Embrace Equity

In the spirit of International Women's Day, we're proud to shine a light on the remarkable women of Mackay who have risen to the occasion and become the trailblazers of our community.

These women are our sisters, mothers, daughters, and friends who have each made a significant contribution in their own unique way. They've broken barriers, overcome challenges, and inspired us all to aim higher.

These women are just a small sample of the incredible talent and passion that exists within our community. They are the embodiment of what it means to embrace equity and fight for a more just and equitable world while dedicating countless hours to their passions and professions.

On this International Women's Day and every day beyond, let's celebrate the achievements of these remarkable women and commit ourselves to creating a future where every woman has the opportunity to succeed. Let's #EmbraceEquity and continue to build a better world for all.

FIVE WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

Throughout history, women have played a pivotal role in driving progress, breaking barriers, and changing the world.

Marie Curie, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize, transformed the field of science with her pioneering research in radioactivity. Eleanor Roosevelt, a political leader and activist, championed human rights and helped to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Maya Angelou, an author and poet, used her powerful words to inspire and empower women around the world. Malala Yousafzai, a young activist, has become a global advocate for girls' education.

And we must not forget about Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist, who was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She founded the Green Belt Movement, an organisation focused on planting trees and promoting environmental conservation, while also advocating for democracy, women's rights, and social justice.

These women have shown us that with courage, determination, and perseverance, anything is possible. Their legacy continues to inspire and empower women today to pursue their dreams, challenge the status quo, and create a better world for all.

Shirlz Russell

Build Your F’empire

Shirlz Russell is a woman on a mission to help other women (and a few good men) build their empires, one property at a time. As the founder of Build Your F'empire, she has made it her ambition to mentor women from all over Australia in successful property investing.

As her way of giving back, Shirlz has created a private Facebook community where women in Mackay and the Whitsundays can support each other, both financially and emotionally.

"I love seeing women empower themselves by taking control of their finances. The confidence that comes from this is so gratifying and beautiful to witness," Shirlz explains.

What sets Shirlz apart is her unique approach to property investing. As a woman in a male-dominated industry, she offers a fresh perspective that many women appreciate.

"I help women to realize the retirement of their dreams through successful property investing," she says.

"I am passionate about inspiring other women to own their shit, the good, the bad and the ugly! Until they do, they won’t be able to move forward and build a healthy relationship with money."

Shirlz has always been inspired by strong women who have shown true resilience and determination to achieve great things. She cites Catherine the Great as someone she admires, respecting her ability to overthrow her husband and name herself Empress.

"She was also wildly insatiable and was clearly a woman that knew what she wanted. I like that!"

As we celebrate International Women's Day, Shirlz Russell serves as a reminder that women can achieve anything they set their minds to, but as a working mother, Shirlz also knows firsthand the struggle of the juggle.  

"If I start to feel the overwhelm set in, I just tap it out, take some deep deep breaths and get on with it."

She is proof that women can indeed build their own 'F'empire' and become successful property investors while also empowering and supporting others along the way.

Katie Fox

Gold Empire Tattoo Barber, FX Clinics and Gold Fox Promotions

Being the owner and operator of the only tattoo and barber shop in the Central Queensland region, Katie Fox says she’s proud of making it as far as she has in a male dominated industry. Katie is a qualified tattoo artist and runs Gold Empire Tattoo Barber on Wood Street, where the talented team of artists have all styles covered including realism, portraits, dark realism, Japanese, fine line, trad, anime, colour and script. Gold Empire has been described as a “very welcoming and professional shop always clean and well organised,” reads one review.

“The staff are always friendly and give off a real family and inviting vibe while remaining professional, some very talented people. Best shop in town I won’t go anywhere else for a tattoo or a fresh cut.”

Katie’s second business, FX Clinics, is one of only two rejuvenation clinics in Mackay offering full body medical grade infrared Red Light Therapy as well as laser tattoo removal, teeth whitening, scalp micro pigmentation and hydrodermabrasion. Lastly, she’s recently Gold Fox Promotions, a hospitality, waitressing and stripping agency.

“Helping people feel good about themselves and transform themselves is my favourite part of all businesses,” Katie said.

Katie has had a long and exciting career dotted with adventure. Before she was a tattoo artist, she lived in England and travelled the country working on world rally cars. She then returned to Australia, embarking on a boiler making apprenticeship before being offered her tattoo apprenticeship. Katie says she looks up to a number of successful business owners, thinking “if they can do it, she can”. She is a staunch believer of following one’s dreams and making it happen.

“Women empowerment to me is going after what you want, whether that’s business related or being a stay-at-home mum and raising a beautiful family,” she said. “It’s being strong enough to do what makes you happy regardless of what society thinks.”

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Last year’s NQ’s Rock’n Country Festival brought people from across north Queensland to the Mackay region to enjoy three days of the best national and local country music entertainers, and 2023’s event is looking even bigger.

The festival announced its first round of artists last week, headlined by country icons and fan favourites Troy Cassar-Daley, Kasey Chambers and Shannon Noll.

Troy Cassar-Daley was only in the sugar city last year with his good mate Ian Moss and will be making the trip twice this year, again with Ian for Legends on the Lawn in May and secondly with a bunch of other mates at NQ’s Rock’n Country in August.

Troy can’t get enough of Mackay and Mackay can’t get enough of Troy’s genuine storytelling and musicianship.

Drawing on the quietude of folk, the honesty of country, the edgy emotions of the blues and the fearless spirit of rock’n’roll, Kasey Chambers has become one of Australia's most popular and acclaimed artists of her generation and will be bringing her decade-spanning discography back to Mackay stages.

Audiences will be screaming at the top of their lungs when Australian music’s everyman Shannon Noll takes to the NQ’s Rock’n Country stage in August, with the legend expected to sing hit after hit.

Rounding out the festival’s first announcement are the Wolfe Brothers, Kaylee Bell, Adam Brand, Southbound xo, Andrew Swift, Catherine Britt and Christie Lamb.

NQ’s Rock’n Country is a supporter of Variety – the Children’s Charity, raising over $40,000 for the children’s charity at last year’s festival.

WHAT: NQ’s Rock’n Country

WHERE: Mackay Showgrounds

WHEN: Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 20

TICKETS: nqsrockncountry.com.au

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If you’ve ever wanted to become a more comfortable and confident communicator, Toastmasters might be for you.

The Eyeopener Toastmasters Club Mackay are holding a Visitor Day to give people a taste of what they can expect when they join Toastmasters.

Adam Cuskelly has been a member of Toastmasters for around a year, originally joining to improve his public speaking.

“I’m trying to get out and meet more people to improve my speaking and conversation skills,” Adam said.

The club meets fortnightly to discuss a variety of topics and present speeches before being evaluated and shown room for improvement in their presentations.

“Come along, check it out, I reckon it’s really beneficial,” suggested Adam.

“One of the things I like about it is that each of the members have a different life experience and background.

“It’s quite interesting to hear about their stories.”

WHAT: Eyeopener Toastmasters Visitor Day

WHERE: St Paul’s Uniting Church Meeting Room, 21 Macalister St, Mackay

WHEN: Friday, March 10 from 6:45am to 8:00am

CONTACT: eyeopenermackay@gmail.com

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A real estate agent friend of mine recently told me that when he first started in the industry he thought a “sinking fund” referred to the money that had been set aside to deal with apartment buildings sinking or subsiding into the earth below.

He had just started in real estate when he heard other agents discussing the sinking fund at one of the high-rise residential buildings at Mackay Harbour.

My friend probably thought the sand must go pretty deep at the harbour.

I’m not sure what sort of amounts the other agents were bandying about when discussing the sinking fund but engineers don’t come cheap and a disappearing building can’t be easy to fix.

Look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, now there’s a structure that would need a decent sinking fund. Of course, we could take the Italian approach and let our buildings sink a little bit and turn them into a tourist attraction.

Shortly after my friend heard about the sinking fund for the harbour building, he came across the term again.

This time he was with some agents at one of our modern river-side apartment blocks and, again, they were talking about the sinking fund.

My friend thought, “What the hell is going on with the buildings in this town? Why are they all sinking?”

But the penny soon dropped and he realised he had misunderstood the terminology.  

The good news for Mackay Harbour and riverside unit owners is that a sinking fund has nothing to do with building subsidence and everyone can rest easy.

A sinking fund is the money set aside by body corporate managers, and paid in instalments by the property owners, to cover maintenance, repairs and other work that is expected to be required for the strata title complex in the years ahead.

Money gets set aside in the sinking fund, for example, for when planned painting of a unit complex is required so that owners don’t suddenly have to find tens of thousands of dollars to pay the painters.

My friend’s sinking fund story reminded me that there is a lot of terminology and jargon used in the industry that normal people don’t use and often don’t understand.

I often have to check myself, slow down and remind myself to explain terminology to buyers and sellers when I realise I’m spitting out terminology that ordinary punters don’t come across in their daily activities.

Whether it’s a CMA, a disclosure statement, cooling off period or finance clause, the terms all have a meaning and need to be understood for a buyer or seller to feel comfortable with what’s going on.

It’s part of an agent’s job to explain it all just in case you think the apartment you are buying is in a building that is sinking into the harbour.

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International Women's Day (IWD), held on March 8 each year, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group, or organisation specific.

In Mackay, the Zonta Club has been celebrating IWD with an annual event for years. Zonta is a leading global organisation of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. Zonta International envisions a world in which women's rights are recognised as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence.

I am very proud to have been a member of this club for over 10 years. We are a passionate and diverse group of women that reflect a cross-section of the community. From young professionals to business owners and retirees, our membership group varies in age, career, lifestyle, background, and experience. We meet over dinner from 5.30pm on the third Tuesday of each month at Ocean International. We’d love for you to join us!

And the question is always asked – what about International Men’s Day? This is also an annual event, celebrated on November 19, to recognise the positive value men bring to the world, their families, and communities. In Mackay, the wonderful Frank Cowell from Shed Happens coordinates this event with a dedicated group of volunteers. The Zonta Club of Mackay also supports this event.

Collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity are what make International Women's Day impactful. Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist, and activist once explained "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights." So, make International Women's Day your day and do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women.

Cr Belinda Hassan

Mackay Regional Council

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My daughter replied to a text message from me this week, and it made me cry.

If you’ve got teenagers, or had them, you may know exactly what I am about to tell you.

Just so you know, I live alone and my kids have always lived with their Mum, so we get to see each other every now and then, and that’s cool. Their lives come first every time.

That said, I love to know what they are doing and how they’re travelling.

The text message I sent said “Have the best time seeing Harry!” Her reply? “Thank you, heading to the Gold Coast now”!

Sending messages to your kids is one thing, but to get a reply longer than two words is one of the best feelings a Dad can get, and for it to stretch out over nearly 240 characters melted my heart.

My daughter loves music. Absolutely loves it. Just like me at her age.

Over the last few years it is quite apparent that my daughter loves Harry Styles, alongside half of Australia, so when his tour plans came out years ago, she went nuts for tickets, but then a little thing called COVID came along and ruined everyone’s plans, including my daughter’s.

Well fast forward to Tuesday just gone, the delays, cancellations, tears and frustrations were all forgotten about, and the man just called Harry played to the masses of screaming ladies on the Gold Coast and they loved every second of it.

Being in the same room as your idol is a feeling you can never repeat. To be metres away is just next level. I hope to hear all about the show on her return and hopefully more detail in future texts and maybe even face to face conversations, but to know at this stage she got to fulfil one of her dreams just makes me so happy for my daughter.

If you’re a parent, you know how I feel, hey!

I remember the 80’s in Mackay, and going to see all the bands at the showgrounds after school and I know how special the feelings are. Seeing Dire Straits, Split Enz, Mondo Rock, Australian Crawl, Angels, John Farnham and more all on stage just makes life perfect.

I can’t wait to find out who's next on her bucket list. Maybe I should ask her to go to Legends on the Lawn in May. I wonder if she’d be cool with saying hi to Dad in front of her friends. Is that still a thing to do in 2023? Who cares? I wish for those days. One day though…one day.

You can join Rob Kidd from 5am weekday mornings on 4MK 1026 AM in Mackay and Proserpine, 91.5FM in Airlie Beach or just ask your smart speaker to play 4MK on iHeartRadio!

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At Kipara Tropical Rainforest Retreat

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This week when I was running on the treadmill at the gym, I saw a woman doing a fitness class in the next room with her 12-month-old baby in her arms.

I was amazed at how determined she was to continue with her class despite her restless baby demanding her attention.

Instead of giving up, she simply scooped the bubba up and carried on.

The baby was delighted and didn’t even mind the jogs and jostles of her mum working out.

What a hero!

This week we are celebrating International Women’s Day with a special feature that profiles 15 different women in our community from a variety of industries.

I had the pleasure of meeting many of them at the front-page photo shoot earlier this week and I was amazed at how quickly these complete strangers became friends.

Within minutes of their arrival, they were chatting animatedly about their businesses and handing business cards to each other – it had become somewhat of a networking event!

When you see them linking arms in the photo, it reflects this genuine feeling of kinship.

I loved watching this instant camaraderie and it reminded me of our female superpowers – that of love, empathy and connection.  

One other woman I know who brings these qualities to the world in everything she does is my own mother – Jan – who is (as I write this) on her way to the Whitsundays from England.

Thanks for travelling all the way over here by yourself mum, you are my truest role model and I love you so much.

Noons

(my childhood nickname!)

Quote of the Week: “Your graciousness is what carries you. It isn’t how old you are, how beautiful you are, or how short your skirt is. It’s what comes out of your heart. If you are gracious, you have won the game” (Stevie Nicks)

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When Judith Miller Backway was woken by a “big crash” at 3 am, she raced out of her bedroom to find her husband on the bathroom floor in terrible pain.

She immediately called an ambulance to their Cannonvale address and was relieved when it arrived some minutes later.

They rushed him to Proserpine Hospital where it was initially thought to be a heart attack but after further investigation, they discovered he had a Ruptured Aortic Arterial Aneurism.

He was then taken by the RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter to Townsville Hospital where he was treated by a vascular surgeon.

Afterwards, his wife found out that eight out of 10 people who suffer from the same condition do not survive the trip to the hospital.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the medical teams involved,” said Judith.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know their names, but everyone from the paramedics to every doctor, nurse, pilot and the helicopter doctors were just amazing!”

Since the incident, which took place earlier this month, Judith said they found out that this type of aneurism has no symptoms and no warning.

“Most people find out when it ruptures and by then it is too late,” said Judith.

“But you can ask your doctor to refer you for a routine ultrasound which would pick it up and I wish more people knew that.”

Judith says her husband is now doing well and that they have been able to complete their move down to Hervey Bay, but he has been on very light duties.

“He said he’d do anything to get out of the packing,” said Judith.

“But this was a step too far!”

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A four-year-old is lucky to be alive after he nearly drowned at a resort pool on Hamilton Island late last month.

If it were not for the quick-thinking holidaymakers that were first to arrive at the scene, and spent three crucial minutes resuscitating him, then he may have died.

Jason Chivers and his wife, Dr Britt Christensen, who are from Melbourne were holidaying with a group of other families and their own three children when they heard screams.

They turned around to see a mother carrying her child from the pool, he was blue and not breathing.

The mother turned the boy over and tried to smack his back, but Britt, who was 31 weeks pregnant at the time, jumped into action.

They managed to calm the mother down and lay the boy on his back, ensured his airway was clear and then began CPR.

“At first it was not working as there were too many people, but we managed to get everyone out of the way and get the sequence right,” recalls Jason.

“Seeing the child’s chest go up and down – I still see it so clearly today – we have a nearly four-year-old and it was just so much to take in.”

There was a large crowd of families watching, but after about three minutes Jason said he saw a flicker.

“His eyes moved, and we continued CPR and then I saw emotion come on his face, in twitches,” said Jason.

“All of a sudden, we heard a big scream come from the child and I was just waiting to hear his voice so that we knew he had brain function and that’s when he screamed – Mum! Mum! Mum! – and he did a massive vomit of water and then a huge burp.”

A few minutes later the fire brigade arrived and so did the ambulance service.

When Britt got to her feet, she had severe burns on her knees and the family will always remember the traumatic day.

Jason managed to speak to the boy’s mother afterwards and she explained that her son had been wearing his floaty and that she had gone to a sun lounger to get his goggles so they could practice swimming in the deep end.

Somehow, in those few minutes, he had gotten out of his floaty and into the deep end of the pool.

The pool was very crowded at the time and the mother could not see her son at first, but after a frantic few minutes, she found him submerged.

“It’s amazing how quickly they can slip under the water without a noise, in a crowded pool and for nobody to notice,” said Jason.

Fortunately, there is a happy outcome to this incident but it acts as a stark reminder that children need constant visual supervision in the water.

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Last Thursday, Mayor Julie Hall announced that she had been speaking with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) and has arranged an onsite meeting at the Shute Harbour boat ramp in late March.

The boat ramp has been a point of contention for boat-owners within our community since it opened in 2021.

The $1.8 million state-owned structure has been called an “engineering disgrace” and becomes submerged at hightide, with many boaties calling it dangerous and not fit for use.

Mayor Julie Hall and Director of Infrastructure Services Adam Hagy have been in talks with DTMR and are now pleased to inform the community that an inspection of the site has been approved.

“Council has received plenty of criticism that the new boat ramp is not practical, but the boat ramp is a state-owned government funded asset,” said the Mayor.

“I initially raised our community’s concerns about the boat ramp issue in talks with Minister Mark Baily late last year and we are grateful that he gave an assurance that he would arrange a meeting onsite with Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ).

“Our aim now is to work with DTMR and MSQ to explore possible solutions to make the current boat ramp more user friendly based on community feedback.”

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Shute Harbour Coordinator Shaun Cawood, Mayor Julie Hall and Director of Infrastructure Services Adam Hagy at the Shute Harbour boat ramp. Photo supplied

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Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox is concerned about funding cuts that he believes could result in a lack of international tourists visiting the Whitsundays.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics have released a report that stated international tourist visitation is only 25 per cent of pre- pandemic 2019 levels.

Despite domestic tourists at a record-breaking high, Willcox believes that the government should be forward-thinking and allocating funding to attract global tourism now that the world’s borders are fully open.

He is frustrated that $35 million of funding has been cut from Tourism Australia this year and worried what the implications will be on our nation’s ability to reach global markets.

“The Prime Minister needs to start backing our tourism operators and regions like Dawson who are reliant on the international market,” he said.

“Tourism Australia is the agency responsible for marketing Australia as the destination of choice to international holiday makers.  

“The decision to cut $35 million from their funding in the budget was exceptionally poor.”

Willcox pointed out that local Whitsunday operators have dealt with a “double blow” when the COVID 19 Recovery for regional Tourism Fund ceased in December last year.

The Whitsundays and Mackay region had received $3,500,000 from the Federal Government which helped assist businesses and tourism operators who were heavily reliant on International Tourism.

“We are now competing heavily against the rest of the world to attract international travellers. It makes no sense for the Government to cut $35 million from the agency tasked with rebuilding our international tourism market,” he said.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO, Rick Hamilton said he is also concerned with the reduction in funding.

He stated that domestic tourism has been strong but as Aussies head overseas, there will be a lag in international visitation as Australia is a long-haul market booked a year out.

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Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox at the Shute Harbour Marine Terminal. Photo supplied

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Half Cut For Small Business

Just over a week ago the iconic Big Mango in Bowen mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear on Thursday morning cut in half with a giant seed protruding from the middle of the 10-metre structure.

While many locals stood back in wonder, Bowen Tourism and Business were ‘in the know’, their Manager Leanne Abernethy announcing that it was part of a stunt coordinated by Australia’s small business platform, Xero, to highlight the plight of small business owners who lose money through unpaid invoices.

Small business owners face 50 per cent of their invoices being paid late.

The startling statistic originated from a 2022 study commissioned by Xero, in conjunction with Accenture, and found that on average, late payments cost small businesses $1.1 billion per year.

By replacing the Big Mango with a replica that had been cut in half, organisers hoped to increase awareness of the challenges small businesses face.

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Julie Hall said she was proud that the iconic Bowen Big Mango was being used to help highlight such an important issue.

“The Bowen Big Mango temporarily looked like a job half done to draw a focus to the real issues that small businesses face when their invoices are paid late,” she said.

“Small businesses are the backbone of communities in regional Australia, and we hope this stunt brings about a much-needed change in attitude towards paying invoices on time.”

While on the ground, Whitsunday Regional Council took the opportunity to install new legs and an internal refurbishment to make the Big Mango more durable.

The real Big Mango has now been returned to the site and work will continue at the location for the next few weeks.

Manager of Bowen Tourism and Business, Leanne Abernethy said this big thing of ours would be ripe again in time for its 21st birthday in May and the makeover would ensure it would be an icon of Bowen’s landscape for many years to come.

She also added that Bowen Tourism and Business had been paid by media agency, HelloSocial, on behalf of Xero, to take part in the campaign.

The inflatable half-mango, valued at $30k, has also been gifted to Bowen Tourism and Business for use at future events.

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The 10-metre Big Mango was lifted by crane and taken away last week. Photo supplied

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A Whitsunday Regional Councillor is required to make a public admission of guilt, pay a fine of $500, and attend training or counselling after engaging in “inappropriate conduct” relating to a Council employee.

Councillor Jan Clifford’s actions were scrutinised by an independent assessor over six months, with the findings presented for decision to Whitsunday Regional Councillors at last week’s Ordinary Council Meeting.

Three allegations of misconduct were brought to the table against Ms Clifford, the first two of which she was found guilty.

Councillor Clifford is required to publicly admit her guilt, be fined $500, and attend on-course training.

The initial, substantiated claim was that she had approached an unnamed employee and said words to the effect that “it appeared there was nepotism within the council with the appointment of Employee Y to Council position,” documents stated.

The second substantiated allegation stated that the Councillor attended a Council event last year, where the Councillor said to another attending employee about Employee Y, "I would rather speak to myself" and "I am still disgusted that [she] has got that position".

A third allegation was removed from discussions for being "school-kid stuff" had alleged Councillor Clifford ignored Employee Y at several previous Council meeting morning teas.

Under current policy, Local Government Mayors are held responsible for handling investigations and reprimand of Councillors.

Another Councillor Conduct Investigation against Councillor Mike Brunker was to be addressed at the meeting but was tabled due to Councillor Brunker being absent.

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Julie Hall said that hiring independent assessors was not a regular procedure in these matters yet was deemed the "right course of action" considering the timing of the allegations.

“When these were brought to my desk, I had been in the job for less than a week,” Mayor Hall said.

Before discussions, Councillor Clifford spoke to her case: “I said to someone that it did not pass the pub test [the hiring of Employee Y], in broad terms,” she said.

“Am I sorry I said that? Maybe, maybe not. Because it does not in my opinion pass the pub test and this is nothing personal against the employee. A lot of people in this town would have applied for [that position].”

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Councillor Jan Clifford was fined $500 after findings substantiated her inappropriate conduct in treatment of a Council employee

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Proserpine is expected to receive its first public Basketball Courts as Whitsunday Regional Council requests funding for the project at Halpannel Park.

The $175,000 project hopes to address the current lack of a community sporting fixture of its type in the Whitsundays township.

Whitsunday Regional Council Project Officer Economic Development and Major Grants Elouise Lamb said the sports facility will be built at an established park facility in easy proximity to three schools.

Currently, local enthusiasts not attending one of Proserpine’s schools must make the drive to Airlie Beach to utilise facilities.

The court is projected for completion by December 2024, with funding still being sought through the DTIS Minor Infrastructure Program Round 1, with no construction start date announced.

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