Qld

“Increasing the capacity of the existing channel escapes will mean environmental water can fill wetlands and creeks that would otherwise only get wet during large over bank flows ... We put an end to buybacks because of the damage they have done to regions like this – stretching beyond the individual farmgate and impacting on the efficiency or whole irrigation networks”: Keith Pitt, Minister for Resources and Water.

Central Queensland workers stand to benefit with a number of jobs soon to be up for grabs as part of the $367.2 million Rookwood Weir project ... Water from the weir will be available for sale later this year as part of the second stage of the tender process.

Toowoomba Regional Council moved a motion on 14 March to ensure Emu Creek Dam is firmly on the State Government’s radar as an option for future water. With the State Government undertaking work on a Regional Water Assessment, Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio said it was vital Emu Creek Dam was considered as part of this assessment.

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.

Goomeri and District Show Society

Warwick Show is going to be everyone’s happy place in 2022. It will be where you can enjoy fresh air and good wholesome family entertainment starting bright and early Friday morning with peoples’ day.

“We know the people of Mount Morgan have been wanting a pipeline for a long time, but we can’t just go out and build a pipeline; unfortunately it’s not that easy" : Mayor Williams ... “It will be one year this month since the Mount Morgan community have been in Level 6 (emergency supply) restrictions. During this time, we have continued to cart water from Gracemere to Mount Morgan, which has cost Council around $4.5 million so far" : Cr Kirkland.

Shona Markham already had a busy life in northern Tasmania, but the pace is likely to quicken in 2022 as she takes the reins of Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations ... Despite her experience with Rio Tinto and previous leadership roles, the Weipa general manager position is a job like no other on the company’s books.

There are 67 days until this year’s likely federal election date and Cape York voters are likely to play a big role in deciding who will be the next Member for Leichhardt.

Lauren McIntosh. The success of the Indigenous Marathon Project has received high praise from a number of former representatives, including Weipa product Bianca Graham ... Founded in 2010, IMP – now a part of the broader health promotion charity the Indigenous Marathon Foundation – supports and trains a select squad of Indigenous people to run a marathon in just six months.

“JEV is a mosquito-borne viral disease that mostly occurs in pigs and horses, but can cause disease in people and rarely other animals. Animals and people become infected through the bite of infected mosquitoes. It cannot be caught through eating pork or pig products. The disease is not transmitted from person to person”: DAWE.

Australia’s most trusted rural charity, Rural Aid, is urging farmers to register with the organisation for disaster assistance, in the wake of the devastating floods in Eastern Australia ... Growers watched on helplessly as their beloved crops were swallowed by rising floodwaters. Graziers risked their lives to move stock to higher ground, as rivers swelled to record highs.

A patch of underwater land in the Gulf of Carpentaria could hold several trillion cubic feet of natural gas or hundreds of millions of barrels of oil – at least that’s what a company with the rights to drill it for exploration is saying.

Mark Knowles. The future of Bramwell Station’s famous tourist park and roadhouse is up in the air after the state government purchased the property last week. The two Cape York hot spots will remain open this year but their longer-term future could be on shaky ground.

History was made last week when Brad Welsh was named as the first Indigenous Australian to lead an ASX-listed minerals company. Welsh was named as the CEO and managing director of Energy Resources Australia in the Northern Territory.

CANEGROWERS has welcomed the opportunity for the significant issues and concerns that surround the reef regulations imposed on farmers to be aired in the Queensland Parliament.

Moves by Water Minister Kevin Anderson to pave the way for the handing out of licences for floodplain harvesting as early as this week are likely in breach of the Commonwealth Water Act and could set up a future government to have to fork out billions of dollars in compensation, says Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and water spokesperson and chair of the recent NSW Upper House Committee into Floodplain Harvesting.