Category: MIL-OSI

Source: State of Victoria Local Government 2

Residents and visitors are invited to experience the Bendigo African Festival at Hargreaves Street Mall taking place from 10am to 8pm this Saturday, August 1.

City of Greater Bendigo Director Strategy and Growth Rachel Lee said this was an exciting event for the region, never seen before.

“The Bendigo African Festival this Saturday August 1 will transform Hargreaves Street Mall into a vibrant celebration of African music, food, culture, and fashion, while helping to activate the city centre and support the day and night-time economy. Entry is free,” Ms Lee said.

“This is the first regional event extending the success of the African Music and Cultural Festival, held annually at Melbourne’s Federation Square in November. This is the largest and longest-running free celebration of African culture, bringing together over 40 African countries in a single, vibrant event with support from all levels of government.

“Bendigo marks the festival’s first regional event with headline performers including the internationally celebrated ensemble Sun of Africa and traditional West African cultural group Foday & The Culture Keepers.

“Local resident and Ghanaian-born chef, author and musician Ras Ato will curate the African Story Village and present food demonstrations.

“People can experience contemporary dance, African drumming, acrobats, storytelling, a fashion parade involving Bendigo African communities, market stalls, and free family activities.

“Many more exciting events for the region are in the pipeline and will be announced shortly. The Bloom campaign will welcome spring with a celebration of tulips and floral colour complemented by a variety of experiences for all ages. The full events program will be released soon.

“CURIOSITY: Building Breakthroughs in LEGO® Bricks continues to be a big hit for family entertainment at the Discovery Centre.

“The City’s beautiful theatres will present many of Australia’s best performers including, Robot Song, contemporary music from Boy & Bear and family entertainment from The Blurbs.

“With our impressive sporting facilities, we continue to secure major sporting competitions, held over several days and during weekends including the Hockey Australia Country Championships. These high-profile sporting events significantly boost our local economy with visitors booking accommodation, shopping, and dining out in Greater Bendigo.”

Source: State of Victoria Local Government 2

Residents and visitors are invited to experience the Bendigo African Festival at Hargreaves Street Mall taking place from 10am to 8pm this Saturday, August 1.

City of Greater Bendigo Director Strategy and Growth Rachel Lee said this was an exciting event for the region, never seen before.

“The Bendigo African Festival this Saturday August 1 will transform Hargreaves Street Mall into a vibrant celebration of African music, food, culture, and fashion, while helping to activate the city centre and support the day and night-time economy. Entry is free,” Ms Lee said.

“This is the first regional event extending the success of the African Music and Cultural Festival, held annually at Melbourne’s Federation Square in November. This is the largest and longest-running free celebration of African culture, bringing together over 40 African countries in a single, vibrant event with support from all levels of government.

“Bendigo marks the festival’s first regional event with headline performers including the internationally celebrated ensemble Sun of Africa and traditional West African cultural group Foday & The Culture Keepers.

“Local resident and Ghanaian-born chef, author and musician Ras Ato will curate the African Story Village and present food demonstrations.

“People can experience contemporary dance, African drumming, acrobats, storytelling, a fashion parade involving Bendigo African communities, market stalls, and free family activities.

“Many more exciting events for the region are in the pipeline and will be announced shortly. The Bloom campaign will welcome spring with a celebration of tulips and floral colour complemented by a variety of experiences for all ages. The full events program will be released soon.

“CURIOSITY: Building Breakthroughs in LEGO® Bricks continues to be a big hit for family entertainment at the Discovery Centre.

“The City’s beautiful theatres will present many of Australia’s best performers including, Robot Song, contemporary music from Boy & Bear and family entertainment from The Blurbs.

“With our impressive sporting facilities, we continue to secure major sporting competitions, held over several days and during weekends including the Hockey Australia Country Championships. These high-profile sporting events significantly boost our local economy with visitors booking accommodation, shopping, and dining out in Greater Bendigo.”

Source: Prime Minister of Australia

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Source: Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

Most Southern Ocean petrels breed during the summer months, but the grey petrel (Procellaria cinerea) is an exception. This robust seabird breeds through the harsh sub-Antarctic winter, hunting for food and raising its chick amidst the sleet, snow and relentless winds of Macquarie Island.
In doing so, grey petrels play an important ecological role, transporting marine-derived nutrients from the Southern Ocean back to land and enriching the island’s coastal and terrestrial ecosystems.

Grey petrels were widespread, although rare, across Macquarie Island in 1911, then later disappeared from the island altogether. Their return was first recorded in 1999, coinciding with cat control and the subsequent eradication of feral cats (Felis catus) by rangers from the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS).
Grey petrel re-colonisation on Macquarie Island has continued following the successful removal of rabbits, rats and mice through the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project which was managed by the PWS, in partnership with the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). In addition to eliminating direct predation by rats on eggs and juveniles, the removal of rabbits has also removed competition for burrows and has transformed the island’s vegetation, enabling the recovery of dense tussock vegetation that provides critical breeding habitat.
Grey petrels lay a single egg in March or April, which hatches in May or June. Chicks remain in their burrows for more than 100 days before fledging in spring. This winter, the wildlife team – comprising AAD Wildlife Biologist Dr Sarah-Lena Reinhold, Wildlife Ranger Karina Sorrell and Ranger in Charge Gemma Rushton – are surveying grey petrel breeding sites across Macquarie Island that have not been monitored since 2018.
Using burrow scopes to inspect nests, the team spends the available daylight hours (inevitably covered in mud) crawling through dense tussock to locate burrows and record breeding activity, including the presence of adults incubating eggs and the occurrence of chicks.
Unfortunately, grey petrels continue to face numerous threats throughout their breeding range. Globally, incidental capture in commercial longline fisheries remains one of the greatest causes of mortality. Climate change is altering oceanic conditions across the Southern Ocean and the distribution of prey, while marine pollution,  – including plastic debris, -poses additional risks. Continued efforts globally to reduce fisheries bycatch, eradicate introduced terrestrial predators from breeding sites and the protection and restoration of breeding habitat, remain essential to securing the future of grey petrels and many other Southern Ocean seabirds.
Grey petrel surveys will be conducted on Macquarie Island over several years to produce an updated island-wide population estimate, improving our understanding of the status of this threatened species. These data will provide an important insight to the species’ population trend and help guide ongoing conservation efforts under the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP). It is part of the work of the multi-agency ‘Macquarie Island Wildlife Monitoring Program’.
This content was last updated 10 hours ago on 30 July 2026.

Source:

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water will hold a public hearing on Monday, 3 August 2026 as part of its inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling. The inquiry was referred on 19 January 2026 by the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator the Hon Murray Watt.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested the 54-year-old federal member for Solomon in relation to an alleged assault on the Administrator of the Northern Territory.

It is alleged the incident occurred at a public event on Saturday 18 July 2026 involving the 54-year-old and the Administrator of the Northern Territory.

Investigations began last week and police arrested the 54-year-old earlier this morning and he remains in custody.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested the 54-year-old federal member for Solomon in relation to an alleged assault on the Administrator of the Northern Territory.

It is alleged the incident occurred at a public event on Saturday 18 July 2026 involving the 54-year-old and the Administrator of the Northern Territory.

Investigations began last week and police arrested the 54-year-old earlier this morning and he remains in custody.

Source: Tasmania Police

Two men charged following incidents including attempted motorcycle stealing in Hobart CBD

Thursday, 30 July 2026 – 9:30 am.

Two men have been charged by South East CIB following their arrests yesterday afternoon after they allegedly attempted to steal a motorcycle in the Hobart CBD and subsequently left the scene in a stolen white Ford Courier, crashed with a vehicle on the Brooker Highway, and attempted to set fire to the vehicle in Milburn Place Glenorchy, and flee the scene.
A 28-year-old man from Bridgewater was charged with:

Motor vehicle stealing
Attempted motor vehicle stealing
Drive while disqualified
Fail to comply with the duties of a driver involved in a crash
Unlawfully setting fire to property
Contravene conditions of a notice.

A 22-year-old man from Orford was charged with:

Motor vehicle stealing
Attempted motor vehicle stealing
Breach of bail conditions.

Both men were detained to appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court today.

Source: Australian Renewable Energy Agency

A future powered by ultra low-cost solar is within reach, but without a significant shift in how Australia delivers utility-scale solar projects, the opportunity could slip away.

That’s the key finding of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) Ultra Low-Cost Solar White Paper Update, released today.

Ultra low-cost solar represents a leap forward in cost and performance beyond today’s solar technologies, to deliver cheaper renewable electricity that can unlock new, more energy-intensive industries like green metals and fuels.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said while progress in solar technologies is happening, the speed and scale of delivering large solar projects is now the key risk to reaching Australia’s ambitions for ultra low-cost solar.

“Australia needs a shift in focus towards how solar projects are delivered, not just what is installed,” said Mr Miller.

“Without a change to the approach in how large-scale solar is built, financed and integrated, we risk missing the opportunity to bring costs down fast enough to support the next phase of the energy transition.”

The updated analysis shows that ARENA-supported projects are demonstrating faster, more standardised and safer approaches to deploying large-scale solar and positioning Australia to unlock new industries in the next phase of the energy transition.

However, these advances are being offset by other pressures that are slowing the deployment of this critical technology, including workforce constraints, a more challenging investment environment, grid connection delays and inflation.

ARENA’s portfolio of ultra low-cost solar projects is testing new approaches, particularly in construction, integration and test-bed environments, to help accelerate solar cost reductions this decade.​ By supporting a growing pipeline of projects, ARENA is moving innovations from concept through to real-world deployment and helping accelerate cost reductions across the sector.

Projects supported by ARENA, including 5B’s modular solar systems, Built Robotics’ automated piling, Nextpower’s deployment technologies, and Luminous Robotics’ installation systems, are reducing build times, improving safety and enabling more efficient delivery at scale.

Mr Miller said the opportunity of ultra low-cost solar remains significant as Australia looks to the next phase of the transition.

“Australia has a strong foundation in solar, but the next phase will depend on how quickly we can translate innovation into industrialisation,” Mr Miller said.

“The progress we’re seeing today gives us confidence in what’s possible, but the next few years will be critical to turning this potential into reality.”

The Ultra Low-Cost Solar White Paper update is available on ARENA’s website.

ARENA Media

Source: Tasmania Police

Two in custody after motorcycle stealing in Hobart CBD

Wednesday, 29 July 2026 – 4:26 pm.

Two people are in custody after an attempted motorcycle stealing in the Hobart CBD this afternoon.
Police were called about 1.45pm with the alleged offenders reportedly leaving the scene in a stolen white Ford Courier utility.
Significant police resources were deployed however before police arrived, the vehicle was involved in a collision with another vehicle driven by a member of the public at the intersection of Risdon Road and the Brooker Highway. The offending vehicle then left the scene.
Thankfully, there were no reported injuries in the crash.
A short time later, reports were received of a vehicle on fire in Milbourn Place, Glenorchy.
Police conducted searches of the area and successfully located the two alleged offenders.
Anyone with information, including dashcam footage, should contact Police on 131 444, or via Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000. Please quote: ESCAD: 220-29072026.