Rescues at Mt Hotham after snow strands holiday-makers
On today's show:
A cold snap has hit the Victorian Alpine region and the Central Table lands of New South Wales bringing with it snow. Emergency crews are on call to rescue anyone stuck in the freezing conditions after heavy snow hit the area over the weekend. The conditions proved tough for rescuers who pulled 13 people out of the snow - who were trapped in their cars - near Dargo High Plains Road at Mount Hotham in the Victorian Alpine region. Reporter: Ashlee Aldridge (Wodonga)
A popular tourist town in Western Australia's south says visitors are likely to face increased costs, due to power shortages. Bremer Bay business owners say buying expensive diesel generators appears to be the only option available to avoid blackouts, as rolling outages plague the tourist town. Reporter: Andrew Chounding (Albany)
Queensland's tropical island resorts were once the playgrounds of the rich and famous, but now, many are falling into ruin. The State Government is moving to take back control from owners who have neglected the valuable tourism assets. Reporter: Kristy Sexton-McGrath (Cairns)
Farmers across southern Australia are counting the cost to their mental health as one of the worst droughts in living memory persists. With parts of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales experiencing record-dry conditions over the past year or more, the battle to keep livestock alive and grow crops without decent rain has taken its toll on farmers and their families. Advocates say while some regions are finally starting to see some rain in winter, mental health in the farming community could take years to recover. Reporter: Selina Green (Mount Gambier)
A resident near Kempsey discovered 30 snakes in the shed and a large number of spiders when she returned home after flooding. Mould is another issue facing flood-affected residents, who are encouraged to ventilate their homes as much as possible. The NSW Reconstruction Authority is working to help about 150 households still in emergency accommodation return home. Reporter: Emma Siossian (Port Macquarie)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
12 hours ago
- The Age
One fish, two fish, 35,000 fish: Rainbow trout released for school holiday anglers
They wiggled and squirmed as thousands of them splashed their way to freedom. Big white buckets full of rainbow trout were hauled into Karkarook Park Lake in Melbourne's south-east on Saturday by keen fishermen and women. Two thousand of the fish species found their new home in Heatherton's icy lake. They are among 35,000 fish being added to 70 lakes across Victoria, with the aim of getting kids off their screens and into the great outdoors during the school holidays. The ready-to-catch rainbow trout – which are ideal for beginner anglers and can be caught with lures cast from the shore – are part of the $96 million Go Fishing and Boating plan. Victoria stocks more fish than any other state or territory. Steve Dimopoulos, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, said the fish were being distributed in time for the school holidays. 'We are saying come to your local waterway, you don't need an expensive boat, you just need a rod,' he said. 'You'll catch a fish in Victoria more than anywhere else in Australia.' The release follows on from former premier Daniel Andrews' 2022 pledge of $1.5 million over four years to give 95,000 free fishing rods to year 5 students, and all students at specialist schools. That program had varying levels of success: while some were excited to take up fishing, the ABC reported a number of students tried to re-sell the rods online.
Sydney Morning Herald
12 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
One fish, two fish, 35,000 fish: Rainbow trout released for school holiday anglers
They wiggled and squirmed as thousands of them splashed their way to freedom. Big white buckets full of rainbow trout were hauled into Karkarook Park Lake in Melbourne's south-east on Saturday by keen fishermen and women. Two thousand of the fish species found their new home in Heatherton's icy lake. They are among 35,000 fish being added to 70 lakes across Victoria, with the aim of getting kids off their screens and into the great outdoors during the school holidays. The ready-to-catch rainbow trout – which are ideal for beginner anglers and can be caught with lures cast from the shore – are part of the $96 million Go Fishing and Boating plan. Victoria stocks more fish than any other state or territory. Steve Dimopoulos, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, said the fish were being distributed in time for the school holidays. 'We are saying come to your local waterway, you don't need an expensive boat, you just need a rod,' he said. 'You'll catch a fish in Victoria more than anywhere else in Australia.' The release follows on from former premier Daniel Andrews' 2022 pledge of $1.5 million over four years to give 95,000 free fishing rods to year 5 students, and all students at specialist schools. That program had varying levels of success: while some were excited to take up fishing, the ABC reported a number of students tried to re-sell the rods online.
ABC News
12 hours ago
- ABC News
'Heartbreaking' algal bloom hits metropolitan Adelaide beaches
The South Australian government says some of the algal bloom that has been plaguing the state's coastline and Coorong has now been pushed to metropolitan beaches. Beachgoers and scientists have been discovering a wake of dead marine life washing up on Adelaide beaches, including Glenelg, Grange and Semaphore. Marine biologist Mike Bossley has spent thousands of hours roaming the beach in his lifetime, but since Tuesday has sighted species he's never seen on the shore. "Different kinds of rays and sharks, lots of pipefish, things called ling, which is a very unusual thing. I've never seen them washed up on the beach before, and lots of species of fish that I don't even know the names of," he said. A marine heatwave brought on the harmful algal bloom, causing discoloured water and foam in the Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula and the Coorong. Surfers and swimmers started reporting falling ill after being in the water in March, and countless dead creatures have since washed up all over the state's coastline. Environment Minister Susan Close confirmed the impact on metropolitan beaches was in part due to recent weather events. "Partly because some of the bloom has been pushed towards us, but also because we've had a big storm, that some of the dead marine life that's come out of the gulf has now washed up onto our coastline," she said. Citizen scientists have been reporting dead fish washing up closer to the city throughout the past month, from Sellicks to North Haven. But Dr Bossley said there had been a swell in dead marine life on the shore since Tuesday's storm. "I was appalled when I came here [to the beach] and it was just dead marine life, dead fish everywhere, and sharks, rays, all sorts of stuff," he said. Glenelg North resident Ali Wylie is a frequent beachgoer and was concerned to see the carnage on the seashore. "I had no idea that the algal bloom had got here, but it's so — it's just heartbreaking," she said. "I was heartbroken at Coorong, I couldn't bear to look at the footage, and now it's here. What can we do?" Rodney Shugg said he had also been seeing fish, small sharks and rays wash up dead at Semaphore Beach on walks with his dog since the storms last week. He said he had attempted to return some of the still-living marine life to the water. "Most of them were sharks, Port Jacksons; different-looking crabs that we don't normally get down here too," he said. Mr Shugg said he had been rolling over the dead sharks and rays looking for any sign of injuries but only sees redness on their undersides. He added he was concerned for dogs on the beach after hearing of a labrador that had become ill after eating something that had washed up. Marine and wildlife conservation student Emily Beckmann said she had documented more than 30 species of dead creatures at Largs North and Taperoo in the last three days. "As a passionate marine biology student, it is heartbreaking to see the animals I admire so much dead on the beach instead of thriving out in their natural environment," she said. The state government is asking people to contact Fishwatch to report dead sea life to help scientists better understand the algal bloom and potential events in the future. "The sooner we can get there and test the animals, the faster we'll know what's going on," Dr Close said. Dr Bossley said the algal bloom is a reminder that climate change "is here". "We really need to have our governments doing everything they can to deal with it." Dr Close said more needed to be done to help ecosystems bounce back after challenges like the algal bloom. "We need to look after nature so that she's more resilient in the face of this kind of pressure, and we need to understand the connection between this and climate change and really make sure that everyone's taking climate change seriously across the world," she said. The state government has described the algal bloom as stubborn but, in an update on the Department for Environment and Water website, said the latest statewide observations show sea surface temperatures have continued to decrease in shallow coastal and gulf waters. It added deeper continental shelf waters, however, continue to experience marine heatwave conditions. In the meantime, Dr Bossley is in talks with psychologists about setting up eco-grief workshops to help people cope with the devastation they're seeing. "You don't have to be a marine biologist to be really, really sad about what's happening," he said. "It's just ordinary people who walk along the beach and enjoy the beach and the marine life; they're impacted just as badly."
