrong levers”. Mr Telfer told The News that the reforms would impact regional South Australian businesses and won’t address their labour needs.
Michelle Daw. Bute's post office has the potential to become a thriving, privately run, business in the future, thanks to strong results achieved in the past decade under the management of Barunga West Council. That was the assessment included in a report by CEO Maree Wauchope, tabled at council’s April meeting.
The Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) facilitated a Service Access Round Table in response to the challenges faced in recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in Nhill and surrounding areas ... The workshop was held in response to the difficulties faced in recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas, with challenges including limited access to housing, childcare, and supervision.
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) told a recent Victorian Parliament inquiry that using land tax to replace stamp duty on property sales is not a viable option. Speaking to the Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee’s Inquiry into Land Transfer Duty, VFF President Emma Germano said a move to abolish stamp duty should not lead to the imposition of land tax on farm properties.
The state’s peak agricultural body says mandatory electronic identification tags for sheep should cost no more than $1 per tag, setting a clear target for state and federal governments ... farmers were still worried about how much the scheme might cost their businesses, and made it clear there must be financial support to implement traceability reform.
Australia’s peak farm body has slammed radical animal rights activists following a spate of illegal and intimidating encounters with law-abiding industry participants, and joined calls for the Government to exclude them from policy making processes. The call follows evidence from the pork industry in yesterday’s Senate Estimates hearings, with Chief Executive of Australian Pork Limited, Margo Andrae, detailing alarming examples of recent protest activity.
Tasmania's feral deer population is costing the state more than $100 million a year. The peak body for farming in the state, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, says the deer population in Tasmania is exploding.
David Landini. The closure of the Victorian native timber harvesting industry has not occurred due to legal threats; it has occurred due to the Green orientation of the Victorian urban population and this population’s insurmountable political power ... There are more Green voters in Victoria, mostly in the urban areas, than the total number of voters in the 10 marked electorates.
Leases on two Great Barrier Reef islands have been purchased by the Palaszczuk Government with the move protecting key habitat for a range of species including koalas and flatback turtles. Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon announced that the government had purchased the lease for St Bees Island, 35km north-east of Mackay and the lease for the Long Island Broad Sound in the Southern Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Gannawarra Shire Council has welcomed a proposed realignment of the VNI West route, which would involve constructing new high capacity electricity transmission lines that will pass through the Gannawarra ... “Council, along with the Murray River Group of Councils, has been advocating for VNI West to pass through the Gannawarra, and we have been promoting the benefits of these works to our residents for the past six years,” Mayor Charlie Gillingham said.
A final seal was laid on Lights Road last week signalling the end of the $700,000 road upgrade which is expected to be finished at the end of this month ... Local contractors and the Shire have faced weather delays, but the project is set to be delivered within budget and with minimal environmental impact on the community.
Clarence Valley Council will put forward a motion at the annual Local Government NSW conference requesting that councillors shouldn’t have to vote annually to determine their own pay rises ... Cr Bill Day put forward a motion to the Local Government NSW conference in November 2023 requesting that councillors shouldn’t be determining their own remuneration, which doesn’t happen at other levels of government.
Mount Alexander Shire Council is partnering with Central Goldfields Shire Council and community group Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail Inc. to determine the feasibility of a shared rail trail between Castlemaine and Maryborough. The proposed trail is 55km long and passes through the communities of Campbells Creek, Guildford, Newstead, Moolort and Carisbrook.
Michelle Daw. Barunga West Council appears to have backed down on plans to immediately tackle the issue of unauthorised fences around homes at Fisherman Bay ...The Papps family had erected a fenced enclosure at the rear of their property to keep [retired greyhound] Max safe, and are awaiting more information about fencing requirements from Barunga West Council.
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.
The new policy governs the flying of flags ... locations in the municipality where flags can be flown on a temporary basis, and the process to apply for a request to fly additional flags ... My petition titled ‘Fly the flag, be the change’ was to highlight a grave inequity and discrimination that existed, one based on what appeared to be fear and phobia more than logic or science ... Council shelved the request, citing the need for a flag flying policy.
Money ... It's time to pull stumps on Metronet and accept we are not New York or London ... Power ... exploring the unforeseen consequences of over-investing in renewables ... Guns ... no logic in capping firearm numbers for recreational shooters, sporting shooters or primary producers ...
This newspaper [The Buloke Times], in the past, has queried the government’s decision to take away the single desk for export from the Australian Wheat Board, an organisation which evened out the returns to growers, and was generally respected by the industry. Now there are claims that the good seasonal conditions have not been reflected in the returns to growers in recent years, and some companies with a larger share of the export trade have acted in “monopolistic” ways.
A motion to address community and business concerns following the 2021 and 2022 floods that devastated the region has divided councillors at the May 23 Clarence Valley Council meeting. The motion was moved by Cr Novak and seconded by Cr Alison Whaites before Climate Change Committee CCC chair Cr Greg Clancy asked Cr Novak how many meetings of the committee she had attended.
In-demand workers are facing soaring rents and dwindling vacancies in rural and regional areas, creating an “unsustainable” situation for the agricultural sector. Tenants are paying at least 10 per cent more than last year for the majority of areas, with Upper Hunter rents the worst – jumping by 22.9 per cent.
