Qld

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.

After being nearly empty in early 2020, there’s been a remarkable turnaround in Murray–Darling Basin water storages following widespread rain throughout 2021, resulting in better water availability for towns, industries and the environment, and good cropping prospects in 2022.

Koala habitat will be increased and water quality improved with the planting of 153,000 trees along Wivenhoe Dam to rehabilitate former grazing land ... The trees have been planted at seven sites on former grazing land and include eucalypts like Queensland blue gum, ironbarks, bloodwoods and grey gums, as well as rough-barked apple, river she-oak, and black tea-tree.

John O'Donnell. A collection of dramatic and informative photos of the 1952 bushfires.

Weipa will get its own general manager again after the sudden resignation of Michelle Elvy paved the way for Rio Tinto to shuffle the deckchairs on its bauxite business ... Shona Markham will take the reins at Weipa, moving from Rio Tinto’s Bell Bay Aluminium operations in Tasmania.

The LNP is calling on the state government to do its bit for north Queensland insurance prices by dropping stamp duty on insurance policies ... “The ACCC reports that the state government raked in $65 million in 2018-19 from North Queensland alone in stamp duty, which adds between 9 and 10 per cent to premiums”: Senator Susan McDonald.

A large male croc has been removed from the Endeavour River at Cooktown after it developed a taste for local dogs ... Due to its large size, the crocodile must be dealt with as an ‘iconic crocodile’ under Queensland’s conservation laws.

Research using effective survey methods shows that koalas are generally increasing with expanding National Parks and Lock It Up and Let It Burn conservation polices. The valleys are occupied by towns, so the koalas are moving in. Disease, dog attacks and road trauma are symptoms of irruptions, not causes of decline.

Friends of the Koala  welcomes  the federal government’s decision to up list koalas in Queensland, New South Wales  and the Australian Capital Territory from ‘vulnerable’  to ‘endangered’.  

Cape York may have been the latest location of a meteor air burst, a phenomenon that lit up the sky and caused an airborne aftershock that rattled buildings across the Peninsula. Residents in Weipa, on Cape York cattle stations and on the east coast at Portland Roads have all reported seeing the sky light up in a turquoise-like colour at 5.50am on Friday.

A damning report into the workplace culture of Rio Tinto has revealed that almost half of the miner’s global workforce have been bullied, harassed, or racially discriminated against. Alarmingly, more than 30 per cent of Indigenous employees that responded to the independent review reported being confronted with racist behaviour in the workplace, and almost 30 per cent of women reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

“I believe this object is a very early version of a wooden bowl possibly used in ‘crown green bowls’. This bowl was passed on to me from my late English stepfather. It was dug up in Kent, Southern England about 50 years ago during renovations to an old horse stable. Where did it originate? Maybe Sir Francis Drake used this bowl while the Spanish Armada was sailing up the English Channel in 1588 or maybe it was used earlier than that date": Glenn Johnson, Elliot Heads Bowls Club.

Last month, the Queensland weather lashed across the State and flooded two of our clubs, Tansey Bowls Club and Maryborough Services Memorial Bowls Club. Tansey Bowls Club was hit the worst, with about a metre of water inside the clubhouse. Tansey’s President Rainer Marschall said they had to remove the wall linings so that the walls could dry out properly.

With a large percentage of Queensland experiencing summer rains and continuing La Niña conditions, Queensland sheep and wool producers are being urged to remain vigilant for conditions favouring flystrike.

Rockhampton Regional Council is being inundated with reports of Prickly Acacia and Parthenium spreading in the region, and they are calling on the community to assist. Planning and Regulation Councillor Grant Mathers said officers have been working closely with landholders and community stakeholders to establish the extent of the areas of concern, and to treat areas on a priority basis.

A massive, stunningly beautiful former grazing property will soon belong to Queenslanders as the state’s newest national park. “The Lakes”, north of Hughenden, will increase Queensland’s protected area estate by 35,300 hectares, with the Palaszczuk Government now finalising the multi-million-dollar purchase.

Chinchilla will be home to the region’s first micro-brewery tourist experience following Western Downs Regional Council’s approval of an expansion of a popular tourist park in the area, Clover Hill Accommodation and Camping.

The fresh produce sector and supply chain in Queensland has agreed on four key fields of strategic interest to pursue over the first two years of its new industry plan, Future Fields.