Olive Overhaul: Transforming the taste of olives
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ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
National lamb price nudges $480/head for new record as drought tightens supply
"Spirited bidding" has pushed the national lamb price to a new record at a regional New South Wales saleyard today. A pen of 55 second-cross lambs sold to $479.50/head at Griffith, but agents say this still may not be the top of the market. The lamb price has been slowly climbing, with records nearly a weekly occurrence at saleyards across the country since late May. "You don't sell the lambs to get the records, but they did deserve it. They were amazing lambs," agent Wayne Spencer said. "They weighed an average of 92 kilos liveweight, so that's an estimated dress weight of somewhere around 43 kilos." They were purchased for export by processor Thomas Foods International. Droughts in parts of southern NSW, Victoria and South Australia have been impacting supply and weight of the lambs in a time of high demand. Mr Spencer said the lambs, bred by Mark Tabain, drew keen interest from the opening bid. "It was very spirited bidding," he said. "Mark was over the moon, he's a fella who doesn't like the limelight much but he does an amazing job with his lambs year in, year out." The industry is now asking where the top of the market could be, as consumers brace for possible price rises for the final product. Agents from Dubbo held the national record for a few days, after topping at $477.20/head earlier this week. Mr Spencer said he would not be surprised if next week brought another record price.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
CSIRO could be facing hundreds more job cuts this year, union warns
There are fears hundreds more Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) jobs could be axed this year, the union has warned. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) issued a statement on Thursday morning saying that Australia's national science agency was enduring its "biggest job cuts in a decade". Last year, 440 positions were slashed, and the CPSU said "approximately 200 contract jobs were left to expire, with hundreds more cuts expected to be made to research units later this year". The union said it had made a submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable, warning the nation's capacity for productivity and innovation was being "actively undermined". The union is calling for the federal government to intervene to prevent further proposed cuts. CSIRO Staff Association section secretary Susan Tonks said there was a "clear disconnect between the government's talk about boosting productivity and their failure to support the very institution that helps deliver it". "But deep job cuts at the CSIRO are directly undermining Australia's ability to innovate, compete and grow. And this will continue to be the case as long as this government sits on its hands while hundreds of staff at the CSIRO are shown the door with little to no explanation. "If this government is serious about productivity, it must step in, stop the cuts, and back our country's peak science institution." The CSIRO has been contacted for comment. Ms Tonks said concern among staff was high. "If you're looking at the May budget papers and the workshops … there's workshops coming up to assess what science will be done, and what research will continue in September," she said. "And looking at all the numbers and everything that's coming up, it's looking highly likely that there will be similar numbers [to last year's cuts] coming across the research portfolio. "There's still assessments to be done, but given what we've just come out of, the anxiety and the concern and anger from staff is high." She said it was "hard to say" which areas within the CSIRO would be targeted. "But I think everything's going to be looked at," she said. "Looking at recent conversations with staff in preparation for some of those that are going to go through, there's quotes like, 'We need to be simpler as an organisation, we need to exit some areas and do fewer things better.'" She said it was "unsettling" for staff who had already been through recent changes, and warned some might not remain at the CSIRO if uncertainty lingered. "It's worth noting, public investment in research and development is what delivers innovation, it increases productivity," Ms Tonks said. "The CSIRO's been behind some of the most important scientific innovations that we've had in Australia. "We need to make sure that we back it."
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
AI predicted to boost productivity by $116bn in a decade
The Productivity Commission estimates artificial intelligence could contribute more than $116 billion toward economic growth over the next decade.
