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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With the Mackay Regional Budget delivered last week, we wanted to know what changes Mackay locals would make if they were ‘Mayor for a day’.

Phil – “I would get the Bucasia boat ramp pumped out so you can use it all day. You can use it for an hour, it’s so silted over that when the tide comes in you can get out and only stay out there for half an hour because you’ve got to come back in before the tide drops again and it’s all sand.”

Georgia – “I would look at fostering a stronger community by bringing life back to the town centre and would work towards developing infrastructure along the coastal beachfront – creating an esplanade vibe with local cafes, produce, boutiques, bikeways, waterpark, amphitheatre stage, etc.”

Kimberley – “I would provide a sporting grant for all sports in Mackay for reduced fees and increased accessibility.”

Christina – “I would fast track the riverfront development.”

Dominic – “I would invest more in the music scene and support more opportunities for collaboration across art, film and sound design, because I imagine how cool it would be to shoot videos similar to Mahogany Sessions with the scenery around here.”

Amanda - “I would make rates free or significantly reduced on blocks of land that have homes under construction. To encourage more development I think it would be a good incentive, with trade and supply shortages, some first-home builders have had to pay two years of rates on blocks of land they haven’t been using while their house build has been significantly delayed. I don’t think it’s fair to be paying for waste and water that isn’t being used.”

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Minister for Employment and Small Business Di Farmer visited Prestige Cabinet Co, North Mackay earlier this week, a business who benefitted from a $5,000 Business Basics Grant.

“Since 2020, nearly 60,000 Queensland businesses have been supported by grants totalling almost $530 million,” Minister Farmer said.

“Following the successful business grants that spurred our economic recovery, the State Budget 2022–23 will invest a further $39.1 million over the next four years to support our crucial small business sector and I can confirm this will be permanent, ongoing funding.”

Julie Scott, co-owner of Prestige Cabinet Co, North Mackay, said the grant helped advance the business during an uncertain time.

“Having this funding was a highlight and gave us the positivity and confidence to progress our business forward,” Ms Scott said.

“We used this funding for our strategic marketing, something we would never have done previously, because we never had enough available cash flow to allocate to this part of the business.”

Thanks to the grant, Julie and her business partner, husband Danny, were able to advertise to a larger audience, increasing sales and demand and have since taken on a new employee with plans to hire another in the next six months.

Prestige Cabinet Co was one of 109 businesses to share in more than $607,000 in a range of Big Plans for Small Business grants for the Mackay region.

Minister Farmer said the State Budget would also deliver relief to small-and-medium-sized businesses through payroll tax cuts.

“This year’s State Budget 2022-23 will cut payroll taxes for more than 12,000 small and medium-sized Queensland businesses,” Minister Farmer said.

Changes to payroll tax will come into effect on 1 January 2023.

Minister for Employment and Small Business Di Farmer and Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert with Julie and Danny Scott, owners of Prestige Cabinet Co, North Mackay

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A former Whitsunday Anglican School student has found success in the Ironman Cairns Asia-Pacific Championship.

Maggie Monckton, part of the class of 2016, took out the 18 - 24 age group at the Ironman 70.3 (Half Ironman) with a time of 4:56:19.

She has also qualified for the World Triathlon Championships to take place in Germany.

These achievements come all while Maggie completes her study, currently in her 5th year of a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at JCU in Townsville.

Maggie Monckton had plenty of support when she finished first in the 18 - 24 age group at the Ironman 70.3 in Cairns. Photos supplied: Whitsunday Anglican School

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School holidays are meant for fun and adventure, but one kid’s ‘break’ got off to a very bad start last weekend.

RACQ CQRescue was tasked by Queensland Health to a property not far from St Helen’s Beach about 3pm on Saturday 25 June after a child suffered a seriously broken leg after falling from a roof.

The rescue helicopter landed in a clearing nearby to transfer the child and mother to Mackay Base Hospital for further treatment at about 4pm.

Then on Sunday, a tourist travelling in a caravan in remote Central Queensland had to be airlifted by RACQ CQ Rescue after suffering a heart attack.

About 4.30pm Sunday 26 June, RACQ CQ Rescue was tasked by Queensland Health to the Belyando Roadhouse, more than 300km west of Mackay, where a man in his 60s was reportedly suffering serious chest pain.

The man had been travelling through the Central Queensland outback when he started feeling unwell yesterday and stopped at the remote facilities. The rescue helicopter was despatched to land near the service station on the Gregory Highway with a doctor and Critical Care Paramedic on board to attend to the patient.

After refuelling at Moranbah, the patient was flown in a stable condition to Mackay Airport, arriving at 7.30pm and was transported by ambulance to Mackay Base Hospital.

It was one of five missions completed by the Mackay-based rescue helicopter last weekend from Friday to Sunday.

RACQ CQ Rescue landed at the Belyando Roadhouse, 300km west of Mackay, last Sunday to airlift a tourist who was suffering a heart attack

A child was airlifted by RACQ CQ Rescue to Mackay Base Hospital after falling from a roof at property near St Helen’s Beach on Saturday. Photo credits: RACQ CQ Rescue

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“We woke up to windows breaking, the smoke was overwhelming.”

Jacky Thomas recounts waking in the early hours of last Saturday morning, to fire engulfing the East Mackay home she shares with three other people.

The McIntyre Street blaze is thought to have been started by a heater. Thankfully, everyone escaped the burning building without injury which Ms Thomas said is due to her dog barking to alert her to danger.

Ms Thomas said it happened so quickly and the housemates are devastated at losing their belongings in the blaze.

The community have been donating clothing and other sundry items to the property while the housemates struggle to find somewhere to live. All accommodation was booked out throughout the Mackay Region for sporting events this week and emergency accommodation is scarce.

“We just thank the community for the support we’ve received,” Ms Thomas said.

The McIntyre Street home in East Mackay was destroyed by fire on Saturday 24 June. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

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COVID vaccination requirements across a range of categories were eased in Queensland from 1am June 30, with mandatory vaccinations no longer needed in a range of settings including visitors to correctional facilities or people working in education.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said; “As we move to the next stage of the pandemic, we will be adjusting our approach in relation to mandatory vaccinations.

“From 30 June, mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations will no longer be required for visitors to:

Residential aged care, disability accommodation, corrective service facilities.

“In addition, we will be revoking our high-risk workers COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with decisions around mandatory vaccinations to instead be made by employers.”

This will result in the following workers no longer being required to be vaccinated for COVID under the public health directions:

Schools, early childhood education, outside school care, kindergartens, family day care

Prisons, community corrections, work camps

Police watch houses

Youth detention centres

Airports

“The public health directive mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for workers in healthcare, hospitals, aged care and disability care remains unchanged,” Ms D’Ath added.

“We will also be removing the public health direction that requires post-arrival testing for those who have travelled to Queensland from international locations.”

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath

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