Manjimup

On the roads, it's pretty much the stick, isn't it? And you understand why you've got to weed out the bad ones to keep things safe.

But out in Manjimup, police are rewarding good drivers, offering a $20 voucher to drivers who blow zero when they're breath-tested.

Sergeant Tyler Winter is the offer in charge at Manji Police.

G'day, Sergeant Winter.

1-double-3-H-82 if you want to add to it.

How is this? I've been asking you today.

Off the top, we talked about Manjimup and they're dishing out vouchers, $20 vouchers if you blow zero on your breathalyzer test.

So a bit of an incentive thing.

Jindalden, 14.

Manjimup, 11.

Margaret River, 16.

Millianup, 18.

With biosecurity teams tied up managing the bird flu outbreak, growers want the public to stay alert to the Polyphagus shotobora.

Now, the shotobora is a tiny beetle that tunnels into trunks and stems, with tree removal the only known treatment.

Manjimup avocado grower and WA Director of Avocados Australia, Brad Rogers, says while their industry is keeping the message front and centre, people outside horticulture need to remember what this pest could mean for WA trees.

Yeah, it's a real threat and it's a real concern to farmers.

And between now and then, we're going to head to the southwest of the state where one potato and beef cattle farmer farms in what he usually describes as a pretty reliable area when it comes to rainfall.

That's just south of Manjimup.

But this year, like many others around, the winter just gone was relatively dry and they hardly had any runoff, which is obviously a worry for him going into these warmer months.

So you'll hear from him just after the news headlines and then the weather at the halfway point.

Now, fire, of course, doesn't just affect headers on farms.

And one southwest farming family, it's actually been over a week since they lost their entire machinery shed in an electrical fire.

Leah Williams runs Caryglade Farm State near Manjimup, which is around 300 kilometres south of Perth.

They have chalet accommodation and they also farm avocados.

Hardest track, so...

There was a track called Manjimup in Australia that was really...

Okay, did you ever race in Manjimup? In Australia? Yeah, pretty difficult.

And really difficult because it was just...

There was so many different types of conditions thrown into one track.

Um, the old man coached down the country as well.

He had, uh, stints at Manjimup, which is about three hours south of Perth, and Bunbury, which is two, um, for four and two years.

And so I was, uh, always dressed up in those colors.

The Manjimup Imperials, who were black and white, which, um, I'm glad those, uh, that jumpers weren't shortly behind me.

And, uh, the Bunbury Bulldogs, who were, um, uh, um, black and gold and started barracking for, uh, Richmond because of that.

Um, and so, yeah, I, I, I was just in love with the game as soon as I, I can remember, as old as I can remember.

The reality is that this intervention from government is not helping the forest.

Leading ANU forest ecologist David Lindenmeier says thinning makes this forest near Manjimup more susceptible to bushfires.

We know that when a forest is thinned it makes it more flammable.

Environment Minister Matthew Swinburne says the practice will be independently reviewed next year but that research shows thinning is working.

And then in the Southwest Land Division, nothing recorded in the central west.

In the lower west, again, it was only south of Perth, so Dwellingup recorded sixteen, Manjimup ten, Pinjarra twenty-five, and Waroona thirty.

And a fair bit around in the rest of the southwest, so the cutoff point is twenty and above.

Acton Park thirty-six, Balingup forty-eight, Boyanup North twenty-five, Bridgetown twenty-nine, Bunbury forty-one, Busselton's airport recorded thirty-two, Cape Naturaliste and Capel forty-two, Chapman Hill twenty-six, Cowaramup thirty-two, Dardanup at one of the Deep Bird stations had twenty-three mils, Donnybrook thirty-nine, Doyle Road and Ferguson Valley Alert station both had twenty-seven, Happy Valley Alert station fifty-three, Harvey twenty-five, Jarrahwood thirty-five, Jindong twenty-three, Carrydale twenty-four, Kirrip 54.

Logue Brook, 46.

Ludlow, 43.

Manjimup, 20.

Margaret River, 21.

The reality is, is that this intervention from government is not helping the forest.

Leading ANU forest ecologist David Lindenmayer says thinning makes this forest near Manjimup more susceptible to bushfires.

We know that when a forest is thinned, it makes it more flammable.

Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn says the practice will be independently reviewed next year, but that research shows thinning is working.

A lot to talk about with, uh, Alana this evening.

Uh, also, a bit later, gonna take you down Manjimup way.

This is fascinating.

Massive, um, avocado producer down that way has made a huge investment, twenty million bucks.

Uh, so many of your texts coming through.

I'll get to those in a moment.

Just gonna head to Manjimup in a moment as well.

Big investment in an avocado producer doing big things with robotics too.