Rural news stories

A Great Southern shire says a policy to limit the number of tree farms will conserve agricultural land ahead of the emissions trading scheme.

The Federal Government's carbon tax plans include a transition to a market-based emissions trading scheme by 2015.

Tree planting is seen as one way of producing carbon offsets.

The Jerramungup Shire President Bruce Trevaskis says the shire has implemented a policy to allow only 30 per cent of farmland to be used for trees.

"The rest of the farmland at the moment we are trying to protect for prime agricultural use," he said.

"Mainly for protection of population and food security and the idea of a monoculture doesn't sit that well with a lot of the community."

Mr Trevaskis says the policy will provide companies with guidelines.

"The larger companies who wished to plant trees have a guideline that meant they couldn't just come in and open slather plant the countryside out to trees," he said.

The Country Womens' Association is lodging a submission with the Reserve Bank asking it not to phase out cheques.

The Australian Payments Clearing Association has begun public consultations into the continued use of cheques in the Australian banking system.

The total number of cheques used in Australia has dropped from 437-million in 2006 to 276-million last year.

In 2007, the RBA reported the average cost of cheques for consumers, merchants and financial institutions was $7.69, compared to $1.21 for credit cards, $0.67 for EFTPOS and $0.55 for cash.

The President of the Uralla branch of the CWA, Karen Dusting, says cheques are vital for a not-for-profit organisation like the CWA.

"A lot of charities rely on everything to be paid by cheque to them because you don't trust your bank account details over the phone and the Internet," she said.

"At the CWA we have a rule when you receive money in you write a receipt, when you pay money out you write a cheque and that's the way it balances."

Individuals and community groups have until July 29 to lodge their submission with the Australian Payments Clearing Associaiton on whether they believe cheques should be abolished.

The Shadow Minister for Broadband, Malcolm Turnbull, says people need to worry less about foreign ownership of Australian farmland, and more about how that land is being used.

He's made the comments during a tour of the Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah and Armidale, in the state's north.

Malcolm Turnbull says foreign companies have owned agricultural land in Australia since European settlement.

But he says it's when the activity on that land threatens Australia's long-term economic future that something has to be done.

"The more important question is not the national identity of who owns the land but what they are doing with it," he said.

"Now, if land is being used in a way that undermines the productivity of that land, that puts at risk the water resources then it's really the use of the land that is the issue."

The Shadow Minister also says Australia's understanding of its groundwater resources is embarrassingly inadequate.

Mr Turnbull says Australia must gather more science on its underground aquifers, or run the risk of destroying them for good.

"The problem is we have not done nearly enough research on it and interfering with ground water resources without really understanding them is like jumping into a pool of water head first without knowing how deep it is," he said.

"It's very, very dangerous and you've got to be prudent and you've got to be careful and you've got to do your homework first."

Authorities have confirmed another horse has died from the hendra virus, this time in far north Queensland.

Thirty other horses have been quarantined on the property west of Cairns, which is owned by Liberal National Party candidate Michael Trout.

Queensland's chief biosecurity officer Dr Jim Thompson says the animal that died yesterday morning has tested positive to the disease.

"This afternoon we've had confirmation of our fourth hendra case in Queensland," he said.

"This case is a little bit different than the others in that it's in north Queensland, west of Cairns.

"The story is that on Sunday a horse was sick and it was visited by a vet, samples were taken, the horse was depressed, wobbly and showed neurological symptoms and the horse died yesterday morning.

"Samples were received at the Biosecurity Queensland laboratories yesterday and testing today has confirmed that it is positive for hendra virus."

The property, Blazing Saddles, runs horse riding and quad bike tours.

Dr Thompson says the situation is in its early days, but Biosecurity Queensland officers will be passing on more details as they come to hand.

"We've only just found out this information this afternoon, so we're moving to the property and quarantining the property this afternoon and we'll make an assessment of the issues at that property," he said.

Queensland's chief medical officer, Dr Jeanette Young, says she is not sure how many people have come into contact with the horse.

"We're working very closely with Biosecurity Queensland and we've got some of our medical staff going out to the property as we speak," she said.

"Until they've been out there and they've spoken to the owner and spoken to the people, they really won't know how many people have been in contact."

In a statement, Mr Trout said his brother and four staff had contact with the animal that died and are undergoing tests.

Spate of outbreaks
If the virus is transferred to humans, the risk of death is very real. Of the seven people who have contracted hendra in the past, four have died.

But with awareness among vets growing, more are regularly wearing masks and gloves to treat sick horses.

"I understand that yes, the vet was fully appropriately kitted in PPE, but again that's very preliminary early information that we need to go and confirm," Dr Young told PM.

It is common for hendra to appear in winter but this year has seen more cases than usual.

There have been three outbreaks in south-east Queensland, two in northern New South Wales and now the first case in the far north in seven years.

Researchers do not know what is causing the increased number of outbreaks and a vaccine is still a year away.

Dr Thompson says there is concern about more incidents occurring.

"Obviously there's events going on at the moment that seem to make it more likely to occur at this time of year than it has in the past," he said.

"We're obviously continuing to monitor those and we'll follow this closely as the others."

He stresses that wherever the virus has appeared, it has been contained.

But with 17 people undergoing tests already and about 40 horses being monitored it has prompted the Queensland and New South Wales state governments to launch a joint taskforce.

The taskforce will hold its first meeting tomorrow.

A gold mining company is planning to do aerial surveys of the Orara Valley and Dorrigo this week as part of a plan to re-open an old mine near Coramba.

Centius Gold is behind the project and says in its heyday the Bobo-Coramba goldfield was known for high-grade quartz, reef-style gold.

The company's managing director John Slade says the primary focus of Centius Gold is exploring old goldfields that date back to the mid-1800s.

"We have a geologist and assistant going around all the old mine sites in the Dorrigo area over the tenement that we hold.

"He's collecting samples from each of the mine sites.

"There's upward of 40 reported in the area, some are still open, some have been closed in but we are sampling those," Mr Slade said.

Meanwhile Clarence Valley conservationists are not happy about the Centius geological survey.

Judith Melville is a community-based environmental campaigner and she says the main concern is about the impact of gold mining on the region's water supplies.

"A lot of it would be in the Nymboida and Orara river catchments.

"Of course both those catchments hold the safety net dams that contribute to the urban water supply for probably roughly around 150,000 people all combined," she said.

Riverland police are investigating the theft of up to 40 sheep from a farm near Swan Reach.

They say the sheep were taken from the property in the Nildottie area some time in the past two months.

Four other cases of sheep theft have been reported this year in the mid-north, the Mallee and the south-east.

Pastoralists say the Federal Agriculture Minister has failed to alleviate their fears that the industry's relationship with Indonesia has been permanently damaged by the live export ban.

Joe Ludwig and his WA counterpart Terry Redman met about 30 pastoralists in Broome today.

Mr Ludwig told producers the cattle trade will be stronger with the Government's new regulations in place.

"What I'm confident of is that the industry has long term prospects," he said.

"It's important if we're going to continue to have a live export industry that we address animal welfare outcomes."

Indonesia issued export permits for 180,000 head of cattle after the ban was lifted.

Jack Burton from Yeeda Station says while diplomatic relations appear to be mended, the industry rift will last longer.

"The damage is done at an industry level," he said.

"In our industry, decisions made in a week can take two lifetimes, two generations to repair."

Mr Burton says having the chance to see the Federal Minister in person gave many producers an opportunity to express how they felt.

"I don't think we could ever be satisfied," he said.

"There was obviously everything from people resigning themselves to the inevitable right through to people who were seriously angry."

Mr Ludwig says he is confident WA's cattle industry will make a full recovery and he wanted to hear producers' views.

"I think it's important that we do get an opportunity to have a dialogue around this issue," he said.

"It's an important issue in WA, clearly it's an important issue for Broome and the pastoralists, and that's why I'm here in person."

The earliest shipment of live cattle from Broome to Indonesia is not expected before August.

Meanwhile, a men's health organisation says it appears cattle producers hit by the ban are too proud to take advantage of hardship payments.

The Federal Government is offering $33 million in compensation to the cattle industry.

Centrelink says 39 people have received the $5,000 business assistance payment across Australia while fewer than 20 have applied for a share of the $3 million income subsidy package.

The WA Men's Health Initiative's Julian Kreig says while most cattleman are probably too embarrassed to ask for help, it is important they do.

"Aussie attitude or pride as an Australian battler stops a lot of people from applying, you know I can get through this, I can do this," he said.

"It might not be much money but it does need to be indicated to Canberra that the damage that's been done by the live cattle export has injured a whole lot of people in our community.

"So the more people that apply, the better the message, if no-one applies, there can be a misread message that this ban didn't actually hurt anybody."

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has launched a 20-year infrastructure plan for the state.

Following last year's growth management summit, the State Government this morning released its draft regionalisation strategy.

The strategy also includes a 20-year master plan to improve the Bruce Highway.

Ms Bligh says the Government's plan focuses on growth in key regional areas in Queensland.

"What this plan does is give everybody a clear line of sight about what they can expect to see in can expect in five years' time, in 10 years' time and in 20 years' time," she said.

Ms Bligh says Queensland is the only state to adopt a 20-year infrastructure plan.

"What we know is that without a plan nothing happens," she said.

"A plan is the first part of any good infrastructure delivery program."

But Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney says the release of the plan is a tactic to divert attention from the carbon tax debate and budget estimates.

"The release of the plan this morning is all about political opportunism for the government," he said.

"It's about suggesting that somehow they're going to suddenly start to do over the next 20 years what they failed to do over the last 20."

A separate 20-year masterplan for the Bruce Highway includes 60 major projects.

The Bruce Highway Upgrade Strategy identifies 340 kilometres of the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Cairns in need of upgrading over the next two decades.

Most of the projects listed in the plan have already been announced by the Queensland Government.

The Government admits the medium to long-term projects are dependent on federal funding.

The Queensland Main Roads Department estimates the works will cost in the order of $20 billion over two decades.

Queensland Mains Roads Minister Craig Wallace denies the document is an attempt to lobby the Federal Government for more money but says the state does need a commitment from both sides of politics.

"It sets in place the ground rules which say to both sides of federal politics make a commitment to the Bruce," he said.

"This is our plan forward - this is a plan we can take to the Federal Government and say 'we need you to fund the Bruce, we need substantial funds for the Bruce and here are the areas that need to be funded'."

Deputy Premier Paul Lucas says while it is a federal responsibility, it is important to have proposed projects ready to go.

"The more products you've got on the shelf the more they can select," he said.

Mr Lucas says the Queensland Government's plan is aimed at improving the Bruce Highway's safety and capacity.

"It is not possible when you're dealing with floodplain after floodplain on the Bruce Highway to make it and guarantee that it will never flood," he said.

"What we can do with a combination of projects, we can increase capacity, we can improve flood immunity and we can improve safety."

The State Government is seeking public feedback on the strategies.

- Reporting by Siobhan Barry, Murray Cornish and Kirsty Nancarrow

Citrus growers say the high Australian dollar and good rainfall in the eastern states have contributed to a glut of oranges.

This year has proved a bumper year for production, with more than 240,000 tonnes of Australian navels expected to be produced, compared with 177,000 last year.

However, growers say they are likely to lose money due to oversupply and the industry body Citrus Australia has launched a campaign to encourage people to eat more oranges.

Orange grower Geoff Fawcett says fruit from the east coast has saturated the WA market.

"The biggest problem is that there's too many oranges in the market and oversupply of any commodity means that the price is depressed for growers," he said.

"Unfortunately we're price takers and whenever there's an oversupply we get production costs or less, so we don't make a profit in a year like this year."

The Pastoralists and Graziers Association (PGA) of Western Australia has attacked the Federal Government's carbon tax, saying it is based on incorrect science.

The PGA's climate change spokesman, Leon Bradley, says he does not believe scientists who say humans are responsible for global warming.

Mr Bradley says the Government's tax is pointless.

"This tax will lower the living standards for every Australian and devastate the power generating sector of the economy for no gain because there has been no global warming for the last 15 years," he said.

Investigations are continuing into a big grass fire on the Monaro in the New South Wales south east.

The fire broke out at the weekend on the Snowy River Way near Dalgety.

It blackened about 450ha and affecting five properties.

Up to 50 sheep are believed to have perished in the fire but Barry Aitcheson from the Monaro Rural Fire Service says authorities are still checking.

"It was wind driven," he said.

"We had severe wind and very erratic wind.

"There've been five landholders affected.

"At this stage it is unconfirmed about stock damage.

"There's certainly been damage to fences but until Rural Lands have a good check round, stock numbers haven't been confirmed."

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) has come under fire after 600 tonnes of what was supposed to be Chinese fertiliser turned out to be dirt.

A dozen farmers from Condobolin in western New South Wales ordered the fertiliser through a supplier listed on a Chinese website of accredited companies.

The shipment arrived in Australia in May, but because the material was carried in bags smaller than 50 kilograms it was not inspected by quarantine officials or the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

It was only when the parcels reached Condobolin that farmers discovered the bags actually contained soil, which is considered contaminated because it could contain seeds or diseases.

Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan says the farmers are now paying storage costs for the dirt until it can be safely disposed of.

He says they have had no help from the Federal Government.

"Both the Australian Government and the Chinese government have decided to look the other way and I have to say I have every intention of making sure that they address this problem," Senator Heffernan said.

"Because it's not only a breach of trade protocols, it's a breach of everything we stand for in terms of keeping Australia clean, green and free."

Senator Heffernan says the quarantine and Customs authorities must be held accountable.

"If you can put 34 containers of earth through Customs and quarantine that's actually supposed to be fertiliser, what else can you put through?" he said.

AQIS says the paperwork on the shipment was also incorrect and the soil should have been inspected.

"Almost all fertiliser used in Australia is imported in bulk by companies which have been profiled and are subject to AQIS controls," it said in a statement.

"This was an unusual consignment and was incorrectly declared as a low risk product. This is why it was not originally inspected by AQIS.

"As soon as AQIS was advised about the consignment, AQIS staff helped recover all the material for re-export back to China.

"When goods are seized by AQIS because they do not meet the import conditions, the importer is required to bear the costs of any treatment, including re-export."

AQIS says future shipments from the exporter will be closely scrutinised.

The New South Wales Farmers' Association says relying on a medical retrieval helicopter to respond from Sydney or Canberra is putting lives in the state's central west at risk.

The Orange City Council is leading a push for the state government to extend the operating hours of the region's emergency helicopter to 24 hours a day.

The association's president, Charles Armstrong, says it will support the council.

He says a central emergency service would be able to reach rural patients quicker, which could save lives.

"From Dubbo west, you've got the Royal Flying Doctor Service, this would be ideal to have Orange basically central and then Sydney in the east," he said.

"So from the point of view of isolation and access it's incredibly important for farmers."

Mr Armstrong says an Orange-based medical crew would be best positioned to respond to emergencies and would have a better understanding of the needs of rural patients.

"Where time is so often critical in those sorts of condition to wait for someone from Sydney or Canberra to get there and even be familiar with the surrounds is going to put lives at risk," he said.

The Blayney Health Council in central western New South Wales says it is confident a new doctor will be working in the town within a few months.

Blayney hospital's emergency department has been without an on-call doctor since last year, and the town's two remaining general practitioners are unwilling to take up the position.

The chairwoman of the health council, Audrey Hardman, says it has received at least two expressions of interest from doctors who want to move to the town.

She says applications have closed and preparations have started to accommodate the new doctor.

"Those arrangements are already well in hand, they've been working towards this for a while and the accommodation, consulting room and so forth is being prepared there at the present moment," she said.

"We're extremely optimistic that it will happen."

Ambulances currently take patients directly to Bathurst, and it is hoped they will no longer have to bypass the Blayney hospital when the new doctor starts.

Ms Hardman says the new doctor will improve the hospital's capacity to deal with emergencies.

"He will be servicing the emergency department while he is doing surgery.

"Afterwards, what we hope will happen is people will still come to Blayney, and the less important cases will be treated there by the registered nurse and the more serious cases, naturally, will be bypassing us," she said.

The proponent of a large steel plant project in Gladstone in central Queensland says the Federal Government's carbon tax will not have a major economic impact on its plans.

Boulder Steel wants to build Australia's first export steel making facility to sell to Asian markets.

General manager Carl Moser says the carbon tax will have some impacts but the company is on track to start producing in 2014.

"The first earthworks basically are planned for 2012 for the first [and] second quarter, then stage one would be finished in 2014," he said.

"Then we actually have the first hot metal pour and stage two will be finished in 2017."