WITH FIRES BURNING up the Tasmanian World Heritage highlands; ‘one-in-a- hundred-year’ rainfall stubbornly sticking to Townsville causing widespread flooding to homes, nearby dying reefs; unprecedented heat-waves in parts of south-eastern Australia — including right here in the capital region — the Darling River vomiting dead fish; and farmers everywhere more
Author: Maria Taylor
National Party: hold over water, land and wildlife
What have they done? By Maria Taylor. A WILDLIFE TRAGEDY and regional community water debacle with huge fish kills in a depleted river system, the Barwon–Darling, in recent weeks has shone the spotlight squarely on the NSW National Party. Few people realise the extent of the party’s decision-making power over public resources
Progressive politics and a new deal
AS WE COME to the end of The District Bulletin’s first year of transformation into a great-looking website — focusing on environment, the natural world and sustainable living; as well as regional life and politics; culture, wellness and science; plus great reporting from ‘around the web’ — I have been
Stadium fight heats up
NEW NSW OPPOSITION leader Michael Daley wasted no time before visiting the regions and stopped in Queanbeyan on a stormy Wednesday at the end of November. He was accompanied by Monaro Labor candidate Bryce Wilson. The Labor mood was equally stormy — targeted at the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government’s plans to knock down
Caring
Maria Taylor visits two local heros of animal medicine and welfare in south-east NSW in this excerpt from her forthcoming book. THERE ARE A lot of kangaroos in my neighourhood on the fringes of the national capital. The countryside is rural residential — a mix of hobby-block farming, people who feed
QPRC okays $100,000 special interest consultancy
Counting Virtual Kangaroos, questions asked …
... of NSW Department of Primary Industries and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service — still awaiting answers What measures do you at National Parks (NP) as the state guardians of the wildlife/protected native species employ to: Determine actual need to shoot kangaroos. What needs to be specified and what species are targeted? Can
Counting virtual kangaroos
How do they get those numbers? “ This could be the greatest wildlife swindle in scientific history… In 2011, I reviewed government data finding that kangaroos are in serious long-term decline in New South Wales. I submitted exhaustive scientific evidence detailing critical errors in government population surveys; flaws in the harvest
NSW government bid for rural support with community-wide baiting, shooting
IN NSW, UNDER the umbrella of the National Party portfolio of Primary Industries (Niall Blair, Minister) the Local Land Services agency — which reaches out to all landholders — is the primary promoter of lethal management of animals considered pests by farmers. Besides targeting (undifferentiated) wild dogs that include dingoes as
Pork Baril-aro — misleading Parliament and handouts to National Party mates?
DEPUTY PREMIER AND National Party Member for Monaro, John Barilaro, has again been answering questions about government funding handouts to Coalition mates, days after being accused of misleading parliament on a similar case. With a reputation for campaigning via photo opportunities as he hands government checks to some organisations, it did not