Council

25 years ago, August 1997. For the second year in succession Allora won gold in the Tidy Towns Environmental Awards in Category D (population 801-1500). Allora Action Association president Peter Briggs said the whole community contributed towards the winning of the award and that the Warwick Shire Council workers played their part by maintaining the parks and gardens.

An initiative to help men with incontinence is being rolled out across the Sunshine Coast. In collaboration with the Continence Foundation, Sunshine Coast Council has installed 102 male incontinence product disposal bins at public amenities locations across the region.

Lockyer Valley Mayor, Cr Tanya Milligan recently hosted Federal Member for Wright, Mr Scott Buchholz MP, for a tour of the region’s current federally funded projects. Council was successful in securing grant funding of $675,000 from the Australian Government’s Bushfire Recovery Grants Program. The cash injection is designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic bushfires in the Lockyer Valley ...

Geoff Helisma. The NSW Government has “supported” six of the 28 recommendations made in the 2022 Flood Inquiry, and “supports in principle 22 recommendations, with further work required on implementation”. Meanwhile, the report’s conclusion states, in part, “More damaging floods and other natural disasters will come, and NSW must shake off its ‘rinse and repeat’ disaster thinking.

A chlamydia vaccine for koalas could increase the species’ resistance to the potentially fatal disease in a trial in south-west Sydney, which is part of an almost $1.7 million NSW Koala Strategy investment across the region ... “Chlamydia is a serious issue for koalas, leading to blindness, infections and infertility in this precious species. This disease weakens koalas and can make them more susceptible to dog attacks and other threats,”: Minister for Environment James Griffin

Sunraysia residents are being urged to ensure their properties are prepared for the upcoming Fire Danger Period. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) declares an annual Fire Danger Period from October through to April, and it’s important that everyone in our region does their part to reduce the risk of fire.

Samuel Davis. A proposal to give greater powers to local disaster management groups during public health crises will keep Cape communities safer, a long-time mayor says ... Under Cr Scott’s plan, a health emergency would be treated like a natural disaster, with government agencies working together.

Samuel Davis. Cape York mayor Patricia Yusia doesn’t want to talk about the Indigenous Voice to parliament. Not while a desperate housing crisis is crippling her communities in the Northern Peninsula Area. So, when Cr Yusia met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Horn Island last Thursday, the discussion was to the point.

Construction work on the Northern Rivers Rail Trail is ramping up with work starting this week on the final gravel surface for the Tweed section of the trail. After an extended run of dry weather, work to lay down the new compacted gravel surface is starting at several points along the trail including at Burringbar, Stokers Siding and South Murwillumbah.

Chris Oldfield. The community spirit of Tatiara District Council was on show last week when its monthly meeting was held in Padthaway’s sporting complex. Some of the many key issues raised included road safety, a lack of child care and wishes for a school hall and pool. The issues were raised by Padthaway Primary School’s Years 5 and 6 class.

Toowoomba Regional Council’s ambitious and cost-saving plan to power most of the city’s wastewater treatment plant with gas captured from the city’s nearby landfill is a step closer to reality ... Cr Sommerfield said the energy re-use project would allow the gas-fired generator to supply up to 70% of the power to run the Wetalla Water Reclamation Facility, along with ongoing environmental benefits.

The Lockyer Valley and Somerset Water Collaborative is calling on the State Government to release the available supply of untapped recycled water to ensure water and food security for Australia’s Salad Bowl, preventing future supply being imported canned vegetables.

Following its public campaign to get a child care director in Julia Creek, McKinlay Shire Council is now trying to get a new GP to live in the community. The otherwise burgeoning town is emphatically seeking a new doctor at its brand-new health facility.

Hughenden and the Flinders Shire region attracted a record number of tourists in the last financial year, according to new data released by the council. A total of 27,467 visitors came through Flinders Discovery Centre from July 2021 to June 2022, an 11 per cent increase on the previous year and a huge 42 per cent increase on 2019-20 during the travel restrictions of the pandemic.

Patricia Gill. The Shire of Denmark is reviewing local laws concerning the keeping of cats with a limit of two animals older-than-six months per household being considered in an effort to curb the feral population. The Shire will also have more power to restrict the movement of cats and those that cause a nuisance ... consultation is underway on the proposed rules which the Denmark Shire Council will likely consider in September.

The Narrandera Shire Council will formally object to the closure of the National Bank branch at Narrandera and will review its banking arrangements following the procurement of a new enterprise management system later this financial year. The bank advised that the decision to close in October was predicated on a decline in physical transactions conducted in the branch...

On Friday 5 August, a SETA member raised the alarm on a motion to be voted on by Eurobodalla Shire councillors. The motion was titled “Eurobodalla Shire Council supports an end to native forest logging in Eurobodalla Shire.” ... In the lead up to and on Tuesday, 9 August 2022, the Eurobodalla Shire Councillors have spent significant time dealing with the Greens party deputy mayor, Alison Worthington’s motion to end native forest harvesting in the shire.