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Premium Content Subscriber only Road funding and aged care announcements from the federal budget have been welcomed by a Central Queensland mayor, but much of this regionâs funding push will come in the lead-up to the upcoming election. While there havenât been many significant federal budget announcements for the Banana Shire, Mayor Nev Ferrier thinks there will be benefits to his region with the funding given to surrounding areas. He welcomed the funding for road upgrades in Central Queensland. âThereâs $400 million on the Bruce Highway, and a lot of thatâs going to be spent between Gladstone and Rockhampton, which is great,â Cr Ferrier said. ....
3 May 2021 The French nuclear energy giant EDF has unveiled its first renewable energy project in Australia, a wind farm in Queensland that also has planning approval for battery storage. The majority French government owned EDF, through its EDF Renewables subsidiary, has been quietly building a portfolio of wind, energy and battery storage projects in Australia as part of its global efforts to more than double its renewable energy capacity and pipeline from 28,000 megawatts now to 60,000 megawatts by 2030. That would be equivalent, in capacity terms, to the nuclear fleet it owns and operates in France. The first of these Australian renewable projects has now been named – the 280MW Banana Range wind project in Queensland that it has purchased from Goldwind Australia and Lacour Energy. ....
Premium Content Subscriber only Five new Australian citizens have been naturalised as part of a small Biloela ceremony held by the Banana Shire Council. Mayor Nev Ferrier administered the pledge to the new Australians during the ceremony on April 28. Acquiring Australian Citizenship is a public declaration of your commitment to Australia, Cr Ferrier said. No one who acquires Australian Citizenship is required to renounce their cultural identity or customs. We accept and respect the cultures and traditions of newcomers, and in return, expect that they also respect and accept the cultural differences they find here. He spoke of Australia s commitment to democracy and freedom of opportunity, and the responsibilities of service to the country s community. ....
When the varied financial position of Central Queensland Local Government was put under the microscope of the Auditor-General, Rockhampton and Central Highlands councils were revealed as the only financially stable entities. The analysis by Auditor-General Brendan Worrell found one-third of Queensland councils were at “high risk” of not being financially sustainable and 70 per cent spent more than they earned in 2020. The report ranked councils financial sustainability measures and risk. Gladstone, Livingstone and Woorabinda councils were all found to have average asset sustainability ratios less than 50 per cent, considered to be high-risk. In his report into the audit, Mr Worrell studied the finances of 77 Queensland councils, highlighting the impact the COVID pandemic had on council finances. ....