Ever wanted to take a greater look at some of the Greater Whitsunday region’s traditional and emerging industries?

Well now you can with virtual reality technology.

Greater Whitsunday Alliance (GW3) has launched the Greater Whitsunday Virtual Reality Tour, which takes you on a journey across our region’s diverse industries and sectors.

Greater Whitsunday Alliance Chief Executive Officer Kylie Porter said visitors of the virtual tour will travel as far north as Bowen to experience the emerging industry of aerospace and south to Ilbilbie and the world of aquaculture and prawn farming.

“There are seven stops on the tour that also feature some of our traditional industries including mining and METS (Mining, Equipment and Technical Services), agriculture and tourism, which together tell the story of our diversified economy,” Ms Porter said.

The Greater Whitsunday Virtual Reality Tour compliments a 360-video Virtual Reality experience, created to share with industry and government stakeholders, who may not be able to visit all key destinations in our region.

“The virtual tour shares the Greater Whitsunday’s future vision and how industry and businesses in our region are changing and embracing new ways of thinking to evolve,” Ms Porter added.

“The Greater Whitsunday region is the place to be if you have an interest in innovation, technology and exciting job opportunities.”

Ms Porter said the businesses who feature include Marto’s Mangoes, Australian Prawn Farms, Resources Centre of Excellence, Vayeron, Red Cat Adventures and Gilmour Space Technologies.

“On the tour you will also visit the QUT Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant, which is a unique biofutures research facility developing new high value by products from sugarcane, fibre, cotton and waste.

“The region will be producing a range of biofood products to meet the global demand for alternative proteins, projected to be worth $20billion globally by 2030.”

Ms Porter said the Greater Whitsunday Virtual Reality was a vital tool to highlight the region’s diversity.

“It is important to change the narrative around our region’s capabilities and explain we are greater than just one industry sector.”

You can explore the Greater Whitsunday Virtual Reality tour by visiting the Greater Whitsunday Alliance website’s Industries page.

The Greater Whitsunday virtual reality tour invites you to take a greater look

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Do you give a toss about what you throw into what bin?

Mackay Regional Council is urging residents to “Think before they throw it!”, as incorrect recycling practices are causing havoc at council’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

In recent months there has been a rise in contamination rates in yellow-lidded bins, with a marked increase in the amount of building waste.

Mayor Greg Williamson said anything that enters the facility that cannot be recycled poses a safety risk to our staff and can also damage equipment.

“Your kerbside recycling bin is not an extra bin for rubbish that won’t fit into your general waste bin. It’s important that general waste is disposed of correctly, so as not to damage our machinery or injure staff,” Mayor Williamson said.

“Our MRF facility only recycles household packaging such as hard plastics and glass bottles, milk and juice cartons, paper and cardboard, aluminium cans and foil, steel cans and aerosols.

“All other items must be manually separated by staff and are sent to landfill, which is costly for ratepayers,” he said.

Mayor Williamson said staff had also identified that almost a third of waste in red/green lidded general waste bins were items that could have been diverted to the Incredable Drop Off at the Paget Waste Management Centre for repurposing and recovery.

“If we can get it right, we are not just saving ratepayers’ money in waste disposal but ensuring less waste is going to landfill, which is great for our environment,” he said.

To increase recycling awareness, council has developed an easy to follow “What goes where” poster. Schools and body corporates are welcome to order these FREE of charge to place on their premises to help improve correct recycling rates. Head to mackay.qld.gov.au/recycleright to order yours.

Council’s new “What goes where” poster highlights what waste goes in which bin and offers alternatives for waste items that don’t belong in kerbside waste or recycling bins

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Free parking at Mackay Council’s paid car parks is available from now until July 17, but after that, you’ll need a new app to pay.

A new Mackay-branded parking app is launching this month, replacing the PayStay parking app that is currently in use in Mackay’s four off-street paid car parking locations.

The new app, Mackay Parking, will be available to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from July 11 and will go live on July 18.

Mayor Greg Williamson said the Mackay Parking app offered a variety of benefits for users.

“Not only is the new app customised to our region, but it will also improve customer payment experiences,” he said.

“The Mackay Parking app allows one-off transactions, so users no longer need to carry a minimum amount of money on their digital wallet.

“Simply set-up your account and upload your vehicle and payment details and you can pay for your parking as you use it.”

Use of the current parking app, PayStay, at Mackay’s paid parking spaces will cease from July 4, and the Mackay Parking app will go live on July 18.

“This means council will be offering free parking from July 4 until July 17 at council’s paid car parks,” Mayor Williamson said.

Long term parking tickets will still be available, and these can be purchased through the new Mackay Parking app.

Parking tickets will also still be available through the manual ticket meters in Mid-City and Cinema car parks.

Parking fees have not changed and are 70 cents per hour, and a maximum fee of $5 per day.

Residents who have money remaining on their PayStay wallet are encouraged to contact PayStay on 1300 322 111 to organise a refund.

For more information on the Mackay Parking app visit www.mackay.qld.gov.au/mackayparking or call 1300 MACKAY (622 529).

There will be free parking in the region’s four off-street car parks from July 4 until July 17

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Defining priority areas and working with council to implement projects and events will be the intention of a new youth cabinet, elected by young people in the Mackay region to bring a fresh voice to local issues.

A new partnership between Mackay Regional Council and the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is bringing a pilot program to the region that will revolutionise how young people are included in local government.

The Young Mayors program will support people aged 17 and under to get elected to the youth cabinet, positioning young people as decision makers on issues that impact their future.

“Young people are the future leaders of our region. We’ve heard through 1,000 conversations that young people want to have a voice, and to influence decisions that impact how they live in our region,” Mayor Greg Williamson said.

“Our council wants to be part of building a succession pathway that values their participation now and as they get older. We’re excited to work with FYA to make that happen through the Young Mayors program.”

The program will back young people to learn about and participate in the systems that govern their lives, and influence decisions that impact their community.

“Local governments play a huge role in the everyday lives of people in our communities, and that includes young people. But young people are often locked out of power - consulted but never in charge, ” FYA’s Executive Director of Civic and Cultural Engagement Molly Whelan said.

“This program puts young people in the driver’s seat - ensuring that council policies and programs better reflect the concerns, needs, and desires of local young people.”

The Young Mayors program has been designed by FYA and is based on successful UK models. Mackay Regional Council is the first to pilot the program in Australia, with plans to scale to councils across the country.

For more information about the Young Mayors program, visit: https://www.fya.org.au/program/young-mayors/

Mayor Greg Williamson (centre) with Molly Whelan (left) and Tahlia Azaria (right) from Foundation for Young Australians (FYA)

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Shadow Treasurer David Janetzki visited Mackay’s Northern Beaches last week, meeting with Member for Whitsunday Amanda Camm to discuss the lack of infrastructure funding for one of the state’s fastest-growing areas.

The claim was made in reference to the State Government’s recent budget announcement, where Mr Janetzki says there is only an allocation for planning of $300k this year and $300k in 2023-2024 for the area.

“The Northern Beaches is the fastest growing suburb in the Mackay Region,’ said Mr Janetzki.

“There is no capital infrastructure funding allocated in this Qld government budget’ and there is also no funding for Fire and Emergency Services.”

The Northern Beaches falls under Amanda Camm’s electorate of Whitsunday, with the local MP saying the funding allocation falls short in a fast-growing area.

“The Queensland Government’s decision to not allocate these funds to the Northern Beaches, one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Mackay region, is a serious oversight and is not taking into consideration future growth of my community,” said Ms Camm.

Shadow Treasurer David Janetzki and Member for Whitsunday Amanda Camm in Mackay’s Northern Beaches

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Local media has a new voice of influence, with Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) Executive General Manager Queensland, Ken Wood, announcing that Nik Stuart has been appointed General Manager for the SCA Mackay market.

In his new remit, Stuart will lead the SCA Mackay team, including Triple M 98.7 Mackay/The Whitsundays and Hit 100.3 Mackay/The Whitsundays.

Stuart has gained extensive experience during his 12 years with SCA, ranging from promotions, breakfast announcer and more recently as Content Director for the Darling Downs market in Southern Queensland.

“We are excited to welcome Nik to the Queensland Leadership Team and the Mackay leadership role, and he brings a wealth of experience to our market,” Wood said.

Commenting on his new role, Stuart said: “I began my journey with SCA in 2010 on the street team in Brisbane.

“I remember sitting in reception before my interview being completely overwhelmed by how fun the building felt. In the 12 years since then I have had the privilege of working in five offices across Queensland in nearly every role you can do, and I have never lost that sense of fun.

“I can’t wait to join the Mackay team and continue to drive amazing results for our community and clients.”

Stuart’s new role is effective immediately.

Nik Stuart

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A local search and rescue team has been presented with a Certificate of Appreciation following their participation in a search and rescue training exercise last year.

Queensland Remote Area Tracking (QRAT) was presented with the certificate after working alongside the Australian Defence Force, SES, Police, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES), council and other organisations in Exercise Mackay Ready in November 2021.

On the day, organisations were given a scenario and an area of ground to search for missing people and tasked with facilitating the extraction of those simulated missing people.

QFES Emergency Management Coordinator Carla Duck presented Matthew Munchow and the QRAT team with the Assistant Commissioner’s Certificate of Appreciation, saying there were over 200 people at the exercise and scenarios presented to the organisations were extremely difficult.

“We had a good debrief after and had a lot of learnings,” Ms Duck said.

“It was very short notice, I think we got two weeks to organise that, so it was very last minute so thank you very much for being involved.”

QRAT volunteer Terry Norris says QRAT’s presence at the exercise was also seen as an opportunity to raise the organisation’s profile.

QRAT is a self-funded search and rescue team, founded four years ago by people with a background in military and emergency services.

After the presentation of the certificate, QRAT gave QFES staff a tour of their purpose-built trailer, explaining the organisation’s vast capabilities in times of emergency.

“There’s stuff in that trailer that, at this point, other emergency agencies don’t have the capability of,” Mr Norris said.

The team has been involved in many search and rescue operations since its inception and Terry says they average a callout a month.

“We try to stay fluid in our approach on those jobs so if tracking somebody’s not an option, then we move into other scenarios where we use different lost person behaviour scenarios.

“When people go missing, they very often follow certain patterns depending on the type of person and what they were doing at the time.”

QRAT works alongside SES and other organisations, searching arduous terrain that other organisations may not be able to navigate to either find a missing person or eliminate an area.

Unlike other organisations, QRAT is self-funded.

“Funding’s our biggest thing; we don’t receive any government funding,” said Mr Norris.

To find out more about QRAT and how you can help keep them on the road, visit qrat.org.au.

Brenton Harris (SES), Derek Drummond, Jason Pullen, Terry Norris, Carla Duck (QFES), Jock Crome (QFES), Matthew Munchow, Tony Johnstone (Rural Fire Service), Paul Crowe, Seaforth Mackenzie and Nathan Gelhaar (front). Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

QRAT participated in Exercise Mackay Ready, a simulated search and rescue operation in November 2021. Photos supplied: Terry Norris

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Mackay’s Bryce Bathe is about to call it a day on his career as a Marine Pilot with North Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP) but exploring Bryce’s resume further shows how truly incredible his career has been.

From a dairy farm to a Rolls Royce mechanic, adventures on Tall Ships with Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson, and scientific research discovering new animal species, Bryce has done it all.

His first job on the water came when he was chosen as one of 200 young people from the Commonwealth nations to join an expedition on a tall ship that followed the circumnavigation of Francis Drake.

“We completed studies of different cultures, surveyed shipwrecks, undertook community health work, discovered a new type of monitor lizard, and took science to the canopies of the tropical rainforests around the globe,” Bryce said.

“It was a life-changing experience.”

Bryce says his formative years were spent on sailing ships all over the world.

After the Francis Drake expedition, he found himself on a tall ship sailing from England to Australia.

On this expedition, he weathered a violent storm in the Bay of Biscay as a starter, assisted the Charles Darwin Institute in the Galapagos Islands, took supplies to Pitcairn Island, studied the effects of the French nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll and so much more.

He was even part of the ship’s crew for the 1984 remake of Mutiny of the Bounty featuring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.

Mr Bathe wrapped up his tall ship experience immersed in Australia’s bicentennial celebrations and jointly managing the two-year restoration of a Topsail Schooner.

“One of the best jobs I had was as Captain of a CSIRO research vessel,” Bryce said.

“I worked with some amazing scientists who were researching the trigger of El Nino weather patterns.

Bryce says the progression from the merchant navy to a marine pilot role is a natural one, ultimately taking a job in Mackay.

“Family was a huge driver for ‘coming ashore’, six weeks at sea and six weeks at home is not the best for family life,” he said.

In his time with NQBP, Bryce was appointed to the Pilot Manager role, something he never expected.

Another highlight came when he filled the role of director of the Australasian Marine Pilots Institute and contributed to the first edition of the Marine Pilot Competence and Performance Guide.

Bryce says retirement is yet another journey and he’s keen to see where it takes him.

“I am looking forward to enjoying all the adventures and opportunities that come our way,” he said.

Bryce Bathe is about to retire from his role as Marine Pilot Manager at NQBP

Bryce has had an extraordinary career filled with adventure. Photos supplied: NQBP

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A co-design workshop tackling mental health and suicide prevention in our region was held by the Council of Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce last Thursday at the MECC.

This was the second workshop held by the Taskforce and saw mayors and councillors from the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions collaborate with service providers, funding providers, community and those with lived experience.

Mackay Regional Council Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Taskforce Karen May says the Taskforce was formed after conversations with Suicide Prevention Community Action Plan Worker Deb Rae, councillors and Mayor Greg Williamson around concerns about suicide rates in the Greater Whitsunday Region and the difficulty residents face in accessing and navigating appropriate healthcare services.

“We went to the mayor putting the case of what needed to be addressed and we identified that perhaps a Greater Whitsunday Council of Mayors Taskforce might be a good way to get all of the people in the room and have an open discussion about how we can rectify this problem,” Ms May said.

The Council of Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce was established, and the first workshop was held in May 2021 with the goal of identifying the issues involved.

Taskforce Project Officer Courtney Wilson says the second workshop intends to provide solutions to the issues raised in a collaborative format.

“It’s done in a way that everyone’s voice is equal and we have a room full of people with all different lenses, they all have really different valuable things to offer and it becomes really creative and exciting because everyone has different thoughts,” Ms Wilson said.

Throughout the workshop, a presentation was made by a representative of the Lived Experience Advisory Group, sharing a message of having services that represent indigenous communities and meeting individual needs without making assumptions.

Fellow Lived Experiences Representative Emma Rix says the current system is too reliant on assumptions.

“I think we need to have a way of getting to know someone before we decide what service is best for them and that’s what’s missing,” Ms Rix said.

Presentations were also made by organisations including Roses in the Ocean, which has experience in co-designing solutions alongside people with lived experiences, and My Community Directory, which spoke about the potential for a centralised database of service providers.

“That was one of the biggest areas of need, was that we don’t really have anything we can go to find information, you get bounced around and it’s really quite difficult,” Ms Wilson said.

Attendees then participated in co-designing and co-creating in groups, responding to case studies and identifying problems and solutions.

One of the biggest barriers identified was funding and resources.

L-R Lived Experiences Representative Emma Rix, Taskforce Project Officer Courtney Wilson, Taskforce Chair Karen May and Cyclic Konnectionz Founding Director Fiona Bobongie

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One of Mackay’s most beloved heritage-listed buildings, The Ambassador Hotel, will become a stage for Mackay Festival of Arts performance, Read the Room this July.

Read The Room host Jason Chong said the event would follow a quiz panel show format.

“During the show audience members will be asked to answer a variety of unusual questions live through their phones, while panel contestants try to work out the audience average,” Mr Chong said.

“There are variations on the theme including would you rather, moral dilemmas, comparing this crowd to the national average, but essentially it’s REALLY fun – the audiences have been really positive about it, and I love hosting it.”

Panel members will vary over the two nights Read the Room takes place. Mackay Musical Comedy Players and MY105FM will take the stage on Thursday night, while the Just Saying Project and Triple M’s Jay and Dave will take a seat on the panel on the Friday night.

Mayor Greg Williamson said he was looking forward to seeing some of the Mackay region’s local personalities get involved in this fun night out.

“It will be a night of unmissable entertainment combining pre-show entertainment with Jason Chong’s quick wit and a sensational panel of local talent,” Mayor Williamson said.

“We’re encouraging audience members to come early and enjoy the live music by Jonte and Tiffany Grace Vella,” he said.

Delicious gourmet platter boxes are available to order pre-event, and pizzas will be available to order on the night.

Don’t forget to charge your phone and get yourself ready to Read the Room, where it’s socially acceptable to be judgmental.

What: Read The Room

When: Thursday, July 7, 2022, at 7.30pm

Friday, July 8, 2022, at 7.30pm

Where: LUSH ROOM at the Ambassador Hotel

Tickets: themecc.com.au

Read The Room will be an unmissable two nights of entertainment next week

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Reef Catchments are seeking to partner with community organisations to implement projects from the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Reef Community Action Plan (CAP).

Last year Reef Catchments worked with more than 15 different community groups to design 10 projects all focused on protecting the Great Barrier Reef. This collection of projects is called the CAP. Today, a year on, we are seeing the implementation of a number of these CAP projects.

Last year, the community decided that food waste was an issue that our community should address. If food waste was a country, it would be the third largest carbon emitter. So by reducing food waste, the aim of the CAP project is to reduce the carbon footprint of our community.

Similarly, the community decided that we should be doing more to protect foreshore vegetation, thereby protecting our shorelines from erosion and providing healthy habitat for nesting turtles.

Sarina Landcare is leading this project, working with schools, Traditional Owners and residents at Carmila and Grasstree beaches to control weeds, plant native species and protect the foreshore.

These are two examples of the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Reef CAP in action. Reef Catchments, as the CAP Leader for this region, is dedicated to supporting these projects and help secure funding to get others started.

They are continually looking for new ways to improve and expand CAP projects. If you think your organisation is well placed to lead or partner on a CAP project, please get in touch with Reef Catchments.

The Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Reef Community Action Plan is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and Whitsunday Regional Council.

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The art of woodturning has been in fine hands for more than 35 years in Mackay, with Mackay Woodturners President and Patron, Barry Porter, celebrating his 35-year Mackay Woodturners anniversary with the club’s founder, Rod Madam.

The club has evolved from humble beginnings when Rod and Barry used to hone their craft in their backyards. Now with its own club house, Mackay Woodturners is the envy of many other clubs throughout Australia with a reputation for turning out fine craftsmanship.

Reminiscing over the years Rod said, "I might have started the club, but it is the members that have kept it going."

The public are invited to Mackay Woodturners Expo on the weekend of 9 - 10 July, at Snow Wright Ct, off Beaconsfield Rd from 9am until 3pm. Entry is free.

Mackay Woodturners President Barry Porter with Mackay Woodturners founder Rod Madam and Rod’s wife Therese

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Mackay police are appealing for CCTV or dash cam footage following an alleged hit and run traffic crash in Andergrove last weekend on Saturday, June 25.

Around 10.40am police were contacted following an alleged collision between a white Mercedes station wagon and a gold Nissan Patrol in the carpark of the Oak Street McDonald’s with the white station wagon allegedly failing to remain at the scene.

A short time later police located the station wagon parked in nearby Bedford Road.

The driver, a 50-year-old Mackay man was arrested and charged with two counts of failing to supply a specimen of breath (roadside and breath analysis section), failing to comply with duties of a driver involved in a crash, and driving without due care and attention.

Members of the public who may have footage of the incident, or any footage relevant to the investigation, are asked to contact police.  

The man was given police bail and is due to appear in the Mackay Magistrates Court on August 2.

The alleged incident happened in the car park at McDonalds Andergrove

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Upgrade work has commenced at the Sydney and Alfred streets roundabout to improve safety of the area and improve visibility for drivers and pedestrians.

Construction is expected to take about six weeks to complete, weather permitting.

The work involves installing new median islands, pedestrian refuge islands, all abilities ramps, new road pavement and line marking.

To help minimise the impacts to businesses and traffic in the area, work will be undertaken at night between the hours of 6pm and 6am, Sunday to Thursday. There will also be some instances where day works are required for specific activities.  

Road closures and detours will be in place each night with normal traffic conditions reinstated each morning.

Motorists are asked to follow the directions of all signage in the area and the instructions of traffic controllers.  

Some centre car parking on Alfred Street will be removed during the works, these parks will be barricaded off when they are unavailable.  

No changes will occur to the existing bus stop locations on either Alfred or Sydney streets.

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Mackay Regional Council held a special meeting last week to move a budget that has been described as “strong” and “sensible”.

With the region’s liveability and livelihood the focus of the $302 million budget, ratepayers will see a 2.5% increase across all categories which equates to an extra $81 a year for the average ratepayer.

This increase is lower than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which was 6 per cent in March 2022 and Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson says that is a credit to the staff and directorate of council.

“(The budget) recognises the current cost of living pressures that all of us are facing,” said Mayor Williamson.

“No services have been affected at all, but to keep it at a rate rise of 2.5 per cent when the CPI for QLD is running at 6 per cent when we expect inflation to be 7 per cent at the end of the year, when the majority of councils are running somewhere between 4 and 6 per cent rate rises, I’m very proud of what our council’s been able to achieve.”

Mayor Williamson says council committed to a rate rise of no more than CPI which was 2.5 per cent when the budget process was started six months ago.

“We always said we’ll keep it at CPI but it’s just not palatable, in my view, in this community, to go over a 5 or 6 per cent increase,” he said.

The budget will also see $104 million invested into capital works, with $58.5 million to go towards renewing existing assets, $18 million towards upgrades and $27.5 million towards new assets.

“We are continuing to build on signature projects that are on the table and progressing well,” Mayor Williamson said.

Some of the region’s signature projects to get a share of the budget include the Mackay waterfront precinct, the Northern Beaches Community Hub and the Pioneer Valley Mountain Bike project.

“Ground-breaking works commenced in March for Mackay Waterfront’s Riverside Revitalisation project, which we know will be a game changer for our region,” Mayor Williamson said.

“And with the adoption of today’s budget, we will see an additional $6.2 million put towards River Street’s service road and further riverside improvements.”

Two Queensland Government Works for Queensland partially funded projects are also included - $3.8 million for Seaforth Esplanade masterplan implementation and $1.7 million for Woodlands District Park.

Mayor Williamson says most of these are long-term projects with more funds to be allocated in future budgets to continue development.

“Our signature projects that we’ve actually embarked upon, a lot of them are long-term projects but we’ve been funding them now for a number of years and they will start to come into fruition very rapidly over the next couple of years,” he said.

Deputy Mayor Karen May says the council serves a vast region with a small rates base compared to many other local government areas.

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