Coonawarra absent from wine trade push
June 28, 2010
No wineries from Coonawarra are part of the State Government’s latest push into China’s burgeoning wine market.
The State Government is eyeing off more export opportunities in Asia, with 12 South Australian wine companies represented on a mission to China and Taiwan, visiting Shanghai, Qingdao and Taipei. Read more
International demand to push dairy prices higher
June 14, 2010
Australian dairy prices are expected to increase by 10pc in 2010-11 due to strong demand from China and India, firm domestic demand and stable production.
National Australia Bank’s Rural Commodities Wrap, released with dairy as the “commodity in focus”, provides an overview of key rural commodity prices and macroeconomic drivers, such as interest and exchange rates. Read more
Welfare payments anger
June 7, 2010
A Mount Gambier welfare organisation has claimed a proposal by the Federal Government to quarantine welfare payments to curb spending on alcohol and gambling discriminates against welfare recipients.
The Federal Government is set to expand its compulsory income management policy beyond the Northern Territory on a national scale to all welfare recipients in disadvantaged areas, including in the South East, where Tarpeena, Nangwarry and Mount Burr have been identified as disadvantaged areas by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Fishers call for lobster season cut
June 3, 2010
Representativesof the local rock lobster fishing industry are hopeful of a shorter 2010-11 season with reduced quotas after this year’s season ended at an all-time low for some.
Port MacDonnell Professional Fisherman’s Association president John Ashby said although efforts from fishermen were up this season, catches were down with boats hauling in just 6kg to 30kg per day, leaving the sector a predicted 100 to 150 tonnes short of its 1400 tonne total allowable commercial catch quota this season. Read more
Big tax threatens small mines
May 31, 2010
A Mount Gambier and district mining company has raised fears it could be swept up in the Federal Government’s 40pc super profits tax and has called for smaller miners to be exempt.
Gem Group Holdings – which operates a number of quarries in the South East and Victoria – yesterday called on the government not to penalise smaller operators that supplied the domestic market. Read more
Rainfall lifts agribusiness outlook
May 10, 2010
Increased demand and widespread rain have boosted the outlook for post-farmgate agribusinesses, with the March Quarterly Agribusiness Survey from the National Australia Bank showing improved confidence.
NAB’s general manager of agribusiness Khan Horne said both domestic and export demand had lifted. Read more
Apple industry lodges import appeal
May 10, 2010
Apple and Pear Australia has continued to raise major concerns about possible pest incursions from Chinese apples entering the Australian market.
The organisation has submitted an appeal on the provisional final Import Risk Analysis (IRA) for apples from China, which was released on March 30. Read more
Small businesses raise tax reform concerns
May 5, 2010
A Mount Gambier business leader has raised concerns that the proposed hike in compulsory employer superannuation contributions will hurt small businesses that are the “backbone” of the economy.
Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce president Lynette Martin said the rise in superannuation from 9pc to 12pc would add further pain to small businesses.
Farmers welcome emissions scheme backflip
May 3, 2010
South Australian Farmers Federation president Peter White has supported the Commonwealth Government’s flick of the emissions trading scheme (ETS), calling it “fundamentally flawed”.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced on Tuesday the ETS would be scrapped until 2013, despite his tough talk on climate change as “the great moral challenge of our age”. Read more
Housing report shows South East land among nation’s cheapest
April 29, 2010
The South East has the seventh cheapest residential house blocks in Australia, according to a new report released by the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
The median lot price in the South East is $87,500, while the nation’s lowest house price is in the northern region of South Australia at $59,165. Read more
