April 13, 2015
by Deb Frecklington
Nanango Show
What a great afternoon and evening I enjoyed with my family at the 106th Annual Nanango Show on Saturday, April 11.
The Nanango Show is proof that country shows are alive and well.
Congratulations must go Show Society President Les Schloss, Manager/Secretary Amy Wicks, and the committee and members of the Nanango Show Society.
There was so much on offer, but I had the most fun I’ve had in ages working at the Show’s Rodeo Bar on Saturday evening with committee members Bill and Ruth.
I’m not sure how the organisers are going to top this year’s entertainment, but I’m looking forward to what they come up with for 2016!
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Naming Will Honour Local Anzac
With Anzac Day just around the corner and Centenary commemorations being planned, it is fitting that one of our own local Anzacs will be honoured with the official naming of a South Burnett gully in his honour.
“Mangan Gully” will honour Michael Mangan, who settled in the Nanango district in 1919 following military service from 1914-1918 with the 15th Battalion AIF.
Mr Mangan fought as an Anzac at Gallipoli in 1915, and he also saw action in France, the Western Front, the Somme and Belgium.
After the war, he was granted leases over the properties through which the gully passes.
The gully flows in a north-westerly direction and crosses the D’Aguilar Highway until it meets Peach Creek.
I was extremely pleased to hear that the Department of Natural Resources have confirmed the gully will take Mr Mangan’s name, and it is a fitting tribute for the Mangan family.
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Local Nurses Get Pay Raise
Our nurses and midwives do a fantastic job and I am very glad that they will benefit from the recent announcement of a 2.2 per cent payrise.
The raise was negotiated by our former LNP Government and has been agreed to by the new Labor Government.
This is an investment in our nursing workforce and an investment in caring for patients across the South Burnett.
The raise will go to the 124 nurses at Kingaroy Hospital and the 13 nurses at Nanango Hospital.
Importantly, the number of nurses at Kingaroy Hospital has increased by 21 to the current level of 124.
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Regions Leading The Way In Innovation
Our neighbours in Oakey are showing the world that regional areas often lead the way when it comes to innovation.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending the opening of Oakey Beef Exports’ new Biogas Plant.
The plant is the first of its kind in Australia and is a high rate “covered anaerobic lagoon” that stores, processes and burns biogas to turn waste into energy.
The Biogas plant will be able to produce 183.3 gigajoules of energy per day through the combustion of methane.
This energy will supply about 40 per cent of the plant’s current natural gas needs.
The Oakey Abattoir is also expanding, increasing their capacity to 1650 head per day, seven days per week.
This will increase their production numbers from 298,000 head to 560,000 head per year.
This is extremely positive for the agriculture sector and our local graziers, and I look forward to following the growth of the plant.
[Photos: southburnett.com.au and Nanango Electorate Office]
