Category Archives: Rural Australia

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Power station turned event space lights up Australian architecture awards

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

‘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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

China lifts most remaining trade bans on Australian beef exports

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

So scarlet it was maroon: five places to watch Australia’s autumn leaves turn

Posted on by

Towns across the country are putting on a show as the cold nights draw in. We’ve picked five spots from Queensland to Gippsland to take it in

Autumn is arguably the most beguiling time of year. It’s not too hot, not too cold, and regional towns are basked in alluring shades of auburn, burgundy and orange.

But to experience the season in all its glory, you have to know where to go.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

Methane emissions: Australian cattle industry suggests shift from net zero target to ‘climate neutral’ approach

Posted on by

The US cattle industry adopted a ‘climate neutral’ goal in 2021 but scientists say that ‘misses the point’ in keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C

Cattle Australia is lobbying the red meat sector to ditch its net zero target in favour of a “climate neutral” goal that would require far more modest reductions in methane emissions.

The $75bn red meat industry, led by Meat and Livestock Australia, announced a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 seven years ago, in an attempt to maintain its social licence and drive investments in emissions reduction technology.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter

Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community

Continue reading...

‘A lot of stories that will now go untold’: outback NSW newspaper closes after almost 130 years

Posted on by

Broken Hill’s only newspaper, The Barrier Truth, closes due to cashflow problems, with staffer saying loss is ‘really sad for the community’

Broken Hill’s only newspaper has closed after almost 130 years of operation in a major blow to the outback NSW community.

The Barrier Truth’s board told staff the union-run bi-weekly paper would shut down as its final edition went to press.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

300,000ha Queensland cattle station bought for conservation after $21m donation

Posted on by

State government and Nature Conservancy jointly purchase Vergemont station, which contains habitat for endangered night parrots

A Queensland outback cattle station the size of Yosemite national park which includes key habitat for the elusive night parrot has been acquired for conservation after an anonymous donation of $21m.

Vergemont station, 110km west of Longreach, was acquired in a joint purchase by the Queensland government and the Nature Conservancy, which brokered the deal. The group said it is likely the single largest philanthropic contribution to land protection in Australia.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter

Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community

Continue reading...

Victoria trials reusable crates for fresh produce to cut ‘invisible’ waste from supply chain

Posted on by

Pilot scheme supplies 1,000 folding boxes to farms and wholesalers to reduce single-use cardboard, paper and plastic

A pilot scheme to replace cardboard produce boxes with reusable plastic crates has been launched in Victoria, with the aim to cut “invisible” cardboard waste.

The Victoria Unboxed project, led by the food charity Sustain with Sustainable Victoria, has supplied 1,000 reusable plastic crates to transport produce from farms to venues, wholesalers and homes across Melbourne. The trial aims to reduce the need for single-use packaging, including cardboard, plastic and paper waste.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...