Residents and local authorities are worried about environmental hazards and land devaluation as minister says excess regulations may hinder modern farming practices
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Cate Faehrmann, a Greens member of the New South Wales legislative council, will move a private member’s bill next week to give councils more power to regulate blueberry and other berry farms which are expanding throughout the mid-north coast, leading to serious frictions with other landholders.
Separately, the state Labor government is considering an inquiry into alleged worker abuse in the region. Most states regulate labour hire companies, which serve as intermediaries between farmers and seasonal workers, but NSW does not.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/31/2026 - 14:00
01/31/2026 - 14:00
Bushfires, marches and a summer of sport – Guardian Australia’s best photos from around the country
Prayers, vigils and mitzvahs on the national day of mourning for Bondi beach terror attack victims – in pictures
Drag racing at Sydney’s weekly street meet offers a change of pace for all walks of life
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01/31/2026 - 02:00
Motorists benefit as industry offers deals of up to 18% off to attract buyers for petrol, diesel and electric models
If you are considering buying a new car, now might be the time to act as new data shows manufacturers and dealers slashing prices by more than 10%, with the average discount close to £6,000.
The typical discount available across all petrol, diesel and electric cars sold in the UK is 11.4% of the on-the-road price – the equivalent of £5,911 – according to Insider Car Deals, which sells discount data to people looking to buy.
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01/30/2026 - 19:01
Exclusive: Formal validation for claret reflects hotter conditions, falling consumption and shift towards chillable reds
Bordeaux’s wine industry has historically adapted to consumer habits. In the 1970s the region leaned towards white, but by the 2000s was famed for powerful oak-aged reds.
Now it’s turning to a much older form of red with a name familiar to anglophones: claret. With origins in the 12th century, when it was first shipped to Britain, claret was soon our favoured wine, an unofficial byword for bordeaux red, which in recent decades has become increasingly full-bodied.
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01/30/2026 - 09:00
Soaring temperatures, heat at altitude and hot summer nights combine to create one of south-eastern Australia’s ‘most significant’ heatwaves
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Heatwaves and hot days during an Australian summer may seem unremarkable. Days spent at the beach, sunburn and mosquitoes are part of the national psyche, along with outback pubs serving crisp lager as relief from searing afternoon heat.
But when the opal mining town of Andamooka (population 262) in the far north of South Australia reached 50 degrees on Thursday, it was only the eighth time in recorded history anywhere in Australia.
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01/30/2026 - 08:00
Experts say administration has launched ‘war on all fronts’ to undo environmental rules – here are the key areas at risk
In his first year back in office, Donald Trump has fundamentally reshaped the Environmental Protection Agency, initiating nearly 70 actions to undo rules protecting ecosystems and the climate.
The agency’s wide-ranging assault on the environment will put people at risk, threatening air and water quality, increasing harmful chemical exposure, and worsening global warming, experts told the Guardian. The changes amount to “a war on all fronts that this administration has launched against our health and the safety of our communities and the quality of our environment,” said Matthew Tejada, the former director of the EPA’s environmental justice program.
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01/30/2026 - 03:00
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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01/30/2026 - 02:00
From a renovated Victorian village house in Hampshire to a new-build apartment in south London
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01/30/2026 - 01:00
Exclusive: Ben Goldsmith will work on issues including fishing and green belt preservation to attract green Tories
Ben Goldsmith, the veteran Conservative environmentalist and ally of Boris Johnson, has been approached to write Reform UK’s policies on nature, as Nigel Farage’s party attempts to make inroads with voters put off by his stance on the climate crisis.
Goldsmith will work with the Reform leader and his policy adviser James Orr on policies such as fishing and preservation of the green belt, as party figures admit they are struggling to win over Conservative voters who care about the environment.
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01/29/2026 - 20:14
Eleven endangered skinks released into a gated community in Victoria's Alpine national park will soon become 13, when Omeo, one of the females, gives birth in March. One of Australia's only alpine lizards, guthega skinks live on 'sky islands' above 1,600 metres in two isolated alpine locations – Bogong high plains in Victoria and Mount Kosciuszko in NSW. 'They're extremely vulnerable, given where they live,' says skink specialist Dr Zak Atkins, director of Snowline Ecology. As the climate warms, their alpine zone is retracting, and there's nowhere higher for them to go
Nursing a skink: endangered alpine lizard numbers set to rise after Omeo falls pregnant in Victoria
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