Hundreds of people were evacuated from homes and a school at Wallaroo in South Australia because of a fire at the town's silo complex.

An 800-metre exclusion zone was established, covering an area between Cornish Terrace, Wildman Street, Jetty Road and Chatfield Terrace.

The silos are on the western side of the town near the bay.

It is thought the fire began when a front-end loader malfunctioned.

Firefighters have contained the blaze to a grain storage area but there are worries that grain particles in the area could ignite and lead to more problems.

Copper Coast mayor Paul Thomas said it was tense in the town.

"It's quite eerie because the town's been blocked off at its outskirts so people aren't being allowed in and people's movement within the town's being restricted to keep away from the grain terminal, which is in the centre of the town," he said.

Mr Thomas says 150 students have also been moved out of the Wallaroo Primary School.

"Obviously for the school students I think it was a little bit anxious there for a while, because they didn't really know what was happening," he said.

"I think that has been most people's concern, getting the students away from the school, which has been done really quickly and very methodically."

The Professional Fishermen's Association says a new report highlights the importance of the industry to the economies of Ballina, the Clarence and Coffs Harbour.

The Association's John Harrison says the study found the industry generated more than 36 million dollars of direct income, which in turn pumped 216 million dollars into the North Coast economy.

He says that creates more than 930 jobs.

Mr Harrison says the findings should be a key factor in the ongoing debate about marine zones and fishing restrictions.

"Well it gives us independent data to actually put on the table to actually state this is what the benefit is for the towns that the commercial fishing industry provides," Mr Harrison said.

"This information needs to be taken into account when decisions are being made on the future access arrangements for the commercial fishing fleet," he said.

"Because it's not just the fishermen that earn an income from professional fishing, it's all of the other people that are in the co-ops, that provide goods and services the deckies, the people that are even providing chips to fish-and-chip shops are all assisted through the activities of the commercial fishing industry," Mr Harrison said.

Goulburn Murray Water says all northern Victorian irrigation systems could soon be 100 per cent allocations.

This morning it announced increased allocations on all systems, including 100 per cent allocations for the Bullarook and Broken systems.

Campaspe irrigators now have a 90 per cent allocation, the Murray is at 57 per cent and the Goulburn and Loddon systems are on 41 per cent.

The authority's Mark Bailey says all systems could have full allocations this season, if current inflow rates continue.

"If we keep going with the trends we have now, it is a distinct possibility by February next year," he said.

"When we get to February that's normally what we regard as being our highest allocation for a season.

"The information that we've got at the moment is that we're close to or above average inflows."

Cougar Energy says it has reached an agreement with the Queensland Government over the company's underground coal gasification (UCG) project in the South Burnett region of south-east Queensland.

The company's UCG plant at Kingaroy remains shut despite government tests clearing the project of contaminating bores.

The State Government says Cougar also has not provided all the information required for an environmental assessment of the project.

However, Cougar Energy managing director Dr Len Walker says talks held with government officials on Friday have resolved the issue.

"We had proposed to install four new monitoring bores within the pilot plant area and we will be going ahead with those as quickly as we can," he said.

"The department was requesting more information in relation to the installation of the new bores and in particular measures we'd taken of mitigating any risk of the same problem occurring as it occurred with our first production wells."

South Australia has recorded its first reports of spring locust hatchings.

There have been three reports in recent days in the Murray Mallee.

Cool, wet weather has led the Australian Plague Locust Commission to push its predicted hatching dates back about two weeks.

It means some southern and eastern areas may not see any hatchings until the middle of October.

Primary Industries entomologist Ken Henry says landholders need to remain alert.

"We had a couple last week and one on the weekend where a landowner saw them around his house, around some sheds and it's probably a situation where it's a bit of radiant heat, a bit higher temperatures and they've hatched out," he said.

He said areas in the north of the state could see widespread hatching within two weeks.

The Shire of Chapman Valley says it has had to increase camping fees at the popular Coronation Beach Camping Grounds to help cover costs associated with managing the facility.

From the start of this month campers will pay $15 per vehicle per night to stay at the camp.

Shire president John Collingwood says he does not anticipate people will bypass the popular location because of the increase.

He says council has operated the low-key tourist facility for the past five years and the increase is necessary to cover expenses.

"[It pays for] rubbish collection and the sullage, and we have to pump the sewage out fairly regularly which all adds to cost and we can improve our facilities," he said.

"It's still cheaper, far cheaper than the caravan parks."

Bundaberg North Burnett Tourism says it is aiming to attract more than 4,000 extra visitors to the Mon Repos turtle rookery this season.

The organisation will launch its $200,000 turtle campaign today, with a focus on the south-east Queensland market.

More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the rookery this season, which runs from November to the end of March 2011.

General manager James Corvan says tourism has suffered because of the weak economy in the past two years.

"Even though we do hear that, there's a lot of economic growth happening at the moment," he said.

"It's taking a while to get through to areas like tourism, so it's been a tough year across Australia for tourism.

"We're not quite sure what we're going to get but we would be hoping to get a 10 to 15 per cent increase."

Bundaberg North Burnett Tourism is also turning towards the UK in a bid to boost international visitors to the region.

Mr Corvan says online marketing is making it more affordable to attract tourists from the UK.

"It's been very expensive to get hold of that market and market to them," he said.

"We certainly can't afford to advertise but the use of digital marketing, websites, email, e-newsletters and so forth, is making that easier for us to do and the costs are also better in terms of us getting some efficiencies."

Vegetable growers on the Mitchell River flood plain at Lindenow are moving irrigation pumps above flood level.

Little rain fell in the area over the weekend but water from high up in the catchment and snow melt is making its way down the river.

Vegetable grower Bill Bulmer says this year's snow could prolong higher flows in the river into summer.

"They are forecasting about a 6.5, so that's a moderate to major flood, but without the local water it shouldn't have a great impact," he said.

"It will flood a lot of low-lying areas but it shouldn't have a major impact on vegetable production this time of year."

The Member for the south east New South Wales State seat of Monaro, Steve Whan, is the new Minister for Mineral and Forestry Resources.

He has been allocated the portfolio after the departure of disgraced Minister Paul McLeay.

Mr Whan already holds Primary Industries and Emergency Services, and says he will be briefed this week about his new responsibilities.

"But obviously I'll need to get a full briefing on where we're at with all our regional forest agreements and supply commitments," he said.

"We'll obviously be talking to people in the lead-up to the election about their agendas, but we are obliged to meet our commitments and I don't expect to see any dramatic changes simply because I've taken on the portfolio."

For more, go to the South East News blog.

More than 1,000 people turned out to watch the Hughenden bull riding championships in north-west Queensland at the weekend.

Rhys Angland from New South Wales took out the event, east of Mount Isa, while Troy Wilkinson rode in second.

Jackie Dunn from the Professional Bull Riders Association says the best riders will now be travelling to New South Wales to compete.

"We're getting towards the end of our season - we'll have our national finals in the end of November," he said.

"Our next event will be in Condobolin in New South Wales and that's on October 2 and then we'll come back up to Ingham in north Queensland for round 10 of the series."

The Federal Environment Department has suspended the approval for a resort development at False Cape near Cairns in far north Queensland for another year.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett first suspended the project in 2008 over environmental concerns about its impact on the Great Barrier Reef.

Last year, Mr Garrett extended the moratorium.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Department says the project was suspended for a third year, last month.

Steve Ryan from the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre says the Government needs to make a final decision on the project's future.

"It's obvious that nothing's happening out on the site," he said.

"There's sediment going into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, revegetation work needs to be done.

"We need to get this resolved - a permanent resolution is what we're after."

Mr Ryan says he wants to see the development approval rescinded.

"I think the Government is reluctant to take the step of rescinding approvals and everyone's been waiting somehow for the situation to be resolved," he said.

"But that's not happening, it hasn't happened, and we don't think it's going to happen.

"A decision needs to be made and it needs to be made to fix the site up and to do the best we can to put it back how it was."

Research into a new toxic blue green algae found in central Queensland waterways shows it could harm humans and kill livestock.

Associate Professor Larelle Fabbro from Central Queensland University (CQU) presented the findings of a three-year study to international authorities at a conference in Turkey.

She says the variety of algae found in untreated water in the Fitzroy River catchment was initially thought to be safe, but the study shows it can cause damage to the kidneys and other organs.

"If humans drink untreated water with this material in it, they are at risk," she said.

She says the toxin could kill cattle.

"In very large quantities it could cause death," she said.

Professor Fabbro says water treatment standards will need to be reviewed but people should not be alarmed.

She says the water treatment process may need to be updated in affected areas to neutralise the toxic material.

"The water treatment facilities will put on more activated carbon," she said.

She says more research is needed and further findings will be released later this year.

The Hunter's farming sector is heading into Spring with confidence after good recent rain.

Most of the region is free of drought after heavy winter downpours.

The Department of Industry and Investment's Hunter Valley agronomist, Neil Griffiths, says while some dairy farmers struggled with mud, there is an optimistic outlook for the season ahead.

"Because you've got the milking cows coming into the dairy twice a day to be milked and they congregate around, so they can certainly have problems with the mud and chopping up soft ground," he said.

"Of course, they've got issues with milk prices, but again most would be pretty happy with the situation and looking forward in the next weeks as it warms up.

"Spring time can be our most productive time on the dairy farm."

Across Australia farmers and landowners are increasingly fearful of the growing menace of wild dogs.

In the past farmers had to contend mostly with purebred dingoes, now they say they are facing a new, much more dangerous threat from interbred domestic dogs.

They say these dogs are much bigger, more plentiful and more aggressive than dingoes. One farmer told PM of shooting an Irish wolfhound cross that weighed 76 kilograms.

That farmer and others believe it is only a matter of time before a person is attacked, but in the meantime they say growing stock losses are having a huge impact.

Richard Fischer runs beef cattle on his property Glenelg, near the town of Bellbrook in the picturesque high country, inland from the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Wild dogs are a constant threat and he says a large pack was sighted on Thursday.

"A neighbour of mine that lives in a straight line - [there] would be a kilometre between our houses - the Country Energy employee coming into read his meter came on a pack of 10 of these dogs that had been disturbing and chasing his cattle," Mr Fischer said.

Wild dog attacks are on the rise throughout south-east Australia, particularly in sheep country.

Chris Johnson from the school of biology at James Cook University says the farmers' traditional enemy, the dingo, is being replaced by a far more dangerous adversary, the feral domestic dog.

"There's a lot of anecdotal evidence that there are more wild dogs around and they may be getting bigger, and possibly more aggressive as well, and that's largely due to the replacement of the original dingo populations with feral dog populations," Mr Johnson said.

Mr Fischer has trapped dozens of dogs in the past few years and says he has caught one the size of a small man.

"The largest I've personally destroyed, shot, has been 75 to 76 kilograms, verified by the Port Macquarie National Parks and Wildlife... they have the dog on show down there," he said.

"He was an enormous animal. He was a crossbreed between an Irish wolfhound and in all respects he was just a massive hunter killer dog.

"I trapped him first before I shot him and he carried a trap, the regulation steel-jawed trap, which was attached to half a fence post which would have weighed in the vicinity of at least 40 kilograms, he towed that, and I tracked him over five kilometres.

Mr Johnson says farmers are reporting seeing all sorts of breeds and that they vary in size.

"You'll see things that look very much like Alsatians, but with mixtures of lots of different breeds," he said.

"They tend to form in sort of pretty large, disorganised packs and move over fairly long distances which means they can really surprise sheep farmers.

"A pack of dogs can move into an area and cause havoc for a while and then move off somewhere else."

Mr Fischer says coming across a wild dog attack is among his most distressing duties as a farmer.

"We lost 32 in a matter of three weeks, 32 and they were yearling cattle that were killed," he said.

"It's extremely distressing when you go out to feed your cattle and you've got to take a rifle with you and shoot your cattle that are too weak after a dog attack.

"These domestic feral dogs, they attack just for the sport of it. They're not out just to kill for food."

Mr Fischer and many others believe it is only a matter of time before the problem gets much worse and a person is attacked.

Up to 450 jobs at the Tatiara Meat Company in Bordertown could become more secure with hopes of an enterprise bargaining agreement between the abattoir and the meat-worker's union.

Meat Industry Employees Union state secretary Graham Smith says there has been a breakthrough in negotiations with the Tatiara Meat Company over a new enterprise bargaining agreement for employees at the meatworks.

The union was in Bordertown yesterday for further talks after a decision by the abattoir's parent company, SWIFT Australia, to put its workers on a four-day rotational roster.

The move prompted fears the change would lead to job cuts, but Mr Smith says the union is confident of signing an agreement in the near future.

The South Australian Government has announced it will release the Riverland Prospectus next week, after more than 18 months developing the document.

Riverland Futures Taskforce chairwoman Ruth Firstbrook says the prospectus will outline how the Government's $20 million investment will be spent in the region over four years.

She says guidelines will also be released on how people can apply to have projects or ideas paid for, and is encouraging people to get involved.

"The fund isn't exclusively for those opportunities identified in the prospectus, I'm sure that there are other opportunities that people may present to us," she said.

"We would encourage anybody who thinks that they have some idea or already have an existing business and are looking to attract investment and generate a sustainable economy for this region."

The State Emergency Service is warning people to be careful around swollen rivers and streams this weekend as the trout fishing season opens.

The Weather Bureau is forecasting widespread rain, and SES acting director Tim Wiebusch says there is a chance of flooding in some areas.

He says fishers and others near rivers should be particularly careful this weekend.

"For those who might be seeking recreation around our rivers [it] is [important] to make sure that they are conscious of the emerging situation, that they don't, if they don't need to, be around some of our rivers and streams after the heavy rainfall," he said.

"But particularly for those that take recreation in those areas, they need to be particularly aware of the elements."

The Shire of Campaspe is holding celebrations today to welcome the paddlesteamer Pevensey back into commercial operation.

The boat was taken out of action nearly a year ago after the council missed a deadline for a routine inspection.

The paddlesteamer is 100 years old and requires annual safety checks.

New South Wales Maritime approved its return to the water last month.

Mayor Peter Williams says the council struggled to reach a deal with a local boat ramp operator to allow the necessary inspection, but has now secured a four-year contract.

"Clearly [it was] an issue for us and something of a challenge to get it all back together, but with the help of a whole lot of people, and the participation of a group of very keen and enthusiastic supporters, we've been able to get back under survey again and back trading," he said.

Nationals' Mildura MP Peter Crisp says he is backing his party's decision not to support the proposed casino in the city.

Developers are proposing a $400 million riverfront project that they say would create 1,500 jobs once operating.

This week National Party Leader Peter Ryan said the proposal would not be a part of Coalition policy if it wins the November election.

But the Coalition says it would not oppose the plan if it is in opposition and the proposal needs parliamentary backing.

But Mr Crisp denied the Opposition is hedging bets both ways.

"Ninety-nine per cent of the work's done before it comes to Parliament, so if a proposal was to get that far the hard work would be done," he said.

"In the Upper House where this has to be taken care [of] ... we would be prepared to let that go through."

Mr Crisp says the Government has chosen not to move the proposal any further at this stage.

"The Brumby Government could have started the process anytime it wanted to and John Brumby knows it very well," he said.

"The Government can proceed under the terms of the casino control act if they so wish."

The Camel Industry Association is working on a plan to make camel meat a regular addition to the Australian dinner table.

Camel industry heavyweights have been granted funding to develop the domestic market and work out the best ways to farm the million feral camels roaming Central Australia.

Central Australian restaurants and butchers are already selling camel burgers and camel sausages, and camel is also being sold as pet meat.

Camel Industry Association chairwoman Lauren Brisbane says once camel becomes an established industry the meat will be in demand nationwide.

"We spend $10 billion a year on the health market in Australia and camel meat is a very healthy meat," she said.

"It's 85 per cent less fat than beef. It's the same cuts of meat as beef and people who do consume camel meat love it and people who try it love it."

The Association says farming the animals will make the industry a strong economic force in Australia, instead of costing the nation money.

Ms Brisbane says as well as the meat, there is a viable domestic and international market for camel milk and wool.

She says a strategic plan is being developed cooperatively between Aboriginal landholders, pastoralists and farmers to reach the roaming population.

"One of the biggest issues for our industry is continuity of supply, even though there are a lot of camels our difficulty is accessing them," she said.

"We hope that camel meat will be readily available domestically and we can supply the markets that we have on an international basis."