Bindaree Food Group Industry Dinner Elevates Casino Beef Week 2024

Casino, NSW - Casino Beef Week 2024, a pinnacle event in the Australian beef industry’s calendar, proudly introduces the Bindaree Food Group Industry Dinner as one of this year’s festival highlights. Set for Thursday, 23rd May, at The Clydesdale Motel and Steakhouse, this event promises an evening brimming with gourmet cuisine, insightful discussions, and unmatched networking opportunities, starting at 6:00 pm.

The evening will commence with a welcoming reception featuring sophisticated canapes and a welcome drink, setting the stage for a night of celebration and camaraderie. Attendees will then be treated to a threecourse gourmet dinner spotlighting Bindaree’s premium beef products, a testament to the company’s commitment to favor and quality.

A highlight of the dinner will be an address by Andrew McDonald, CEO of Bindaree Food Group, who will share the company’s achievements and its forward-looking vision. Adding to the evening’s allure, Larry Anthony, former Federal Minister and MP for Richmond, will host an industry panel discussion. This session aims to explore the current and future state of the beef industry with insights from renowned industry leaders.

Brody Lisha, President of Casino Beef Week, emphasized the dinner’s signifcance, “The Bindaree Food Group Industry Dinner is more than an event; it’s a homage to the heart and soul of our industry. It’s a showcase of innovation and community spirit.”

Andrew McDonald refected on the deeprooted connection between Bindaree Food Group and the Casino region, stating, “Our operations began here at the Casino Food Co-Op in 1981. Though we’ve expanded, our bond with Casino remains integral. This dinner celebrates our 43-year relationship with the community.”

Tickets for the event are available at $70 each from 2nd April, offering a unique opportunity to engage with the beef industry’s vibrancy and connect with peers in a prestigious setting.

The Casino Food Co-op Casino Beef Week is renowned for celebrating the beef industry, its contributors, and rural lifestyle, drawing attendees from across the nation. Bindaree Food Group, a key player in the Australian protein solutions sector, continues to invest in the region, demonstrating a commitment to its heritage and community. With extensive operations across Australia and investments in facility upgrades, Bindaree stands at the forefront of the global market while maintaining its local ethos in the Northern Rivers region.

As Casino Beef Week 2024 approaches, the Bindaree Food Group Industry Dinner is set to be a memorable event, reinforcing the strength and unity of the beef industry in Australia.

“Leemo has views on just about anything”

‘MUM JANE’ ANSWERS A QUESTION

‘Mum Jane’, explain to me the de nition of a good person (or a cat?) ‘Well ‘Leems’ to me, I reckon goodness is expressed through being kind & open in yourself and showing consideration & thought for others. It can be as easy as o ering to let someone go ahead of you in a Supermarket queue, donating to a charity or a street busker, patting a Puppy, saying hello to someone you don’t know who looks sad, making treats for neighbors, or even stu like making your time available for someone you care about.’ Hmmm! I still have questions. I’ll ponder! ‘Mum, are YOU a kind person AND give me a true and honest answer.’ She looked a wee bit startled and told me she would have to think about my question, and that perhaps a cup of tea would be in order. Okeydokey, done. ‘OK Leems, I WILL be frank with you. I like to believe I’m generally a good kinda person, but I also believe I fail dismally at times & end up feeling quite ashamed of myself & out of sorts.’ Ooooh… now that came out of the blue; I’d better keep going. ‘OK Mum, tell me about times you felt like this, and WHY!’ She looked most forlorn, and spoke. ‘Leems, I confess; I have always had a totally naïve attitude in believing everything I’m told as being Gospel truth. Even as a young person, due to my parents, I never ever had a reason to disbelieve something someone told me. Stu like being told that if a boy kissed me I would have a baby; this was via my teachers when I was at an impressionable age, hence I didn’t get kissed for a VERY long time. (What would I do with a baby anyhow. I was going to Africa?) As I grew older, but not much wiser, my naivety stayed, by me repeating what I’m told by one person to another person without knowing the authenticity of same. So, my confession about sometimes not being a truly good person comes down, basically, to listening to and repeating ‘GOSSIP’ Leems, straight and simple; I have been guilty of repeating utter nonsense, and that’s why at times I don’t feel as good a person as I want to be. HOWEVER, as you know, ‘cos I’ve told you, I’m now avoiding situations, people and stu which have lead to some of the despondency I have experienced in my heart AND, it’s working; for me. In fact, Leems, whilst you can be so irritating at times, I nd your company reassuring, trustworthy and comforting in my life, for which I love you.’ OMG, this is too emotional for a simple down-to-earth feline, BUT, one more question. ‘Mum, WHAT IS GOSSIP truly?’ Her eyes rolled. ‘Leems, I’ve told you this before when you overheard 2 of your buddies say you had a fake tail ‘cos it is too glorious to be genuine. THAT is uninformed Gossip. Had they pulled your tail they would have realised if was REAL and actually attached to your body. Remember that time? So, Leems, GOSSIP is generally negative talk applying to others and can be damaging, normally misinformed, malicious and hurtful. Gottit? I believe the moral of my story Leems, is to, as an example, ‘pull the tail’ and check out the truth’ before you pass judgement on any situation, conversation or person. AND, Leems, it’s time for you to watch ‘Bluey’. YIPPEE…with happy purrsies, Leemo.

Resilient Lismore receives full ‘Repair to Return’ funding

Resilient Lismore has welcomed the fnalisation of its funding deed with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, which will enable the continuation of its ‘Repair to Return’ program. Resilient Lismore Executive Director Elly Bird said that in 2024 the organisation is scaling up its ‘Repair to Return’ project to best utilise the $5 million funding.

“Repair to Return was formerly known as the ‘Two Rooms Project’, which used volunteer labour to construct walls in two rooms of badly food-damaged homes,” Ms Bird said.

“Repair to Return has evolved as we have secured funding, and now we engage qualifed tradespeople to do the work. Our scope has expanded to provide partial repair of homes, including kitchens, bathrooms and other critical repairs.”

“After nearly two years of our home repair work being privately funded by local organisations and philanthropists we are very grateful that the NSW Reconstruction Authority is providing this additional funding so that we can continue to help people return to safe and secure homes.”

“It’s a signifcant milestone for us and we extend our gratitude to Premier Minns and his government; to the Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dibb and of course to Janelle Saffn the Member for Lismore who secured this funding commitment for our work.”

“The Repair to Return program provides qualifed trades assistance to owneroccupiers who were living in the affected property at the time of the disaster and who still need to live there.

“We prioritise people who can’t progress their recovery on their own, we prioritise vulnerable people, and we are trying to help as many people as we can. We work in Lismore and in downstream communities, including Coraki, Woodburn, Wardell, Bungawalbin and others - we have a regional footprint.” Ms Bird said.

“We are not doing renovations or total rebuilds, but we will help people repair their homes so they have somewhere safe and secure to live. There is a high level of need so there might be a waitlist depending on the situation and the work that is required. We can’t guarantee that we can help everyone but we are doing our best to help as many people as we can.”

“We can provide labour and materials, or we can help people use the materials they already have. We can help to restore essential plumbing; repair and restore kitchens; assist with electrical work; resheet walls; assist with furniture and whitegoods - and more. People just need to talk to us to see what we can do.

Ms Bird said there was still a mountain of work to do for the Northern Rivers to build back and develop resilience for future events.

“This is a multi-year, longtailed recovery process,” she said. “We understand that people from outside the region might think, ‘Oh, that was two years ago, it’s all over now’, but that is far from the truth.

“Lismore and the Northern Rivers are on the way back but there is still plenty that needs to be done: homes that need to be repaired, people who need assistance, and businesses that need support.

“Resilient Lismore is here for the long haul because this is our community: our staff and volunteers are from this community. We love it, we are here to help the people we live alongside, and we are committed to helping our region not just to survive but to thrive.

“We are grateful to the Reconstruction Authority and to our partners and supporters for their ongoing commitment to our community. We are particularly grateful to the local people who have provided signifcant funding to get us to where we are now, and who have helped us to help so many people live in safer housing.”

Amanda Leck, Head of Adaptation, Mitigation and Reconstruction at the NSW Reconstruction Authority, said supporting the Repair to Return program was a practical example of the organisation backing a community-led initiative that clearly works.

“The work in Lismore is not just about buying back homes and rolling out our Resilient Lands Program, it’s about restoring a community and maintaining its unique identity for the long term,” she said.

“We know we can’t stop disasters from occurring, but we can do more to prepare and prevent the worst of their impacts.

“It’s critical we’re better prepared for future disasters with Councils and local community leaders and will develop local Disaster Adaptation Plans that consider all possible options.”

02

Family ties...by Nigel Dawe

“FAMILY,” once said Jenna Simms, “is the only six-letter word in which unconditional love, exasperation, and fat-out feuds can coexist. Sometimes, the only thing we can muster up is, “It’s complicated.” Complicated, being an understatement for some of the peace-stealing ‘syndicates’ you see that pass for families.

Funnily enough, the Hungarian word for family is ‘csalad’, which is very apt, when you consider the combinations of fruit and vegetables (often in the very same bowl) we all have to put up with, if not fnd ourselves in the presence of, whenever that strange collective of people, called family, catch up in the same confnes.

Ironically, the English word for family stems from the old Latin term ‘familia’ which means ‘slaves or servants of the household.’ And as such, I don’t think there is even one person among us that hasn’t felt enslaved at some stage of their life by the house‘hold’ they found themselves growing up in. That is not to be disrespectful of the people or surrounds that helped to mould us, but to merely shed intricate light on the shared blessing, and curse that family units can be.

Like many ‘given’ cultural constructs that are being reconsidered, if not fully recreated (and sometimes rightly so) in modern times, that of ‘the family’ is arguably one that has received the most scrutiny of them all. Like an all-inclusive, and ever shifting threedimensional Rubik’s cube, the once rigid construct of family, has