Issue #

Planning Scheme Changes Address Housing Crisis

Whitsunday Regional Council have delivered what Mayor Julie Hall is calling “one, tiny piece of the pie” towards solving the housing crisis sweeping the region.At Council’s Ordinary Meeting on Wednesday, November 23, Councillors approved amendments to the Whitsunday Planning Scheme in hopes to encourage housing diversity, promote affordable rentals, and entice home ownership options.

Local Dancers Gear Up For That’s Entertainment 2022

St Patrick’s and Mercy College Mackay students feature prominently in Centre Stage Dance Company’s upcoming That's Entertainment 2022 Concert next Monday December 5 and Tuesday December 6 at the Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre (MECC) starting at 6pm.

“I Want Real Communication We Can All Understand”

Division 2 Candidates – Where Do They Sit On Local Issues?

Firebirds Bring The Heat

The Queensland Firebirds finally took to the court at Mackay Multisport Stadium last Saturday, taking on the Sunshine Coast Lightning for the inaugural Suncorp Spirit Cup. It’s been almost a year since the Firebirds announced their intentions of visiting the sugar city and Mackay netball fans were hungry, turning out in force to cheer their team home.

It Takes A Village To Restore A Vessel

Jarrah Boeghim was raised on her father’s wooden ships. In Airlie Beach’s Pioneer Bay, the 20-year-old finally sat on the prow of her own ‘ketch’ ship last week, a 1937 New Bedford Model wooden vessel, and surveyed what has been a six-month labour of love.

Cutters Complete The Puzzle With New Women’s Team

The Mackay Cutters have announced their sixth team in the statewide Queensland Cup competitions with the inclusion of the Mackay Cutters BMD Premiership team. The announcement comes following the North Queensland Cowboys entry into the NRLW and provides a direct pathway to the game’s top league, with players from the North Queensland Gold Stars (Townsville) and Northern Pride (Cairns) systems to be involved in the Cutters squad.

Bowen Tourism Welcomes Two New Committee Members

Bowen Tourism and Business now has two new committee members, Peter Greer and Karen Morton.Peter is the owner and operator of the Queens Beach Tourist Village with his wife Jennie.

PBR Season Wraps Up In Townsville

The season finale of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Australia came down to the wire in the Championship Round with Singleton’s Cody Heffernan claiming both the PBR Monster Energy Tour Grand Finals event title and the 2022 PBR Australia National title.

Do You Have A Passion For Supporting The Next Generation?

A Bowen youth group is looking for adult leaders to restart its operations and mentor the next generation of “heroes”.The Emergency Services Cadets (ESC) is getting set to recommence in the Whitsundays’ northernmost township after a prolonged hiatus during the Covid pandemic.

Collinsville Green Energy Hub Opens Information Centre

The beginning of a $7.5 billion renewable energy project was marked with the opening of its information centre in Collinsville on Saturday morning, with over 50 people present to find out more about the innovative Green Energy Hub.

St Pat’s Sporting Reps Some Of The Best In The State

Six of Mackay’s sporting best – that aptly sums up the St Patrick’s College Queensland Honour Roll for 2022. Tokyo Olympic Games swimming triallist Tom Henderson heads an impressive list of St Patrick’s students that left their mark in the sporting arena this year with outstanding performances at national level.

Summer Storms And Power Outages

As the heat builds and storms become more frequent, the chances of power cuts increase. Many residents will remember the multiple power cuts of December 2020, where three outages over Christmas caused 5000 households in the Greater Airlie Beach Area to lose power on December 22, 23 and 28.

Shop Local In Bowen And Win

Everyone in the community is encouraged to shop local this Christmas and, if supporting local small business is not incentive enough, then the Local 4 Locals campaign will definitely get you excited!

Goodness Gracious, A Wealth Of Health

The warm glow of salt lamps, the sweet perfume of an aromatherapy diffuser, a mesmerising backflow waterfall burner or a glass vase moulded into timber – these are just some of the gift ideas that can transform homes into havens this festive season.

Get Your Festive Gifts At The Proserpine Christmas Markets

Back by popular demand, the Proserpine Community Markets are hosting their annual Christmas Fair and everyone is welcome to come down for a morning of lively music, fun activities, delicious food and of course Christmas Shopping.

Mackay Hosts Indoor Hockey’s Best

The last two weekends saw an influx of the state’s best U13 indoor hockey players in Mackay, with the sugar city hosting the 2022 U13 Indoor State Championships Boys from November 18 to 20 and Girls from November 25-27. The tournaments were hosted by Mackay Indoor Hockey Committee at Pioneer State High School and saw over 200 people come to Mackay each weekend.

Queensland Country Rep Jumpers For Star Trio

Boom St Patrick’s College Mackay rugby league colts Xavier Kerrisk, Jaxon Purdue and Kai Simon were officially recognised in 2022 by earning Queensland Country Under 17 representative jumpers.

The Movies Return To Proserpine

For the first time since Proserpine’s El Dorado Picture Theatre played its final reel on December 7, 1984, the Whitsundays’ sugarcane town will be host to regular movie screenings of new releases.

Research Into Farming Practices Paves The Way

One way for sugarcane growers to reduce business costs is through practices such as planting legumes and the precision application of pesticides. These practices provide cost benefits to the grower as well as improving the quality of water which flows to the Reef.

One Small Tree, One Big Urban Canopy

As you drive into Airlie Beach town centre you may notice a small but important local landmark is now missing – the large Blue Gum Tree at the entrance way.Two weeks ago, it was chopped down to make way for a new development on the site and local climate action group, Whitsunday Conservation Council (WCC), say they are concerned that our urban canopy is being slowly destroyed by this process.

Chamber Chat

With December literally upon us and Christmas around the corner, a quick reflection on an amazing and unprecedented 12 months. This time last year, we were frantically completing vaccinations, struggling to comply with and arguing about government mandates and borders were on the brink of opening up with normality almost within grasp. Since that time, we have been swamped by some of the best business conditions ever experienced locally.

Info Sessions Arm Beauty Industry To Help Others

A series of information sessions were held in Cannonvale and Bowen this week in an effort to give individuals working in the beauty industry the knowledge and resources to best deal with disclosures of domestic or sexual violence.

Purple Rain At The Pub

It’s time: Let’s Go Crazy! Because one of Australia’s biggest R&B artists, with a career spanning three decades, is bringing his dedication to The Artist (Formerly Known as Prince) to the Airlie Beach Hotel in December.

Movie Review - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

When Black Panther arrived in theatres in 2018, black audiences felt they had been given their mainstream cinema voice. Marvel, at the height of its powers, had given their culture the platform it deserved.