Peter Hunt

WRL blows out to $1.53 billion

The high cost of doing business in Victoria has taken its toll on Bulla Dairy Foods, which this week made 31 of its staff redundant.

A survey of 2115 CFA volunteers has revealed record levels of dissatisfaction with the Victorian government’s funding of fire stations and ageing tanker fleet.

VicGrid has expanded the renewable energy zones where the Allan government wants solar, battery and wind developments to 1.8 million hectares.

Agriculture Victoria is about to lose 31 staff engaged in pest and weed control, under another round of Allan government staff cuts.

Outdoor recreation groups have won their battle to stop 300,000ha of Victoria’s Central Highlands state forest being turned into a new Great Forest National Park.

The NSW government’s $25m bid to prevent a repeat of the 2018-19 and 2023 Darling River fish kills by building a permanent weir at Menindee, is instead being pumped into business cases, strategic planning and governance models.

A global alliance of animal welfare groups has blamed bird flu outbreaks on the caged egg industry, despite outbreaks being linked to wild birds interacting with free-range poultry.

Outdoor Recreation Minister Steve Dimopoulos and the Victorian Fisheries Authority are pouring funds into promotional events while dumping 33 fisheries inspectors position across the state to find budget savings.

Renewable energy generators’ ability to squeeze more revenue out of the wholesale electricity market has come to a standstill, sitting at just 30 per cent for the past three years.

Landlords, holiday home owners and even farmers renting houses to staff will have to pay at least twice as much in fixed emergency services tax charges on these properties from July 1 next year.

Half Victoria’s wind turbines have been built without automatic fire suppression systems, according to the state’s energy safety regulator.

The Victorian Government plans to undertake maintenance on just 1.6 per cent of the state’s dilapidated regional road network in the new financial year.

The Victorian Government has finally joined other states allowing cattle producers to use virtual fencing.

The dairy processing giants that dominate the Australian industry paid less than 0.25 per cent income tax on $38 billion of earnings over five years.

A showdown is looming in Australia’s dairy sector as global giant Lactalis and locally-listed Bega Cheese position themselves to acquire Fonterra’s Australian operations.

The NSW Government has announced virtual stock fencing will be legalised, providing landholders with a new effective way of controlling cattle.

Farmers, fishers and hunters left ‘hanging’

Every one of the avian influenza outbreaks to hit Australia since 2012 started when free-range poultry picked up the virus from wild birds, according to state government incident reports.

The debt-ridden Allan Government wants to force farmers to “periodically” update their property identification code details and impose a fee as part of the process.