-
Wool industry hit by another mulesing boycott
Australian sheep farmers have been snubbed by a well-connected company, which is joining a global boycott of Australian wool.
The Kukdong Corporation is based in South Korea and distributes clothing brands like Pierre Cardin and NAF NAF.
The company's chief executive has announced he is committed to eliminating Australian wool from the manufacturing chain.
The decision is another blow for the shrinking $3 billion Australian wool industry.
The Kukdong Corporation once bought about 20,000 kilograms from a national clip of 370 million.
Chief executive SK Byun says the company is opposed to the controversial practice in Australia of mulesing. Mulesing is the slicing a piece of skin from the sheep's behind to stop it being infected by maggots.
The company joins retail giants like Nike, Hugo Boss, Abercrombie and Fitch and H and M in its boycott.
In an email to the international organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), SK Byun said the company would be looking to other countries where mulesing is not practised.
PETA's director Matt Prescott says he welcomes the move.
"We feel that the fate of Australian sheep lies not with the farmers or AWI (Australian Wool Innovation) but in the hands of global retailers like Kukdong," he said.
2010 deadline
Four years ago the wool industry as a whole pledged to phase out mulesing by 2010.
Australian Wool Innovation is the organisation charged with finding alternatives to mulesing in order to honour that commitment.
PETA accuses them of back-pedalling.
"We think statements that their new board members have made have made it seem like AWI is not going to meet that deadline," Mr Prescott said.
"In fact the new chairman of the board, Wal Merriman, is an avid proponent of mulesing, he's a stud marino breeder churning out the same types of problems that mulesing tried to solve in the first place.
"Hopefully the deadline will be met but right now it looks like it won't be."
AWI would not speak to ABC Radio's PM program this afternoon but a spokesman for the organisation says research into alternatives continues.
Greg Weller from Australia's peak wool body, Wool Producers, says despite his disappointment with the Kukdong pullout, it is good business that the customer ultimately dictates the ethical boundaries of a product.
"We have a very good product, it's produced very environmentally friendly and ethically and there are choices there now for customers to direct their buying decisions," he said.
"We say to those consumers they can access unmulesed wool. Put your buying decisions in that direction."
-
Cave centenary celebrations
The Gunns Plains Caves in north-west Tasmania is today celebrating 100 years since it was opened as a tourist attraction.
The first European inside the cave was William Woodhouse in 1906, who opened it up to visitors three years later.
Cave operator, Geoff Deer, says the experience for visitors has improved over time.
"Back then she was climing down a rope ladder, crawling along rocks, and walking in water on planks," Mr Deer said.
"But now there's steps and a pathway all the way thorugh, and six months ago, parks and wildlife put in a complete new lighting system."
-
Locals rejoice as north-west Qld drenched
Outback towns in Queensland's north-west remain cut off by floodwaters but that is not raising too many complaints from the locals.
After years of drought they see the inundation as a return to the summer wet season and its benefits.
In the first five days of 2009, north-west Queensland has received almost as much rain as it did for the whole of last year.
The falls have eased dramatically and the floodwaters that inundated the region are now starting to recede.
But Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek and Burketown are still cut off and at McKinlay the pub best known for its role in the Crocodile Dundee movies is still hosting about 100 stranded travellers.
Walkabout Creek hotelier Paul Collins says he has been run off his feet.
"Oh, we've always got plenty of beer. You always have to expect a wet season, even though we haven't had one for three years. But there's always plenty of stock here," he said.
After years of drought, many are seeing the floods as a return to the normal wet season.
A spokesman for Emergency Management Queensland, Elliot Dunn, says locals are very happy.
"This should happen every year. I think we haven't seen it now for two or three years but it is normal rain for here."
Even though the floodwaters are now dropping, it is expected major roads and rail lines will remain closed for the next day or two.
But Mr Dunn says food and medical supplies are holding up.
"At this stage we still look like we can get some supplies into Mount Isa over the next 24 or 36 hours," he said.
"Many people at Burketown will be affected. There's 200 or 300 up there that won't be able to get out for another couple of weeks at least.
So far there has been few reports of stock losses. Most graziers are rejoicing at the sight of overflowing dams, after watching cattle die in recent years of starvation and thirst.
The Queensland Seafood Industry Association is also rejoicing, saying the fishing industry has been revived.
"That sort of rain and runoff and nutrients going out into the oceans is just going to mean a lot of increase in catches, which is great news," Neil Green, of the Queensland Seafood Industry Association, said.
"What we can't forget here is that a drought in the land is a drought on the sea and to have this turned around, it just means so much for the fishing industry of Queensland."
Mr Green is predicting good catches of banana prawns, barramundi and king salmon by March.
"I would forecast that they're going to be fairly cheap and very affordable, so I think consumers will benefit from this rain as well because while stocks are up, prices will be down," he said.
Adapted from a report by Nicole Butler for AM on January 6.
-
pls send regs
Roma Saleyard looks to beat own sale record
The nation's biggest saleyard, in southern Queensland, says it can easily beat a record it set last year once it opens additional pens.
The Roma Saleyards complex sold nearly 409,000 head of cattle, the most it has ever sold in a year.
Operations Manager Terry Hyland says the drought forced many graziers to sell their stock.
"Every week our buying strength seems to increase," he said.
"Week after week we have new buyers registering and many weeks, you'll have 150 buyers lined up to buy, very strong buying strength.
"Our geographic position seems to lend itself to the saleyards, it's just a great position for saleyards."
-
Parentline expanded to rural Qld communities
The Queensland Government has announced it is allocating $3 million dollars to expand a parenting program into rural, regional and isolated communities.
A phone counselling service called Parentline will employ six extra counsellors to help parents facing issues that involve disabilities or social isolation.
The Communities Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr says the counsellors will be placed in those regions in greatest need.
"People who live in regional and isolated communities often are really stuck because they've got a bit of a mini-crisis, don't know how to deal with it and this assistance will go a long way to stopping that problem reaching a crisis point," she said.
|
