Random thoughts

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MACADAMIA CRAZE, CONGRATULATIONS
positive foresight
reminisce
went up to that region by hitchiking/motorbike/car in the 80s
cane cane sugar cane everywhere huh
be wonderful to see now

Macadamia Boom: Sugarcane growers find a sweet crop in macadamias
Johanna Marie

Sugarcane has been the backbone of Queensland’s Wide Bay Region for generations. But rising costs and low sugar prices have prompted growers to shift into something more lucrative – macadamias.


Macadamia Boom: Sugarcane growers find a sweet crop in macadamias

 

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NSW braces for wild weather with sweltering heat, fires, thunder and dust storms
NSW is set for a day of wild weather with scorching temperatures, dust storms, damaging winds and the risk of bushfires reigniting from thunderstorms after a week of rain.

DISLIKE/DISTRUST IMMENSLY
SOONER ITS AS HAS BEEN POLITICIAM THE BETTER
HALLMARKS OF A RACIST tRUMP SUPREMO

Peter Dutton's office was suspected of leaking 'classified' medevac information
The office of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is suspected of leaking information it was told was classified about the cost of medically evacuating refugees to Taiwan, as the Government geared up to campaign against newly passed medevac legislation last year.

Analysis: Homes with higher energy ratings sell for more. Here's how owners could cash in
An energy-efficient home isn't just comfortable to live in, without the large power bills — international research has found they also typically fetch a higher price, writes Daniel Daly.

Australians are throwing caution to the wind in the pursuit of a home deposit
Margin lending can turbocharge savings in an ultra-low interest rate world, potentially helping home buyers save up a deposit faster, but it's also incredibly risky, explains David Taylor.

America is now reckoning with its dark past — and Australians are taking note
The US is undergoing a season of soul-searching about slavery and its long shadow. A tour of the southern states and talks with locals reveal what's changed, and what still needs to come.

 

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know how to celebrate
thats for sure
better than us,always

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Australian Day 2020 events guide for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin
Updated about 2 hours ago

PHOTO: There's plenty to do across the country this Australia Day. (ABC News: Tony Trung)
RELATED STORY: Australia Day 2020 focuses on generosity of Australian spirit
RELATED STORY: Bushfire danger returns to Canberra as authorities cancel Australia Day fireworks
From cockroach races to lamington-eating competitions, pineapple throwing to fun runs — there are more Australia Day events this year than you can poke a stick at.

Check out the list below to see what's happening in your neck of the woods.

Sydney
Dozens of events, from smoking ceremonies to street parties and even a yacht ballet, will be held across Sydney to mark Australia Day.

The celebrations will kick off just before 8:00am with a smoking ceremony and special performances by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dancers and singers at Barangaroo Reserve.

From 9:00am the Sydney Street Party will transform The Rocks into a day-long carnival with market stalls, music, street performers and gourmet street food.

PHOTO: The Australia Day Live concert will be held at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt and Circular Quay.(ABC Open contributor glanzpunkt)


An event dubbed the Tug and Yacht Ballet will see several vessels cruise from Circular Quay just after midday, synchronised with helicopters flying above, in time with music.

About 65,000 people are expected to turn out for the main event — Australia Day Live — which will be held at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt and Circular Quay from 6:30pm.

Australian musicians including Vanessa Amorosi, John Williamson, Eskimo Joe and The Original Seekers will be among those performing.

The night will be used to acknowledge the Aussie spirit and celebrate the country's strength in the wake of the bushfire crisis.

Tens of thousands of people are also expected to pack out Parramatta Park for 15 hours of entertainment, with amusement rides, DJs and the launch of Sydney's biggest hot air balloon display.

Perth
In Western Australia, the main celebration will be held on the Swan River foreshore with the annual Skyworks.

PHOTO: The annual Skyworks attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the Swan River foreshore. (ABC News: Liam Phillips)


It's one of the city's biggest annual events and is the largest Australia Day fireworks display in the country, with this year's event expected to attract more than 300,000 people.

This year will also see the return of the Australia Day Air Show, with a large fleet of planes and helicopters taking to the skies in aerobatic displays.

It is the first time the Air Show will take place since two people died when a light plane crashed into the Swan River at the 2017 event.

The main fireworks display will start at 8:00pm and run for half an hour.

PHOTO: The main fireworks will kick off at 8:00pm. (ABC News: James Carmody)


For those taking public transport, there will be extra services put on to cater for demand, while security patrols will also be boosted across the night.

From 3:00pm in the Supreme Court Gardens, the annual Birak Concert will host a huge line-up of Indigenous entertainment as well as inflatable amusements, workshops and community stalls.

Melbourne
In Melbourne, the city's annual Australia Day Parade will take to the streets from 8:00am, bringing multicultural dancing and music groups and other cultural organisations to Swanston Street.

Following on from there, the Australia Day Festival will kick off in Kings Domain Gardens.

PHOTO: Melbourne's annual Australia Day parade will kick off at 8:00am. (ABC News: James Oaten)


There will be music, a food truck park for those looking for a bite to eat and a Roulette flyover at 12:45pm.

The Victorian Government has cancelled the Docklands fireworks display scheduled for 9:00pm, which usually attracts about 25,000 people, due to bushfires burning across the state.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast
If you're lucky enough to live in Brisbane, get ready for a veritable smorgasbord of activity.

Events kick off at Southbank with the Great Australian Bites food festival, which brings together music and food for an all-day fiesta, before a dazzling fireworks display from 7:30pm.

If you're after something a little more obscure, look no further than the 39th annual Cockroach Races at the Story Bridge Hotel.

PHOTO: This year will see the 39th annual Australia Day World Championship Cockroach Races in Brisbane. (ABC News: Nick Wiggins)


Gates open at 11:00am with the first race getting underway from midday. The event also boasts food trucks, a street festival and competitions and prizes.

Feel like something a little sweeter? There's an event for that.

A lamington-eating competition is taking place at Suttons Beach in Redcliffe. Coconuts are being desiccated from 3:00pm onwards.

Or there's the slightly healthier annual pineapple-throwing competition taking place at the Pineapple Hotel, Kangaroo Point from midday.

In the way of formal proceedings, the Citizenship Ceremony and Lord Mayor's Australia Day Awards are happening at City Hall from 8:30am.

PHOTO: The Cockroach Races in Brisbane always attract a huge crowd. (ABC News: Patrick Williams)


On the Gold Coast, Broadwater Parklands will host the Australia Day celebrations from 4:00pm with a fireworks display kicking off at 7:45pm.

The Gold Coast thong-throwing competition is on at the Nerang RSL from midday, while a pie eating competition will take place later from 2:30pm.

Earlier on, an Australia Day pool party is scheduled at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in Southport — complete with novelty races, giant inflatables and dive-bomb competitions.

Canberra
In Canberra, a line up of national and local acts will take to Stage 88 at the Australia Day fundraising bushfire relief concert from 10:00am at Commonwealth Park.

Due to bushfires in the region there will be no fireworks display this year.

From 2:45pm the Chief Minister's Regatta will take place at the Canberra Yacht Club.

PHOTO: Fireworks have been cancelled in a number of cities due to the ongoing bushfires. (ABC News: James Oaten)


Adelaide
In South Australia, Australia Day in the City will be held in Adelaide once again and is expected to draw crowds of more than 40,000 people.

The event is a major public celebration and includes a street parade, concert and fireworks, starting at 6:00pm at Elder Park.

More than 150 community groups, vintage cars, horses and marching bands will take part in the parade, while the free family concert will start at 7:00pm.

Darwin
In the top end, the annual Oz Run will be on again — an Australia Day fun run held in the morning at the Darwin Waterfront.

It's the territory's largest running event and is expected to attract up to 4,000 people.

PHOTO: The Oz Run caters to the more athletic on Australia Day. (ABC News: Jacqueline Breen)


There will be a zumba warm-up before the run, on-course music and entertainment, followed by a free sausage sizzle.

Hobart
In Kingston, A Day on the Beach continues to grow in popularity and is expected to attract more than 10,000 people from the broader southern Tasmania region.

There are loads of free sporting activities, live music, a sandcastle competition, two big Aussie BBQs, double-decker buses, sailing and swimming, all with the pristine backdrop of Kingston Beach.

Follow this story to get email or text alerts from ABC News when there is a future article following this storyline.

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Topics: australia-2020, australia-day, perth-6000, wa, darwin-0800, canberra-2600, hobart-7000, brisbane-4000, adelaide-5000,melbourne-3000, sydney-2000

First posted about 2 hours ago

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More stories from Western Australia

NEWS IN LANGUAGE
Listen to the news in Warlpiri, Yolngu Matha and Kriol

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small businesses of Australia
its an unfortunate reality
suggest patience
it will pick up i am sure, people know when they are ready to travel
you cant expect tourism to be at your whim/command

ps
our election NZ this year
date to be notified
likely in the moth of November, i would say
it is traditionally then

 

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Three dead after Large Air Tanker crashes while fighting bushfires in southern NSW
Three US-born crew members died when a Large Air Tanker crashed while fighting a bushfire in southern NSW, west of Cooma.

'Grave fears' for worker trapped in gold mine collapse
Police now say they have "grave fears" for a worker trapped by a collapse at the Henty gold mine on Tasmania's west coast after search teams using thermal imaging fail to detect signs of life.

Blaze that cancelled Canberra flights downgraded to watch and act
A fire burning in Canberra's south-east is downgraded to watch and act level, but hazardous smoke from a burnt recycling centre means residents in Beard, Harman, Oaks Estate and Crestwood should stay inside their homes.

Charities put on notice amid claims they are stockpiling bushfire donations
More NSW ministers come out swinging against major charities, claiming the Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army are too slow at passing on money to people in fire-ravaged areas.

Four emergency bushfires threaten NSW south coast with 'long night' ahead
A string of bushfires down the NSW south coast are out of control and it is too late for some residents to leave as the Rural Fire Service battles hot and damaging winds.

 

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Emergency bushfires threaten NSW south coast communities
A fire
PHOTO: A bushfire burns at Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands. (Supplied: Facebook: Exeter Rural Fire Service.)

RELATED STORY: NSW Minister tears into Red Cross for sitting on bushfire donations while victims sufferRELATED STORY: 'We had to just pull off the road': Sky turns orange as massive dust storm blankets southern statesRELATED STORY: Rain slows, rather than stops, Australia's firesRELATED STORY: Thunderstorm warning eases for Sydney as heavy rain covers most of NSW
Three bushfires are burning at emergency levels in NSW as temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius in parts of NSW on a hot, windy day.
Key points:
A total fire ban has been issued across seven regions in NSW
Lightning storms could rekindle bushfires extinguished by last week's rain
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said damaging winds could lash the state's south
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it would be a "long afternoon and night".

Fires at Clyde Mountain at Eurobodalla, Creewah Road, Glen Allen at Snowy Monaro and Badja Forest Road, Countegany at Snowy Monaro, Eurobodella and Bega Valley are also burning at an emergency level.
A new blaze at Big Jack Mountain, in the Bega Valley, was burning at emergency level but has since been doengraded.
The NSW Minister for Energy & Environment Matt Kean has urged the public to curb electricity use between 4.00pm and 8.00pm due to fire damage at some power stations.
A fire
PHOTO: The Box Hill fire has been downgraded to watch and act. (Supplied)
He said turning off unnecessary appliances, pool pumps, and ensuring air conditioning is on 24 degrees will lessen the load on the straining electricity system.
Total fire bans have been declared in seven NSW regions today.
Canberra Airport closed because of a nearby grass fire.
Earlier, a bushfire in the Hills District threatened the suburbs of Box Hill and Nelson, around 40km from the Sydney CBD, but has since been brought under control.
The temperature in Sydney hit 41.3C
Penrith hit a high of 42.4C while Sydney Airport was the hottest part of the city at 43.3C
A southerly change is expected to reach Sydney about 11.00pm.
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment also issued a poor air quality forecast for Sydney.
Dust storms are moving across the far west and elsewhere a late southerly will bring damaging winds and the risk of dry lightning strikes.
Weather map of NSW
PHOTO: A forecast of temperatures across the state for 1:00pm today. (ABC News)
While the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is forecasting a 12C drop in some areas for Friday, firefighters braced for another "challenging" day.
The latest high-risk conditions come

Homes lost as emergency bushfires hit NSW South Coast with 'long night' ahead

 

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R.I.P
always very sad to hear of folk killed in another country

Three Americans killed as firefighting plane crashes in Australia
The C-130 Hercules crashed with a ball of fire; authorities do not yet know the cause of the accident.

By Kate Shuttleworth ● Read more »

On Australia’s Kangaroo Island, a fight to stay alive
The wildfires have claimed half the koala population on the famous island.

By Scott Wilson ● Read more »

In Australia, fires energize environmental movement
Extinction Rebellion, other groups push back against country’s coal mining.

By Scott Wilson ● Read more »

 

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yes
we so often forget of these important sites
humsan life first no doubt

Researchers worry soot may have might rock art in the Blue Mountains, similar to these stencils in Red Hands Cave. (Marc Anderson/Alamy)
Fears for Aboriginal sites damaged in fires
Thousands of ancient Aboriginal sites and artefacts have probably been damaged or destroyed by the catastrophic fires in Australia. Tens of thousands of sites — including rock art, stone-tool sites and trees that have been altered for traditional uses — are at risk from fires and from the water dropped to fight the flames. One small ray of hope: in at least one case, fires opened up areas of dense vegetation and revealed previously undocumented finds.

Nature | 4 min read

 

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Lachenalia rubida

Moreae villosa


We LOVE gardening!

 

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LOVE Au RURAL

live learn

Flash flooding likely as monsoonal low brings days of rain to north-west Queensland
Good rain, which could stretch to mid-next week, is bringing new hope to graziers who've been waiting years for substantial falls.

Eco-friendly hemp makes a comeback after anti-marijuana campaigns hurt the industry
The British brought hemp to Australia on the First Fleet, but anti-marijuana campaigns killed the industry off in the 1900s. Now it's making a comeback.

Non-Indigenous business fails in bid to trademark Aboriginal bush medicine
The owners of a central Queensland business fail in their bid to trademark the traditional name of the Aboriginal bush medicine, Gumby Gumby.

'Highly unlikely' worker survived collapse at Henty Gold Mine in Tasmania, police say
Police say operations overnight had used a drone with 3D laser technology which revealed the extent of the collapse.

Man charged over alleged hay bale scam that police say targeted desperate farmers
A man accused of defrauding drought-stricken farmers out of tens of thousand dollars in a hay sale scam is charged.

Australia Day this weekend, but where is the lamb ad?
Lamb ads are synonymous with Australia Day and regarded as one of agriculture's most successful ad campaigns. So where are the ads?


Eels suffocate as Gippsland river turns to sludge after fires
Bushfire debris combines with heavy rain and storms over burnt-out regions of east Gippsland, choking rivers and killing eels.

'Take some time out': Victims of 2014 Bangor bushfire give hope and advice
Farmers who survived South Australia's devastating Bangor blaze in 2014 give messages of hope and good advice.

 

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one either loves lamb or not
bbqd yes
other, maybe a oncer ha

Australia Day is this weekend, where is MLA's lamb ad?
On NT Country Hour with Matt Brann

Share
Download Missing lamb ad (3.21 MB)
Download 3.21 MB

With only two more sleeps until Australia Day, have you noticed there's been no advertising this year telling us to eat lamb?

Ever since Sam Kekovich told us to eat lamb in 2005 "because you know it makes sense", the annual lamb ads by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) have become synonymous with Australia Day and are regarded as one of agriculture's most successful advertising campaigns.

So what's happened this year?

ABC Rural spoke to MLA's domestic market manager Graeme Yardy to find out.

Duration: 7min
Broadcast: Fri 24 Jan 2020, 12:00pm

 

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Google just created the most detailed image of a brain yet | Live Science

 

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New coronavirus may have 'jumped' to humans from snakes, study finds
Read More

 

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Tributes flow as three 'heroic American firefighters' who died in NSW tanker crash named
A US aerial firefighting company has named the crew of three Americans killed in an air tanker crash on Thursday in south-east New South Wales.

 

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uuhhmmm
did not ole biblical warn us of such,disasters etc
self
often felt our next major WW one would be extreme famine
then we will see just how great the wealthy ones will part witth there dollars
countries or individuals

NATURES SURE GOING TO OVERULE US SMARTARSES and take back whats rightfully hers


Billions of locusts swarm over East Africa
A locust invasion in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has left crops devastated. It is the biggest swarm in decades, with billions of the ravenous insects nibbling their way through the already climate-ravaged region.

Thick clouds of locusts are blackening the skies of East Africa from Ethiopia and Somalia into Kenya due to extreme weather changes.

Experts warned Friday that the insect infestation could have disastrous effects on a region still recovering from recent drought and aggressive flooding.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that one locust invasion in Kenya covered around 2,400 square kilometers (930 square miles) and contained up to 200 billion locusts which descend to feed off plants and vegetation.

People in Kenya have been seen shooting in the air, waving sticks, banging cans and running around trying to chase the locusts away, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Read more: South Africa's winegrowers struggle against droughts and low prices

Biggest in decades

For Ethiopia and Somalia, the infestation is the biggest in 25 years, and for Kenya it is the greatest swarm in 70 years, according to the FAO.

A locust consumes their own weight in food every day. Farmers face frustration as vegetation for their livestock is consumed by the ravenous locusts. Many were just slowly recovering from three years of drought, a process which usually takes up to five years.

The FAO warned that the insects could "reproduce rapidly and, if left unchecked, their current numbers could grow 500 times by June,'' spreading to Uganda and South Uganda.

People have been seen shooting in the air or waving sticks to fend off the locusts

Read more: Afrobarometer: Climate change literacy still low in Africa

Climate crisis

Billions of locusts swarm over East Africa | DW | 24.01.2020

 

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how nice of them


From Poland to Australia – pouches for orphaned kangaroos
Australia has been battling some of the worst wildfires in living memory. Scientists estimate that a billion animals have fallen victim to the blasts. In Poland, some volunteers have set to work to make pouches to help caring for orphaned kangaroos.

From Poland to Australia – pouches for orphaned kangaroos | DW | 22.01.2020

 

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imagine
billions / and i am saying billions,not millions,why not
of snakes of all species, incinerated
and some of those parliamentarians think theyre doing well selling the countrys mineral wealth esp coal, to those that dont really need it
there are alternatives now FFS

not mentioning rodents/insects even


f the week

Putting mice on a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet for one week changed the mix of immune cells in one kind of fat, reducing the chronic inflammation that is characteristic of obesity and improving biomarkers of metabolic health. But mice who overate on a long-term keto diet reversed its good effects. (Nature Metabolism, 6 min read)

Reference: Nature Metabolism paper
Features & opinion
Climate change and Australian fires
Researchers have started an ‘attribution study’ to determine the extent to which global warming is to blame for the record bushfires that have ravaged Australia. Evidence has been growing for decades that climate change exacerbates Australia’s fire seasons and nine of Australia’s ten hottest years on record have occurred in the past 15 years. But researchers are seeking to quantify the role of climate change in particular extreme events, so they can better forecast the chances that such catastrophes will strike again.

Nature | 9 min read