Damage assessments begin as NSW weather eases
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Snow resorts ready for school holiday surge
School holidays have started across most of the country and it's also turning out to be a bumper snow season with a lot of ski resorts saying it's easily the best start to the season in many years. But as the alps prepare for a massive influx of tourists, coastal communities are in recovery after record rainfall and flooding hit large stretches of the coast.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Five winter jobs to do in the garden
Do you think there's not much to do in the edible garden over winter? I used to feel the same, but I've come to love this quieter season. As growth in my veggie patch slows to a crawl, it's the perfect time to tackle slower, behind-the-scenes jobs that make a big difference come spring. Here are five jobs I'm prioritising this season for my backyard permaculture patch, within the temperate climate zone of Tarntanya/Adelaide. You can check your zone using Gardening Australia's online map, which also provides month-by-month planting guides for your area. Weeds inevitably pop up after winter rains, but instead of waging war on them, I work with them. Many common weeds are nutrient-rich and can be pulled up to feed my compost, or even myself. Stinging nettle, for example, is my favourite winter weed. I love to: I also use strategies to help naturally suppress weeds. I've created natural barriers on garden paths using thick layers of overlapping cardboard (sourced free from local businesses), topped with about 4cm of bark mulch. This blocks sunlight and smothers weeds. In other spots, I grow edible groundcovers such as marjoram, thyme, nasturtiums and warrigal greens for a living mulch barrier. Winter is prime pruning time in my garden. Within my mini food forest, deciduous fruit trees such as an apple, pear, nectarine and cherry drop their leaves, so it's easy to see their structure and give them a good clip-back. Pruning now encourages better fruiting come summer and makes harvesting easier too. It's a great time to try grafting, where you join different plant varieties onto the same rootstock. In my small garden, I'm hoping to add more pear varieties to my existing tree this winter. I also keep an eye out for self-seeded herb, flower or veggie seedlings that pop up in paths or garden beds. Rather than tossing them all in the compost, I'll pot a few up to share with friends and neighbours via my urban honesty stall — a lovely way to spread the winter abundance around. After all that pruning, I have plenty of material to feed my compost system. A quick spin through my small mulcher turns bulky branches into small pieces that break down more quickly. Then, to help build the heap more quickly, I do a bit of urban foraging. I collect spent coffee grounds from a local cafe for nitrogen and gather the last of any fallen autumn leaves from nearby deciduous street trees for carbon. Layered together, the two help keep my compost balanced. As the weather cools, compost can slow down, so I give mine a turn once or twice in winter to keep it active. I use a spiral compost turner rather than a shovel — it's quicker and easier on my back. All this helps ensure plentiful homemade compost to use when spring planting rolls around. The cooler months are ideal for recharging soil, ready for the big warm-season harvests ahead. I refresh the no-dig layers in my veggie beds with alternating additions of carbon and nitrogen, such as compost, straw, activated biochar, manure and organic fertiliser. From mid-winter onwards, I start thinking about warm-weather plantings and start seeds indoors to get a jump on spring planting, especially heat-loving plants such as tomatoes and capsicums. I don't have any fancy seed-raising gear, so I start seeds in pots indoors where it's warmer. Once they sprout, I shift them to a sunny north-facing kitchen windowsill. After a few weeks, once they've formed their true leaves, I move the pots outside daily to help them adjust — a process called "hardening off". The slower pace of winter gardening offers a chance to step back and consider what worked, what didn't and what might need tweaking for next season — a great way to practically apply the permaculture principle "apply self-regulation and accept feedback". I pay particular attention to anything I grew but didn't eat much of, or any giant harvests that overwhelmed me, meaning food went to waste. This helps me understand what I should plant less of or simply stop growing. Continually tweaking my plant list to prioritise food I actually like helps me to eat from my garden more consistently. By focusing on these simple winter jobs, I set myself up for a garden that gradually grows healthier and more abundant next season. Koren Helbig is a sustainable city living educator who practices permaculture and grows organic food in the backyard of her small urban Tarntanya (Adelaide) home.
ABC News
9 hours ago
- ABC News
Rate relief, food payments and water funding in new $75m Victorian drought package
The Victorian government has announced a $75 million drought assistance package for farmers struggling through the state's long dry spell. It is the biggest and most significant announcement the government has made during this drought and includes council rate relief for farmers, with a rebate of about 40 per cent for producers in 12 of the worst-affected areas of the south-west. The funding also includes $2 million for food and grocery support, with up to $1,000 per household, $6.3 million to cover government "red tape" fees and $25 million for water management. "We've been listening to farmers and communities who do it tough," Premier Jacinta Allan said. "This support delivers real help, right now." The state's peak farm lobby group, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) welcomed the support but said it should have come earlier. "A lot of farmers will tell you [the drought support package] has come too late," VFF president Brett Hosking said. The government has now announced a total of $144 million for farmers during the extended dry conditions. The state's south-west has been worst affected with 15 months of record low or below-average rainfall until last month. Almost $36 million will go towards rate relief for farmers in the council areas of Ararat, Moyne, Colac Otway, Pyrenees, Corangamite, Southern Grampians, Glenelg, Surf Coast, Golden Plains, Warrnambool, City of Geelong and southern parts of West Wimmera. The government says that equates to a 40 per cent rate reduction. "This isn't about dollars, it's about backing the people who feed our state and the regional communities that keep our state strong." Ms Allan said. The government has also committed $24 million to water infrastructure to better prepare for droughts. It will be used to extend the East Grampians rural water pipeline and to expand emergency water supply options, groundwater bores and domestic water access. "We are investing in both short-term solutions and legacy infrastructure to improve resilience and water security for farmers and their communities," Agriculture Minister Ros Spence said. Despite recent rain, the state is still feeling the effects of drought, with a cold winter resulting in very little growth in pastures for hungry livestock. Ararat lamb producer Charlie de Fegely said the funding was surprising and welcome news. "This is fantastic, because people are desperate for water, given the very long dry spell," he said. Mr de Fegely said a secure water supply would enable farmers to retain livestock during drought. "Tragically, breeding ewes are being sold simply because people don't have water," he said. Mr Hosking said it would take time for farmers to recover. "There is no feed in the paddock, particularly for cattle and even for sheep there is not the feed to support them in the paddock, and farmers are still hand feeding," he said. The Country Women's Association (CWA) will manage the household payments of up to $1,000 for farmers in the south-west. Catchment Management Authorities will receive $1 million to run drought employment programs, which help people receive payments while working on projects that help the environment. There is also $6.3 million for fee and duty relief, which Brett Hosking said would help, although he had questions about the details. "It's removal of red tape funding on things like biosecurity levees that you pay on the sale of livestock will hopefully be waived and I think the government is still working out the details on that one," he said.
