Infrastructure

The inequalities faced by regional Australians with mobile signal and internet connection need to be fixed. The National Farmers Federation telecommunications committee member and farmer Peter Thompson said far from being a luxury, mobile phone coverage and internet connectivity were essentials in the bush, much like power and water.

Chris Oldfield. Lucindale CFS group officer Patrick Ross last week pointed to black markings on a map in the incident control room of the town’s fire-fighting base. He turned to visiting SA emergency services minister Vincent Tarzia and said: “This is where the fatality happened.”

The most ferocious fires seen in WA, four of them ranked level four bushfires, wiped out 60,000ha across WA with Denmark recording the heaviest losses with four houses.

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.

Narrandera Shire Council Mayor Neville Kschenka was left "frustrated and heartbroken" as he witnessed the damage Narrandera sustained during the weekend storms. On the edge of Narrandera as the storm broke, Cr Kschenka reached the centre of town as the weather event gathered momentum with lashing rain and strong gusts of wind.

"During COVID, supply chains almost ground to a complete halt and exposed Australia’s reliance on the import of key inputs including urea. Many Australians would be shocked to learn the nation imports 90% of its urea, the most commonly used fertiliser in agriculture. Without urea, crop production would fall 30-40%" : National Farmers Federation Chief Executive, Tony Mahar.

The Australian Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has committed $255 million for critical infrastructure supporting the Perdaman Urea Project in Western Australia. The $4.3 billion project located 20 kilometres north-west of Karratha will convert Australian gas into approximately two million tonnes of urea per year.

Strike Energy Limited has been granted Major Project Status for Project Haber, its $3 billion urea manufacturing facility in the Narngulu Industrial Area, near Geraldton, Western Australia. The project will produce up to 1.4 million tonnes per annum of urea from clean hydrogen and natural gas.

The WA State Government has endorsed a revised Port of Port Hedland development plan to support proponents' throughput aspirations and maximise exports from Australia's busiest bulk export port.

If elected, Labor’s Power to the People community battery plan will invest $200 million to install 400 community batteries across the country, which will cut power bills, reduce emissions, create jobs by boosting renewable energy and will cut power bills for families and businesses by $275 a year by 2025.

Kendall Jennings. Koondrook Fire Brigade rolled out the red carpet for potential recruits on Wednesday, January 19. A slideshow presentation showing what volunteer members can do in the CFA was shown, as well as a display of the unit capabilities.

A proposal for the health services to formally come together to create a new health service, supported by a comprehensive business case, has been endorsed by Maldon Hospital and Castlemaine Health Boards. In accordance with the Health Services Act, the proposal has been sent to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Minister for Health for consideration and for approval.

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.

Myall Lakes residents have been given their first look at the $100 million Stage 2 redevelopment of Manning Base Hospital with the master plan unveiled today. Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said Stage 2 builds on the $40 million upgrade completed as part of Stage 1 in mid-2020.

Earlier this month, the Victorian Government cancelled elective surgery for tens of thousands of Victorians needing care. This happened because they have failed to organise the public health system in Victoria.  It is now in an aptly named Code Brown, burdened by excessive isolation rules.

Northern NSW Local Health District’s Lynne Weir said the hospital system was challenged because of the “increased activity resulting from the pandemic and the additional pressure of some staff being furloughed because they need to isolate.” The district has sufficient intensive care beds across its three major hospitals in Grafton, Lismore and Tweed with plans in place to surge staffing and ICU capacity if needed, Ms Weir said.

Hepburn Shire Council is continuing to support recovery efforts in the community following a thunderstorm that damaged homes and property in and around Creswick and Clunes on 5 January. “The intensity of this storm caused widespread damage to homes, farms and public land in the west of our Shire. Our preliminary estimates are around $10m of damage to Council assets alone, and around $25m damage to crops” : Hepburn Shire Mayor, Cr Tim Drylie.

A Midwifery Group Practice is up and running at the Weipa Hospital in preparation for the new birthing service due to open later this year. Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said three new midwives were already in place at Weipa, with recruitment under way for a fourth.

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.

With unpredictable weather being experienced due to ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany in the north, many might be wondering where Tennant Creek’s new $17 million radar is.