Hostel hostilities

LONGREACH Shire Council has placed the town’s student hostel on a temporary five-day-a-week schedule, upsetting parents of children at the hostel who say they weren’t consulted about the change.

Longreach Shire Council chief executive officer Fred de Waard informed parents of the decision late last year in a letter which also discussed the hostel rates for 2006.

Due to the recent changes, hostel managers Lee and Grant Millar have terminated their employment, and Council is now putting out tenders for new management.

Unable to comment on the resignation due to staff contractual concerns, Mr de Waard did say that the five-day operation decision was based on discussions Council had with Mr and Mrs Millar, as well as a cost analysis of the number of students who used the hostel on weekends.

“There was an understanding that not a great many people would be affected by the decision,” Mr de Waard said.
“Once the cost differential between five-day and seven-day options is known, a survey may be undertaken with the users of the hostel to find out what they think.”

Mr de Waard assured hostel users that the seven-day operation option would not be out of the question.

“If the demand for this option is there and it meets the cost criteria, then it will go ahead again,” he said.

In her report to Council, Community and Cultural Services Director Suzanne Hill-Hislop said she had had only one phone call from a concerned parent regarding the switch to a five-day operation at the hostel.

Regardless, parents with children at the hostel say the issue affects multiple families, none of whom were consulted on the decrease of service.

Sally Graham of ‘Langdale’, Longreach, said she was concerned Council hadn’t done anything to involve parents in the decision.

“My biggest gripe is that the people involved weren’t consulted about this,” Mrs Graham said.
“We were never asked what we thought about it.”

Mrs Graham agreed with Isolated Children Parents Association (ICPA) that the five-day operation decision was of great concern to families who lived in remote areas such as Boulia.

“It’s a hell of a long way to travel from there,” she said.

ICPA State president Rosemary Philp of ‘Angledool’, Longreach, said the five-day operation raised practical concerns for families on the land.

“The concern is that if it is pouring rain or there is work on the property to be done, then parents will not be able to get into town to pick up their children,” Ms Philp said.
“What alternative arrangements have been made available for these circumstances?”

Ms Philp acknowledged Council should be commended for supporting the hostel which provided a service to children from many different shires.

“Yet at the same time, the hostel had been a bugbear for the Council for many years,” she said.
“This is mainly due to duty-of-care to children and public liability.”

Local Member for Gregory Vaughan Johnson is another staunch supporter of the hostel and is aware of its current problems.

“I’ve known about the differences between the Millars and Council for about 12 months,” Mr Johnson said.
“I believe it’s very important that other shires play a role in assisting Longreach Shire with the hostel, as some parents who have children there are not residents of Longreach Shire.”

“We should be giving all kids the opportunity of a good education but some people have no hope in the world of getting to Longreach on the weekends.”

Holy Smokin Rat

GIVING GOOD PHOTO: League players Chris O'Driscoll, Quentin Kersh, Broncos captain Darren Lockyer and ex-Longreach lad Lyal Midgeten had a ball playing against the Central West teams as members of Brisbane's Smokin Rats team at the final Jarrod Moore Memorial Sevens Carnival.
Our man Daz flung himself about town a fair bit over the weekend to the delight of the multitude of League fans.

An Outback One Night Stand

Local high school rock gods Clear As Mud are hoping for a crack at the One Night Stand line-up.

LONGREACH Leader duo Anthea Gleeson and Tuppy McIntosh are keen to see the Western Queensland entry into this year’s Triple J ‘One Night Stand’ competition blow the judges away.

The national competition organised by broadcaster Triple J, aims at getting acclaimed Australian musical acts off the beaten track and performing for free in a town with a population under 20,000 – places which never usually see top-end entertainers.

This year, internationally applauded trio The Living End will be concert headliners on April 12, alongside blues man Xavier Rudd, Aussie hip-hop posse The Herd and DJ Kid Kenobi.

The first stage of the competition requires enthusiastic backing by local Council, which has been granted.

“Now what we really need are people’s signatures on the petitions that are placed around the Central West,” Ms Gleeson said.

“Petitions can be found in Longreach at IGA, Yummm café, Merino Bakery, Golden Gate Café, Dot’s Central Café, the Shell petrol station, Palmers BP and IFS, as well as in high schools in Winton, Blackall and Barcaldine.
“So there are no excuses - the petitions are everywhere!”

Longreach High School students have also volunteered to collect signatures at the Jarrod Moore Memorial Sevens Carnival this weekend in Longreach.

“This competition would be an extraordinary event for the people of the region and a fantastic way to complement the Year Of The Outback,” Ms Gleeson said.

“It is a free event, all ages, alcohol-free gig that would suit a young family or the most hardcore rock god.”

Part of the competition requires a drawing or model of an amusement park ride that best illustrates the Central West or Longreach.

“We believe the necessary creative genius is located somewhere in the region’s high schools,” Ms McIntosh said.

“So we’re asking all the visual arts, engineering, graphic design students, or anyone, to put their thinking caps on and come up with a design that represents our part of the world.
“It can either be a drawing, a 3D model, a multi-dimensional design using a computer program or something we haven’t yet thought of.
“The design that gets chosen to form part of the entry into One Night Stand will receive a $100 cash prize.”

The search is also on for a local band to perform as a warm-up act.

Local musicians are encouraged to get together or register their interest with Tuppy or Anthea at The Longreach Leader for their chance to perform alongside The Living End and The Herd.

The only downside to this competition is that the entire entry, including signed petitions, an amusement park ride design and a local band’s demo, has to be in Sydney by March 3.

“We are on a very tight deadline, so we need everyone’s support now,” Ms Gleeson said.
Entries for both the amusement park ride and local band/musicians can be delivered to the Longreach Leader office anytime before Friday, February 24.

PETA uproar pushes mulesing alternatives

PEAK wool industries have now decreed that mulesing will be phased out by 2010, due largely to the recent outcry from animal welfare groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as well as concerns from retailers.

Researchers are now developing new mulesing techniques such as revolutionary needleless injectors while a genetic mutation has been discovered on a South Australian farm in which sheep are being bred with a large bare area where wool mulesing usually occurs.

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) animal health and welfare program manager, Doctor Scott Williams, said the two main techniques that researchers were working on were collagenase injections and plastic clips.

“We are looking at injecting collagenase or a similar active ingredient into the skin,” Dr
Williams said.

“The injection causes the skin to restructure and tighten up and the end result looks like
mulesing.
“However, the challenge with this technique is finding an applicator that delivers the injection into the area reliably.”

Dr Williams said applying plastic clips was also a possibility.

“The clips would be applied like a hair pin,” he said.

“When the clip closes it cuts off the blood supply to the flap of skin which eventually falls off.
“It only takes 24 hours for this to happen.”

Dr Williams was also keen to learn more about the genetic mutation discovered at ‘Calcookara Stud’ on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

“We are trying to understand the basics behind this mutation, which is producing a bare bottom in sheep,” he said.

“We want to figure it out and exploit it and discover if we can breed them, as well as any trade-offs that might occur in this process such as effects on wool.”

Yet not all wool-growers are keen to utilise the new techniques, preferring to stick to more traditional methods even if they are seen as harsh by animal welfare groups.

Local wool-grower and sheep breeders Peter and Elizabeth Clark of ‘Leander’, outside of Longreach, admitted that while mulesing was a gruesome operation, they considered it as something that had to be done.

“We need to look at mulesing from the management side of things and the ease it takes in doing it, both in terms of labour and the effect it has on sheep,” Mrs Clark said.

“I’ve heard of the new techniques such as injections and clips, but how long would this type of mulesing take?

“It takes just one person to perform traditional mulesing on a lamb and it isn’t in the cradle for more than a minute.”

However, Dr Williams said AWI had set a target that the new techniques would be no more labour intensive and inexpensive than traditional mulesing.

“We believe we can achieve this so we are not overly concerned with this issue,” he said.

“I am reasonably optimistic and quite cheered by the results that AWI’s research has achieved.
“The injections should be available by the end of 2007 and the clips could have a limited market release by late 2006.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re confident we’ll have these techniques in place by 2010.”

Niel Smith of ‘Calcookara’ in South Australia said he believed the genetic mutation discovered at his stud was a wonderful thing.

“We first discovered the mutation in 2002 when we were looking at rams to take to a major field day,” he said.

“We noticed some of them had a bare patch in the breech area.
“This was before any of the debate had come up from PETA and for awhile we kept it all under wraps as we weren’t sure about its inheritability.”

Mr Smith explained that the mutation was a little like balding in men.

“The wool strips when the sheep are about 12 to 16 months old but mating like to like we are seeing it in the young sheep now,” he said.

“We have scored our ewes from one to five and about 280 of them have a score of three which we consider to be workable.
“The ewes showing the trait are still giving us as much wool as ever.
“It’s all looking very good and the heritability of the trait is above average which is very pleasing.”

Mr Smith said however that the stud merino fraternity is still sceptical of the trait.

“They believe we are breeding extra wool off the sheep,” he said.

“But we are only taking off rubbishy wool and the commercial sector is accepting this really well.
“This is a long-term thing and it won’t happen overnight but it does look like it’s going to be easier to breed this trait than we thought.”

Thank-You For Visiting Our Town

RAELEE Brier will leave Longreach tomorrow after striving for seven months to see the town’s tourism industry succeed and thrive.

Ms Brier’s determination and commitment to regional tourism has seen the local tourism association come to life and a new-look visitors’ guide created.

Yet Ms Brier said the future of the position of tourism officer had always been uncertain.

“If the position of Tourism Development Officer was a definite one for an additional 12 months to two years, I would have more than likely have reconsidered my decision to move on,” she said.

“However tourism has been a fairly low priority here for many years and it is difficult to change this in a matter of months.

“I am passionate about this town and would have loved to have taken it to the next level in tourism.

“I am confident that the momentum that has built up over the past few months will ensure tourism becomes more prominent on the council agenda in the future.”

Ms Brier believes there needs to be a re-focus of several issues in the tourism officer position to ensure it worked.

“The key to achieving things in Longreach has always been to gain support for new ideas,” she said.

Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame (ASHOF) general manager Victoria Kerrisk is aghast at the loss of the tourism officer in Longreach, especially one who has achieved so much in such a short time.

Mrs Kerrisk said with Ms Brier leaving town, the promotion of the region would again be left up to struggling businesses.

“Raelee’s loss is very frustrating from a business point of view,” she said.

“We all benefit from tourism but a few people can’t do all that is needed for the industry to thrive.”

Mrs Kerrisk explained that Ms Brier had brought the town together for the first time and presented a professional front to visitors and tourists.

“Raelee has taken tourism in this town to a new level and kept local businesses in line with what is happening in this industry,” she said.

“It is because of her efforts that the Outback Queensland Tourism Authority (OQTA) awards will be held in Longreach this year.”

Mrs Kerrisk said the town would need Council’s help to ensure that the momentum generated by Ms Brier continued.

“I know Cr Tanks supports tourism and listens to new ideas and I hope councillors will see the benefits of a tourism officer,” she said.

“Other regions have really developed tourism and have tourism officers so why can’t we have all this too?”

Longreach Shire Council chief executive officer Fred de Waard admitted that the funding and resources that Council have committed to provide to the local tourism industry was limited.

“There is certainly a need for someone to drive the area of tourism in this town but I cannot say for certain when someone else will be appointed to the position of tourism officer,” Mr de Waard said.

“Ms Brier has been a fantastic resource to Longreach. She has gotten the tourism ball rolling in this town.

“The main challenge now is to be very strategic in the way we do things and how we use our resources.”

Longreach Mayor Pat Tanks agreed that Ms Brier had made a big contribution to tourism in the region but denied the loss of this contribution had anything to do with budgetary constraints.

“We are very sorry to lose Raelee and would love her to stay,” Cr Tanks said.

“But as I understand it, it was her decision to leave and had nothing to do with any budget issues related to the position of tourism officer.”

While Ms Brier said she was sad to leave the town into which she had put so much hard work, she was optimistic about her new life in Charleville working as a Communication and Education Officer.

“A lot of progress has been made in my time here and the groundwork has now been laid so Longreach has a lot of momentum to carry it through the coming year.”

The Trouble With Silence

THE Queensland Cancer Fund has undertaken the first study into regional survival rates for different cancer types.

Although the study reveals that Central Queensland has a lower than average rate of breast cancer, there is a worrying trend that locals have higher rates of melanoma and lower chances of surviving colorectal cancer and lung cancer.

The report also suggests that cancer patient survival rate increases directly correlate to distances from metropolitan health facilities, with areas in Northern Queensland suffering from the most devastating cancer mortality rates.

Helen Dempster from Longreach was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42-years-old and believes the answer to turning the statistics around lies with public attitudes.

“Early detection for breast cancer is vital and to enable this, people need to become more aware of their own health,” she said.

“Notice the changes and be proactive.”

Mrs Dempster also points out a tendency for rural communities to adhere to the “conspiracy of silence”.

“It is hard to educate people because they don’t want to talk about these issues,” Mrs Dempster said.

“People out here are really private, especially the older generation.
“I think we need to use the services that are provided to us, like the Mobile Breast Screen Unit that visits every two years, or we might lose them.”

While every incidence of cancer presents a different experience, Mrs Dempster’s case is similar in some respects to that of Pauline Peake, another local cancer survivor.

“Early detection is the key to beating this disease, however it would be a combination of factors in the West,” Mrs Peake reinforced.

“Awareness campaigns and health promotion could be used to help curb the statistics in this report.”

Mrs Peake was diagnosed with breast cancer last August and has come to understand first hand the tyranny of distance.

“It is more difficult for people with cancer in the bush, purely based on distance,” Mrs Peake said.

Mrs Dempster also said her choice of treatment was influenced by her locality.

“After finding out about the cancer, the surgeon presented me with options, however because of where I live, I decided to have my breast removed,” Mrs Dempster said.

“If I was to choose other forms of treatment it could involve radiation or chemotherapy and I would have to travel to Brisbane, leaving behind my family of young boys.

“I don’t have an extended family in Longreach to care for them, and my husband works.

“I had had my children, I was comfortable with my body and the surgery wasn’t a big issue for me - however I do appreciate it is an issue for others.”

Mrs Peake concured: “You can access some support out here, which in my case was wonderful, but many have to travel to get more specialised care.

“In saying that, it is wonderful to be able to access chemotherapy at Longreach Hospital.”

Longreach Hospital’s director of nursing Maree Rankin said the availability of chemotherapy was dependant on a number of factors, such as staff expertise and cancer type.

“The majority of the chemotherapy we offer is palliative,” Ms Rankin explained to The Longreach Leader.

“It is to the benefit of the patient to receive treatment surrounded by their community and their family, without the need to travel.”

Opportunity knocks in rural areas

THE Worland family believe Longreach is a great place to raise a family and take up opportunities otherwise unavailable in metropolitan areas.

Patsy and Jamie Worland, and their children Jack, Matthew and Adam, are an example of how the skills shortage issue effecting rural areas can be turned around to have a positive impact on the lives of families.

Mr Worland admits without intense competition for more qualified technicians, he was able to secure his position at Central West Computer Consultants.

Within seven months, Mr Worland has completed a restricted electrical license and trained in network administration.

“With a lot of kids taking up further study and leaving the area, it has opened up the doors where normally you wouldn’t get a look in,” Mr Worland said.

Mr Worland moved to Longreach in 2001, from Roma with his wife Patsy, and believes the relocation has been well worth it.

“While moving away from home and leaving friends and family was always going to be hard, if I had of stayed in Roma I would have been restricted in what I could do with my life. I probably would have been a concreter or a barman,” Mr Worland said.

“However in Longreach I have been given the opportunity to gain the licence and received more training in a field I enjoy.”

Mrs Worland works at IGA as a front-end supervisor and is happy with her life in Longreach.
“There are different people in town, but they all have the same friendly personalities,” Mrs Worland said.

“We have been welcomed into a number of social groups.

“Perhaps that is the solution to the skills shortage – creating more of a profile of the social activities in town and using them as an incentive get more workers.”

Mrs Worland agrees with her husband that there are more opportunities in rural areas, like Longreach, for blue-collar workers.

“Within 12 months Jamie was accepted into the (Longreach’s volunteer) fire brigade. In Roma he wouldn’t have the chance to do something like that,” she said.

“The opportunities to meet new people, participate in different social groups and get great jobs and training are more available in places like Longreach.”

ASIC: Plane silly

THE Federal Government’s compulsory Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC) system for commercial and private pilots flying into security-controlled airports is creating ongoing headaches for the aviation industry.

Thousands of pilots are scrambling to apply for the cards while pilots who have already applied are still waiting to receive their identification.

Whether they have received their ASIC cards or not, pilots remain confused as to why they need the cards, especially as many airports regarded by the government as ‘security-controlled’ are small, unfenced airstrips in remote regions.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) president Ron Bertram is furious about the Department of Regional Department of Transport and Regional Services’ (DOTARS) new security measures and condemns the government’s bad planning.

“The government deserves to be crucified for these new laws which only make security weaker,” Mr Bertram said.

“It’s a gross misuse of taxpayer’s money for a fear that isn’t there.

“Even the United States government which experienced 9/11 has classed the aviation industry as a low-risk to security.”Mr Bertram said DOTARS did not consult with industry about the new laws and did not put any plan in place about the ASIC cards until October last year.

“The result was mass confusion and a set of rules that are ludicrous,” he said.

Philip Owens operates an air charter service from Longreach and is one pilot waiting in anxious frustration to receive the ASIC card he applied for two months ago.

“As a commercial charter pilot, I really need an ASIC card,” he said.

“I’d like to know what is going on with it but when I try to get information I don’t get anywhere.”

Despite the protests from AOPA and pilots alike, the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Warren Truss remains firm in his conviction that in ‘the war on terror’, ASIC cards are best for aviation security.

Spokesperson for Mr Truss, Kylie Butler said there were good reasons for the delay in processing ASIC applications.

“The department received a huge glut of 10,000 applications late last year,” Ms Butler said.

“The Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) have a lot of other security checks to do at this time, such as those for the Commonwealth Games.”

Yet in a frightening move highly reminiscent of a revolution’s spy-on-your-neighbour tactics, DOTARS is prepared to place heavy fines on pilots who do not report back to the department if they see a fellow pilot flying without an ASIC card.

“We want pilots to know that we take aviation security very seriously,” Ms Butler said.

“Pilots need to realise they are duty-bound to investigate what they knowingly believe is wrong and not to turn a blind eye.”

Ms Butler said security officers as well as police would conduct regular inspections of even the Central West’s smallest airports to ensure all pilots carried their ASIC cards.

“The airports themselves also have the responsibility to maintain security,” she said.

Local commercial pilot Rowley Deane said the ASIC cards were a joke.

“I can cop a security check for landing at major airports, but it’s just a joke to put security checks in place for an airport like Longreach where they don’t even scan your luggage or at Blackall where there is not a soul around,” Mr Deane said.

After imposing a January 1 2006 deadline on all ASIC applications late last year, DOTAR has now extended the deadline for the pilot ID card until March 31.