Plus feisty crimebusters and party animals. Welcome to Galah Weekly, our award-winning newsletter keeping you up to date with regional headlines that matter, plus other delightful things from life beyond the city. By Dean Southwell, who would freeze up if he was carjacked.
The rain-forced cancellation of Byron Writers Festival events last weekend has prompted organisers to call for more affordable and accessible insurance for cultural events.
The NSW Northern Rivers-based festival, which had attracted a stellar line-up of authors, was scheduled to run for three days but was cancelled after the first day.
The weather made conditions so bad at Bangalow Showground that artistic director Jessica Alice and her fellow organisers felt it was impossible to continue the event safely with more rain forecast over the weekend.
Satellite and feature sessions continued on the Saturday and Sunday but this week organisers had turned their attention to refunding tickets and packing down the sodden site.
While organisers were offering ticket refunds, they also asked supporters to consider donating their ticket costs to the festival or seek only a partial refund. They said access to insurance and its cost were major issues for outdoor festivals and small arts organisations, and events such as Cyclone Alfred and regional floods had only made the situation worse.
“If Australia wants to continue to have a vibrant cultural sector, we urgently need a festival insurance scheme that guarantees against loss for extreme weather events in a rapidly changing climate,” organisers said.
Three women, including a great-grandmother recovering from a broken leg, have received bravery awards for their part in foiling a carjacking outside a Broken Hill hospital late last year.
Noni Wilson, 89, was being picked up from a physiotherapy session at Broken Hill Base Hospital when a man attempting to steal the car jumped in the driver’s seat beside her.
Wilson said her fight-or-flight response kicked in and she started blowing the car horn and tried to elbow the man out of the car.
Driver Julie Paull, who was knocked to the ground as the man grabbed her keys, and health worker Tayla Newman also acted to help Wilson. Police eventually arrested the would-be carjacker.
The bravery of the three women was recognised at a local police event last month.
Some NSW councils say their regions are oversaturated with renewable energy developments and at least one is asking the state government to stop approving them in its region.
The Yass and Upper Lachlan districts house more than 40% of the state’s wind turbines, with more developments on the way. Both councils have raised concerns about the impact of renewable energy projects.
Yass Valley Council Mayor Jasmin Jones said solar and wind energy projects in her district, which is not in a NSW renewable energy zone, already generated enough energy to power 500,000 homes. The council has called on the state government to stop approving them in the area. "We are not NIMBYs. We have clearly done some heavy lifting," Jones said.
Farmer Emma Webb, who is leading opposition to one of the new developments around Yass, said her region was becoming an “industrial junkyard” as rural areas carried the dual burden of growing food for cities while also producing their energy.
Earlier this year ANU solar power expert Andrew Blakers accused Yass residents who successfully opposed one solar farm project of being selfish.
Last week, Goulburn MP Sally Tuckerman quit the NSW shadow cabinet citing a lack of community consultation over legislation controlling energy projects.
Gaypalani Waṉambi, a Yolŋu artist from north-east Arnhem Land, has won the $100,000 Telstra Art Award at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards for a work etched on discarded road signs.
Waṉambi, who won the Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize last year, is the daughter of acclaimed artist Wukun Waṉambi.
Tiwi artist Clair Helen Parker, who is now based in WA, won the designer award at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards last week. The Community Collaboration Award also headed to the Tiwi Islands when it was awarded to the Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association for its work with island artists.
Seven years after an immigration raid made the Queensland town of Biloela a byword for community fighters, the family at the centre of it all is living its Australian dream.
That 2018 raid put Sri Lankan asylum seekers Priya Nadesalingam and Nades Murugappan and their two Biloela-born daughters into immigration detention for four years.
But it also launched a campaign by the Biloela community to let the family return to their adopted town. The campaign was ultimately successful, with the Nadesalingams returning to Biloela in June 2022.
The ABC’s Australian Story caught up with the family this week.
There’s no reason why serious farming can’t be done in cities to benefit communities and the environment, according to a Flinders University study.
Researchers say well-managed food production on city fringes and in built-up areas should be taken seriously in an increasingly urban world as a way of developing healthy communities and contributing to sustainable development.
Adelaide was nominated as a city doing it well, citing programs including free exchange of city-grown food, connected backyard gardens and free fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
A restructured Mount Isa Rodeo attracted a record crowd last weekend, just 10 months after the event appeared headed for collapse.
The rodeo – the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere – was placed in voluntary administration late last year and the 2025 event went ahead only after the Queensland government contributed an extra $2 million.
Meanwhile, a sell-out crowd of 3000 for the inaugural Roebourne Rodeo could help the event become a permanent fixture for the Pilbara town, 1560km north of Perth.
Father’s Day is three weeks away and we have special Galah bundles in our online shop that are perfect for the day, or any other day where you’re hunting a gift.
Three days of events includes BAR Sam, an art party to celebrate the Brett Whiteley exhibition at the Shepparton Art Museum, before the city’s inaugural Regional Arts Fair. At Shepparton, Vic, 22-24 August. Read more
ViV! is a children’s show about a sassy nine-year-old who lives with disabilities and is the heroine of the interactive play, by Bathurst playwright and director Catherine McNamara. At Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, NSW, 21-23 August. Read more
From galleries to laneways and historic buildings, the biennale showcases the works of international and Australian photographers in an exploration of visual storytelling. Acclaimed British-Ghanaian artist Campbell Addy heads the 2025 program. At Ballarat, Vic, 23 August-19 October. Read more
Artists Gabrielle Bates, Leo Cremonese and Georgina Pollard, who all moved from Sydney to the central NSW town of Kandos during the past 12 years, feature in this exhibition of new abstract paintings. At Mudgee Arts Precinct, NSW, until 21 September. Read more
The Big Feed, an organisation created by Benalla-born Kay Richardson that aims to build sustainable food systems and resilient communities, wants to spark lasting change in rural and regional communities with a new fundraising initiative.
After delivering food education programs for nearly two decades, Richardson and her charity board are planning to grant $25,000 to a grassroots project that helps improve food security and disaster resilience or support single mothers and carers.
Tell us about the Giving Circle. It’s a way of collective giving or pooling donations to make a bigger impact. The aim is to have 50 small Giving Circles raise $500 each, and when combined, deliver a $25,000 grant that can be transformative for grassroots projects. The circles can be led by an individual, a group or even a small business that can involve their staff or customers.
Why the focus on rural and regional communities? That’s where the need is. Compared with their urban counterparts, more rural, regional and remote Australians live with obesity and long-term health problems and support for mental health issues is hard to find, especially for young people. They have less income and are three times more likely to be food insecure. They are also older and often very lonely and more likely to be living with a disability or caring for someone with a disability.
How are the grants awarded? We’re about to open expressions of interest and the projects will ultimately be driven by local people or groups, so we want to learn more about their ideas and potentially kickstart them into reality. Strong projects will be asked to apply for a grant. Once the Giving Circle fundraising targets are met, the people or businesses who create them will then get to vote on which applications are successful.
What sort of projects could benefit from the grants? We are looking for place-based, community-led food projects designed to address critical local challenges and that nourish not just bodies, but futures. The grant focus areas are food security, disaster preparedness, single mothers and home carers and workers. All projects must engage young people, ensuring they play a role in shaping future community food practices and resilience.
What other initiatives are on the way? The Big Feed is about to launch its own online community for changemakers who are passionate about building sustainable food systems and resilient communities. It will be a vibrant, safe environment where donors, grant applicants and volunteers support each other, share knowledge and contribute their expertise.
Want to help? Email kay@thebigfeed.org.au or read more here.
Cockatoos can intentionally dance to music and some even have their own signature moves, according to new research from Charles Sturt University.
Lead researcher Natasha Lubke studied videos of dancing birds as well as carrying out in-field testing at Wagga Wagga Zoo, where two major mitchells, two sulphur crested cockatoos and two galahs were assessed for their claw-tapping tendencies.
Each bird was tested for 20 minutes with silence, music and even the She’s On The Money finance podcast. Progressive house music was the genre of choice as Lubke used Avicci’s The Nights to test the cockatoos’ penchant for busting moves that included the headbang and downward walk.
Scientists have been studying more party animals, with Griffith University researchers finding whales and dolphins comfortably playing together, including a case where a whale lifted a dolphin out of the water. And talking of whales, the same orcas that wear salmon hats also give each other massages.
We’d love to hear about the news, events and people that should be making the headlines in the Galah Weekly newsletter. Share what’s new(s) in your neck of the woods with us at newsie@galahpress.com
