August 5, 2015
Shadow Energy Minister Andrew Powell dropped into the South Burnett Energy Centre in Nanango on Wednesday as part of a push to highlight there are, in fact, two “energy centres” in the Nanango electorate.
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington says she was stunned when she heard Energy Minister Mark Bailey refer recently to a new Energy Centre which opened in Highfields as the “first” in Queensland.
And she made her displeasure known from the floor of the Parliament:
“While the Minister is over there, I should remind him that the electorate of Nanango goes all the way over to past Highfields, where he was the other day apparently opening the ‘first ever’ energy museum in Queensland. I hate to tell him that the Tarong Energy Centre in Nanango has been there for many years. As the Minister for that illustrious area of Tarong, he should know not to tell the statewide media that he is opening the first ever energy centre when my electorate actually already has two.” (Hansard)
The South Burnett Energy Centre, which also houses the Nanango Visitor Information Centre, opened on August 24, 2009.
Displays highlight the history of power generation in the South Burnett and include the original motors from the Butter Factory which provided the first reticulated power to Nanango in 1933.
Mr Powell was accompanied by Mrs Frecklington, South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann and Cr Barry Green as he inspected the South Burnett Energy Centre.
Both Mrs Frecklington and Mr Powell demonstrated their political power by pedalling on the human-powered generator to power up lights, a fan and, importantly, a gumball machine.
Footnote: To be fair, Mr Bailey may have been referring to the fact that the new Queensland Energy Centre at Highfields contains some of the displays from the old Queensland Energy Museum at Herston, which possibly was the first in the State, and which closed in May this year.
