desert yarns june 2016.pdf

Desert Yarns June 2016

In this edition

Message from the Mayor and CEO

Police News

Health News

Community News

And so much more…...

Desert Yarns

Aerial View of Bedourie


Well the Western Local Government conference in Bedourie has come and gone, and what an outstanding success it was too. The spotlight has been shone on Diamantina Shire in general and Bedourie in particular, and I hope everyone put their best foot forward to promote the town. I have heard nothing but good comments about the conference and how it was run, from the catering, to the entertainment, to the agenda and the speakers. In fact several CEO’s suggested to me that we should do the next few conferences. Congratulations must go to all who help organise the event, and I take this opportunity to especially thank Amanda Schnitzerling and our CEO Leon Love who did all the organising and made it all work so smoothly, and also Trevor “Colgate” Stewart who was in charge of catering and entertainment, and what a wonderful job he did. A big thank you to all his “staff”.

The conference started with the local school children doing a fantastic rendition of our national anthem, which had to be heard to be believed, and a Bedourie song. Thank you children for starting the conference off on such a great footing.

Earlier in the month I attended the Birdsville Camp Draft and Bronco Branding. Unfortunately the rain cut short the bronco branding on the Sunday, but not before everyone had a wonderful time. While rain in Birdsville is welcome at any time, it was just a pity it didn’t come a day later, such bad luck for the organising committee. Anyway I know I and everyone around me had a very enjoyable time.

Also at the beginning of the month, I and most Councillors attended an Elected Member Update in Boulia. These are always interesting thought provoking sessions. I thank Boulia Shire for hosting the event.

Later this month the Big Red Run will be held, which is followed later by the Big Red Bash. This has become one of the peak times in the tourist season which the local businesses do well out of. The Council has been generous in providing $20,000 in cash and $25,000 in kind towards the running of these events. When one remembers that the businesses, who are the beneficiaries in the Shire, provide only $38,234 in rates, half of which is the tourism levy, before the 15% discount is applied, the Council has been more than generous. When one takes off the discount and the tax deduction that figure becomes even more generous.

The real big news story of the month is that the Optic Fibre has started going into the ground at Stonehenge! Finally. The Boulia to Bedourie leg is due to start late June or early July. When the cable laying team in Barcoo get to Windorah they will come to Birdsville and start laying cable north towards Bedourie, meeting the south bound team along the way. We are no longer inching our way towards better communications, we are on a downhill run now.

As you would all know by now, the Shire has been under some good rain with 50mm being the general figure quoted. This should bring out the wildflowers and birdlife which in turn will boost the tourist season. The green grass will be most welcome to the graziers who have had a couple of tough years.

Geoff Morton

Mayor

Message from the Mayor

Fibre Optic on its way


Western Queensland Local Government Conference

BEDOURIE 2016

Networking

Mayor Geoff Morton and Bev Morton

Bedourie State School

Dinner Table Centrepieces

Dinner Table Centrepieces

Networking

Past and Present CEO’s of Diamantina Shire Council

Scott Mead Leon Love Scott Mason John Perry

Mayor Geoff Morton

Mayor Geoff Morton and Assistant Minister

for Local Government Jennifer Howard


I would like to pass on my thanks to everyone involved with the WQLGA conference held in Bedourie in May. It was a great success but it doesn’t happen without many people playing their part. This includes our staff, volunteers, representatives from Councils, sponsors and the conference speakers who provided great information to take away. The Bedourie school children did an excellent rendition of their welcome poem and Advance Australia Fair. Some even were waiters at the welcome BBQ. Everyone involved had a great attitude and I had many comments on how happy and helpful our staff were. Most of the attendees had not been to Bedourie before, some didn’t even know where it was but they all left with a great sense of what Bedourie and the Diamantina Shire can offer and many proposed to be back as a visitor. That is a true reflection of the uniqueness of where we live and can only be truly appreciated when you have some time in the area. While we were happy to see everyone come and enjoy their experience, we were equally happy to see them safely on their way home so things could get back to normal. A highlight for many locals was being able to access 3G, thanks to Telstra who brought their mobile ‘COW’ with them. A taste of things to come. Congratulations again to everyone involved.

With the end of financial year approaching Council is busy preparing for the 2016/17 financial year through the preparation of a budget which will be adopted in July. It also is time for registrations to be renewed for dogs, horses on town commons, food licenses and the like. If this applies to you, look for reminders in the mail soon that this needs to be done.

June will see the commencement of work on the Graham Street site where 50 accommodation rooms will be constructed to help meet demand for short stay accommodation in Birdsville. Ausco will be supplying and installing the buildings and undertaking concrete works with Council responsible for the provision of water, sewer and electricity to the buildings. At the same time additional shower/toilet blocks will be built on the caravan park which will be open to the public during large events in lieu of the trailer mounted showers which provided this service.

Recent rain has been fantastic for local yabby/red claw hunters who have been feasting on very large specimens from local creeks. I know that the conference attendees could not believe the size of them. It has got the point where some on our long time locals are tired of eating them. I am sure there is a recipe book out there waiting to be written on ’50 ways to eat a yabby’.

The rain will also see more road trains on the roads so be courteous to them and move completely off the road so they can have the bitumen to themselves, even if you are towing a caravan. That’s a much better option than a broken windscreen or having the truck driver try to maintain control of his 120t rig and trailers onto a narrow and sloping road shoulder.

This will be the last Desert Yarns that Maggie den Ronden will be involved with as she has indicated it is time she moves on and will finish her employment with Council on July 1. Maggie moved to Bedourie with Adrie in 2011 and has held various roles with Council including Property Officer and has been in the Bedourie VIC for that past 2.5 years. During the past 9 months we have seen her strength of character shine through. Her dedication and passion for her role will be missed and we wish her every happiness. Rest assured, Maggie and Adrie will not be forgotten.

Leon Love CEO

Message from the CEO


Parks and Gardens crews Birdsville will be working on planned maintenance around town and laying the last of the turf on Stage 2 of the Streetscaping project.

Parks and Gardens crew Bedourie are working on planned maintenance around town.

The construction crew is currently gravel re sheeting sections in a 20km area at Bloodwood Creek on the Diamantina Developmental Road (Bedourie/Windorah) using Department of Main Roads RMPC funding.

The multi skill crew have completed stage 1 & 2 of the Birdsville streetscape.

The gravel crew are currently gravel re sheeting the Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie/Birdsville) around Yamba flats using Department of Main Roads RMPC funding.

Patrol crew is currently working on Shire road flood damage restoration in the vicinity of Coorabulka and Springvale.

A contract crushing plant will be crushing gravel for the pave and seal job on the Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie/Birdsville) at Devils Grid.

Upcoming projects for the Shire:

Diamantina Developmental Road (Bedourie/Windorah):- Number 3 bore realignment, budget of $660,032 funded by Department of Main Roads.

Eyre Developmental Road (Bedourie/Birdsville):- Devils grid pave and seal, budget of $2.4 million funded by Department of Main Roads.

Big Red Road Birdsville:- Pave and Seal 4km over taking opportunity budget of $1.4 million. Funded by Commonwealth Roads to Recovery, Queensland Department of Industry, Local Government & Planning and Council.

Continuation of Shire Road flood damage restoration works.

Graham Street Short Stay Accommodation Project

Birdsville Caravan Park Upgrade

Bedourie Caravan Park Upgrade

Stage 3 & 4, Birdsville Streetscape

Construction of various sheds at depots, Bedourie Gym and Bedourie Hall Shade

Thank you

Trevor Stewart

Infrastructure Manager

Diamantina Works Report


Birdsville Street Scape

Diamantina Works Report

Birdsville Tennis Courts


Diamantina Shire Community Health

June 2016

Bedourie & Birdsville Updates Bedourie Family Fun Fair and Pamper Weekend:

The Primary Health Centre in conjunction with the North West Remote Health team, ATODS and Community Health have been organising a repeat of last years “family fun fair” including a Pamper Weekend, Kids Korner and various health promotions.

We have confirmed a Chiropractor/Massage therapist, a Hairdresser, and a make up consultant who will be providing services at a

special Community rate.

Individual flyers will be circulated and feature also in this edition of Desert Yarns.

As per last year the clinic will have a small stock of pamper supplies for sale for younger girls to purchase.

Women’s Health:

Breast Exams: - The Breast Bus will be in Boulia this month. The PHC staff have booked the morning session for Bedourie women for Thursday 9th June. Women who are due to have their 2nd yearly mammogram, have been notified by mail (as long as they are known to the clinic).

If you have not received a letter, are female, over the age of forty and think you are due for a mammogram please contact Joyce Crombie on

4746 1113 as she will be coordinating the trip.

Visiting Clinics:

The Indigenous Cardiac Outreach Program ICOP will be visiting Bedourie this month.

The Indigenous Respiratory Outreach Program IROC will be in Birdsville on the afternoon Tuesday 7th and Wed 8th June full day 9. 30 - 3pm.

Health Clinics: Birdsville - June Friday 10th RFDS Bedourie - June Thursday 9th RFDS

June Friday 24th RFDS June Thursday 23rd RFDS

Clinic Hours

For general health enquiries, you can also dial 13 HEALTH (13 432 584)

Emergencies: For all medical emergencies, regardless of time of day, you must dial 000.

Monday to Friday 9:00AM until 12:00PM and 2:00PM until 4:00PM

Weekends and Public Holidays Closed


BIRDSVILLE POLICE G’Day All,

The tourist and events season is well and truly upon us now. We have had a number of large 4WD touring groups coming through town in recent weeks and a continual flow of tourists visiting and crossing the Simpson Desert. It is amazing to see how the town comes together to support events such as the Youngcare Walkers and The Variety Bash Groups. I have spoken to Scott the relieving officer from Mount Isa who attended the recent Birdsville Rodeo event. He had a great time and loved his time in Birdsville. The recent rain again highlighted how the road conditions can change quickly in and around the area. A number of tourist got caught out in the wet conditions. I would ask whenever possible you talk to our visitors and give them that little bit of local knowledge that may make their journey a little easy.

Big Red Events Planning for the Big Red Bash is well underway and I cannot wait to see the population go from 100 to 7000!!!!. Extra Emergency Service resources from Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade will be in town for the event. Just a reminder that prior to the Big Red Bash will be the Big Red Run, this will be held on the 25/6 – 30/6 then there will be a three day break before the bash starts on the 4/7. The Big Red Run will involve some road closures around Birdsville on the morning of Saturday 25/6 around 7.30 am for the race start and then again on Thursday the 30/6 around midday for the race finish. The roads will be closed for about 30 minutes each time. There will be marshals in place to provide advice and directions to move around town. The roads need to be closed to allow for the safety of runners leaving and returning to town. For the Big Red Bash, a number of campers will be heading out to the camp grounds on Sunday 3/7 with the remaining campers heading out on Monday 4/7. There will be a number of people camping in and out of town who will be travelling to and from the event site each day. Due to the location of the event, Big Red itself will be closed to all vehicle access from Sunday 3/7 6.00am to Thursday 7/7 6.00am.

Lost and Found Property

I appreciate that people are busy and finding a set of keys or pair of glasses is not a priority but can I ask that if you find lost property that you either hand it to the Police Station or leave a message to let me know that you have located the property. The police station is the first place people call when they have lost something and it will save a lot of running around if I know where that property is. We also have contact details for most people on our computer system and can quickly let someone know that the item has been located saving everyone some time.

Finally, welcome back to Paul Jackson (Bedourie) and his family who have been touring the country. He should be well rested and ready for upcoming events.

Thanks

Stephan Pursell Officer in Charge Birdsville Police Station

QGAP Hello again everyone. Just a reminder in regards to QGAP. If you are unable to attend the office within the listed operating hours please give me a call to arrange a time for you to come in. Sometimes too with the current slow internet access if you want to give me a call before coming down I can organise forms, fees and find out what you need to bring in before you come to the office. (I know it is a long drive for some and can be a long wait for others) Thanks Sharon.

Diamantina Shire Police News


Diamantina Shire Community News

Bedourie Family Fun Fair and Pamper Weekend The Primary Health Centre in conjunction with the North West Remote Health team, ATODS and Community Health have been organising a repeat of last years “family fun fair” including a Pamper Weekend, Kids Korner and various health promotions.

We have confirmed a Chiropractor/Massage therapist, a Hairdresser, and a make up consultant who will be providing services at a special Community rate.

Individual flyers will be circulated and feature also in this edition of Desert Yarns.

As per last year the clinic will have a small stock of pamper supplies for sale for younger girls to purchase.

Make time for

yourself


NAIDOC Week 2016 will run from 3 - 10 July and is an oppor tunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate the

history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is also a time to acknowledge our Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander artists, scholars, sportspeople, elders, community members.

2016 NAIDOC Week theme Songlines: The living narrative of our nation

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Dreamtime describes a time when the earth, people and animals

were created by our ancestral spiritual beings. They created the rivers, lakes, plants, living creatures and land-

forms. Dreaming tracks are sometimes called ‘Songlines’ which record the travels of these ancestral spirits who 'sung'

the land into life.

The National NAIDOC Committee encourages all Australians to explore and celebrate how through Songlines,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain connected to Country and how they were able to maintain and

share sacred stories and ceremonies for tens of thousands of years.




This is your chance to be a part of one of the most exciting events in Bedourie and an

fantastic opportunity to have your company name and logo published in all media.

Will you join us in making this a memorable event?

Call us on 1300 794 257 or Email [email protected]



NWRH Library Packs Reading aloud and sharing stories with your child is a great way to spend time together. Reading and storytelling also helps promote language, literacy and brain development. North and West Remote Health is delivering two Library packs to the Diamantina Shire this June. Packs will contain several books, games and activities for children aged 2-8 years. The aim of the packs is to help parents and kids have fun while learning, whilst also improving literacy skills and promoting health. The Library Packs Project will continue for the three years so that each council area receives a complete set of library packs. The library packs will cover healthy eating, physical activity, emotions, hygiene, my body and Indigenous stories. The first library packs will cover healthy eating and Indigenous stories. The packs will be received by the libraries in June so keep an eye out.



Cook together: Minestrone

Preparation time: less than 30 mins Cooking time: 10 to 30 mins Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil or butter, for frying 2 spring onions 1 carrot handful peas (frozen or fresh) small handful green beans (frozen or fresh) couple of cabbage leaves (any type of cabbage, kale, spinach or greens will do) 1 garlic clove, finely chopped by an adult 1 tsp dried oregano, basil or thyme or mixed dried herbs 1 tsp tomato paste 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans (or kidney beans) 2 rashers cooked back bacon or ham, chopped (optional) 600ml reduced-salt stock (vegetable or chicken) 30g dried small pasta such as shell pasta or macaroni freshly ground black pepper

Method

Kid’s job: Chop all of the vegetables into tiny pieces, as small as you can (you can leave the peas whole). You can use your fingers, or a salad knife (with an adults help) or use clean child-friendly scissors to chop the herbs, cabbage and spring onions.

Adult’s job: Heat a large saucepan and add a teaspoon of olive oil or butter. Gently fry the spring onion or leek for five minutes, stirring often.

Adult’s job: Add the garlic, the rest of the vegetables, dried herbs and tomato puree and stir for a minute.

Adult’s job: Add the tinned tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil.

Adult’s job: Add the pasta and any meat or beans you want to use and cook for 8 more minutes.

Kid’s job: Get your grown up to spoon a little of the soup into a small bowl for you and let it cool a little. Have a taste and see what you think…if you like you can add a squeeze of lemon juice, a little sugar or some black pepper.

Adult’s job: spoon into bowls to serve. You can either sprinkle herbs on top or put them in a small bowl on the table for the kids to taste first. The soup is great served with chunky bread.

Recipe Tips

Safety first! Use a knife which doesn’t have a pointy end. You can buy plastic “salad knives” for very little money which are ideal for kids to use, they can also use a scallop-edged "sandwich knife" (not a serrated one which cuts fingers easily). Kids may need help chopping hard vegetables.



Media release June 2016

Another big September event for Birdsville: OBE Organic Grazing BMP Forum The dust will have only just settled after the Birdsville Races when the iconic outback town hosts the third OBE Organic Grazing BMP Forum from 27 to 28 September 2016. Rather than welcoming tourists, organic and conventional graziers will converge on Birdsville from South Australia, Western Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory to participate in the two day, free event. Graziers will receive expert advice and complete self assessments across all five Grazing BMP modules of Grazing Land Management, Animal Production, Soil Health, People & Business, and Animal Health & Welfare. This will create a tailored action plan for improvement and a baseline to measure future performance against. OBE Organic is running the program of organic beef information, Grazing BMP self--assessments and training every six months in different locations around Australia to continually improve beef industry performance, and to raise awareness of the need for more organic cattle suppliers to meet demand. A total of 70 graziers have already participated in events at the first two OBE Organic Grazing BMP Forums held in Roma and Charleville. Channel Country grazier Janet Brook, from Cordillo Downs Station in South Australia, said the Grazing BMP format cuts through the mass of information available to cattle producers. “Living and working on pastoral properties often means we have limited opportunity to compare ourselves to our peers and we get bombarded with information from numerous sources,” Ms Brook said. “I participated in the Grazing BMP forum in Charleville earlier in the year and found the program looked at our farming operation in a holistic way and provided me with information on areas of our enterprise that were below, at, or above industry standard. “Often I got confirmation that what we are doing is right. It also highlighted target areas to work on in our business,” she said. Grazing BMP is a beef industry funded voluntary planning tool that is being rapidly embraced by graziers due to its information rich content, practical advice, and ability to help graziers pinpoint where they can improve. “As Australia’s oldest organic beef marketing company, with a mission to provide safe food for families of the world, we are passionate about supporting programs like Grazing BMP,” said OBE Organic General Manager Dalene Wray. “Our Grazing BMP partnership is part of our work to create and share more value with organic beef producers. Programs like these can and do improve the productivity and profitability of beef producers.” Organic producers wanting to sell cattle or participate in the OBE Organic Grazing BMP Forum can contact Livestock Coordinator Ross Mackenzie on 0409 960 084 or email [email protected]. To stay up to date with news and information about organic beef production, join the Organic Beef Producer Forum on Facebook and join the conversation on twitter @obeorganic.

For more information, please contact: Dalene Wray 0439 224 968 [email protected]

About OBE Organic. OBE Organic is Australia’s oldest organic beef marketing company, established by a group of family farmers. It sources certified organic cattle from Queensland, NSW, and South Australia. OBE Organic helps organic beef producers flourish by providing consistently high organic premiums, tool to improve producer’s profitability, and support for producers to convert to organic. OBE Organic’s safe and nutritious organic grassfed beef is sold to rapidly growing markets in Australia, Asia, North America and the Middle East. Web www.obeorganic.com Twitter @obeorganic Instagram @obeorganic Facebook facebook.com/obeorganic About Grazing BMP. Grazing BMP is a government and industry funded voluntary online self assessment and planning tool. It benchmarks graziers’ current grazing and business practices against an industry developed set of standards, compares their performance to peers, and automatically creates action plans for improvement in areas that are below industry average. The Grazing BMP program is a partnership between AgForce, Fitzroy Basin Association Incorporated, and the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. For more information visit www.bmpgrazing.com.au

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.obeorganic.com



BETOOTA

CHANNEL COUNTRY LADIES DAY

28-30 OCTOBER

BETOOTA RACES

AUGUST 27 2016


Diamantina Shire Under 8’s Activity Page


Diamantina Shire Events in 2016


Cr Geoff Morton Mayor

BH - (07) 4656 3250 AH - (07) 4656 3250

[email protected]

Cr Steve Cramer Deputy Mayor

BH - (07) 4746 1236 AH - (07) 4746 1236

[email protected]

Cr Don Rayment Councillor

BH - (07) 4656 3321 AH - (07) 4656 3321

[email protected]

Cr Doug Cooms Councillor

BH- (07) 4746 1291

[email protected]

Cr Bev Maunsell Councillor

BH - (07) 4746 1156

[email protected]

Leon Love Chief Executive Officer

BH - (07) 4746 1202

[email protected]

Tony Beynon Deputy CEO

BH - (07) 4746 1202

[email protected]

Trevor Stewart Infrastructure Manager

BH - (07) 4746 1202 AH - (07) 4746 1021

[email protected]

Jodie Girdler Bedourie Town Services Foreman

BH - (07) 4746 1202 AH - (07) 4746 1160

[email protected]

Justice of the Peace Shire Profile & Contact

Bedourie

Gordon Jones JP (Qual)

Shire Office

4746 1202

Home: 47461070

Leon Love JP (Qual)

Shire Office 4746 1202

Leanne Hohnke-Jansen JP (Qual)

Bedourie State School

4746 1224

Garth Tully JP (Qual)

Cluny Station

4746 1219

Harin Karra JP (Qual)

Shire Office

4746 1202

The Diamantina Shire Council does not guarantee that

submissions will be published and reserves the right to reject

content that is not in line with our editorial guidelines.

Birdsville

Nell Brook JP (Qual)

Brook Proprietors

4656 3252

Don Rowlands JP (Qual)

National Park Office

4656 3272

Geoff Morton JP (Qual)

Roseberth Station

4656 3250

David Brook JP (C.Dec)

Brook Proprietors

4656 3252

Andrew Cameron JP (Mag Ct)

Birdsville Clinic

4656 3245

Barbara Mason JP (Qual)

Wirrarri Centre

4656 3300

ALL EMERGENCIES 000 000

POLICE

BEDOURIE 4746 1220

BIRDSVILLE 4656 5677

HEALTH CLINIC

BEDOURIE 4746 1226

BIRDSVILLE 4656 3245 0145 141 797 (Sat)

STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

BEDOURIE Local Controller Gordon Jones 4746 1202 (W) 4746 1070 (H)

BIRDSVILLE Dep Local Controller Kevin Scott 4656 3350 (W) 4656 3232 (H) 0467 031 640 (M)

RURAL FIRE SERVICE

BEDOURIE First Officer Gordon Jones 4746 1202 (W) 4746 1070 (H)

BIRDSVILLE First Officer

Emergency Services Contact List

Diamantina Shire Contacts

desert yarns june 2016.pdf

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