Tag Archives: oceania

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Record-breaking oyster 'Uncle Ray' becomes a family pet

The world's biggest oyster has been found on the New South Wales South Coast – but this isn't any ordinary mollusc, it's a family pet.

Farmer Kirk Hargreaves has been caring for the mammoth oyster named Uncle Ray on the Sapphire Coast.

The mollusc measures over 36cm, which means it could take out the world record for the biggest oyster.

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Uncle Ray, the record-breaking oyster found on the NSW south coast.

The record is currently held by a Pacific oyster from Denmark which measured 35.5cm in length and weighed roughly 1.6kg.

Hargreaves instantly knew Uncle Ray was special and said it's not every day an oyster grows to this size.

"We identified him as a really quick-growing oyster from early on," Hargreaves said.

"It's very rare. He's the biggest in Australia at the moment and probably the world."

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Uncle Ray is the record-breaking oyster found on the NSW south coast.

Uncle Ray was a prize-winner during the Narooma Oyster Festival and now his family is hoping for the creature to trump world records.

"He got weighed at the Narooma Oyster Festival on Saturday and he was 2.71 kilograms and he measures roughly around the world record so we're hoping we're going to take the chocolates at the end of the year," Hargreaves said.

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Uncle Ray is the record-breaking oyster found on the NSW south coast.

The mollusc is expected to keep growing and live for years to come, especially as the Hargreaves family continues to care for it.

"He's growing every year, like last year we put him in the competition and he was 2.3 kilograms and now obviously he's 2.71 kilograms," Hargreaves said.

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Three things to watch out for in the final week of the election campaign

In less than a week, Australians will know if we have a new prime minister, and despite some campaign gaffes, the election appears to be Anthony Albanese's to lose.

Both leadership hopefuls will be putting themselves out there even more in the dying days of the campaign.

But what else can we expect from the final sprint to the finish line?

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese debate on live television ahead of the Federal election, to be held on Saturday 21st May 2022. Photographed at Channel Nine Leaders Debate Sunday 8th May 2022.

A flight frenzy

If Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese were flying commercially rather than on VIP RAAF jets, they'd be racking up the frequent flyer points in the coming days.

The leaders will pick up the pace of events as they criss-cross the country, singing the praises of candidates in marginal electorates.

Their travel schedule will be a moving feast, guided by internal polling.

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If the leaders' teams catch a whiff of the political tide turning their way in a particular seat, right on cue, the planes will be headed to that destination.

Likewise, if polling shows a party in trouble in a seat it needs to hold, it'll likely trigger a last-ditch effort to snag vital votes.

More big economic news

In the last few weeks, the release of sky-high inflation figures and an interest rate rise have turned the campaign on its head.

But the big economic news isn't over yet.

On Tuesday, the wage price index will be published, showing how much movement – if any – there's been on growing pay packets.

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If the increase is minimal, Labor will use it to highlight its argument that many people are going backwards in real terms, given the rising cost of living.

Anthony Albanese sorts through jars of jam on the campaign trail in Launceston.

Then on Thursday, unemployment data will be released.

The most recent figure was four per cent and the government will be hoping this month, it has a three in front of it, because that would boost the Coalition's economic pitch.

A truckload of political ads

If you're sick of the recent avalanche of political ads, be prepared: it's about to get worse in the next few days.

Labor and the Coalition are launching a multi-million dollar advertising blitz, an 11th hour attempt to get their positive messages out there, and attack their opponents.

Some of the more notable campaign ads include the Liberal Party's spin-off movie trailer for Avengers, titled "The Amateurs".

While both parties have released bizarre attack ads featuring a likeness of Lord of the Rings character, Gollum.

And who could forget the ultra-ambitious United Australia Party newspaper ads featuring Craig Kelly, with the headline "Australia's next Prime Minister".

Most Australians will be relieved when the election advertising blackout kicks in on Thursday, but that only applies to TV and radio, so your news feeds may still be bombarded until polling day.