Category Archives: Rural Australia

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Shutdown of 3G networks a ‘health and safety issue’ for some regional Australians

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Telcos promised no loss of coverage but farmers outside official coverage areas fear their lifeline will turn off

Stacey Storrier was told she was “lucky” that she received mobile phone service at her home in the New South Wales Riverina region.

But when Telstra’s 3G network is switched off on 30 June, that luck will run out.

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Queensland farming lobby launches legal challenge against Great Artesian Basin carbon capture trial

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AgForce is seeking a judicial review of a 2022 decision that found the project did not need to be assessed under federal environmental laws

Queensland farming body AgForce has launched legal action against the federal government in a bid to stop liquified carbon dioxide from being pumped into the Great Artesian Basin.

The Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo), a subsidiary of mining giant Glencore, is awaiting state government approval for a pilot scheme to inject Co2 emitted by a coal-fired power station in southern Queensland into underground water aquifers as part of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project trial.

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Influential NSW independent speaks out against laws that make it harder for young people to get bail

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Exclusive: Barwon MP and former police staffer Roy Butler says it’s wrong to assume offenders view longer sentences as a deterrent

An influential independent New South Wales MP has spoken out against new laws from the Minns government that would make it harder for young people to get bail.

The Barwon MP, Roy Butler, a former police administrator, said it was wrong to assume that young offenders would always view extended sentences as a punishment and a deterrent to antisocial behaviour.

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Father of Indigenous man who died after incorrect diagnosis tells inquest ‘hospitals are not safe for us’

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Family members pay emotional tribute to Ricky Hampson Jr, ‘Dougie’, who died less than 24 hours after leaving Dubbo Base hospital

Family members have described an Aboriginal man who died after an incorrect diagnosis at Dubbo hospital as the “favourite” child and the “light of every celebration”.

Ricky Hampson Jr, known and referred to as “Dougie” throughout the inquest, died on 16 August 2021, less than 24 hours after leaving Dubbo Base hospital, after being “erroneously” diagnosed with a drug-related illness.

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‘Grave concern’ over Wednesday heat spike in Victoria after six homes destroyed in bushfires

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Firefighters continue to battle blazes as they brace for temperatures to exceed 40C in western parts of the state this week

Six homes have been destroyed by bushfires in Victoria, as authorities issue a warning of “grave concern” for fire danger in the state on Wednesday.

On Sunday morning, Victoria’s emergency services minister, Jaclyn Symes, announced that after 228 impact assessments were carried out following fires in western Victoria, six residential homes were deemed to have been destroyed.

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Australian red meat industry’s net zero target based on land-clearing data that is ‘not reliable’

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Meat and Livestock Australia says it has reduced emissions by 65% on 2005 levels but data analysis suggests figures underpinning claim are ‘erroneous’

Greenhouse gas reduction figures celebrated by Australia’s red meat industry are based on unreliable land-clearing data and could be erroneous, an independent analysis has found.

In Queensland, where roughly 44% of the national cattle herd grazes and the majority of land clearing has occurred, the Statewide Landcover and Tree Study (Slats) has recorded deforestation at almost twice the rate of the national system used to calculate emissions on the red meat industry.

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Millions of Australians at risk of being stung by fire ants each year, experts warn

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Inquiry into invasive pest hears of risks species poses to health, agriculture and environment if it becomes endemic

Fire ants could sting 8.6 million Australians a year if they were to become endemic – but a pathogenic fungus and pesticide-loaded drones might help avert that scenario, according to submissions posed to the federal government’s fire ants inquiry.

Submissions to the Senate inquiry into red imported fire ants (Rifa) in Australia closed on Monday, just days after the latest in a string of fire ant detections beyond south-east Queensland, where an infestation of the invasive pest is ongoing.

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Sleeper services may return on Sydney-Melbourne route after new trains arrive, as night patronage booms

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Exclusive: NSW government says it is open to all options even though new rolling stock, now due in 2026, will have reclining seats only

The permanent withdrawal of sleeper carriages on Sydney-Melbourne trains may be averted after new rolling stock enters service, thanks to the increasing popularity of intercity rail.

New Spanish-built trains ordered by the previous Coalition government were initially meant to enter service in January 2023, but are now not expected to be running before April 2026. As yet, there is no firm arrival date.

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Chris Minns says police not to blame for Aboriginal imprisonment as country mayors push for crime inquiry

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Exclusive: ‘We can’t just put it all on the police’s shoulders’ says NSW premier as Aboriginal people make up 59% of juvenile detention population

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has defended the way police interact with young Aboriginal people and said the force is not to blame for disproportionate Indigenous incarceration rates.

Speaking in Bourke, in far western NSW, Minns also said he was reluctant to meet the demands of the Country Mayors Association, police union and some Nationals MPs to hold an inquiry into regional crime.

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Wild Christmas weather: woman killed, more than 100,000 homes without power after Queensland storms

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Boxing Day weather also predicted to be volatile across NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with more thunderstorms and rain forecast

A woman has died and more than 100,000 homes been left without power as a result of severe thunderstorms in south-east Queensland on Christmas night, with warnings of more bad weather to come on Boxing Day across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Intense storms affected all three eastern states on Monday, with more than 1,200 calls for help to state emergency services and Sydney airport recording its wettest Christmas Day on record.

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Rainwater tank testing near NSW’s Cadia gold mine finds unsafe levels of mercury

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Further testing should be done to reduce the risk of local tank water being contaminated by mercury, expert says

An independent study of rainwater tanks near the Cadia goldmine in central west New South Wales has detected unsafe levels of mercury in some residents’ drinking water, nine months after widespread water testing conducted by NSW Health found no unsafe results.

The results come from an independent testing program conducted by Dr Ian Wright through the Cadia Community Sustainability Network (CCSN), which took water samples from kitchen taps and the top and bottom of rainwater tanks at 42 properties near the mine, between August and November 2023.

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Coal seam gas law changes would ‘weaken’ farmland protections, green groups say

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The Environmental Defenders Office says proposed legal changes will ‘water down’ protections against subsidence caused by gas wells

Environmental groups and farmers have criticised proposed amendments to Queensland’s planning laws that they say will make the regulation of coal seam gas “even weaker” and “abandon responsibility” for sinking farmland.

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) and Lock the Gate made the comments in a joint submission in response to draft amendments to two key pieces of state legislation regulating the management of CSG-induced subsidence – when the extraction of gas underground causes the ground above to sink.

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NSW bushfires: more than 60 blazes burning including out-of-control fire in Pilliga

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Duck Creek fire in the Pilliga forest burning out of control 20km south of Narrabri, while more bushfires hit Sydney and Hunter regions

Firefighters are tackling more than 60 blazes across New South Wales, including a giant out-of-control bushfire in the Pilliga forest in the state’s north-west that has been fuelling dangerous fire-generated thunderstorms.

The blaze at Duck Creek in the Pilliga forest was burning about 20km south of the town of Narrabri – home to more than 12,000 people – and a similar distance from Boggabri to the east on Tuesday morning.

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Pain, trauma and ‘moral injury’: the push to improve birthing care in NSW hospitals

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A public hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in Wagga Wagga this week heard calls to overhaul pregnancy and maternal healthcare services

When Samantha gave birth to her daughter in 2022, she was told by medical staff that being in “excruciating pain” was normal.

They were discharged two days after the birth. It wasn’t until a community midwife told her the severe bruising on her buttocks was not normal that Samantha, who asked that her full name not be used, presented to the hospital again. Examinations and an ultrasound revealed she had suffered a haematoma and a third-degree perineal tear that had been improperly repaired. For months afterwards she struggled with symptoms resulting from her injuries, forcing her to spend thousands of dollars with private specialists.

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Steven Miles to set more ambitious emissions reduction targets on day one as Queensland premier

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Leader will refocus climate debate on job creation in rural areas to remove tension between resource-rich regions and urban south-east, sources say

The incoming Queensland premier, Steven Miles, is expected to announce on Friday that the state will lift its lagging emissions reductions targets, among a number of “day one” initiatives to be unveiled by the new state leadership.

Miles will enter a caucus meeting on Friday as the only candidate for the Labor leadership vacated by the retiring premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk.

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Tropical Cyclone Jasper live update tracker: category 2 storm hits North Qld, more than 14,000 homes lose power, BoM radar track map – latest

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BoM tracker map shows forecast path of category 2 cyclone will hit north of Cairns and Port Douglas on the Queensland coast at about 1pm with heavy rain, 140km/h winds and storm surge predicted. Follow the latest Australia news and weather updates today

Ceasefire ‘can’t be one-sided’

Emergency management minister Murray Watt is also speaking to ABC RN this morning, and was asked about the PM’s joint letter with his New Zealand and Canadian counterparts urging a ceasefire.

[It] shows that we want to work with like-minded countries towards what would be a just and enduring peace. I think the whole world has been pleased to see the release of hostages and the pause in hostilities that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, but what we need to do is move towards a sustainable ceasefire …

I think everyone who watches this conflict unfolds on their television screens, is really disturbed about the loss of life that we’re seeing go on at the moment.

I think that’s the value that a country like Australia can play here by really taking that even-handed approach that does call out the abhorrent behaviour by Hamas, but also as a friend of Israel, calls on them to respect international humanitarian law.

We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.

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