The extreme rain event which plagued the region earlier this month caused many concerned locals to vent their concerns, once again, about Hamilton Plain’s susceptibility to flooding.

Councillor for division 3, John Collins, raised the issue at last week’s ordinary council meeting, asking for an update on what Transport and Main Roads (TMR) will be doing to solve the problem.

Director of Infrastructure Services, Adam Hagy, said that TMR are aware of the ongoing issue and are bringing forward their plans to address it as soon as possible.

“There has been enough pressure from the community to bring the works forward to the first quarter of next year,” he said.

“The aim is to reduce the time of submergence to a maximum of one hour during a rainfall event.”

Mayor Andrew Willcox added that the federal government has $30 million allocated for the job.

“It will be fantastic to see that happening,” he said.

“We are not talking about flood immunity, however, as it is a flood plain – we are talking about flood mitigation.”

With the largest population area regularly at the mercy of the wet weather and running the risk of being cut-off from the hospital and airport during extreme rain events, this work could not come soon enough.

It was decided at the meeting that the Chief Executive Officer of Whitsunday Regional Council, Rod Ferguson, would write a letter to TMR to get an update about the project.

Flood camera footage showing the flooding at Hamilton Plains

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Locals are invited to participate in the annual Clean-up Australia Day this Sunday as many community groups and businesses offer a variety of ways we can all get involved in collecting rubbish from parks, roadsides, beaches and even the ocean.

One local business which is at the forefront of the event this year has decided to unite its clean-up activities with an educational experience planting more coral fragments on endangered areas of the reef.

Aqua5’s dive instructor, Ben Corbishley, has been working with Nathan Cook from Reef Ecologic for some time and together they decided to leverage the day to offer a cost-price tour that incorporates a beach, sea and dive clean-up with the opportunity to re-plant coral.

“It’s good to get to tie the two initiatives together,” said Aqua5 owner Paul Battaglia.

“We want to get the local community involved a bit more and thought this would be a great way to do it.”

The tour will head out to the Whitsunday Islands and all passengers can help collect litter from several locations on the day.

They will then be guided by Reef Ecologic marine biologists on how to plant live coral on discs and tag them so they can be monitored monthly.

Guests can then snorkel above the coral gardens.

A nominal fee of $90 is charged for the trip with snorkel gear and stinger suit provided. Food and drinks are to be brought onboard by guests who can use the esky supplied.

Clean Up Australia Day is held every year on the first Sunday in March.

The event was founded in 1990 when one man, who was so shocked about the pollution and rubbish he saw, decided to get a group of friends together for a clean-up day.

Now in its 32nd year, the event has become part of Australian culture with over 19 million people participating so far.

The Aqua5 vessel visits endangered areas of the reef

Coral fragments are replanted

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The $3 billion Urannah Dam project is inching closer to fruition thanks to a bilateral agreement between the state and federal government this week.

Stakeholders are excited to see the final designs set with the completion of the Environmental Impact Study underway and early stage works due to commence within the next two years.

Forecast to be the biggest economic development in our region in the next decade, the dam will hold 1.5 megalitres of water, create an irrigated agricultural area of up to 25,000 hectares and feature an extensive pipeline which will connect to Moranbah.

The broader project will encompass the Bowen Renewable Energy Hub which is expected to relieve energy consumption throughout the Whitsundays.

The Bowen Collinsville Enterprise non-profit organisation have been the driving force behind the project for the past six years, working with limited resources and lobbying to receive funding where possible.

LNP Candidate for Dawson Andrew Willcox has been supporting project for many years and welcomes this weeks’ announcement.

“I have been backing the plan to build the Urannah Dam for a number of years and I want to pay tribute to the vision and determination of the team at Bowen Collinsville Enterprise group for setting us on a path to transform our region,” he said.

“The construction of Urannah Dam will open up hectares of agricultural land for high value produce like avocadoes, mangoes and macadamias to further grow our reputation as a prime horticultural producer.

“It will also create about 1800 jobs which will be a massive shot in the arm for small communities across our region like Bowen and Collinsville.

“Urannah will be able to provide a reliable water supply to our mining towns and support close to 100 other projects spreading benefits even further.

Chairman of the Bowen Collinsville Enterprise group, Paul McLaughlin, says that this project stands to transform Collinsville in the same way as the Fairbairn Dam helped grow the town of Emerald many years ago.

“This is the biggest economic development this region will see in a decade,” he said.

“It will be fantastic for everyone involved.”

An artist’s impression of the Urannah Dam

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The seascape of our marine rescue organisations across the state are about to go through a significant change when Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) amalgamates with Queensland Coast Guard.

It is anticipated that the merge will enable both services to leverage from each other and receive better overall government funding.

Mal Priday from VMR Whitsunday said that, in his mind it couldn’t happen sooner.

“Bring it on! – The sooner the better!” he said.

“The move means we will receive more realistic funding now – we won’t need to spend so much time on our knees begging for funding.”

Currently, in order to keep VMR Whitsunday operating, volunteers need to raise an astounding $130,000 per year to bank as a contingency fund so they can replace a vessel after it’s served its best years, usually after roughly 10 years.

Four years ago, VMR Whitsunday spent over $1 million on their latest boat and only $160,000 was funded by the state government, the remaining was raised through the kindness of local sponsors and the community.

The amalgamation will instantly give VMR across the state access to a bigger pool of funding.

Concerns have been raised, however, that the merge would mean that all VMR resources, including boats, buildings and cash would become property of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) based in Canberra.

Having been part of the Blue Water Review fleet working group for some time, Mr Priday is well-informed about the plans and says all assets will remain in the community it serves.

“It would be morally wrong for it to be taken away by our community,” said Mr Priday.

“All assets will not be taken by the QFES.”

There are 26 VMR squadrons in QLD, locally these include Mackay, Midge Point, Whitsundays, Bowen, and Burdekin.

This is compared to 17 Coast Guard Squadrons with the nearest in Townsville or just south of Mackay.

At the moment the Coast Guard is declining to participate in the amalgamation, but Mr Priday believes a merge is inevitable due to the fact that both New South Wales and West Australia are already operating as one enterprise.

Mr Priday hopes this will happen soon so that our local VMR can receive more state funding and focus on the important job of keeping our local waterways safe.

The VMR Whitsunday rescue vessel sponsored by Coral Sea Marina

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E-Scooters have been the talk of the state over the past week, with national plans to halve the speed limit for the transport devices on footpaths, and Whitsunday Regional Council had their own say on local Whitsunday laws at last week’s council meeting.

Councillors came to the decision to limit rental e-scooters speed to six kilometres per hour in well-populated areas and up to a maximum of 12 kilometres per hour in other areas, although this does not apply to privately owned scooters.

Four Whitsunday businesses applied to continue the use of their commercial electronic scooters: Whitsunday Fun, Ocean Dynamics, Le Shack Whitsunday Adventure and Whitsunday Segway Tours.

Three of those businesses were involved in a trial period of six months from April to October 2021 to operate the commercial e-vehicles on footpaths, cycle ways, the foreshore, and boardwalks.

The businesses were successful in their applications to continue operating the E-vehicles, but under new stipulations such as the speed limiting and Geo-Fencing, meaning the vehicles will shut off if they go out of regulated areas.

The applications came at a tenuous time for e-scooters, which under current state law are classed as ‘mobility scooters,’ meaning they can operate everywhere accessible by pedestrians. They also only fall under road laws whilst operating on the road, meaning an individual can operate an e-scooter whilst intoxicated if they remain on the sidewalk.

Police in Brisbane recently issued 84 traffic infringements in just 12 hours of targeting e-scooters in the CBD, and Whitsunday councillors voiced their concerns that the vehicles were dangerous, leading to the limiting of commercial vehicles speed.

“They are an ever-increasing problem, particularly around the Airlie Beach area,” Councillor Jan Clifford told council.

“They’re uncontrolled, nine out of ten times they haven’t got a helmet on.”

The councillors believed that the new conditions would address these issues, at least in the case of hire e-scooters and vehicles.

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A brand-new multistorey apartment complex at the Port of Airlie has been approved by Whitsunday Regional Council at last week’s council meeting.

Councillors voted on the three apartment blocks that will be three to four storeys high and comprise 52 dwellings, granting Port of Airlie owners Meridien preliminary approval to exceed the statutory 12-metre height limit for Airlie Beach.

Councillor Jan Clifford was particularly frustrated by the building heights that “didn’t comply with the town plan.”

“All the nice little carrots they promised the community about a cinema and a bowling alley, they’re gone,” Councillor Clifford said.

“The community did not have an issue with the original concept for the Port of Airlie, but they certainly do now and so do I.”

Councillor Clifford and Councillor Al Grundy were the only dissenting voices in the meeting, both voting against the proposal.

Councillor Grundy said that he had “major concerns of traffic, transportation, housing and how the vision for the area matches with the broader visitation expectations Airlie Beach offers and has today.”

“My message is just be careful, be careful with the growth,” he said.

The complex is set to be built on a vacant lot on Port Drive as part of the contentious Port of Airlie Development which has seen strong opposition, particularly from Save Our Foreshore, a group directly opposed to the development’s high-rise construction.

Councillor Mike Brunker said that Airlie Beach has “got to evolve” and that people were against the original Port of Airlie when it first arrived too.

“I think it’s a gradual evolution and people want to live in paradise and for nothing to change, but it has to be a gradual evolving,” he said.

Mayor Andrew Willcox was one supporter of the development, stating that the proposed building height is still actually lower than the existing Port of Airlie buildings.

Meridien produced a Visual Impact Analysis to dispute the building height objections.

“The conclusions from the VIA are accepted in that there will be a minor to moderate local view impact and from a regional context there will be an extremely limited visual impact,” the report sent to Council reads.

Meridien’s report also stated that restricting the building’s height would result in the loss of six three-bedroom apartments and housing, which would “continue to restrict choice and the capacity to meet the needs of residents seeking an Airlie Beach lifestyle.”

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After four years of dedicated effort by its committee, the 8.2 million Whitsunday Sportspark facility is reaching a milestone moment, with three levels of government set to attend the building completion and handover ceremony at the Jubilee Pocket location next Friday.

The community facility, which will soon deliver first-class sporting amenities as well as a central Clubhouse to the Whitsunday region, is jointly funded by Local, Federal and State Government and all profits will go straight back into the community.

The new Clubhouse will feature a 120-seater bistro dining area which will be open seven days a week.

There will also be a sports bar with TAB and big screens as well as an outdoor terrace overlooking the AFL field.

Adjacent to this is the Pokie Room intended to house 46 machines.

The Sportspark is ultimately owned by the five not-for-profit sporting clubs that call the Whitsunday Sportspark home.

These include AFL, Netball, Rugby Union, Soccer and Touch Football.

The Sportspark will operate the Clubhouse and all profits are directed back into the facility and the community it serves.

Every customer will be eligible for a membership card and each purchase will enable them to accrue points which can be nominated to their favourite sporting or community club anywhere in the Whitsundays and transferred to a dollar sum that will assist the sporting group.

“We look forward to celebrating this milestone on our march towards the opening of a top-class sports and community hospitality club to benefit our growing town and shire,” said Chairman of Whitsunday Sportspark Justin Butler.

The official opening of the facility to the public is expected to take place this July.

Whitsunday Sportspark Chairman, Justin Butler, outside the new building

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Innovative Australian company, Gilmour Space Technologies is one step closer to launching rockets from its spaceport at Abbott Point thanks to an Operational Works approval which was issued by Whitsunday Regional Council earlier this week.

For several years, the space company has been working alongside the state and federal government, as well as local stakeholders, to bring their spaceport to the Whitsundays and this announcement means they are on-track to launch this June.

Mayor Andrew Willcox said the approval will allow Gilmore Space Technologies to commence early works on Australia’s first orbital launch facility at the Abbott Point State Development Area.

“If progress remains on track, then Gilmour Space hope to launch the first rocket from the proposed facility later this year,” said Mr Willcox.

"Bowen is located about 20 degrees south of the equator which geographically makes it the ideal location to actually launch rockets and send satellites into space.

“The construction of the Bowen Orbital Spaceport is exciting for Bowen and will provide an enormous economic and tourism injection for the region.”

From June, Gilmour Space Group plans to launch two rockets per year until 2025, after which they aim to increase launch frequencies to monthly.

Gilmour Space predicts that up to 92 rocket launches annually could be conducted from the Spaceport by 2032.

"It’s exciting to have rockets being launched and there is potential to leverage from this to start the journey making Bowen and Abbot Point a smaller version of America’s Cape Canaveral, the home of the Kennedy Space Center,” said Mr Willcox.

"The new $4 million Flagstaff Hill Cultural and Conference Centre in Bowen is the perfect vantage point and looks straight across to the launch site.”

The rockets will be manufactured at Gilmour's Gold Coast manufacturing hub before being transported to the Bowen launch site.

It is anticipated that the rockets will transport small satellites low-Earth orbit.

They will be used as part of broadband internet constellations.

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Local Dogs Need Space To Run Too! While there are a variety of off-leash areas throughout the Whitsundays many local dog owners feel that their four-legged friends do not have enough freedom to run down the beach and play in the waves - are our local pets becoming marginalised members of the community?

Dog Owners Ask For More Freedom

Many Whitsunday dog owners are baffled by local laws which restrict the free movement of dogs on beaches when, in many cases, they are the only people using the public areas.

A Cannonvale-based dog-loving group who meet up each afternoon at 4pm at the Bicentennial Park opposite Cannonvale Beach say that this has been an ongoing problem, with unfortunate complaints causing off-leash movements of dogs to become increasingly reduced.

They are now only free to use the parkland and the far eastern end of Cannonvale Beach, away from the playground – an area which is close to the road and often dangerous for dogs.

“We probably get more people reading and doing yoga in the off-lead park area and winging than we do coming down here to the beach,” said Larissa Whincop from the group.

“On this beach there is no-one during the early mornings, there might be another person with a dog, but very rarely have I ever encountered someone swimming or enjoying the beach,” said Amy Close.

The group wish that dog-owners were allowed to use common sense in deciding where and when it is safe for their dogs to be off-leash, with many stating that no-one would let a dangerous dog off the lead.

A Whitsunday Regional Council spokesperson said that they have no plans at this stage to increase the number of off-leash locations as they believe sufficient areas exist to accommodate community needs.  

“The designation of off-leash areas is approved by Councillors in an ordinary Council meeting,” said the spokesperson.

“Taken into consideration is protection of public safety, maintenance, amenity of the area and protection of the environment.”

At the mercy of a $250 fine for allowing their dogs to roam free outside designated hours or restricted zones, local dog owners find themselves nervous in using local beaches or feeling forced to break laws that do not make sense when no-one else is using the site.

“Conway Beach is the best beach ever to run your dogs,” said Ms Close.

“It’s very unlikely there would be a ranger to give you a ticket there but it is still a possibility which makes me feel nervous.”

Current off-leash locations:

• Queens Beach, Bowen

• Doughty Creek Mouth, Bowen

• Kings Beach, Bowen

• Denison Park, Bowen

• Shingley Beach, Airlie Beach (Eastern end only)

• Bicentennial Park, Cannonvale

• Cannonvale Beach (Sanded area; Eastern end; Restricted times - 5am to 8am and 5pm to 8pm)

• Gailbraith Park, Cannonvale

• Whisper Bay Boat Ramp, Cannonvale

• Wildlife Park, Jubilee Pocket - enclosure Keith Jones Estate Park, Proserpine

• Hydeaway Bay

Some of the 15 members of a local dog group: Evelyn Cartlidge, Larissa Whincop, Amy Close, Grant Restieaux, Kate Donohoe and baby Charlie with their friendly pets

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A Habana property was sold for a whopping $7.3 million dollars by auction last Friday in a new local record for real estate, claimed by Blacks Real Estate Rural.

Blacks real estate agent Royce Dunn oversaw the auctioning at Ocean International which ended with Bill and Margo Fordyce scooping up the property.

‘Constant Creek’ in Habana is an impressive cattle grazing and cropping property 28 kilometres outside Mackay, covering a mammoth 676 hectares, or 1670 acres. It also boasts 59.88 hectares of irrigated cropping.

The property houses several kilometres of estuary frontage, leading to a potential for aquaculture to crop up on the site, as well as approximately 300 acres of potential cultivation with very little preparation – it’s a location rife for the picking or the fishing.

The whopping land has five titles, with an unformed, gazetted road running through, and multiple magnificent sites for a home, or several.

Mr and Mrs Fordyce are both local graziers, leading to speculation that the property will most certainly house its fair share of cattle.

There are several bodies of water on the property, meaning free water for irrigation, and the already well-maintained fencing and yards are perfect for cattle grazing.

Mr Dunn, the agency's Rural Specialist and Director, sold the property on February 18 in an auction in Mackay, with 10 registered bidders interested on the day.

The group of interested parties spanned from the Northern Territory down to the southern states of the country.

“I think if it’s not some sort of a record for a small grazing property, it must be close,” Mr Dunn said

“I think mainly [the price is due] to market conditions which we see at this time is very buoyant; a convergence of very, very good conditions in the values of cattle and cattle properties has led to this.

“We were very, very pleased to have received the instructions to market an incredible property and we congratulate the Fordyce Family in their purchase and wish them all the best.”

The property will be used for cattle grazing

Just some of the enormous property near Mt Blackwood

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HYPNOTIC CHANGES

With DAVID LORNIE ML, BA, MA, DIP HYP & PSYCH.

One of the myths surrounding hypnosis is that somehow the hypnotist puts someone “under their control”.

The fact is that it is impossible to control someone through hypnosis. Those stage shows where people start clucking like chickens or whatever are performed with people who have willingly taken part in the show and have agreed to acting like buffoons!

Hypnosis accesses a person’s subconscious mind, and your subconscious is the part of you that protects you. It won’t accept any suggestions, under hypnosis or otherwise, that will bring harm to you.

Hypnotherapy actually does exactly the opposite of controlling a person – the aim of hypnotherapy is to give you more control over your own life.

Many of us are controlled by bad thoughts, feelings and actions. This leads to bad habits and unhelpful patterns of behaviour. Many are also controlled by bad desires and habits ranging from drinking, smoking drug use to impulse shopping and gambling.

Such people cannot be said to be in control of their lives.

Hypnotherapy is powerful tool to give back people control over those aspects of their lives which are causing them to suffer.

People get locked into negative patterns of behaviour for various reasons, but these can be reversed through hypnotherapy, which gives the person control over those patterns. And this is done at a deep, subconscious level – where those behaviours originate.

Hypnotherapy teaches self-efficacy, enabling a person to behave in a way which will produce the desired results. When this happens, you have greater control over how you live your life according to your own values and goals.

And the beauty of this is, you are NEVER too old or set in your ways to be able to change. So, if there is a part of your life that is not quite right or making you suffer, hypnotherapy can offer a lasting solution for you.

David Lornie is owner and principal hypnotherapist at Frontier Hypnotherapy in Mackay. He is available for both face-to-face and online consultations. Contact him on 0401 223 780 or help@frontierhypnotheray.com.au. His website is: www.frontierhypnotherapy.com.au

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Casual coal miners who have highlighted “unscrupulous” practices of the government corporation Coal Long Service Leave (Coal LSL), have been vindicated in a recent audit by consultants KPMG.

Senator Malcolm Roberts has championed the scrutiny of Coal LSL after he first became aware of many malpractices from casual coal miners and labour hire companies in 2019.

Senator Roberts said, “This issue has been in plain sight for years, yet successive governments have ignored the calls for an investigation.”

The KPMG report, which the Government ordered in late 2021, makes 20 recommendations covering governance, treatment of casual coal miners, exploitation of SMEs, compliance, and Board governance and conflicts of interest.

Senator Roberts said, “I welcome the recommendation for independent Coal LSL board members to address the current glaring conflict of interest with only Minerals Councils and the CFMMEU representatives.”

Senator Roberts gathered evidence from many casual coal miners that showed LSL entitlements were incorrectly calculated, and yet Coal LSL refused to investigate and rectify.

“When the causal coal miners themselves could work out that Coal LSL were not calculating their entitlements correctly and notified Coal LSL management, it begs the question why it took a KPMG review for Coal LSL to finally listen,” Senator Roberts said.

Senator Roberts said that Coal LSL were “reluctant” first-time attendees at Senate Estimates in 2019, having never faced Senate scrutiny until Senator Roberts demanded they appear to account for their actions.

Senator Roberts said, “There was no way Coal LSL were going to continue to avoid scrutiny because I knew that hundreds of casual coal miners had been systematically ripped off and ignored over decades.”

Although some miners prefer to be casuals, all casuals deserve respect as they allow companies to move with changes in the global market and mine site conditions.

Senator Roberts said, “The mobility of this casual workforce doesn’t mean they should be treated with such contempt and disregard; they too have livelihoods and families to support.”

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Many in Mackay will be familiar with Campbell Newman as the state’s former Premier, or prior to that, Brisbane’s Lord Mayor. If you thought the brutal loss to Palasczcuk in 2015 was enough for him to give politics the flick, think again. Newman is back, as Lead Senate Candidate for Queensland with the LibDems (Liberal Democrats).

Previously a member of the LNP, Campbell Newman felt the party had ‘lost its soul’ and abandoned true liberal values, so he resigned in July 2021. Newman says the LibDems will be a major force in the coming election and it’s time for the media to pay more attention to the fast-growing party.

“The latest Newspoll showed a big spike in ‘Other’ from 11 per cent to 14 per cent of the primary vote,” Mr Newman said.

Minor parties One Nation and the Greens are counted separately from the ‘Other’ category, and both showed declines in the latest poll, to 3 per cent and 8 per cent of the primary vote respectively.

“The LibDems and the UAP make up the bulk of the ‘Other’ category. The three percentage-point jump is equal to a 37 per cent increase in our support.

“This confirms the LibDems message of providing a sensible alternative to the major parties is already resonating strongly with voters,” Mr Newman noted.

Newman said Australians want alternatives to the major parties led by people who have deep leadership experience in business and the real world.

“People are sick of the ‘Canberra class’ of career politicians and bureaucrats playing musical chairs with our country and our kids’ futures.

“It’s time to set Australia free,” Mr Newman declared.

“People want to be free to dream, free to hope, free to have a go, free to make their own choices, free to take risks, and even free to fail and make mistakes sometimes. That’s what life is all about.”

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Mackay’s premier panel beaters are set to expand their facilities to include a dedicated electric and hybrid car repair space thanks to state government grants.

The fifty-year old Mackay business McCarthy Panel Works received a $50,000 grant from the State Government Business Growth Fund to install specialised equipment at their O’Loughlin Street site.

Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert said the family-owned business that was once filled with Falcons, Chargers and Kingswoods, would be equipped to enter the modern world of electric and hybrid cars with the expansion.

“This Business Growth Fund grant will help McCarthy’s stay on the front foot of smash repairs so they can help anyone and everyone when accidents happen,” Ms Gilbert said.

“McCarthy Panel Works has been getting locals back on the road since 1971, and now, they’re looking to the future.”

The grants will be used to fund equipment like a new chassis aligner, aluminium welders and riveting guns for the new space, which will accelerate growth opportunities for the business, allowing them to reach even greater heights.

“I’m excited to see what McCarthy’s achieve in the next 12 months, although my Nissan hopes my next visit is strictly professional,” The Member for Mackay said.

Owners and directors of the 51-year-old family business Andrea and Craig McCarthy said they are pushing closer to their goal of developing the next evolution in vehicle repair.

"It is really encouraging for us to know that others can see how passionate we are about what we do and the need to do it right,” Ms McCarthy said.

“As a repairer in today’s market, you must be looking in this direction, so I am super proud to be taking McCarthy’s into this new space, especially in regard to further training for our current team members and bringing in new ones.

“It’s the next evolution for our staff, for where vehicles are going, and to stay current and fresh you need to be heading this way.”

The Palaszczuk Government grant comes as part of the delivery of its Big Plans for Small Business Strategy.

The Business Growth Fund grants of up to $50,000 for highly specialised equipment that will help businesses boost their productivity, and hopefully in turn their workforce.

Successful applicants have demonstrated a 20 percent increase in productivity, turnover, profit or employment in the past 12 months and have clearly defined business plans in place.

Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert, Small Business Minister Di Farmer MP, and Julia and Craig McCarthy with the McCarthy team celebrating a grant through the Business Growth Fund

Some of the new equipment purchased through the grant funding

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Ten local businesses have refined their business skills thanks to a tailored one-on-one mentoring program delivered by Mackay Regional Council.  

Pilot program participant Mary-Ann Refalo from family-owned and operated Walkerston-based business Retrospect Life said the program was a good opportunity to learn new things.

“With our current business we specialise in and sell homemade jams, chutneys, relishes and sauces – however, my husband and I are considering agritourism and wanted to better prepare ourselves should we head down that track,” Mrs Refalo said.

“The program is easy-to-follow, and I have walked away with a deeper understanding on a range of topics including knowing your customer and pricing strategies,” she said.

Mayor Greg Williamson said after a successful pilot program, another round had been opened today, offering the opportunity to 10 additional businesses.

“Existing businesses, as well as start-ups with a business idea that supports the Pioneer Valley Mountain Bike Trails, are eligible and encouraged to apply,” Mayor Williamson said.

“Council is investing in the program as part of our ongoing commitment to growing the visitor economy and ensuring the Mackay region continues to grow as a highly-regarded leisure destination.

“We want the Mackay region to be front of mind for travellers seeking nature experiences and we want to offer a high standard of experiences for them to enjoy while visiting.”

Tracey Pelling also took part in the pilot program, seeking guidance for her start-up accommodation business Ride, Rest, Repeat.

“We’re doing some nature-based short stay accommodation, so some campsites and some cabins, in support of the mountain bike tracks that are coming,” she explained.

“The program led us through our business plan, our financial plan, operational plan, and really just kept us focused to get our start up up and running.

Tracey would highly recommend the program to other small businesses.

“The other thing that it allowed us to do was network with other businesses in the area,” she said.

“It’s not just the course that you do, it’s the legacy that comes with it which is great.”

For more information, business owners are asked to visit mackay.qld.gov.au/businessmentoring. Applications for the next program close Friday, March 4 at 5pm.

Mayor Greg Williamson with pilot program participant and local business owner Mary-Ann Refalo from Retrospect Life. Photo Supplied: Mackay Regional Council

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