Category Archives: Rural Australia

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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Cyclone Jasper intensifies to category 2 as thousands lose power in far north Queensland

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BoM issues warnings as radar forecasts intense rain, destructive winds and possible flash flooding in parts of Queensland

Tropical Cyclone Jasper has intensified into a category 2 system and is producing damaging wind gusts that will increase as it continues to approach the north Queensland coast.

The cyclone, which was situated 125km off the coast of Cairns on Wednesday afternoon, has left thousands of homes without power and caused heavy rain and strong winds in the state’s far north.

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Australia news live: Daniel Andrews fires up over ‘Dictator Dan’ moniker; festival-goers warned about heatwave conditions

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Former Victorian premier gives first interview after resignation, saying ‘the haters hate and the rest vote Labor’. Follow the day’s news live

James Ashby to stand for One Nation in Queensland seat

James Ashby, the chief of staff to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, will stand for the party in the seat of Keppel at next year’s Queensland state election, AAP reports.

The Nationals are dead in Queensland’s parliament while the Liberals are lurching further left in their attempts to secure inner-Brisbane seats.

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Heavy rainfalls in Queensland bring cattle prices back up to ‘expected’ levels

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‘The dry weather probably panicked a lot of people who flooded the markets with cattle, but now things are changing, says one breeder

Between a tangle of steel pens at the Silverdale sale yards an hour west of Brisbane, farmers and prospective buyers listened to the drone of an auctioneer as cattle bidding got under way.

Rebounding cattle and sheep prices have them feeling more optimistic after heavy rain across eastern Australian replenished parched pastures and eased fears of a severe drought driven by El Niño.

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Queensland introduces Australian-first law to allow midwives and nurses to prescribe abortion pills

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Exclusive: Legislation hailed as big step towards providing fair access to terminations across state

Queensland will become Australia’s first jurisdiction to introduce a law to allow nurses and midwives to dispense pregnancy termination medication in a move expected to improve access in the state’s “huge abortion deserts”.

In August the Therapeutic Goods Administration scrapped restrictions on the prescription of medical abortion pills, known as MS-2 Step, to be used in the early stages of pregnancy. But it is up to individual jurisdictions to determine the specific healthcare practitioner and the appropriate qualifications for prescribing.

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Climate protesters arrested at Port of Newcastle blockade – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

‘The biggest transformation in our country’s history’

Chris Bowen has been talking about Labor’s plans for reducing emissions, but he’s pressed on the fact that the government has been approving new coalmines and gas projects, which add to global emissions.

The way I see this, David, you can enter into a discussion with your international counterparts which we are doing which is us saying to them, “We will continue to be a reliable energy supplier but we want to work with you on your decarbonisation because we have advantages that you don’t have. We can provide renewable energy.” That is an important conversation to have.

Frankly the approach of others is more a slogan than a policy. We are making the biggest transformation in our country’s history and that involves both domestic policies and strong international engagements, as I will be doing over the next couple of weeks and we have been doing all the way through.

It will be treated in the budget statement of risks and liabilities in the normal fashion. But this is the right policy for the right times to ensure emissions come down and reliability goes up.

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‘Urgent’ calls for biosecurity funding after fire ants cross Queensland border into NSW

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Authorities working to chemically eradicate three nests after ‘one of world’s worst super pests’ found in South Murwillumbah

Authorities are rushing to contain the spread of fire ants after the invasive species crossed the Queensland border into New South Wales for the first time since the infestation began in 2001.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries confirmed on Saturday that three red imported fire ant nests had been found in South Murwillumbah, 13km from the Queensland border in the state’s north-east.

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Toowoomba council votes for moratorium on coal seam gas projects

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Council becomes sixth in Queensland to oppose development of new wells after farmer concerns about sinking soil and water contamination

The largest council in Queensland’s Darling Downs region has called on the state government to put a moratorium on new coal seam gas projects, after local farmers raised concerns about subsidence.

The Toowoomba regional council on Tuesday unanimously passed the motion that requested a temporary prohibition, after discussing a submission to the state government’s proposed amendments to the Regional Planning Interests Act.

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‘Straight out of Utopia’: healthcare workers denounce $558m expansion of Albury base hospital

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NSW and Victoria government documents show support for push by doctors to combine the Albury and Wodonga hospitals into one new facility – but that’s not what was announced

A $558m redevelopment of Albury Base hospital jointly proposed by the New South Wales and Victorian state governments has outraged healthcare workers and community groups, who claim both governments misled them during a years-long consultation.

“If I was going to design a system to hide the dismal plans they’ve provided us, I’d design it exactly the way they’ve done it,” says Michelle Cowan from local community group Better Border Health. “These are the oldest tricks in the book. It’s the most cynical exercise so they can say they’ve ticked the consultation box.”

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‘We deserve our fair share’: state Labor leaders clash with federal government over infrastructure plan

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Albanese government move to make states pay at least 50% of new infrastructure project bills receives pushback from premiers

State Labor leaders are at odds with the Albanese government over its plan to split the cost of building nationally significant infrastructure.

On Tuesday, the federal minister for infrastructure and transport, Catherine King, announced it would no longer be “the default” for the federal government to pick up the bulk of the tab for new roads, rail and other major projects.

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Qld fires: state will ‘continue to burn’ without rain, as dozens of bushfires flare up across Queensland

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Rural firefighters’ chief says Queensland in ‘survival mode’ amid dry weather, with 53 homes destroyed by fire in the Western Downs

Queensland is in “survival mode” as dozens of bushfires burn across the state and there is no rain on the horizon, the head of the volunteer firefighters association has said.

Firefighters have contained a bushfire at Tara, on the Western Downs four hours west of Brisbane, that destroyed 53 homes and claimed two lives. But fires have flared up to the north and south, with emergency warnings in place on Wednesday for a fire between Warwick and Stanthorpe on the Southern Downs.

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Poorer Australian regions lose out in ‘flawed’ allocation of doctors, GP body says

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System of identifying shortages leads to skewing of resources towards wealthier areas, according to Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

Several poor rural regions are being disadvantaged by the way the Australian government identifies significant doctor shortages, while some wealthy areas are being classified as needing extra resources.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has argued that the system – which determines which regions need additional resources – is flawed and is exacerbating rural GP workforce shortages.

Doctors trained overseas are crucial to easing GP shortages across the country because for their first 10 years in Australia they must work in areas of need, known as a distribution priority area, to access Medicare benefits.

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Abattoirs overwhelmed as farmers offload livestock before big dry begins

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Growth in herd sizes and declaration of El Niño push industry into ‘somewhat of a panic’

Wait times for farmers seeking to offload livestock to feedlots and abattoirs are increasing from weeks to months in some areas, putting further strain on producers facing a grim summer outlook.

A rapid shift to drier conditions, low commodity prices and labour constraints have created the “perfect storm” in Australia’s meat processing supply chains, according to the industry.

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‘We are vulnerable’: demand for drought aid rises as El Niño takes hold in Queensland

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Rural Aid charity says requests for mental health support, financial counselling and emergency livestock feed doubles in a month

Demand for emergency rural aid is rising as farmers face a dry and unproductive summer ahead.

The latest Australian agricultural seasonal outlook forecasts farm incomes will plummet by 41% on average this financial year.

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Australian farm incomes to be squeezed as prices dive and fears of a dry summer loom

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Abares report forecasts average broadacre farm incomes to plummet by 41% this financial year, with livestock sector hit particularly hard

Drier conditions combined with lower commodity prices and smaller crops are expected to reduce broadacre farm incomes by 41% on average this financial year, according to the latest Australian agricultural seasonal outlook.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics and Sciences (Abares) forecasts average cash incomes to fall to $197,000 per broadacre farm in 2023–24, with beef cattle and sheep farms expected to be hit particularly hard.

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ACCC delays decision on Coles buying milk processing plants from Saputo

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Dairy farmers warn the deal could reduce competition and lead to lower prices for producers

The Australian consumer watchdog has delayed its decision on the acquisition by supermarket giant Coles of two major milk processing facilities, which dairy farmers warn would further reduce competition and lower milk prices.

In April, Coles announced it had purchased two fresh milk processing plants from dairy processor Saputo for $105m, subject to regulatory approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

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‘Determined not to repeat mistakes’: NSW government swears off regional school mergers

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Labor has already announced the demerger of two ‘super schools’, accusing the previous Coalition government of ‘making a mess’

The New South Wales government has suggested it will not merge any further public schools in regional areas after concerns the so-called “super schools” are failing to achieve improved outcomes.

Super schools have become more common in the past decade as state governments try to improve resource efficiency and boost academic performance at underperforming public schools.

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Australia remains free of lumpy skin disease despite Indonesia blocking cattle imports, officials say

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Indonesia imposes strict testing conditions on cattle from three major export ports after claiming infectious disease detected in eight cattle

The Australian government has denied suggestions that a highly infectious livestock disease has been detected in the country, after the Indonesian government moved to block live exports of cattle from northern Australia.

On Sunday, Indonesian officials notified their Australian counterparts they had detected eight cases of lumpy skin disease in cattle imported from Australia.

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