September 30, 2022
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a tower of strength and dignity.
On behalf of the people of the State Electorate of Nanango, it was an honour to visit Government House recently to pay my respects.
I laid a beautiful wreath from Kingaroy florist Linard Floral and Bridal Centre at the foot of her statue, which is a centrepiece of the grounds.
Then I signed the official condolence book to send our electorate’s heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family, thanking Queen Elizabeth II for her extraordinary leadership and contribution to the Commonwealth.
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Vintage Machines In Kingaroy
The Kingaroy & District Vintage Machinery Club hosted the 9th biannual Queensland Heritage Rally in conjunction with their annual Vintage Machinery Show this year, and the end result was a huge weekend full of fascinating history.
Congratulations to the hardworking committee who co-ordinated the three-day event, which featured trucks, tractors, engines, crawlers, heavy horses, bikes and steam engines.
These types of events are not only fun and interesting, but they also attract visitors from far and wide, contributing to the economic and social fabric of our region.
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Goomeri Looking Towards The Future
The Nanango Electorate takes in the western parts of the Gympie Regional Council area including the township of Goomeri.
It is an incredible little town with so many wonderful businesses and so much potential.
Over the past few years Goomeri has gone from strength to strength and the business community are looking towards the future with much positivity.
To help them with this, it was great to join with Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig and Deputy Mayor, Hilary Smerdon to discuss the way forward.
Watch this space!
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The Best Of BaconFest
On behalf of the South Burnett, I’d like to congratulate the BaconFest organising committee and their team of volunteers for their hard work and vision putting together an absolutely brilliant weekend of bacon fun in Kingaroy.
Everyone enjoyed the entertaining celebrity chefs including Miguel Maestre, Dan and Steph, Emmy and Matt Golinski.
It’s estimated up to 20,000 people attended across the weekend.
Thanks also to the many sponsors and participating businesses who partnered with the Festival to bring the celebrations to life. BaconFest couldn’t go ahead without this support.
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Thumbs Up For AvoFest!
In a similar vein, big congratulations to the organisers of this year’s Blackbutt Avocado Festival which made a welcome return this September after a forced two-year absence due to the pandemic.
All the regular features of this much-loved festival were retained – including the incredibly difficult avocado rolling competition – and this year the event was expanded to cover six weekends with everything from arts days to open gardens, a roots and blues music festival and an Oktoberfest.
Avocados are an important industry in Blackbutt and this festival celebrates that with lots of family fun and flair.
Well done to everyone involved!
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Flood Grant Extension A Win For Primary Producers
In late August I wrote to the Minister for Agriculture seeking an extension to the deadlines for the Disaster Assistance Grants.
This issue was also raised at a recent Parliamentary Committee hearing.
Multiple flood events since November last year – and ongoing wet weather – are making it difficult for primary producers to access paddocks and secure contractors to undertake works.
So I welcome the announcement of an extension for two of the disaster flood grants application deadlines.
This is a win for primary producers, who have been calling for the Government to recognise how difficult it has been to undertake restoration activities due to continued wet weather.
While I had called for a three-month extension for each of the grant deadlines, the new deadlines extension will give those affected by the November rains, and ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth an extra two months to apply.
It was also worth noting that an important and welcome change has occurred in relation to the eligibility of manure and compost claims.
I would encourage producers to check with QRIDA for details on 1800-623-946.
[Photos: Nanango Electorate Office]
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