Independent MP Helen Dalton has confirmed she will stand for re-election in the Murray seat at the 2027 NSW state election. Dalton is currently the only candidate registered with the NSW Electoral Commission for Murray. Media reports say the NSW Nationals plan to run a rival candidate, expected to be chosen by December. Dalton said her independence lets her focus on voters rather than party politics. The election is scheduled for 13 March 2027.
Federal Member for Farrer David Farley says rice farmers in the Murray Irrigation district face serious losses unless water is released in time. He says the planting window closes in ten days from October 18. Farley wants federal Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt and NSW ministers Penny Sharpe and Rose Jackson to act. He estimates 80,000 to 150,000 tonnes of paddy rice could go unproduced, and 230 to 270 local jobs could be lost in the Edward River Shire.
An 1859 dispatch from a Pastoral Times correspondent described Moulamein, then the Riverina's most important settlement, as left without a magistrate, a clerk of the court or a registrar of births, deaths and marriages. A woman at the Moolpa station had died of poison, and no inquest was held. Residents also travelled up to 40 miles to a police court that did not sit. The dispatch noted the arrival of a surgeon, Walter Pritchard, and welcome rain after weeks of wet weather.
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Riverine Grazier journalist Kimberly Grabham has been named a finalist for the 2026 Country Press NSW Journalist of the Year award. The paper was also named a finalist for Best Digital Presence. Hay Plains Landcare hosted a wildflower walk at Oolambeyan National Park on 29 September, where participants recorded plant and wildlife sightings. A live Bell's phase lace monitor also appeared at the Hay Show. In Moulamein, fire season permits are now required to burn off.
