October 9, 2015
It’s Murgon v Ficks Crossing … projects at both South Burnett locations are in the running for cash grants of up to $5000 for important projects but whether they will be considered by the judges depends on the amount of public support they get.
And there’s less than a week left to vote!
Murgon Sports Association wants to develop alternative options to irrigate the Murgon Sportsground after facing an uncertain future earlier this year because it was unable to pay its irrigation bills.
The association negotiated with the South Burnett Regional Council to waive a $32,000 water bill which had escalated because of the drought. It’s now planning to install a new, more efficient watering system that makes use of creek water, pumps, tanks and pop-up sprinklers to maintain the facilities, which are widely used by community organisations.
Arethusa College at Ficks Crossing is keen to install a rainwater tank, filters and water coolers for students attending the rodeo school at its Barambah Creek campus. The campus caters for disengaged youth from Murgon and Cherbourg area.
The two South Burnett projects are competing for support against 15 other community groups from across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
They have applied for money from the Philmac Project, a national competition which provides cash grants of up to $5000 as well as in-kind support for water-related projects that benefit community organisations in rural and regional Australia.
Submissions that attract the most online votes before the competition closes at 4:30pm next Friday (October 16) will go onto a short-list for final judging by a special panel.
The Philmac Project was set up three years ago by Philmac Pty Ltd, a company which specialises in the design and manufacture of specialist fittings and valves for transferring, controlling and applying water.
The five entries that attract the highest number of votes for each region will be eligible for final judging.
As well, extra entries that are deemed to be projects of high community value but which may not have attracted significant votes will be selected to go through to the final judging panel, at the discretion of the moderators, to allow for projects proposed by towns or communities with very small populations.
“It’s our way of giving something back to the people that have stood by us and enabled the company to keep manufacturing in Australia, despite challenging times,” spokesman Jason Mitchell said.
“We’re delighted with the number of applications received this year from across the country, and the quality and diversity of the projects being proposed. I think our judges are in for quite a challenge.
“Ultimately, the funding will be allocated to projects that make a genuine difference to their local community and have the potential to reduce water use, improve water quality or benefit the environment in some way.”
- To vote for the Rodeo School, click here (currently 3 votes)
- To vote for the Murgon Sports Association, click here (currently 49 votes)
The project that is currently leading the Queensland / NT category (with 154 votes) is a project to install an irrigation system at Mundubbera State School for the school oval and vegetable garden.
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