Category Archives: Rural Australia

NSW bans hay imports from south-east Queensland amid fear of fire ants after Cyclone Alfred

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Invasive Species Council says moratorium a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ to inadequacy of national eradication program

New South Wales has temporarily banned the import of hay from parts of south-east Queensland as a precaution against invasive fire ants, which are on the move in large numbers thanks to flooding from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

But the Invasive Species Council said the move is a Band-Aid response and accused the Queensland, NSW and federal governments of dropping the ball in suppressing fire ant numbers within infested areas.

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Australia news live: Woodside doubles profits thanks to record production of oil; funnel-web spider shortage threatens antivenom program

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Australia’s largest oil and gas producer has doubled its profits to $5.6bn. Follow today’s news live

Senate estimates will be back under way today, and AAP has flagged a little of what we can expect:

Creative Australia bosses, including the chief executive, Adrian Collette, will front an estimates hearing and it’s expected they’ll be questioned about the selection body’s shock decision to ditch the Venice Biennale team.

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Anthony Albanese announces $7.2bn in funding for Queensland’s Bruce Highway in first major election promise

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Federal government to fund 80% of upgrades with state paying for 20%, despite previously vowing to split infrastructure projects 50-50

In the first major promise of the election year, Anthony Albanese has announced $7.2bn in funding for Queensland’s Bruce Highway.

The federal government will fund 80% of the upgrades, with the state funding 20%.

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WA bushfire caused by fatal car crash triples in size as firefighters warn ‘we’re not out of the woods’

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Authorities warn it is too late to leave some areas after bushfire in the Shire of Dandaragan cuts evacuation routes

Firefighters have gained the upper hand in the battle against a fierce blaze threatening coastal communities in Western Australia but authorities warn challenging weather conditions will test their defences.

The bushfire in the Shire of Dandaragan, about 170km north of Perth, has cut evacuation routes and razed more than 70,000 hectares of scrub since it was started by a fatal car crash on Monday.

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Burnayi Lurnayi: Bendigo development aims to provide safe homes for Aboriginal women

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Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation says the development will help Indigenous women stay in the increasingly unaffordable regional city

Traditional owners have partnered with community housing providers in central Victoria to build a new housing project aimed at addressing the high rates of homelessness faced by Aboriginal women.

The development, named Burnayi Lurnayi, meaning “young women” in Dja Dja Wurrung language, is being built in the Bendigo suburb of Flora Hill, in a partnership between the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (Djarra) and community housing organisation YWCA.

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Australian businesses selling essential goods and services to be forced to accept cash payments

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Treasury confirms cheques will stay in circulation until 2029 but then cease to be accepted as legal tender

Businesses selling essential goods and services such as groceries, medicines and fuel will be forced to accept cash from their customers unless granted a special exemption, under a government mandate to take effect from 1 January 2026.

In a move designed to taper the phase-out of cash and ensure those who rely on it can still use it for the near future, the federal government will require certain businesses to take cash payments. But others, including many small businesses, will be exempt from the measure.

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Banks could face levy for failing to meet ‘baseline’ services in regional Australia, Treasury proposal suggests

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Confidential report comes in the wake of Senate inquiry which highlighted ‘deficiencies in branch closure processes’ across regional areas

Australian banks would have to meet a minimum level of service in regional areas or contribute funding to bolster the number of branches and ATMs offered by other institutions, in a proposal put forward by Treasury.

According to a confidential report sent to bankers this week, seen by Guardian Australia, Treasury has outlined two proposals to better support the presence of in-person branches and ATMs.

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Power station turned event space lights up Australian architecture awards

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Mildura’s Powerhouse Place wins for sustainable architecture and urban design, while Sydney renovation for Atlassian boss takes top award

With its whirring engines and towering smoke stacks, Mildura’s power station was hailed as a technological marvel of the early 20th century.

When a new engine was installed to help light up the regional Victorian city in June 1925, the local newspaper proclaimed that there would finally be enough “juice” for everyone.

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Australians must keep up the fight for abortion rights, Jacinta Allan warns

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Exclusive: Conservative forces pose ‘genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won’, Victoria’s premier says

Jacinta Allan is warning that the battle for abortion rights must continue as conservative forces pose “real and genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won” amid “frightening” debate in South Australia and Queensland.

Victoria’s Labor premier made her strongest comments to date on abortion in an interview with Guardian Australia, just days before Queenslanders go to the polls in an election that has become dominated by the issue.

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No surgical abortion providers in seven out of 10 Victorian local government areas, report finds

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‘Service deserts’ affect those in high-disadvantage regional districts most, Women’s Health Victoria study says

Seven out of 10 Victorian local government areas have no surgical abortion provider and one in five have no medical abortion provider, a new report shows.

The Realising Access report released on Thursday by the not-for-profit Women’s Health Victoria also found “service deserts” most profoundly affect women in high-disadvantage regional areas. Women in such areas are 300% more likely to seek abortion services later than nine weeks, meaning they require a surgical abortion for which there are even fewer providers.

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Protecting the Green Triangle: experts warn of ‘irreversible’ groundwater decline

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The groundwater system in western Victoria and south-east South Australia has begun to show signs of collapse, threatening the water security of SA’s second biggest city

Some of the best-quality groundwater in Australia underlies the upper and lower south-east of South Australia and parts of south-western Victoria.

But almost 200 years of draw down for agriculture, farming and domestic use has changed the surface drainage. Underground water in some areas has collapsed and water quality is deteriorating, putting at risk not only a fragile natural ecosystem but a $5bn regional economy.

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Tanya Plibersek accuses Peter Dutton of intent to ignore Indigenous heritage for mining projects

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Environment minister lambasts opposition leader over vow to overturn her rejection of tailings dam at McPhillamys goldmine

Tanya Plibersek has accused Peter Dutton of planning to ignore evidence of historical Indigenous cultural practice and trash heritage protection laws to greenlight certain mining projects and companies based on “the vibe”.

The environment minister told Guardian Australia that Dutton’s vow to overturn her determination rejecting the proposed site of a tailings dam at the $900m McPhillamys goldmine development in central-western New South Wales showed he had no respect for research or official advice.

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‘No one understands local issues better’: rural councils call for greater role in renewable energy transition

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NSW, Victoria and Queensland local governments have limited roles in approving developments but advocates say they’re best placed to keep communities on side

Rural councils should be “deeply engaged” with the planning of renewable energy projects in their back yards to keep communities on side and streamline the energy transition, local government advocates have said.

But not all renewable projects require local government approval, meaning developers are left to deal directly with local residents – to mixed results.

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ACT moves to protect dingoes after genetic study into animals in Namadgi national park

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There’s officially just one classification for ‘wild dogs/dingoes’, which lists them as pests

The Australian Capital Territory has taken steps to recognise dingoes as a distinct species in need of protection after DNA research found a population of up to 400 pure dingoes in Namadgi national park.

But farmers worry the change will hamper their efforts to protect their livestock.

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Victoria’s Landcare groups have 60,000 volunteers – but will there be funds to support them?

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The volunteer environment network says lack of money is stifling the growth of local groups despite an increase in interest on the ground

Lyn Heenan’s involvement with Landcare began almost 40 years ago, when her late father, Paul, joined the new movement in the 1980s to get rid of rabbits that had been eating their way through the Pyrenees region in western Victoria.

It was shortly after then conservation minister Joan Kirner had launched the initiative alongside the Victorian Farmers Federation at the tiny locality of Winjallock in 1986.

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Australian live sheep export ban could set a ‘concerning precedent’, industry warns

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Legislation to ban live export of sheep by sea by 2028 introduced to parliament but all farming lobby groups oppose the move

Farming lobby groups say legislation to end live sheep exports by 2028 sets a “concerning precedent” for other agricultural export markets.

The comment was made at the first of two public hearings into legislation to phase out live sheep exports by 2028. The snap inquiry was called on 3 June after the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, introduced the legislation to parliament and is due to report by 21 June. It has already received 89 submissions.

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Egg farmers say supply not at risk from bird flu after Coles imposes two-carton limit on shoppers

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Supermarket’s restriction applies everywhere except WA as more than 500,000 chickens euthanised due to avian influenza

Egg farmers have rushed to reassure consumers that there is no shortage of eggs after the supermarket chain Coles announced a two-carton limit in response to the avian influenza outbreak in Victoria.

The highly pathogenic H7N3 strain of bird flu has been detected on four farms in western Victoria, and another highly pathogenic strain, H7N9, has been detected at a fifth farm. More than half a million chickens have been euthanised in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.

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China lifts most remaining trade bans on Australian beef exports

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Murray Watt says Beijing has removed sanctions for five abattoirs that lost export licences in 2020 amid diplomatic spat

China has lifted suspensions from Australian beef exporters, removing almost all of the $20bn worth of trade sanctions it imposed.

The agriculture minister, Murray Watt, said Beijing on Wednesday night lifted the bans, with immediate effect, for five different abattoirs.

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Forbes honours Molly Ticehurst with Mother’s Day walk around lake

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About 400 people gather to pay tribute to early childhood educator, wearing bright T-shirts with the slogans ‘#HernameisMolly’ and ‘#Speakup’

A small community in the New South Wales central west has marked Mother’s Day with a walk in memory of Molly Ticehurst, who was allegedly killed by a former partner last month.

Pushing prams and flanked by puppies, families followed the path around Lake Forbes on Sunday. About 400 people gathered, many wearing bright T-shirts with the slogans “#HernameisMolly” and “#Speakup”. They included close friends and family of the 28-year-old.

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‘A lot of asbestos in the streets’: WA declares ‘hazmat emergency’ after tornado hits Bunbury

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More than 100 homes damaged when tornado ripped off roofs, collapsed walls and sucked up debris in state’s south-west

Asbestos scattered over residential streets has prompted a “hazmat emergency” response in Western Australia’s south-west, with specialist crews urgently working to contain any possible exposure aftter a devastating tornado.

More than 100 homes were damaged when the tornado ripped off roofs, collapsed walls and sucked up debris into the sky at Bunbury on Friday afternoon.

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