GINA Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture has recently purchased three irrigated cropping properties in the Wee Waa region of New South Wales, in a transaction reportedly worth circa $150 million.
 

Industry sources have told Grain Central that Hancock Ag purchased the 6856-hectare aggregation from the Findley family, who have lived in the area for three generations.

The transaction features main property, Cudgewa, alongside Pian Plain and Pindara, which are run by father-and-son team Robin and Lucas Findley.

Sizable, reliable water entitlements is understood to be a key feature of the aggregation, with the properties coming with a combined allocation of 23,000 megalitres plus approximately 7000ML of groundwater.

Of the total land size, about 4300ha is developed to irrigation.

Jim Chalmers’ first speech as treasurer outlines the enormity of the global economic situation – inflation, energy and supply chain issues, and a continuing war in Europe – and signposts that this is a budget that’s much more about what he’s taking away (or reallocating) than new announcements.

It’s not often we get two budgets in the one year, and this one is in stark contrast to the Coalition’s before the election.

Shortly after Australian telecommunications company Optus announced the identity data of millions of customers had been stolen, a person claiming to be the hacker announced they would delete the data for US$1 million.

When Optus didn’t pay, the purported hacker published 10,000 stolen records and threatened to release ten thousand more every day until the ransom deadline. These leaked records contained identity information such as driver’s license, passport and Medicare numbers, as well as parliamentary and defense contact information.