AusBiz Magazine – May/June 2021

AusBiz.

NEWS+VIEWS | MINING | AGRIBUSINESS | PROPERTY

p.10 should you ditch facebook?

P.14 regenerative agriculture: digging deep P.19 nursing old mine sites back to life P.24 the regional boom: how long will it last? p.28 new bio-tech breakthrough puts pests on trial

MINE SITE REHABILITATION Three experts reveal the innovative systems and technologies they’re using to bring mining land back to life

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AUSBIZ NEWS

Gene editing to combat climate change Research is underway to safeguard food security and future proof farming systems in a world of increasingly unpredictable weather and variable climate conditions. Biotechnologist Dr Karen Massel from the University of Queensland (UQ) Centre for Crop Science says gene editing technology will play a vital role in climate-proofing crops to protect global CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing into modern breeding programs to create energy-rich cereal crops such as thirds of the world’s food energy intake.

“Farmers have been manipulating the DNA of plants using conventional breeding technologies technologies; we can do this with unprecedented UQ’s research proves there is potential for creating more resilient crops that can perform in adverse and deliver higher levels of nutritional value. Gene edited crops are not available in Australia but could assessments are currently underway.

FAST-TRACKING WILDLIFE CARE DURING BUSHFIRE SEASON While a relatively wet summer offered a reprieve researchers at Macquarie University are still working hard to improve the treatment of fire-affected wildlife. ways to improve the current strategy for wildlife care. After the catastrophic 2019/2020 bushfire of antibiotics to tend to the overwhelming influx of injured and displaced wildlife. The project aims to develop guidelines and training materials to promote avoid antibiotic resistance and genetic mutations. at Macquarie University’s Department of Biological

“antibiotic stewardship will help to preserve the long-

MAY/JUNE 2021

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Education

How Boarding Broadened Max’s Horizons boarding house at Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview.

I was born in Wagga, but home is Gundagai. It was a big change moving to boarding at Riverview, but it was easy to make new friends. Even though we come from all different backgrounds, everyone bonded pretty quickly.

Coming to Riverview, everything felt bigger. You go from being part of your own family to being part of a boarding house, and all the people you live with and eat with – they become family.

We play touch footy together after school, chat and play games in the rec room, and there are set study periods which have helped improve my studies. I feel like my dreams have not only become bigger, but more realistic.

I want to become a farmer like my dad and being at Riverview is helping me. I spend time at the ag farm, I’m part of the show team and I plan to study Primary Industries.

If you’re thinking about boarding at Riverview, do it. It’s a great school. We get to do heaps of things and have fun, but you also go on immersions and learn to help others.

I’m grateful to my parents for sending me here – it’s a great opportunity to learn new things and make friends for life.

For more information about boarding at Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview, head to riverview.nsw.edu.au/boarding

AUSBIZ NEWS

Solar energy trends of 2021 Did you know that Australia sees an average of 58 million petajoules of solar radiation

no surprise that the solar energy sector is booming despite the economic downturn delivered in 2020. New investment into largely driven by small-scale rooftop solar installations. The future of solar energy in Australia is looking bright with several key trends emerging as 2021 progresses. New advancements in technology have provided more accessible renewable solutions for ecoconscious Australians. Energy monitors and mobile phone apps provide consumers with real-time data on their energy consumption their habits and maximise the return on their investment. Improvements in reliable battery storage across the board have also proven users independence from the traditional

weather. Improved safety standards and regulation will continue to be a significant focus for the industry as more Australians invest in rooftop solar systems at home.

CONSUMER RIGHTS GROUPS CALL FOR BUY NOW PAY LATER REGULATION Some see it as an excellent way to manage cash flow and stretch out payments on a now pay later model isn’t going anywhere. Commonwealth Bank now has a foot in the even further after a challenging few months.

it is still considered a small segment. But with big players like CommBank stepping in Bank of Australia (RBA).

code of practice to be implemented across the board to protect consumers.

MAY/JUNE 2021

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GNSS Deal of the Year!

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The tech paving the way for Indonesia’s MotoGP

building of a brand new MotoGP racetrack

contractors with managing the design process and taking it to the paving and

mid-2021.

While an official date for the race has not

The Topcon GT robotic total station and the Topcon DL-503 auto level are used to check vertical accuracy of the work.

MAGNET software is used to seamlessly transfer and update work between the office

To achieve the tight tolerances required Grand Prix Association (MGPA) anticipates

Intelligent positioning solutions specialist Position Partners is working with PP

positioning and paving technology that will ensure the works conform to international standards.

“We have five highly experienced geodetic engineers and surveyors working

Regional Manager for South East Asia.

“Our consulting services assist the

exchange of data.

With many of the auxiliary roads now Topcon Millimetre GPS paving and milling systems. Millimetre GPS is a unique product that uses a high precision laser transmitter along with GNSS technology to deliver paving and milling operation to within a few millimetres of the design.

Unlike total station set-ups that require one to two instruments per machine on machines and survey rovers simultaneously with a single laser transmitter. In addition efficient workflow without the need to set-up and check multiple devices.

machines working full time to complete laying the street circuit.

“With our systems deployed from able to provide comprehensive workflow management and operational support for

practical training to the local workforce and

Find out more at positionpartners.com.au MAY/JUNE 2021

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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

SAY IT WITH FLOWERS: MEET THE AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS TOUCHING HEARTS AROUND THE WORLD

and the heartbreaking – nothing says “I’m thinking of

Words: Bethany Plint

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AusBiz.

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

While a lot of industries experienced many of which are still struggling to get the cogs turning again – one that

as Wine in a Glass and Miffy rabbit

customers can opt for a gourmet

CELEBRATING AUSTRALIAN FLORA While no one would turn down a

needed a brand they could rely on

stepped up to the plate.

“As people were separated due

was the absolute diadem of being able to say I am thinking of you and I am

around the world. What sets the business apart from the rest is the highly selective network of 700

for every occasion.

THE GIFT OF GIVING BACK business for them. The company’s social arm supports various charitable organisations by providing essential funding towards their goals.

“We have been partnering with National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Prostate Cancer Foundation

burgundy bow.

“To understand how lucky we are we have joined forces with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria with a “The partnership assists the Gardens in providing gorgeous green spaces for the people of Melbourne and

AHEAD OF THE FLOWER GAME

the respective charity logo. This helps our customers know exactly what we

In addition to their industry leading delivery and customer experience

explains Gerry These partnerships alone have

the e-commerce space.

in donations. Other fundraising suppliers became paramount throughout the tough 12 months since March 2020. “We were so pleased that we were able to support the

couriers – whilst simultaneously supporting our local

offers a wide selection of delectable chocolates and

with the Children Motherless Daughters and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria with an exclusive selection of native have also resulted in donations and raised awareness for these organisations' important causes.

“It is a really important part of our business and we are

says Gerrard. pay later (BNPL) options with AfterPay

purchasing a gift for a loved one. The business is also harnessing the power of social media and content marketing to attract new customers and maintain

many times over its nearly 70-year journey and the coming years will be no different. But what we will

MAY/JUNE 2021

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AUSTRALIA VS FACEBOOK this year and won… or did it?

Words: Ian lloyd Neubauer

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AusBiz.

TECHNOLOGY

Fake news. Creepy advertising. Tax avoidance. Selling private data to the highest bidder. Facebook has been able to break every rule in the book without suffering much of a loss in

introduced new laws forcing it to pay news organisations for the journalism Facebook responded by pulling all

Images: Facebook

it looked to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. A poll by News Corp found that more than a third of respondents said they would quit Facebook if the news ban wasn’t

“Facebook’s actions to unfriend

information services on health and

over the past three years to help Australian media organisations make

Minister Scott Morrison wrote at the

But some background is needed to put Facebook’s largesse into context.

Between 2001 and 2016 – the era that saw the rise of the Internet – revenue

social media juggernaut had also

charities. “We will not be intimidated

by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT pointed out that nearly all Australian

It also released a list of 19 training initiatives and grants it had funded

consumer and competition watchdog.

Why? Because the advertising spend where much of it was gobbled up by Facebook and Google.

Canberra had introduced amendments to the new laws so it would not have to pay news organisations ridiculous amounts of money for news content its members were independently sharing MAY/JUNE 2021

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TECHNOLOGY

on the platform. Canberra also claimed watered down. But as the amendments possible to know which party is telling the (most) truth.

Facebook refuses to say how many of its Australian users – said to number between 11.4 and 17.3 million – quit the

leapfrogged 83 per cent in just a few short days.

the kind of exponential growth that

University. LITT’s leapfrog also raises a million-dollar question: can an Australian start-up unseat the social media behemoth?

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Images: LITT

onto something big when he started

TECHNOLOGY FROM LEFT: LITT FOUNDERS BRENT THOMPSON AND PETER SALOM, LITT APP IN ACTION

FACEBOOK ALTERNATIVES

ABOUT FACE LITT co-founder Brent Thompson reckons it can. “We believe their brand has been damaged irreparably in Australia. This is

“We all went along with it because it was a one-stop-shop and we got hooked.

Any new website coming to market is

been in people downloading our app and investors keen to buy shares in our company.

It is abundantly clear that they are very eager

as any kind of threat or alternative for the simple reason that it can’t do everything Facebook does.

“Many Australians panicked when we heard Facebook would no longer continue to provide our news. But that problem

anticipate the camaraderie Australians have

kind of big change because it’s still so

take kindly to foreigners dictating how we

professor at the University of Melbourne and Facebook probably made concessions because the ban was hurting everyone.

But she doesn’t subscribe to the idea that LITT or any other Australian start-up can take on a social media platform the size of Facebook.

“Facebook got so many people onboard by offering all these different services

Lauren also believes Canberra’s time in the ring with the tech giant is over.

“Governments around the world simply don’t want to get involved in regulating Facebook. That’s why they have given says. “So I don’t imagine Australia wants

either. So it suits each party to let bygones

The fact that Facebook brings so many services together under one roof makes replacing it with a single alternative difficult to impossible. But there are apps out there that are superior to Facebook when it comes to providing individual services.

Google Photos – Store an unlimited number of photos and videos. Sharing is easy and users control who has access to specific photos and albums.

Twitter – News is something Twitter does much better than Facebook.

You have more control over what you see and can keep your newsgathering separate from your socialising.

Snapchat – The app that pioneered a style of social networking that makes more sense in today’s world.

Messages and photos are recorded for 24 hours and then deleted.

Google Calendar – Chances are most of the people you know have a Google account, making it easy to create and promote events.

WhatsApp – Send text, voice, photo or video messages to any mobile phone in the world free.

The catch? Facebook owns it and will monetise your data.

MAY/JUNE 2021

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AGRICULTURE

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE: A NEW HOLISTIC APPROACH TO FARMING Words: Susan Gough Henly

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AGRICULTURE

Image: Destination NSW

"REGENERATIVE FARMING ENRICHES SOILS, IMPROVES THE WATER CYCLE, INCREASES BIODIVERSITY AND ALLOWS PLANTS TO DRAW DOWN CARBON FROM THE ATMOSPHERE."

sheep farmer on a property near Cooma in the Snowy Mountains

In the process of researching

during his forty-plus years on the land.

wrote The Call of the Reed Warbler: A New Agriculture, A New Earth explores the practices of regenerative agriculture and the vital connection between our soil and our health.

boom-spraying a paddock with

REGENERATIVE AG IN PRACTICE

stopped Charles in his tracks.

Wisdom out of the mouths of babes Charles’s make or break moment. link in the whole system. There was a disconnect in my head because I was trying to make money while ignoring What followed has been a deep dive into doing things differently. In

essentially it is a system of farming principles and practices that enriches increases biodiversity and dynamic energy function of plants to draw down carbon from the atmosphere.

It embodies a holistic approach to working with the complex ecology to organic or biodynamic agriculture as there is no rigid code of dos and don’ts.

country to hear the stories of a wide range of broad-acre and livestock regenerative farmers.

“I’m not a great innovator but I’m And stories are a powerful way to reach people and open their hearts and minds to consider new Charles learned that it was a major environmental crisis or life shock that changed these farmers’ world view and overcame generations of family habits that have become increasingly entwined with industrial agriculture.

While old dogs seem to be learning

smart agricultural science graduates who can’t wait to hop into giant which are totally divorced from natural systems.

MAY/JUNE 2021

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AGRICULTURE THIS PAGE: FARM IN BOOROWA, NSW, SHOOT GROWING THROUGH HEALTHY SOIL OPPOSITE: WAGYU FARM IN ALBURY, NSW

science program that’s pivoted away from this type of approach is going gangbusters at Southern Cross University (SCU). The program is run in collaboration with the comprising Australia’s leading researchers and practitioners in regenerative agriculture.

These key trailblazers include Kerry Institute of Ecological Agriculture; holistic grazing pioneer Dr Terry of Resource Consulting Services;

free stockmanship and self-herding; pasture-cropping advocate Colin winning author renowned for his ground-breaking book Dark Emu which presents compelling evidence that Australian Aboriginal people have regenerative agriculture.

The project is spearheaded by

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AusBiz.

of the Regenerative Agriculture and 2018 Australian Rural Community

Regenerative Agriculture is already the largest agricultural science program in Australia (there are also postgraduate courses on offer) and the only one of its kind in the world. With 440 students

Regenerative Agriculture was a natural study path after a career that straddled horticulture and conservation. “There are real opportunities to mitigate the poor practices which are resulting in deleterious impacts to our natural capital – we need to bridge the divide between conservation and

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

experience in Agriculture in the Good Universities Guide 2020/21.

The course is designed for students who want to be a part of a new way of farming that better

Southern Cross University is not only focusing on agricultural science education but also government advocacy and farmer-driven research.

“Farmers are the best researchers

processes. The focus is on learning how to read landscapes and solve complex problems from a holistic perspective with the goal of building more resilient farms and farmers in a future of increased seasonal and weather variabilities.

For 37-year-old Northern Rivers

“We’re doing applied collaborative research in bio regions around the

managers and researchers to address A major focus is about adapting and climate patterns. The ancient continent of Australia has some of

Images: Holly Bradford, Capital Country Tourism & Destination NSW

BACKED BY SCIENCE

AGRICULTURE

and full of microbe-rich humus enables it to store more carbon. This directly impacts the soil’s ability to retain water and grow quality crops and pastures. And that’s just the beginning. contribute to improving human gut resilient to diseases such as cancer and auto-immune complications. They also offer the most effective way to pull

carbon sequestration while mitigating climate change.

THE SECRET IN THE SOIL agronomists were trained in chemistry scientist Terry McCosker. “We now know that soil biology has a profound so it’s vital that we home in on it with a laser-like focus in agricultural Soil research is central to SCU’s regenerative practices to increase soil carbon. They have research groups across the country studying such things as the impact of multispecies effects of pesticides on soil microbial regenerative agriculture practices.

Lorraine is sanguine when discussing the different approaches of traditional and regenerative agriculture. “We don’t have a themall going on a journey together. It’s about farmers expanding the tools in their toolboxes to work effectively with the environment. We all need to collaborate to educate ourselves regarding the best ways to save our

MAY/JUNE 2021

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The Aboriginal Artists Project combines the fashion accessory designs of Catherine Manuell with the artworks of many wonderful women artists from remote Australian communities. Shown here is the Bush Yams artwork by Evelyn Pultara from the Utopia region of Central Australia. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of these products goes directly to the artists.

Call us on 03 9486 4066 for help or a little personal service, or email: info@catherinemanuelldesign.com

www.catherinemanuelldesign.com

MINING

HIGH-TECH REHAB Mine site rehabilitation has never been more technologies they’re using to bring mining land back to life.

Image: Erizon

Words: Ian lloyd Neubauer

MAY/JUNE 2021

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MINING

"It's like building a house. You don't start with the roof, you start with the foundation. Some people miss this step and then big winds come through and undo all the hard work."

Before the introduction of mines in Australia were often abandoned without being properly rehabilitated. Mine-reclamation and closure plans are now required and miners are required to leave multimillion-dollar security bonds as a component of the environmental impact assessment. In this edition experts about the new technologies they're using to bring mining land back to life.

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THE SYMBIOTE “My current research is focused on not just rehabilitating but repurposing abandoned mine sites and helping local communities that were once dependent on mining with new employment opportunities and an associate professor in resources engineering at Monash University.

“We are currently working with AGL in Victoria and the site of a massive brown coal mine. The dimensions of this pit are massive – it's kilometres

long and wide. When you have such a massive pit you also have massive amounts of associated waste and

rehabilitate land to a pre-mining ecological level was to bring in large volumes of fertile topsoil that is in acute shortage at mine sites all around the world. But through our research at

strike a symbiotic relationship with

MINING

LEFT: ERIZON IN THE PROCESS OF REHABILITATING A MINE LEFT: LORD OF THE TREES FOUNDER AYMERIC MAUDOUS IN REHABILITATED FOREST

effective solutions. Take Loy Yang as an example. We have established a symbiotic relationship between

hard work because nothing is holding the topsoil together.

paper and pulp industries – waste streams were combined to create

then consulting with global databases as well as Indigenous Australians who pass on information from generation to generation about the most ideal plant species to grow there. It's a

“One of my former PhD students from India has now started a venture and we are talking with several large mining companies in Australia that are quite hopeful about its potential. It's out how one industry's waste can be repurposed to be a resource for monash.edu

THE SEED WHISPERER “We specialise in ecosystem restoration – a process that normally

the 'mother forest' – the foundation of the landscape. It's like building a

grasses like kangaroo grass which requires very little topsoil. It's a very resilient species perfectly adapted to

pods using precision-planting drones that do the job in a fraction of the time it takes doing it manually. The best planter in Australia working from sunrise to sunset can plant 800 can work day and night shooting two seed pods per second. If you do

swapping batteries. A drone pilot drones at the same time.

Images: Erizon and Lord of the Trees

you start with the foundation. Some people miss this step and then big winds come through and undo all the

though we often end up sowing

MAY/JUNE 2021

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MINING

“The survival rate of seeds planted by

compared to 40 per cent of those planted by hand. That brings the cost of planting a tree to around $1 compared to $2.93 if done by lordofthetrees.org

THE ILLUSIONIST mine site’s lifecycle: we aim to make our solutions as cost-effective as possible while still upholding the quality necessary to see

a point to present any client with an ROI

minimise more costs in the future. technologies to help keep our clients’ costs down: our topsoil alternatives and amended

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AusBiz.

products help with the initial establishment of vegetation and speed up the process of developing natural topsoil. We use drones to capture multi-spec imagery during the lifecycle of the rehabilitation process to

solutions in real time to ensure the best possible results.

“It’s really quite remarkable what we can do at Erizon when we put all these things

work closely with the miner to demonstrate the value in adopting more comprehensive solutions. This resulted in a better outcome and cost-saving by eliminating rework. a phone call from a community member who asked if the mine’s waste dump had it. But it was still there. We’d just created such a natural-looking landform with native

See erizon.com.au

ABOVE: LORD OF THE TREES PILOTS LAUNCH A SEED PLANTING DRONE

DID YOU KNOW? • There are 60,000 abandoned mining sites in Australia that need rehabilitation – most dating back to the gold rush, according to new research by Monash University • In most cases, complete restoration of mining sites is impossible.

But successful rehabilitation can result in the establishment of a functional ecosystem

1300 182 182 erizon.com.au

Guaranteed Results

PROPERTY

Australia’s cities might have copped the

at post-pandemic Australia suggests regional centres will see the greatest long-term transformation.

Words: Kirsten Craze

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Image: Tourism and Events Queensland

HERE COMES THE BOOM

PROPERTY

Image: Kollosche Real Estate

THIS PAGE: $5.6 MILLION APARTMENT IN MAIN BEACH, GOLD COAST OPPOSITE: REAL ESTATE IS HEATING UP ON THE GOLD COAST

housing densities are typically lower – which is populations and property prices are climbing. and many workers have a new-found appreciation people – the largest quarterly net loss since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began tracking such records in 2001.

IS THE REGIONAL BOOM LIKELY TO LAST?

salaries trade multimillion-dollar homes for

Even data experts are unsure of how long

real estate prices are being impacted. In the

but most agree that a permanent shift has already happened.

“As the pricing gap narrows between the

values rose at four times the pace of capital city markets.

“CoreLogic’s combined regionals index was up 7.9 per cent over the 12-month period compared with a 1.7 per cent lift in combined

affordability will naturally drag on demand.

Richmond-Tweed in NSW (home to Byron Bay) had the highest yearly growth for houses in a non-capital city region in 2020, increasing 12.6 per cent over 12 months, according to CoreLogic data.

we will likely see more employers looking for their

“As more Australians look for properties outside and supply is placing upward pressure on

FAST FACTS

in popularity of regional markets will persist into the future. Many workers and employers have found the working from home experiment to be

Ballarat in Victoria was home to the shortest time on market for regional Australia in 2020 with houses taking just 27 days to sell.

“Demand for regional housing can be workers enjoy additional flexibility in their work

*CoreLogic Regional Market Update, January 2021 MAY/JUNE 2021

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PROPERTY

Regional centres have always been

Images: Destination NSW

but is this appetite for small town Australia sustainable?

“The answer is a resounding ‘perhaps’

without COVID a significant societal switch was inevitable.

“The movement of people leaving the capitals and settling in regional towns is not simply people escaping virus-prone cities.

It’s also a story of sheer demographic forces

have so far failed at spreading population growth.

“Before COVID we had around 80 per cent of population growth occurring in just five cities. There’s no other country on Earth where the population is so highly

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AusBiz.

the demand is there.

“The value of a property is whatever whether a home is overpriced is a matter “It is highly unusual for towns to experience very strong price increases year

“All the big job growth has happened in

to those centres. Now we have a chance to “What we’ve got is by far the largest generation – 7 million Australians belong to the millennial generation – who have been living in the suburbs in one or two-bedroom apartments. This decade was always going to be when millennials needed to move to

40 per cent to $1.885 million – higher than many inner city suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.

WHERE POPULATION AND PRICES ARE CLIMBING A stand-out example of the regional house price boom is Byron Bay. In just one

that the town is on track to see median prices reach the $2 million mark in 2021.

Several non-capital city markets are even tipped to achieve $3 million median house prices this year.

is getting up to that level with Main Beach Nerida says.

PROPERTY

LEFT TO RIGHT: BYRON BAY IS NOW A BUZZING MECCA OF TOURISTS AND NEW LOCALS; THE LAIDBACK, LOVELY CITY OF ORANGE IS ATTRACTING HORDES OF TREE-CHANGERS.

Newcastle in NSW and Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula have also been flagged as high-growth areas.

of COVID. It’s been going on for about 20 some locations where we didn’t previously

HOW TO PLAY THE REGIONAL REAL ESTATE LONG GAME says the pandemic and a halt on international holidays has led to some regional markets feeling over-cooked.

“That’s just people making decisions based on emotion and being able to afford something in the moment. Will it always be like that? No. Those stories are Australia. The norm is what I’d describe as

as a slow burner.

“It’s arguably Australia’s most consistent year out of 20 where the median house

with performance. be a big city to have the potential of being a really strong performer with low risk.

they fall – and Australia’s capital cities are

MAY/JUNE 2021

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SCIENCE

DESIGNER FRUIT FLIES: THE LATEST BIOTECH BREAKTHROUGH way for scientists to replace diseaseWords: Virginia Tressider

interesting only for entomologists. But a new species recently described in Nature Communications is far out of the ordinary.

Science Fellow in Applied Biosciences at Macquarie

organisms (GMOs) from ‘getting away’ and reproducing with wild species.

The technology also opens the door to new approaches to precisely targeted biological control measures for invasive species and diseasecarrying insects.

introducing a whole new – and extremely fertile – class of creatures (such as cane toads) into an ecosystem.

“This new method instead uses engineered pests to reduce the wild population or replace it with a less

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AusBiz.

Image: Erik Karits

biological control strategies for pest insects have not

SCIENCE

THE AIM IS TO REDUCE POPULATIONS OF INSECTS THAT ARE HARMFUL TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT, WITHOUT THE USE OF CHEMICAL PESTICIDES

MAY/JUNE 2021

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SCIENCE

Images: Markus Spiske & Syed Ali

DENGUE-SPREADING MOZZIE IN TEAM’S SIGHTS The eventual purpose of introducing EGI species is to eradicate or dramatically reduce populations of invasive species and insects that are harmful to human health

FROM PEST ORGANISM TO PESTICIDE

genome-editing tools to essentially convert the pest organism into the pesticide

using the gene-editing tool CRISPR-cas9

Because this engineered species is identical to the original species in all but

introducing a gene-activator that looks for the original DNA sequence.

“When an EGI organism mates with a

danger of the unintended consequences of other attempts at biological controls – consequences such as environmental

of chemical pesticides like DDT – which created its own new set of environmental disasters – and without risking unintended consequences from removing an element from a functioning ecosystem.

“Engineering speciation events has we are very excited to begin applying this method to major challenges in human and The goal is to use this technology to reduce disease-carrying and invasive mosquitoes or replace them with mosquitoes that cannot transmit disease.

of the original DNA sequence. The gene carnage that introducing cane toads brought about.

By ensuring that the engineered species and the wild species cannot produce the split from the parent species creates an that will not be capable of reproducing with members of the original species.

approaches to pest control using modern

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other viruses.

ABOUT THE PROJECT Dr Maciej Maselko is a CSIRO Synthetic

the risk factors in introducing engineered species into the environment: the potential spread of transgenic material into wild insect populations.

“The engineered material is effectively

Biology Future Science Fellow in Applied Biosciences at Macquarie University.

This story was originally published in The Lighthouse

opinions.

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I D

E

R N A

O A

H C B

A

I

T

T C U

A

P

C

S

G M E R G O P E G A S U S

U W E E H S N A B O U W Y

N U N D N W X N I H P S D

N D R C U O E Q G D P L I

I V O E X S G R U R E A A

L A C N O I A A E P G R M

B M I T L S N T R W N U R

O P N A P B S E B D O T E

G I U U F N C U O N M L M

Y R A R O H N U Y H E V F

P E A M A Y K M R Y P Q B

R W I U I U P I X I E U A

D F N P E H C Y C L O P S

DWARF OGRE

T

AusBiz.

MEDUSA GOBLIN PIXIE GNOME

C

32

MERMAID CYCLOPS CENTAUR BUNYIP DRAGON

H

WEREWOLF MONSTER UNICORN VAMPIRE PEGASUS

C O C

25. Young chap started like a dream (3)

B O O B O O

27. Cook taco mix for parrot (8)

E

21. Come before tea to see a heavenly body! (5)

20. Foil what’s often on the rocks (6)

Y R A R O H N U Y H E V F R

24. Cancelled producing child before spring (3)

G I U U F N C U O N M L M

D

23. Mistake made by Yogi’s partner (3-3)

O P N A P B S E B D O T E

R

instructor (10) 16. Sole position in the way (9)

B M I T L S N T R W N U R

I

22. Dashes off other half of code (4)

government (11)

L A C N O I A A E P G R M

I

19. Depress some prudish ear?

Tenacious! (10)

I V O E X S G R U R E A A

N D R C U O E Q G D P L I

N U N D N W X N I H P S D

U W E E H S N A B O U W Y

T

7. Insert a leader in Russia (5)

G M E R G O P E G A S U S

S

18. Complaining bitterly about fence (7)

5. Lord’s wife seen with Chatterley’s lover! (4)

C

17. Longed for Ned after 12 months (7)

BIG BIGGER

T

14. I leave train games for ships (10)

4. One who carries grizzly animal and queen (6)

S

12. Temptation changed a bit (4)

WORD SEARCH

T

11. Be salver or be disloyal (6)

3. Weird spade adapted for use by many people (10)

E

10. Raft no longer right behind (3)

C

act (9)

9. You can count on it (6)

M

DOWN

8. Give lawful permission to call on league allies (8)

D O

ACROSS

D

26