Transport

The high cost of fuel around the nation has put service station owners in the spotlight – sometimes for the wrong reasons. Richard Ireland is one of the directors of Weipa Servicentre and explains why the price in the Western Cape is different to other outlets.

This item was mean to be Kookaburra's Post-Budget report, but given the costs and inconveniences of regional air travel in Australia, it is now a Pre-Budget complaint. Not being a government supported Mandarin - merely a lowly citizen - Kookaburra decided that no rational person could agree to pay the fares demanded by QANTAS to fly from Bendigo to Canberra.

For two years, the Casino Truck Show was cancelled because of covid restrictions and the gathering of crowds. But the trucks are back this year. The event will be held on  Saturday, August 6, coordinated by Richmond Valley Council with support from the North Coast Petroleum  Casino Truck Show Organising Committee.

Record breaking fuel prices are already starting to have an impact on Cape York residents and businesses but there are concerns the real pain will be felt during the tourist season ... “If these prices stay this high then I’m sure there will be many people reconsidering their travel plans. And if they do still travel, they are likely to have less money to spend on tours, souvenirs and eating out": Dave Donald, Western Cape Chamber of Commerce VP.

Hitting the pause button on a fuel excise tax would provide instant relief for motorists as the federal government faces pressure to act on soaring prices ... Queensland LNP Senator Susan McDonald said the government had to do something, and the fuel excise was the “bluntest instrument” available.

The Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is in for a bumper year with the ever popular steam train back on the tracks. Visitors are catching up on missed rides, celebrating delayed birthdays and experiencing riding beside the driver. Bookings are almost sold out for the incredibly popular Ales on Rails and Murder on the Orient Express. Tickets are still available in May for a ride on Victorian Colonial Express; one of Victoria’s oldest railway carriages dating back to the 1880s.

Growing up he dreamed of being a train driver, and at the age of 26 he is well on his way to realising that dream. “I was brainwashed to love trains early on,” Adisson laughs. “This is the dream job.”

Kirstin Nicholson. Jan Heap and Faye Donaldson are members of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia’s Solo Network which held its biannual rally in Cohuna ... The rally attracted over 200 solo motorhome owners from across Australia, giving them a chance to catch up with old friends, form new friendships, try new activities, and experience new adventures and locations.

At the start of the floods, private company Rotorwing Helicopters was using two helicopters. Now they have 12 here. Over five days they made 20 drops to Coraki. They have coordinated 250 drops so far across the region. At least 100 people have been moved to safety by their helicopter crews. More than 1000 calls for assistance have come in.

About 1.3 million tyres reach the end of their life each year in Tasmania, most of which ends up in landfill or stockpiles. Some of these tyres are now being processed into crumb rubber and blended with bitumen for use as asphalt in the State road maintenance program.

The Barkly’s iconic Threeways Roadhouse is up for sale. Calling for expressions of interest by Colliers, the roadhouse first sold fuel in the 1960s from a 44-gallon drum until Shell developed the present site including the roadhouse.

Petrol prices across Narrandera jumped to a new high last week, with local service stations charging almost $1.80 for a litre of Unleaded 91. The average unleaded petrol price in Narrandera was $1.77.4 per litre. The town’s motorists could be forgiven for pointing the finger at nations throughout the world which are flexing their military might.

Rockhampton Regional Council has recently announced an historic partnership with Australian low cost carrier Bonza Airline and has welcomed Bonza’s Chief Commercial Officer to the region to celebrate the milestone ... “The benefits of Bonza offering budget flights to currently unserviced routes, is going to benefit many sectors of our community”: Mayor Tony Williams.

WA companies Aviair and HeliSpirit have partnered with global company Eve Air Mobility, part of the Embraer Group, to bring new zero-emission electric aircraft to WA within the next four years.

Responding to the oil spill at the Port of Devonport has been a mammoth task, but years of planning and preparation meant multiple agencies were able to act quickly to contain the spill. The Environment Protection Authority, TasPorts, BridgePro, Tasmanian Divers Group, Marine and Safety Tasmania, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have all have worked in unison since a commercial vessel collided with two tugboats on January 28, causing fuel and oil to spill into the Mersey River.

Regular passenger flights between Hobart and two Bass Strait Islands will be extended following the success of the Sharp Airline services that were introduced in September 2020 ... The services have been a roaring success, and have given more Tasmanians the ability to explore these unique parts of our special Island State.

Tennant Creek IGA has thanked its freight drivers for trekking more than 1,000 km extra to supply food to the region after the recent floods blocked roads into the Territory ... “Francis travelled 3,500 km to get here and there were other trucks going another 500 km to get to Alice Springs" : IRAM CEO John Kop.

International ships arriving in Australian waters will see a change in how they manage biofouling in 2022. DAWE Deputy Secretary Andrew Tongue said a change in biofouling policy would have flow-on effects for international shipping.

New penalties will be in place in the coming weeks for non-electric vehicle owners who illegally park in an electric vehicle (EV) charging bay in Queensland. Transport and Main Roads Minister (Qld) Mark Bailey said the issue had been a pain point for the rapidly increasing number of Queensland EV drivers.

Townsville is a step closer to welcoming ships up to 300 metres long with the arrival of Australia’s largest backhoe dredge, Woomera, at the Port of Townsville. The $232 million Channel Upgrade is the largest infrastructure project in the Port’s 158-year history and is vital to ensuring trade, defence and cruise opportunities no longer bypass Townsville.

Now electric vehicles can cross the Nullarbor Plain thanks to BiØfil, a world-first EV fast charging system that is fully off-grid, self-contained and powered by used chip (vegetable) oil from roadhouse deep fryers. On Sunday 16 January 2022, BiØfil was installed at the Caiguna Roadhouse, approximately 370 km east of Norseman and 370 km west of the South Australian border, making it one of the most remote EV fast charging stations on the planet.

BiØfil is a world-first fast charging system for Electric Vehicles (EVs) that is fully off-grid, self-contained and powered by used chip (vegetable) oil, a waste product ... “We’ve been isolated from the rest of Australia for too long, so once borders open up, BiØfil means all vehicles can travel across the Nullarbor, EVs included”: Jon Edwards, BiØfil inventor and retired engineer.