Business

The City of Kwinana is set to light up its City square with its annual Christmas celebration on 26 November in the heart of Kwinana City Centre. The community is invited to celebrate the start of the Christmas season and come down to Chisham Square from 4pm to participate in the free activities on offer.

A proposed silica mine that will give Traditional Owners a direct slice of the pie has Cooktown and Hope Vale residents excited about its prospects. Diatreme Resources has received a shot in the arm this month with former Treasurer and political heavyweight Wayne Swan agreeing to join Diatreme as chairman of the board.

The park has provided access to a range of wildlife for both the community of Whyalla and visitors over a number of years, helping educate students and enable children to get up-close and interact with some of their favourite animals. However, the economic downturn brought about by COVID-19 and, in particular, the associated restrictions on travel have had a significant impact on the ongoing viability of the business.

A  letter co-signed by a consortium of environmental community groups has been sent to Mount Alexander Shire and Central Goldfields Shires seeking their support to have duck shooting banned in the Cairn Curran Reservoir area. Signatories say the activity is no longer appropriate for safety reasons, and the area would be better served as a sanctuary to protect threatened species.

The Castlemaine and Maldon Railway Preservation Society, the operator of the Victorian Goldfields Railway, would like to ask the residents of Castlemaine and Maldon to be more mindful of the trains ... One child was playing extremely close to the line ... most probably would have been struck by the locomotive, had the locomotive crews not taken prompt action to bring the locomotive to a halt approximately three to four metres from the child.

Christopher Creek and Deborah Benson have have owned and run the Eaglehawk Motel since January 2013. They have now secured a buyer for the motel after having it on the market for the past three to four years ... Chris is excited to settle down in Maldon and is hoping to spend his time completing a revised edition of Rich Vein, to try and include more of the First Nations’ account.  

The Narrandera Youth Council’s Food Trailer ‘Take A Bite Into the Future” project’ has now come to fruition ... The project will see the Youth Council providing a variety of food and drinks at community and Council events ... The design of the trailer showcases some of Narrandera’s beautiful landmarks and landscape.

Lisa Clarke. (Image: Vince and Judy Evans, Downunder Images) Thirty-five riders and horses from the WA Endurance Riders Association crossed spectacular countryside in the last ride of the 2021 season at Boat Harbour Camp last month. They tackled the 20, 40, 60 or 80km tracks to the scenic Boat Harbour beach, along local roads, the Denmark/Nornalup Heritage Trail and around the Kordabup Reserve.

This map is demonstrative of the unrelenting push by Australian bureaucrats and politicians to force rural and regional Australians out of the bush and into the cities and large regional centres.

Alpha HPA has purchased a 9.2-hectare site in Gladstone, Queensland to develop a $300 million high purity alumina industrial plant. Alpha HPA has now received approval from the government for the first two stages of its Gladstone hub, which will be built in tandem, bringing jobs to Queensland not only in the delivery stage but once the hub is fully operational.

Emma Pritchard. Members of the Glenreagh Rail and Station Preservation Society (GRASPS) fear a historic building they have been campaigning to save and restore for many years will soon be demolished. Concern for the future of the 106-year-old Glenreagh Railway Station Precinct was heightened this week after GRASPS learned the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) had recently visited the site and fenced it off.

Bernice Shepherd. In the Adelaide Parklands, the annual gathering of Greek and Italian locals spreading blankets and bashing olive trees is quite the spectacle. Olive trees proliferate around that city and no self-respecting ex-European would dream of letting that bounty go to waste ... In Casino, we have the Junbung Walkway bush tucker trail ... But could we go further?

Mining and cattle magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has become one of Cook Shire’s biggest ratepayers after he paid $42 million for Lizard Island. Mr Forrest and his wife Nicola’s private investment company Tattarang splashed $42 million for the Great Barrier Reef resort ... Tattarang declined to comment on the Lizard Island deal, but the vendor, Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed SEA Group, announced the deal in an investor statement.

The National Farmers’ Federation says a critical report released by the ACCC should be a wakeup call for governments, failing to curb the chaos on our waters. The 2020-21 Container Stevedoring Monitoring Report confirms Australian importers and exporters are struggling amid a perfect storm of extreme congestion and delays, reckless industrial action, and skyrocketing costs.

Queensland Government Minister for Tourism and Sport, Stirling Hinchliffe MP visited the South Burnett on Saturday 6 November 2021. Minister Hinchliffe opened Blackbutt’s new Bicycle Building School and Museum, the brainchild of renowned Penny Farthing historian, Mr Brett Richardson.

Wagga Wagga will have regular airline services flying direct to a third Australian capital city from early next year. Riverina travellers will have direct flights to Queensland when QantasLink starts flying between Wagga Wagga and Brisbane from 28 March, 2022.

A $300 million high purity alumina industrial plant is a step closer for Gladstone with Alpha HPA purchasing a 9.2 hectare site in the Queensland Government’s State Development Area.

Air services critical to the Lord Howe Island community are set to continue, with the NSW Government extending the existing QantasLink licence for another three years from 2022. Deputy Premier Paul Toole said the air service is vital for keeping the Island’s 350 residents connected to Sydney and to support the tourism industry.

There have been two fashion parades, one at Panacea Estate, with items from Trés Doux Trés Beau, featuring beautiful clothing from the Duchess of Walmer. The other involved Beaton’s Stores and Poppy’s of Maldon displaying their gorgeous clothing at the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation as part of the ‘Paint the Town Pink’ fundraiser.

Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Paul McVeigh has congratulated Chinchilla journalist Harry Clarke for taking out a prestigious award at the 2021 Local Government Association of Queensland’s (LGAQ) Annual Conference.   Mr Clarke, founder and editor of the online news publication Country Caller, took out the coveted  Bean Lockyer Ticehurst Award for Excellence in Regional Journalism.