Economy

Local frustration around climate action took the first flush of headlines around the Acting Prime Minister’s visit to the Bega Valley yesterday, masking some worthy local projects that had 'their moment in the sun' all be it flanked by bush fire smoke from afar. Michael McCormack started his day at the Bega Saleyards were he opened new facilities aimed at improving...

Tourism operators on the Sapphire Coast have gathered for the launch of the industry's plan for growth. Over 1 million visitors were drawn to the Bega Valley in the year ending June 2018, spending $499 million. The industry generates 3,500 local jobs and has a multiplier effect in the wider regional economy of 1.9, so for every $1 a tourist...

Increased fire activity on the Clyde Mountain continues to make conditions dangerous, with police saying the Kings Highway will remain closed for the foreseeable future. The Currowan bushfire continues to burn north of the highway and is again at an emergency level as of 12:30 pm on Thursday (19 December). "There is still active fire in the areas around Benandarah,...

Acting Prime Minister, Michael McCormack flew into a loud and passionate climate protest under skies thick with bush fire smoke at Merimbula today. There to open the new terminal building at Merimbula Airport, with Bega Valley Shire Mayor Kristy McBain and State MP Andrew Constance, the Nationals leader was mobbed, heckled and questioned by around 40 protesters. Shortly into his...

Old industrial land in central Bega is being reborn with a dynamic childhood led  by education at the heart of its new future. Mumbulla School for Rudolf Steiner Education begun earthworks on the former Spenco site this week. The school announced in term 1 this year that it had purchased a 2.3-acre section of the site on Bega Street from Spotlight...

Two important draft land use strategies are currently on public exhibition; summer reading for residents of Bega Valley Shire Council. Council says, the draft Residential and Commercial Land Strategies works towards the community’s vision outlined in the Bega Valley Shire Community Strategic Plan 2040 and the South East and Tablelands Regional Plan 2036, and once adopted will inform the Bega Valley...

Aboriginal health and well-being services in the region are about to be supercharged with an aged care facility in Bega being re-purposed into an Aboriginal health clinic. The vacant Casuarina facility on Bega Street, Bega, operated by Sapphire Coast Community Aged Care has been sold to Katungul, the region's Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation. “We’re so excited to officially share with the...

Conservation groups are outraged at the relaxation of rules within the protected waters of the Batemans Marine Park. Member for Bega, Andrew Constance and NSW Agriculture Minister, Adam Marshall last week announced that five sites had been identified for increased access prior to the summer school holidays – Brou Lake (South), Clarks Bay (Freshwater Bay), Forsters Bay, Montague Island (East and...

Level three water restrictions are now in place for Braidwood as the ongoing drought sucks the upper Shoalhaven River dry. Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council says Braidwood's reservoir has dropped significantly, leaving the town with just several months of water supply. For the Braidwood district, fighting the North Black Range Bushfire for the last two weeks, many rural residents have been left...

More outside recruitment and partnerships, a return to common pay and conditions, and an accelerated take-up of digital technology are part of the prescription for an Australian Public Service that may not be broken but is in need of serious repair, according to the Thodey Review released on Friday (13 December). It has made 40 recommendations, most of which Prime...

This year on the Far South Coast, it’s no ordinary Christmas. During Australia’s worst drought, communities have come together to defend against fierce pre-summer bushfires. Town trade has been dulled by closed highways. There’s smoke in the air, ash on the beaches and conversation about the human impact on our little patch of paradise. Around here, you’ll still find Christmas...

To many locals, it still feels like a new enterprise, but The University of Wollongong’s (UoW) Bega campus was opened in 2000 and more than 500 local people have graduated from degrees offered by UoW in that time. This week, over 150 people gathered at the Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre to celebrate the latest batch of graduates, 23 determined individuals...

Realising Eurobodalla’s potential for a thriving local food economy depends on three things beyond desperately needed rain – cognisance, culinary creativity and cutting old habits. As bushfires force the intermittent closure of highways from Canberra and Sydney, regional communities are contemplating the drawbacks of a centralised food distribution system. Fraser Bayley and Kirsti Wilkinson of Old Mill Road BioFarm say...