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Warren
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
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Local ladies celebrate Int’l Women’s Day, at Ellerslie Lane
House destroyed on Doug is bang on Dubbo Street after blaze target for Memorial early Sunday morning clay target shoot STORY: PAGE 6
STORY: PAGE 11
We want you! Warren Fire + Rescue are recruiting, as local numbers dip By HARRIET GILMORE A CRITICAL shortage of local fire-fighters in Warren, is putting pressure on surrounding communities, with the recent launch of a recruitment drive by Fire and Rescue, hoping to attract new members to the team. Despite the very enticing pay and benefits on offer for On-Call Firefighters, Warren Fire and Rescue currently has only six members, instead of a full-staff quota of at least 12 for the unit. This means that, when there is an urgent need in the community, fi refighters are travelling from Dubbo, Trangie, Nyngan, Gilgandra, and even further afield, to support the Warren crew. “Firies” as they are commonly-known, are paid to undertake an array of duties, including fi re suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, community education, and fi re prevention activities. Continued page 4
STORY & PHOTOS: PAGE 18
Give our water back! Call by Coulton, mayors, producers By HARRIET GILMORE A R ANGE of stakeholders from the Macquarie Valley came-together last week to call on the Federal Government to return water to the region. Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton, joined Warren Mayor, Councillor Milton Quigley and Narromine Mayor, Cr Craig Davies; in a cry for help for local communities. Local primary producers, Macquarie River Food and Fibre (MRFF) — which represents more than 500 water-users from the district — also attended the press conference in Dubbo held last Tuesday, demanding action on the issue. The collective argues that almost 40 gigalitres of water has been “over-recovered” from the Macquarie-Castlereagh catchment. They are therefore calling for this water to be returned and not counted as part of the 450 gigalitres of environmental water that the Federal Government is trying to secure as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. The Productivity Commissions’ recently-released review of the Murray Darling
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Let the rivers flow! Warren Mayor, Cr Milton Quigley addresses media at a press conference held last week demanding over-recovered water from the Macquarie Valley be returned to producers. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
Basin Plan, endorsed amendments made to the original Plan by the Commonwealth , under the Restoring Our Rivers Act 2023. “The Productivity Commission report just further validates Labor’s plans to recover the 450 gigalitres of additional environmental water,” Mr Coulton said at the media event. “Water Minister, Tanya Plibersek, has indicated that she has no intention of returning over-recovered water back into production, which is very concerning for Basin communities in my electorate,” he added. The setting-aside of more water for environmental river flows, was hollowing-out local agricultural production, Mr Coulton claimed. “Communities in the northern Basin have already been gutted by water buybacks and the over-recovery of water,” he said. “They’ve done more than their fair share of the heavy lifting, and cannot afford to lose any more productive water — water that is used to grow the crops that help feed our country.” Continued page 3