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Hancock Agriculture chairwoman Gina Rinehart said the summit was an opportunity for governments to better understand those living and working outside our cities. “Eighty-five per cent of Australians live in large urban locations, but we should not forget the engine room of our country, that being outside the cities in mining and agriculture and all of those who work in our bush,” she said. “They in turn make possible jobs for the many businesses the primary industries support; the truckies, the shops, even accountants, legals, tax advisers and many more.”

Australian billionaire businesswoman Gina Rinehart, through Hancock Agriculture, has seized the opportunity presented by the recently signed Australia-UK free trade deal to enter the British beef market. Rinehart introduced her premium beef products, including the renowned wagyu product called 2GR, from Hancock Agriculture and three new high-quality meats from S. Kidman farms. Emphasising the welfare of the animals, the superior quality, and the detailed provenance of the meat, Rinehart showcased her offerings to a diverse audience consisting of distributors, top chefs, butchers, high-end department stores, and Australian diplomats at the prestigious Meat and Wine Co restaurant in Mayfair.

Two events in the past week provide a revealing insight into the Cook Government’s approach to the implementation of updated Aboriginal heritage laws.

Damning new research has revealed WA farmers are the most heavily regulated in the country and the State’s new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws are only expected to ‘make a bad situation worse’. Damning new research has revealed WA farmers are the most heavily regulated in the country and the State’s new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws are only expected to “make a bad situation worse”.

An e-petition calling on the Cook Government to delay the introduction of WA’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act has amassed more than 29,000 signatures in a fortnight, smashing the previous WA record. The petition — which was only open to WA residents — was launched on June 6 by Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook, pictured, and closed on Tuesday. It calls for the Act’s July 1 start date to be pushed back at least six months after backlash from farmers and Native Title groups, and amid concerns the infrastructure required to administer it is not ready. Shadow heritage minister Neil Thomson — who was due to present the document to Parliament on Wednesday — urged the Government to “take note of the massive response”.

June 2023.

The backlash against the state legislation has been led by farmers, miners and property developers, and whipped up by the Liberals and National parties, which both oppose the Voice. Almost 30,000 people have signed a petition urging the Western Australia government to delay the legislation for at least six months. Pastoralists and Graziers’ Association president Tony Seamark, who filed the petition alongside Neil Thomson, the Liberal shadow planning minister, said the legislation has created an “intolerable” situation for landowners.

The unachievable “net zero” is a massive con. Our piddling contribution to reducing emissions of CO2 is wiped by the growth in emissions-producing power plants in China, Africa and elsewhere. Oh, and it’s destroying our economy too. But it wasn’t enough for Labor and the Greens and the Teals to have signed up to this humbug. They went further and backed the Voice referendum which, if passed, would give a blank cheque to anyone claiming a skerrick of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage to challenge any law and administrative action, or non-action, on the grounds that they may be affected.

He said while “Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interests are dependent on effective Aboriginal cultural heritage laws”, WA’s plans were not the way to do it. “The clear lesson from Juukan Gorge was that the protection and maintenance of genuine Aboriginal cultural heritage required approval processes that were transparent, detailed and well known,” he said. Senator Smith is calling for the proposed July 1 start date to be put back. “Premier Cook’s belligerence threatens the future prosperity of WA,” he said. “There is no shame in pressing the pause button for six months to allow a more comprehensive implementation and consultation program to undertaken.”

Gina Rinehart says adding a granny flat to a large backyard could be held up by contentious Indigenous heritage laws set to come into effect in Western Australia next month. Mrs Rinehart joins critics of the proposal who have described it as “shambolic” and said it would probably hold up new mines and food production. Australia’s richest person also hit out at the federal government’s plan to boost immigration, saying it had no mandate for the policy and should instead ease restrictions on the hours worked by pensioners and students.

The modern history of the Hancocks is well known but earlier generations also had a big impact on our State’s development It is quite a picture. The striking white horses kick up dust as they work in unison to pull the coach through the WA outback. Five men sit atop the coach and a lone rider keeps pace alongside. The photo presents a fascinating reminder of how once supplies, mail and people were carried across vast stretches of WA.