NewsBite

News

Barnaby Joyce has defected to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Senator Pauline Hanson has today travelled to Tamworth in the heart of New England to join local MP, former Nationals leader and former deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and announce he has joined One Nation. Picture: NewsWire Handout

ExclusiveNews15 minutes ago

Gina’s ag boss backs One Nation

A former Liberal chief minister running Gina Rinehart’s cattle operations has thrown his support behind One Nation, marking a dramatic political shift for the mining boss’s business empire.

0

Firewood onboard the PS Marion. Supplied

NewsAn hour ago

Plan to save forests fuelling fire risk

Commercial firewood sellers have called for changes to Victorian collection rules, warning people face going cold next winter or breaking the law to heat their homes.

0

Margra lamb loin with glazed rib, spinach, mint sauce and lamb jus, The Lodge Bar and Dining, James Street, Fortitude Valley. Picture: Liam Kidston.

NSW grazier to feature in documentary

A NSW grazier’s grass-fed lamb has earned a starring role in a documentary screening on international Qantas flights from Saturday.

0

05/11/ 2022: Hume Dam spilling with 12 gates open. Picture: Simon Dallinger

Brokers slam BoM’s ‘pointless’ $32.7m water website

Water brokers warn the Bureau of Meteorology’s $32.7m website could push trading “into dark spaces” and create market distortion through bait pricing.

D/I Farmer holding gun used to kill koalas on his property on Kangaroo Island, SA 07 May 2004. cull culling trigger sight firearm

UpdatedNews14 minutes ago

What tighter gun laws could mean for farmers

Farmers face sweeping gun law changes after national cabinet agrees to Australia’s biggest firearms overhaul since Port Arthur following the deadly Bondi shooting.

0

NFF President Hamish McIntyre, of McIntyre Agriculture, St George, Queensland.

Govt hits farmers with shock multi-million export fee

Australia’s agriculture sector faces a massive financial blow after the government quietly announced exporters must now fund regulatory costs.

House image 4 for The Weekly Times Weekly auction and sales story

Regional Victoria and the Riverina sale and auction results, week ending December 13

Regional Victoria and the Riverina recorded 22 property sales over a million dollars last week, the latest auction and sales results reveal.

NEWS: Lockington Pub Lockington's community owned pub has won a big industry gong. Pictured: Danielle Isherwood and Simon Poynting PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

Secret sauce of an award-winning community pub

A northern Victorian pub saved by locals has claimed Australia’s best remote hotel award after serving as a flood relief hub.

Sheep that are destined for the live export market, pictured from the paddock to the vessel. Pictures: Supplied

Export probe: Australian sheep mistreated in Jordan and Malaysia

Australian sheep have been mistreated at overseas facilities in Jordan, with footage revealing animals dragged by ears and moved while potentially conscious during slaughter.

Victoria

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning office in Knoxfield has had a spruce up, including new gardens. Shane Van Den Born senior forest fire management officer with a Mercedes G Wagon purpose built vehicle for forest fire fighting. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

ExclusiveVictoriaAn hour ago

Vic gets crucial fire tankers back for summer

Forest Fire Management Victoria has completed repairs on all 290 G-wagons after chassis cracks forced them off the road during spring.

Victorian Fires Special. Mallacoota fire recovery feature. Missing power pole, burnt to ashes on the Genoa-Mallacoota road. Picture: David Caird

‘Sick of excuses’: Stalled road upgrade frustrates locals

Mallacoota residents have lost faith in promised road upgrades as the $10m project faces further delays, with works now pushed back to 2026.

0

Farmers successfully blocking VicGrid access to their properties on the VNI West route.

Farmers have blocked VicGrid. But it may not matter

Farmers have successfully blocked VicGrid from accessing 29 properties for ecological surveys, but the agency still plans to forge ahead with environmental studies.

0

Politics

Barnaby Joyce has defected to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Senator Pauline Hanson has today travelled to Tamworth in the heart of New England to join local MP, former Nationals leader and former deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and announce he has joined One Nation. Picture: NewsWire Handout

ExclusiveNews15 minutes ago

Gina’s ag boss backs One Nation

A former Liberal chief minister running Gina Rinehart’s cattle operations has thrown his support behind One Nation, marking a dramatic political shift for the mining boss’s business empire.

0

D/I Farmer holding gun used to kill koalas on his property on Kangaroo Island, SA 07 May 2004. cull culling trigger sight firearm

UpdatedNews14 minutes ago

What tighter gun laws could mean for farmers

Farmers face sweeping gun law changes after national cabinet agrees to Australia’s biggest firearms overhaul since Port Arthur following the deadly Bondi shooting.

0

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 30: Senator Pauline Hanson speaks at Put Australia First Rally on November 30, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. At least 2,000 people are expected to gather in the Melbourne CBD for the anti-immigration rallies and counter-protests.(Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

‘Game on’: Inside One Nation’s Vic push

One Nation plans to contest nearly every Victorian seat at next year’s election after tripling its membership, threatening Coalition hopes in regional strongholds.

0

National

People take part in a vigil at Parliament Square in London, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 after the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in Sydney. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

London ‘emergency vigil’ honours Bondi victims as minister booed

An emergency vigil outside the Houses of Parliament has drawn hundreds as Britain’s Jewish community faces mounting fears following the deadly Bondi Beach attack. WATCH THE VIDEO.

0

be care ful web art

NationalAn hour ago

TV chef reveals years of relentless anti-Semitic hate

Celebrity chef Ed Halmagyi says he feels “utterly stupid” for not realising years of daily anti-Semitic abuse at his bakery would escalate to terror attacks.

Moscow responds to Bondi attack

UpdatedWorld

Moscow confirms Russians among those killed in Bondi attack

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has joined other world leaders in condemning the mass shooting in Bondi, calling for a global response to the “barbarism” of the attack.

0

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos NOVEMBER 19 2025; Former PM John Howard speaks with family members outside of St Andrews Cathedral at the State Funeral for the late Radio Broadcaster John Laws. Photo: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

UpdatedNational

‘Failed’: Howard blasts PM on Bondi attack

The Prime Minister who brought strict gun control to Australia has launched a blistering attack on the Albanese government after the Bondi attack. See how Australia’s gun laws will change.

0

World

(Front row L-R) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, the US President's son-in-law Jared Kushner and (back row L-R) Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson pose for a family photo on December 15, 2025 at the Chancellery in Berlin, where they meet for talks on how to end the grinding war of Russia with Ukraine. (Photo by Lisi Niesner / POOL / AFP)

UpdatedWorld

Ukraine deal ‘closer than ever’ as Russian sub blown up

America has apparently made Volodymyr Zelensky an offer he will find difficult to refuse, as footage purports to show the moment Ukraine demolishes a Russian submarine in a first. WATCH THE VIDEO.

0

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) in Jerusalem on December 7, 2025. (Photo by Ariel Schalit / POOL / AFP)

UpdatedWorld

US ‘looking into’ whether Israel violated Gaza truce

Washington is looking into Israel’s weekend killing of a Hamas commander during the Gaza ceasefire, as the militant group warns the strike threatens the truce agreement.

0

Trump Reiner artwork

UpdatedNews

Trump’s ‘sick’ tirade about murdered director

Donald Trump has sparked outrage after posting controversial comments about murdered Hollywood director Rob Reiner, as tributes pour in.

0

President Donald Trump speaks during a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

UpdatedNewsAn hour ago

Trump sues BBC, brands fentanyl ‘weapon of mass destruction’

The President has filed a $US10 billion lawsuit against the BBC over an edit of his January 6 speech, as he declared war on drug cartels by reclassifying fentanyl as a WMD.

0

More Rural News

NEWS: Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins speaking at the Rural Press Club of Victoria in the MasterChef kitchen at the Royal Melbourne Show Pictured: Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins PHOTOGRAPHER: ZOE PHILLIPS

New drought hardship loan available for farmers

Farmers who have suffered through more than two years of drought and expect another rough season will be eligible for a new loan, as the government hands down its response to the RIC review.

NEWS: Beef Producer, Lift in Cattle Prices Cattle prices are finally on the up in a good sign for producers heading to market. Jim is selling later this week. PICTURED: Generic farm. Stock photo. Mountains and windmill. Rural landscape. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Aussie farmers face crucial 2026 question

Southern Australian farmers are looking for a good season in 2026 as many battle drought recovery, while governments push controversial renewable energy projects and mining laws through rural communities.

Image of packaged meat with woman hand in the supermarket

NFF slams proposed ‘green’ star rating for food

A proposal for a five-star rating system based on how sustainably farm products have been produced has been rejected by the nation’s peak agricultural advocacy body.

0

Wombat Forest, taken by Peter Flinn

Experts warn Vic faces ‘nuclear bomb’ fire risk

Fire experts have documented dangerous fuel loads across Victoria’s forests and warned many residents face “a nuclear bomb waiting to go off” this summer. See the pictures.

A hen cannabilises the carcass of another

‘No comment’: Egg industry silent on grim hen footage

Australia’s egg industry has refused to respond to disturbing footage showing dead and dying hens at Victorian free-range farms, with members told to stay silent.

CROPS: Kayne Gardner Glenhope East Kayne Gardner farm manager on a large livestock and cropping farm at Glenhope East where hay has been cut and curing nearly ready for baling. Pictured: Kayne Gardner with rye and clover hay and his Kelpie dogs Sassy and Ziggy. PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

‘Want rain? Cut hay’: Farmer’s adage proves true

Rain struck the day after Kayne Gardner baled his hay crop, proving the farming adage about weather’s perfect timing for disruption.

0

CFA keep watch over a large haystack fire that is expected to burn for days on a property near Lethbridge. It is believed the stack combusted after hot weather. Monday, Jan 9. 2017. Picture: David Crosling

‘A long summer ahead’: Fires destroy farms, homes

Farmers are battling the impossible choice between fighting fires and harvesting crops as machinery blazes ravage thousands of hectares during record heat.

House image 2 for The Weekly Times Weekly auction and sales story

Regional Victoria and the Riverina sale and auction results, week ending December 7

Warragul proved to be a hot market last week with 14 properties selling for a total value of $9.7 million. See the latest auction and sales results.

House image 2 for The Weekly Times Weekly auction and sales story

Regional Victoria and the Riverina sale and auction results, week ending December 6

Regional Victoria and the Riverina recorded 25 property sales over a million dollars last week, the latest auction and sales results reveal.

LIVESTOCK: Mike O'Halloran angus weaners Mike O'Halloran with his angus weaners on his farm at Mansfield PICTURED: Generic farm. Angus cattle. Weaners. Weaner cattle. Stock Photo. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Victoria’s farm profit slump revealed

Farm profits have plummeted to a 20-year low with almost half of surveyed farmers recording losses amid drought conditions. See the latest figures.

0

01/02/2000. A block of butter. Knife. Food. Dairy product.

Butter price slide a slippery slope for farmers

Global butter prices have slumped 34 per cent in six months as milk production surges worldwide, spelling trouble for Australian dairy farmers.

Farmers and community members packed the Shady Creek Hall on Tuesday night to oppose the battery storage projects planned for the district.

Farmers charged up over Samsung battery farm plans

More than 200 farmers have packed a community meeting to oppose Samsung’s battery storage projects threatening prime dairy country in West Gippsland.

ExclusiveNews

Clay Gowers Harvesting barley at the family's Carwarp property. Picture: GLENN MILNE (crop harvest, harvest, Mallee harvest)

‘So unjust’: Shocking disparity in Victorian farm council rates exposed

Some Victorian farmers pay seven times more in council rates than others despite owning properties worth exactly the same amount, our exclusive analysis reveals. Use our searchable graphic to see the figures.

0

China's President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott (R) after statements to the media following the signing of a free trade agreement at Parliament House in Canberra on November 17, 2014. Xi is visiting Canberra after attending the G20 Summit in Brisbane over the weekend. AFP PHOTO / MARK GRAHAM

Inside a decade of the China-Australia free-trade agreement

Australian farmers have navigated tariffs and tensions to build exports to China to record levels, as the China-Australia free-trade agreement nears its 10th anniversary.

0

Silhouette of farmer Mark Heinrich with son Jakob who is kicking dust on their property in Rainbow, Vic 02 Oct 2002. drought

Farmers urged to speak up on health survey

Farmers have until December 15 to share their experiences in a wellbeing survey, three years after research found the true depth of the mental health challenges facing the sector.

0

Generic photos of the new Bureau of Meteorology website. Picture: Shae Beplate.

‘Obscene’: Farmers blast BOM’s $97m contractor spend

The Bureau of Meteorology has paid recruitment firm Hays almost $98m since 2020 for contractor staff, including $1.28m for a single program manager role. See the figures.

FOCUS: Lachie Barclay at Beeac Lachie is a beef and cropping farmer at Beeac. Pictured: Lachie Barclay on farm at Beeac with angus and Wagyu, angus and F1 cattle. PHOTOGRAPHER: ZOE PHILLIPS

Aussie agriculture’s output surges to record $99.5bn

Record livestock prices have propelled agricultural production to an extraordinary level, with a huge boost in farm profits also expected. See the latest figures.

House image 2 for The Weekly Times Weekly auction and sales story

Regional Victoria and the Riverina sale and auction results, week ending November 30

Regional Victoria and the Riverina recorded 28 property sales over a million dollars last week, the latest auction and sales results reveal.

House image 2 for The Weekly Times Weekly auction and sales story

Regional Victoria and the Riverina sale and auction results, week ending November 29

Regional Victoria and the Riverina recorded 27 property sales over a million dollars last week, the latest auction and sales results reveal.

KOSCIUSZKO NATIONAL PARK, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 23: Brumbies forage for food in deep snow in the Kiandra Plains region of the Kosciuszko National Park on August 23, 2020 in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia. Free-roaming feral horses, known as Brumbies, are found across Australia. Believed to be descended from animals imported by early British colonialists, the Brumby population is estimated to be in the thousands, with the highest concentration of horses roaming Australia's alpine region, which straddles the state border of Victoria and New South Wales. With large numbers of Brumbies trampling through protected National Parks, their fate has long been a subject of heated debate. On one side are those that want the total eradication of the animals - those who consider them a feral, invasive and destructive species. At the other end are those that advocate for the protection of what are viewed as

NSW axes protection for wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park

Brumby advocates have slammed NSW parliament’s decision to strip legal protections from wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park.

0

UPDATEDNews

09/04/19 Vegan activist Chris Delforce is the director of vegan documentary Dominion and was at the protests in Melbourne recently. Aaron Francis/The Australian

Animal activists granted bail over alleged Anakie farm burglary

A pair of animal activists charged over an alleged farm burglary have been released on bail by a Geelong court after police conceded they didn’t pose an unacceptable risk to the community.

UpdatedNews

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - November 4, 2025: Barnaby Joyce holds a doorstop press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

‘Better without him’: Former colleagues react to Joyce exit

Parliament rogue Barnaby Joyce has quit the Nationals in a fiery speech criticising the lack of engagement from party leader David Littleproud as one former colleague claimed the ex-deputy prime minister left because he couldn’t be leader.

0

UpdatedNews

Hamish McIntyre president of the National Farmers' Federation (NFF). He runs a family-owned, irrigated/dryland farming, cattle breeding, beef feedlot and broiler chicken meat business over 182,000ha in the St George, Dirranbandi, Quilpie & Beaudesert districts of SW Queensland. Picture: Supplied

Farmers left ‘bitterly disappointed’ over deal to pass nature laws

Australia’s peak farming advocacy group does not support the deal made by Labor and the Greens to pass revamped nature laws.

0

Brothers Lachlan and Travis Bell, Bellevista, Kangaroo Island, SA. The Bell's run a large mixed farming enterprise on KI - sheep, wool and cropping.

Kangaroo Island farmers turn barriers into profits

The 15km stretch of water separating Kangaroo Island from mainland Australia has created both extraordinary challenges and remarkable opportunities for its farmers.

Pubs in Rutherglen, Poachers Paradise owners Sarah Hince & Darren Simpson, Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Why locals ignore official pub names – and use their own

From Rutherglen’s wine country to Cobram’s Murray Valley, these country pubs maintain naming traditions that would puzzle city folk but make perfect sense to locals.

Original URL: https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news