1. This week 10 years ago, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) published research showing humans, not dingoes or wild dogs, were the top-order predator in most Australian environments.
Leader of vertebrate pest research at DPI, Dr Peter Fleming said strategic wild dog management programs offered the best outcomes for rural communities and wildlife.
“It has been suggested that the reintroduction of dingoes could help manage foxes and cats, but our studies indicate that dingoes could have a negative impact on the survival of some endangered native species,” Dr Fleming said.
He said changes to the landscape, ecosystem and climate meant dingoes could not easily be slotted back into the mix as “biodiversity engineers”.
2. The first outdoor library in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere was officially launched by the Victorian Minister for Local Government, Jeanette Powell.
Mrs Powell said the small, weather-proof, birdhouse-like structures would be erected throughout communities in the Goulburn Valley, and commended the Goulburn Valley Regional Library Corporation for their “innovative approach to extending the possibility of borrowing books to communities that may have trouble accessing a local library”.
“Bringing the pleasure of reading a good book to people who find it difficult to access our public libraries is an admirable objective,” Mrs Powell said.
3. Researchers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) isolated and evaluated a “super strain” of native microalgae species that could form the basis of a local biofuels industry.
Lead Researcher of SARDI’s Algal Production Group, Dr Sasi Nayar said the success in finding the strain among the hundreds of microalgal species and strains evaluated gave South Australia a headstart as research into third-generation biofuels advanced to the next level.
“The microalgae has tremendous commercial potential with application across the full range of oil uses from biofuels to high-value co-products such as animal and human food supplements, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals such as skin cream and anti-ageing creams,” Dr Nayar said.
4. South Australia submitted its formal response to the revised draft of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, with SA Minister for Water and the River Murray, Paul Caica saying while some progress had been made, upstream States were still refusing to accept responsibility for overallocation.
Mr Caica said the upstream States should bear the burden of returning the river to health because they continued to allocate extra water from the river after South Australia capped its take in 1969.
“That’s why our response through the Ministerial Council calls for the Basin Plan to be consistent with the Water Act and to recognise our State’s responsible use of water from the River,” Mr Caica said.
5. In Western Australia, new regulations were being drafted to rule out tourism ventures based on sharks.
Minister for Fisheries, Norman Moore said the regulations would ban dedicated shark tourism ventures, including cage-diving operations and any others based on the attraction of sharks.
Mr Moore said while such ventures could generate economic benefits, there were concerns that sustained activities to attract sharks to feeding opportunities had the potential to change their behaviour patterns.
“I have decided that Western Australia will not be the place for shark-cage tourism, like those currently operating in South Australia and South Africa,” Mr Moore said.
6. And finally this week a decade ago, planning for the Perth–Darwin Highway reached a new milestone, with WA Minister for Planning, John Day approving advertising for a Metropolitan Regional Scheme (MRS) amendment outlining the proposed road reservation between Bullsbrook and Muchea.
Mr Day said the amendment was a key step in delivering the Perth to Darwin National Highway — an integral link in the State and national road network.
“Once built, the highway will enhance transport efficiencies between Perth, the north-west of Western Australia and the Northern Territory,” Mr Day said.
“The road concept and reservation have been designed to minimise overall environmental impacts, the number of residences directly impacted, and seek to curtail land severance where possible.”
