Category Archives: Rural Australia

Bridget McKenzie and Mark Coulton reject suggestion they ‘trespassed’ at inland rail project

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Nationals pair say they were at a level crossing on a public road when they visited the rail corridor without ministerial permission

Nationals MP Mark Coulton and senator Bridget McKenzie have angrily rejected suggestions they may have trespassed by visiting the inland rail project near Narromine after permission to do so was denied.

Coulton told Guardian Australia that the issue, pursued by Labor in Senate estimates, was “absolute complete bullshit”, backing McKenzie’s account the pair were at a level crossing on a public road when they visited the rail without the minister’s permission.

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Nationals push for $10m fines and ability to break up Coles and Woolworths if they abuse market power

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Exclusive: David Littleproud says former Coalition government was ‘too slow’ on compulsory grocery code of conduct

David Littleproud has offered to help Labor bolster competition law protections for farmers and suppliers in a bid to prevent potential abuses of market power by Australia’s big supermarkets.

The Nationals leader proposes making the grocery code of conduct compulsory, boosting penalties to a “punitive” $10m maximum and adding powers to break up grocery giants in the event of misconduct.

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NSW renewable energy zones up to two years behind schedule

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‘We are not going to allow the lights to go off,’ state energy minister Penny Sharpe vows

New South Wales’ two main renewable energy zones will be delayed for as long as two years and cost more to build with landholder opposition to new transmission lines partly to blame, the energy minister, Penny Sharpe, has said.

The Minns government briefed journalists about its network infrastructure strategy on Wednesday, revealing that the central-west Orana zone would not hit its “energisation date” until 2027-28, compared with an initial 2025 target. Similarly, the New England zone will now start in 2029 compared with an initial 2027 goal.

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Opposition leader says no federal intervention needed – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Albanese added he is concerned about Assange’s mental health.

There was a court decision here in the United Kingdom that was then overturned on appeal that went to Mr Assange’s health, as well, and I am concerned for him.

It’s frustrating. I share the frustration. I can’t do more than make very clear what my position is.

… I think that the Assange case needs to be looked at in terms of what occurred, what the allegations are, and whether the time effectively that has been served already is in excess of what would be reasonable if it were proved that this had occurred.

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Water testing after the Menindee fish kill shows a ‘chronically sick’ river

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New test results from the Darling-Baaka River show the system is ‘supercharged with nutrients’, expert says

Water testing results from Darling-Baaka River at Menindee indicate the river is “chronically sick” and raises concerns about the overall health of the Murray-Darling Basin, experts say.

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) released the second round of test results days after the state government declared it would treat the deaths of millions of fish at Menindee in far-west NSW as a “pollution incident”.

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Thieves in Queensland ripping copper from tractors amid high prices, farmers say

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Police in Western Downs acknowledge the thefts are likely the work of organised groups

Thieves in regional Queensland are stealing copper wiring from farm equipment as part of a rise in rural crime which the agriculture lobby says appears to be the work of organised groups, not just individuals.

Farmers in the Western Downs region have reported a rise in thefts, particularly of copper. They’re working with police and local government to try to catch the perpetrators.

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Australia’s farmers call for backup plan after GPS tractor-steering system fails

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A satellite that issues a correction signal to most Australian farm machinery went down this week, leaving farmers in the lurch

Mobile internet coverage could help farmers whose tractors stalled due to a satellite outage this week – but phone coverage is so patchy in regional Australia that many will remain stalled.

The British-owned Inmarsat I-4 F1 satellite, which supports the GPS systems in agricultural machinery from brands including Ag Leader, Case, John Deere, and Trimble in the Asia-Pacific, was down for 12 hours this week, causing a flurry of concerned calls from Australian farmers. Most modern tractors rely on GPS for automatic steering. The satellite enables guided accuracy and self-drive within two centimetres for tasks such as sowing crops.

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Emily Middleton is a journalist in Gilgandra, NSW

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Inland rail review supports concerns raised by regional communities

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Wagga Wagga and other towns on the inland rail route have been asking for a bypass and say that is supported by Dr Kerry Schott’s review

Communities along the inland rail have welcomed Dr Kerry Schott’s damning review into the National party’s key infrastructure project, saying they have felt dismissed for years over concerns around the route selection, traffic disruption and noise.

Schott’s long-awaited report found “astonishing” cost blowouts in the 1,700km line, now estimated to cost more than $31bn.

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Time is a traveller: the Tenterfield Saddler is up for sale

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Building which inspired Peter Allen’s 1972 hit is up for sale, amid calls for the government to step in and preserve it as a cultural destination

The Tenterfield Saddler, immortalised by Peter Allen, is up for sale, and fans of the Australian songwriter are calling for government intervention to preserve its history.

This modest, two-room building was raised in hand-cut local blue granite, timber and tin on the high street of the northern New South Wales town in 1870. Word was that bush poet AB ‘Banjo’ Paterson was a regular customer.

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Coal seam gas waste plan risks washing ‘5m tonnes of salt into the Murray-Darling Basin’

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Critics say a proposal to dispose of salt from waste brine by burying it in lined landfill is ‘not a long-term solution’

Local landholders and advocacy groups in southern Queensland have criticised the state government’s plans to store millions of tonnes of coal seam gas waste in lined landfills, saying it risks contaminating the Murray-Darlin Basin.

They have also questioned the integrity of the government’s long-awaited waste management action plan for coal seam gas brine, saying it relies on research from oil and gas lobby group the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) and the University of Queensland Centre for Natural Gas, whose donors include Arrow Energy, Australia Pacific LNGand Santos.

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‘Regional’ visa pushed by Coalition MPs actually allows migrants to move to cities

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Exclusive: Sussan Ley, Dan Tehan and Anne Ruston claim win for rural Australia over decision to speed up processing of 887 visa, but it lets holders choose where to live, including cities

Liberal frontbenchers Sussan Ley, Dan Tehan and Anne Ruston publicly lobbied the government for priority processing of a particular type of visa on the grounds it would allow migrants to settle in regional areas – but in fact the visa allows applicants to settle permanently in cities.

For months, the trio have complained that thousands of key workers, including in healthcare, were “being unfairly denied prioritisation” of their skilled regional visas, “effectively encouraging skilled workers to move to the city”.

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‘Astonishing’: cost of Inland Rail doubles to $30bn as review savages Coalition over project

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Dr Kerry Schott warns she is not confident her assessment captures the full extent of cost blowouts and delays

The predicted price tag of the Inland Rail megaproject has almost doubled in two years to more than $30bn, as an independent review savages the former Coalition government’s handling of the plan.

In her independent review of the Inland Rail, commissioned by the Albanese government last year and released on Thursday, Dr Kerry Schott also flagged further delivery delays of at least four years.

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Australia’s aquaculture industry looks beyond fishmeal to improve sustainability

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Bottom trawling associated with the feed product depletes oceans more than wild-catch fishing, expert says

Australia’s growing aquaculture industry is trying to end its reliance on fishmeal in order to become more sustainable.

Fish farms have traditionally been reliant on fishmeal, a feed made from small fish such as anchovies which is often fished unsustainably in developing countries. The practice has jeopardised the industry’s environmental credentials, says Ian Urbania, a pulitzer prize-winning journalist and founder of the non-profit journalism organisation The Outlaw Ocean Project.

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NSW swelters in record heat as firefighters battle blazes

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Wagga Wagga experiences its hottest March weather yet, breaking a previous high set in 1983

Inland New South Wales sweltered through record-breaking March temperatures on Sunday as fires burned across the state.

While inner Sydney remained relatively cool – the mercury peaked at 28.9C, thanks to a sea breeze – the state’s western districts scorched, with temperatures above 42C in Bourke, Cobar and Brewarrina.

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Australia bucking OECD trend with city dwellers still moving to the country

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Latest statistics show migration from metro areas is still higher than pre-pandemic levels

Australia’s shift towards the regions is continuing, with new figures showing an increase in the number of city dwellers moving out and a lift in the number of regional residents moving to smaller centres.

According to the latest Regional Movers Index, a quarterly report by the Regional Australia Institute and Commonwealth Bank, net “capital to regional” migration was up 16% on pre-Covid levels despite a small uptick in regional Australians returning to cities.

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‘A heightened euphoria’: the Australian swimmer taking on the ice mile

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Peta Bradley won bronze at the ice swimming world championships after training in a NSW country dam

Covid lockdowns and the closure of the local pool forced a swim team in Armidale, New South Wales, to get creative – and now one of them has broken the Australian record for ice swimming and won bronze at the world championships.

Peta Bradley, 27, placed third in her age group for the 500m freestyle at the recent world championships of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) in Samoens, France, and placed ninth overall, setting an Australian record of 07.33.85. She set another Australian record by placing fourth in her age group in the 1,000m, and also came fourth in the 50m butterfly.

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Two men trapped underground at outback Queensland mine site found dead

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A search located the bodies of miners Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis who went missing on Wednesday after plunging into a void in the remote Dugald River zinc mine near Cloncurry

The two men trapped 125 metres underground at a north-west Queensland mine have been found dead.

Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis went missing on Wednesday in the remote Dugald River zinc mine, near Cloncurry after their ute fell into a stope, a large void that contains the ore being mined, and became trapped at a depth of about 125 metres underground.

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Australia politics live: Philip Lowe says RBA ‘still unsure’ how high interest rates will go during Senate estimates grilling

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RBA boss tells Senate estimates about rationale for rate rises as Adam Bandt demands end to new coal and gas projects. Follow live

Around and around we go …

So CBA shareholders are to get a (fully franked) dividend of $2.10 for each of their share – 20% more than the last time dividends were sent out.

We reported strong financial and operational performance in our financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2022. Our cash net profit after tax of $5,153 million reflects the Bank’s customer focus and disciplined strategic execution. Our continued balance sheet strength and capital position creates flexibility to support our customers and manage potential economic headwinds, while delivering sustainable returns to shareholders. A fully franked interim dividend of $2.10 per share was determined, an increase of 20% on 1H22, driven by organic capital generation and a reduction in share count from share buy-backs. Despite the current uncertainty, your Board and management feel optimistic for the future and are committed to delivering for our customers and for you, our shareholders

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NSW irrigator hit with $350,000 fine for water theft offences

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Moree Plains company found guilty of knowingly taking water with faulty metering equipment for crops such as cotton

A Moree Plains irrigator has been ordered to pay a record $350,000 in fines after pleading guilty to knowingly taking water, using an under-recording meter system and constructing an unlawful dam.

It is the first time a “tier one” offence has been successfully prosecuted by the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).

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‘Red flags’ raised over scheme to allow families of Pacific Island workers to join them in Australia

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Families who relocate under federal scheme would not have access to Medicare, or relocation or housing costs, making move unviable for many, experts warn

Guest workers from Pacific Island countries will soon be able to relocate their families to Australia, but there are already concerns over “red flags” in the current design of the scheme that may make it unviable.

The federal scheme will pilot bringing up to 200 families on one- to four-year contracts starting this year, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. This comes after years of the workers – who fill the gaps in Australia’s agriculture, meat-works and aged care workforces under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme – being separated from their families.

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