The Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party put on the table in Parliament a drought package that would provide real support to farmers and farming communities, disappointingly the Government voted against supporting them.

The SFF drought package includes immediate cash grants, to allow creditors to be paid, cash rebates for local government rates, transitioning legacy loans to zero or low interest loans, the establishment of a re-sowing and re-stocking grant and providing financial support for employers to retain employees on farm and in local businesses.

Cessnock MP and shadow minister for water Clayton Barr was in Moree last week as part of a trip across the region to gain a better understanding of the water situation.

Starting at Dubbo, then moving on to Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett, Moree on Friday and then Narrabri, Mr Barr wanted to get on the ground and talk to affected people and groups.

"I've only been the shadow minister for water for about six weeks now and I've been trying to read through a whole bunch of reports but for me, the best way to learn was to come and talk to people and see things and be shown how it's working and how it's failing and things like that," Mr Barr said.

He met with the Gwydir Valley Irrigators on Friday as well as local farmer and irrigator to hear their experiences with the low water.

"It's part drought, it's part water sharing, and it's a significant part around priorities of what's most important and what needs to come first, second and third and getting that balance right," he said.

Mr Barr said the reports he has read are mostly facts and figures but they don't detail the social impact on communities, with people being forced to leave town because of the lack of water and therefore lack of work.

"For example, at Walgett they were concerned about losing all of their tradesmen....because the rest of the community didn't have much work so there wasn't much money around," he said.

"So people weren't spending money or doing renovations or building new buildings and improvements, so the tradies didn't have any work but they needed to feed their families.

"They've had to move, and often it's younger families, which then drags kids out of schools so then your school numbers drop.

"That's something that hasn't been captured in any of the reports about water but it's a really important social consequence of the absence of water.

"Hearing stories like that has been fantastic in framing my understanding of how the absence of water has impacted the communities."

While Mr Barr has visited Moree and other towns across the region, it's his first visit in his new role as shadow minister for water, and he said it has been a fantastic experience.

He wants to make it clear that he nor anyone in parliament is anti-irrigation, but it's about coming up with a good strategy in regards to the distribution of water.

"While we can't do anything about rain falling out of the sky and drought conditions we can do something about the rules about what happens to the water once it lands," Mr Barr said.

"I think that's where the really important focus needs to be right now because we don't know when it's going to rain but when it does rain we have to make sure the water goes where it needs to go."

He said most of the reports he's read heavily criticise the government while also making recommendations from scientists, commissioners and experts in the area about what the government should do.

He is yet to see anything that proves those recommendations aren't the right way to go.

"They will cause a bit of pain and grief for some people in terms of their business model and farming models but the benefits to society, environments and in other ways will be significant," Mr Barr said.

"But I would hate to make judgmen

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton late last week rounded on the government for granting the status of "critical state significant infrastructure" to a proposed $589 million LNG import project in Newcastlewhich will now enjoy a streamlined approvals process.

The Berejiklian government has already given the green light for a separate, $250 million LNG import terminal at Port Kembla, backed by mining billionaire Andrew Forrest.

The plans for the two import terminals are racing ahead as Santos's $3 billion Narrabri coal seam gas project, which could supply up to half NSW's gas requirements, remains locked in the state government's approvals process.

But Mr Stokes said the Narrabri project has "big potential impacts" on the environment, and that in any case the state is "best served by a competitive market with multiple sources".

Spectacular gowns reflecting the landscape and other creative works make up an exhibition that shines a light on the talent of female artists in western NSW.

Women Out Front is a culmination of the work Signal Creative and Outback Arts have been doing with women in Warren and Walgett in the past two years. 

• READ ALSO: The philosophy behind a business duo's 20-year milestone

The exhibition features the 'Mother Nature Gown', the 'Yellow Belly Gown' and others, printed photos and textiles, as well as a large collaborative wall hanging.

• READ ALSO: Unconditional love: Walkom family prepare to farewell Nana Bet

It opened in Coonamble on Thursday, with a dance performance in the street.

"For many of the young artists, it's the first time their work has toured and been a part of a big collaborative exhibition and I'm proud to be a part of supporting these amazing young women," Signal Creative co-director Caroline Wallace said.

The Women Out Front program has already featured local performances from the young women at Warren Central School of the movement piece Drylands Wetlands, comprising sounds of the Tiger Bay Wetlands and original costume and set pieces made by the students inspired by the wetlands.

In Walgett, River Stories, created by the Sista Speak students, was exhibited in the Walgett Library as well as online.

Signal Creative co-director Emma Hoy said: "It's been an incredible two years working on Women Out Front with Outback Arts, we can't wait to see what these exciting new artists come up with next."

Walgett residents have a supermarket again after a temporary outlet opened its doors on Tuesday.

The town's permanent IGA was destroyed by fire in June, which left Walgett without a supermarket for the second time in six years.

Western NSW Minister Adam Marshall said the supermarket will resume its normal 8:30am-6pm trading hours after a successful trial run on the weekend.

As every year passes, trends involving fitness training change. And as 2019 continues it is clear that a new set of fitness training trends are set to explode.

People who never would have dared to say the word 'fitness' are now jumping onboard thanks to the following exciting fitness trends of 2019.

Imagine you’re sitting on a beautiful tropical beach right now, cold drink in your hand.

Now, what’s stopping you from making that dream become a reality?

Luckily for you, the research has been done, and here are five money-saving hacks so simple you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing them already.

You’ll be walking along the beach in no time with these...

This drought is breaking records, pushing families and communities to the brink − and it’s getting worse.

Across NSW, it’s drier than many have seen in their lifetimes. Farms that have never in their hundred-plus year history destocked, have sold all their livestock.

Farmers that had enough hay in storage for years of drought have used their last bale.

Farmers that have never complained, have gotten on with the job, have put food on tables across the world − are asking for assistance.

Gloucester's Lyn Stewart had a niggling interest in researching her family history.

Like many Australians, her family tree has a range of convicted criminals, which was partly what first piqued her interest. But it was chasing down that tale of her great great grandmother, Margaret Murphy which inspired her to write a book.

She started researching her relative by first acquiring Margaret's death certificate as it provided details of her date of death, the date and location of her birth, and the names of her parents.

Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party MP, Roy Butler is calling on the NSW Government to provide immediate rates relief funding to local government. 
 “Rates relief funding to local government would greatly assist in reducing the financial pressure on our rural and regional communities,” Mr Butler said.
Across western NSW towns and communities are struggling through drought and as a result families and businesses are experiencing extreme financial pressure. 

Rural Financial Counsellors are the link between drought stricken farmers and government support.

There is an alarming rate of turnover and vacancies within these financial counselling positions that would appear to be due to the under resourcing and lack of support for these crucial roles.

Currently Rural Financial Counsellors are effectively hosted by the State Government and funded by the Commonwealth Government, this arrangement has varied over the life of this important service.

Local Land Services Newsletter is packed with information and Services available across the region. Workshops and help is available for those struggling with the dry times. Feel free to reach out to the new staff in Narrabri, have a read of the Newsletter for items that just might help. 

Following the devasting fire which destroyed the Walgett IGA supermarket earlier today, plans are well in place to ensure that the supply of basic food and necessities in Walgett.
Following a Local Emergency Committee planning meeting this afternoon, a working party has established the possibility of temporary grocery store site which we hoped to be confirmed in the coming days. Other foods outlets Walgett Newsagency, Inland Petroleum, Woodhams Petroleum and Café 64, have all arranged for additional supply of milk and bread and other basic essentials.
The Walgett pharmacy is also making arrangements for the additional infant supplies (baby formula, food and nappies).
While free bottled water will be available from WAMS on Thursday and Friday between the hours of 9am – 12pm.

FIRE AT WALGETT SUPERMARKET

A fire has broken out at the local supermarket in Walgett.

Emergency services were called to the IGA on Fox Street in Walgett after 8.30 this morning.

Three ambulance crews attended the scene.

No patients have required treatment at this stage.

Fire and Rescue are managing the scene.

It's the second time the building has been damaged by fire after it was destroyed in 2013.

UPDATE: 

The Department of Education says the primary school campus, Walgett Community College, has not been evacuated, despite claims in the community.

The department says students have either been taken home by their parents or moved to a safer area of the school.

Welcome to the Winter edition of CRDC's Spotlight magazine! 

In this edition:

• Exercise Blueprint: focusing on biosecurity preparedness
• Cotton & grains collaborating on Helicoverpa control
• Girls to the front: celebrating women in cotton and science

... plus much more!

Spotlight will be landing in the mailboxes of our subscribers this week: the first week of winter.

Birdwatching can be a compulsive pastime, a never-ending quest to see more species and add to a lifetime list.

Key Points
A study reveals birdwatchers generated an economic boom when they travelled to see the rare bird in 2017
Researchers say the study highlights the potential of bird tourism, especially around rare and vagrant birds
Work is now underway to create a bird trail in the lower Hunter Valley, NSW, to encourage tourism
It drives many devoted twitchers to travel long distances in search of unusual and hard-to-spot birds.

When a rare Alaskan shorebird, the Aleutian tern, was spotted for the first time in Australia in late 2017, hundreds of people travelled to catch a glimpse of the elusive species.

The Aleutian tern breeds in Alaska and eastern Siberia and usually spends the southern summer in the North Pacific and parts of Indonesia, so its appearance on a sandbar, off the small New South Wales mid-north coastal town of Old Bar, came as a surprise.

"There was the tufted duck in Melbourne in 2019, there was a black-headed gull in the Northern Territory, there was Australia's first collared pratincole in Perth, there was the grey-headed lapwing in Burren Junction, near Wee Waa … there's been heaps," Mr Callaghan said.

As part of our commitment to supporting local communities, NSW Fair Trading invites you or a member of your association to attend a free

‘Running an Association’ and ‘Role of the Committee’ Webinar Modules.   

REBEL OF THE RIDGE WINS IN PARIS

Lightning Ridge has taken centre stage in Paris, with entrepreneur Rebel Black taking out judges award in the women in tech challenge.

Black is the founder of The Rural Woman, a company that was built in the Ridge but looks to empower women in regional Australia to develop business opportunities utilising digital and social media.

Ms Black is also a finalist in the 2019 Altitude Awards in the Changemaker category, with announcements for this on 1st June at an event in western Sydney.

SANTOS has been slammed for refusing to provide the NSW government with the requested information about its coal seam gas development near Narrabri.

The gas giant recently responded to the concerns of various organisations, including 14 government agencies, in its Supplementary Response to Submissions.

In the report, Santos refused more than a dozen specific requests for information and commitments from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the Rural Fire Service, and Narrabri council.

Narrabri farmer and Lock the Gate spokeswoman Sally Hunter said the company had refused the RFS's request to not flare gas during catastrophic bushfire conditions.

"This shows an extraordinary and reckless disregard for the safety of our community," she said.

"Santos has also refused the EPA's request to assess the capacity of landfill facilities to accommodate huge volumes of salt waste with potentially high concentrations of metals and other contaminants.

"It has refused Narrabri council's request that it obtain environmental insurance for offsite and long-term environmental harms, despite this being a recommendation made by the NSW Chief Scientist for all coal seam gas operations."

An NSW Department of Planning and Environment spokesperson said the company's response was being reviewed, in consultation with the relevant government agencies.

"In finalising its assessment, the Department may request additional information from Santos before referring the proposal to the Independent Planning Commission, which will make the final decision," they said.

"The Department wants to ensure a rigorous and comprehensive assessment is undertaken, given the complex nature of the application and the high level of community interest."

Santos did not respond to the Leader's request for comment.

As the federal elections approach and the financial year comes to a close, now is a good time to assess the state of your finances and plan your route towards financial stability. Whether you are planning your financial future or retirement or are thinking of the short and long-term financials of your business, financial flexibility is important to have in order to be secure. 

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is seeking public input as part of a new investigation it is conducting into the regulation of lobbying, access and influence in NSW (Operation Eclipse).

The Commission released a discussion paper today, Enhancing the democratic role of direct lobbying in NSW, which, amongst other matters, addresses principles of transparency, integrity and fairness concerning or associated with lobbying practices in NSW. The Commission engaged academics Dr Yee-Fui Ng, Senior Lecturer, Monash University Faculty of Law, and Professor Joo-Cheong Tham, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, to prepare the discussion paper, which invites respondents to address questions based around the main principles.

The discussion paper is appended to an introductory paper, The regulation of lobbying access and influence in NSW: a chance to have your say, which also explains how to make a submission. In this paper, ICAC Chief Commissioner the Hon Peter Hall QC notes that lobbying, when conducted on proper lines, can have beneficial outcomes. However, it could also be argued that “lobbying might lead to decisions by government and/or public officials in circumstances of unjustified secrecy, where processes are sometimes criticised as lacking transparency or accountability, while particular groups or the public generally are denied the opportunity of being heard.”

Farmers and concerned citizens in north west NSW say the latest submission made by Santos about its controversial Narrabri CSG project is “arrogant” and “dangerous”, with the company refusing to provide information and commitments requested by the State Government and Narrabri Council.

Santos recently submitted a “Supplementary Response to Submissions” to 14 NSW Government agencies’ requests for information, data, and commitments from the gas company regarding the environmental risks of its proposed coal seam gas project.