Newly minted MP opens Whitsunday electorate office

Just over six weeks after his election, the newly-minted Member for Whitsunday, Jason Costigan, has opened the doors to his electorate office, located in Federation House on Proserpine’s Chapman Street.

There are not enough hours in the day for ‘Costo’, who traverses the Whitsunday electorate from dawn to dusk, listening to the locals who sent him to Parliament with a healthy 14.1 per cent swing.

Don’t be fooled, though. Between the parliamentary sittings in Brisbane and the meetings in the office, Mr Costigan is determined to be hearing about the local issues straight from the locals themselves.

Yesterday was spent attending a Red Cross open day in Mackay, followed by a Whitsunday Leadership Group in Proserpine, with enough time to spare for a swing by the office at 2pm.

“I’m not going to be stuck in some bunker as the invisible man,” Mr Costigan said. “I’m big on face-to-face diplomacy, and that’s the approach I’ll be bringing to the job.

“I’ll be facilitating a number of meetings with organisations, individuals and stakeholders to listen to their issues,” he said. “The issues people have raised with me so far have been consistent with the issues raised in the 57 weeks I spent campaigning.”

Today and tomorrow will be spent in Brisbane, where Mr Costigan will conclude his parliamentary induction ahead of the first parliamentary sitting week of the term, scheduled for next week, during which he will be officially sworn in as Member for Whitsunday.

Whitsundays' War on the Shore packs a punch in Airlie Beach

The crowd was on the edge of their seats the entire night on Saturday at this year’s War on the Shore fight night.

Whitsunday Boxing Club president and fight night promoter Paul Barrett described the event as ‘spectacular’ with each of the 10 fights well received and the crowd glued to the centre ring.

"All fights were really well matched and it kept the crowd on their toes because no one was really sure who was going to win," Mr Barrett said.

"That’s what you want, and it had all aspects like big Todd Housell who threw and copped big punches or Alice Fraser who boxed so techniquely it was textbook."

"Whatever you wanted it was there."

With local fighters so well matched to their opponents who travelled to the Whitsundays for the event, each round was hard fought and each win was well deserved.

"They all trained so hard and it showed. We had wins, losses and draws but everyone was at the maximum of their ability," Mr Barrett said.

Winners on the night were Evan Douglas, Todd Hounsell, Anton Zaffir and Shaun Taylor, while Alice Fraser and Cameron Mead drew their fights. Mr Barrett praised local fighter Adam Mitton who fought hard despite suffering broken ribs, as well as Jake Algie and Dan Zealand.

"That’s credit and shows his overall toughness," he said.

Mr Barrett said overall he appreciates the crowd’s participation and looks forward to the next fight night in September.

"There will be a couple of surprises for the one in September and they keep getting better. It won’t be short of a thrill."

He also said people who pre-purchase tickets to the next fight night will receive express entry through the doors and the standard of fighting will be
just as high.

Calen hotel gutted by fire

It was an emotional day on Friday as owners and locals watched on as a Calen icon burnt to the ground.

Multiple Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) crews attended the hotel fire located on Mcintyre Street, Calen at 9.50am where they worked to evacuate the building.

Unfortunately, the hotel and its attached residence were well alight upon arrival while firefighters also worked to protect neighbouring buildings and the fire was under control
at 11.15am.

Work to monitor the situation and dampen down the scene went on for some time.

Significant damage was caused to the highway building however no injuries were reported.

Sugar industry the centre of Whitsunday arts festival

The Proserpine sugar industry is back in the spotlight.

Two locals, Lyn Fenton and Bob Barford are excited to bring a new, innovative festival to the Whitsundays, called ‘Sweet’ and solely based on the cane industry.

Being involved with small and large festivals for over 30 years, Mr Barford wanted to put sugar with spice to create a festival showcasing musicians, artists, dancers and more.

Mr Barford said all artists will be local.

"It’s a country event, not aimed at tourists, and to by no means exclude tourists, but the focus is giving local people the chance to see what they can do," Mr Barford said.

"If it becomes a tourist attraction, that’s a bonus!" he said.

"What a better subject than to loosely base this on the sugar industry..that’s the backbone here."

"We are trying to give a good show for everyone to have a look at a good musical, fun event."

Ms Fenton said she hopes the one-of-a-kind festival will bring positivity to Proserpine.

"We want to step up morale for Proserpine and make a tribute to the sugar industry which started everything," she said.

"It may even make Proserpine an arts centre..there’s lots of talent here but they’re all hidden away."

The festival intends to bring various community groups, performers, stallholders and artists together in a combined show.

"The performances will be woven together to tell a story. It will be special," Ms Fenton said.

Many groups have already jumped onboard to be part of the festival however organisers are still looking for a shanty singer, lead male and female singers, backstage hands and help with sounds and lighting.

Mr Barford and Ms Fenton are hoping people with old cane equipment will come forward for a display. There will be a meet and greet evening at 6pm on June 2 at the Proserpine Entertainment and the festival will be held on July 21.
For more information contact Bob on 0407 895 011.

Sparks fly at final Whitsunday Regional Council meeting





No truce was reached between Mayor Mike Brunker and his main challenger, Councillor Jennifer Whitney, before the final council meeting of the term, held in Bowen on Thursday.

Whilst Cr Brunker began the meeting by thanking Council staff for their work over the last four years, Cr Whitney succeeded in steering attention towards the controversial Airlie Beach Main Street Project.

Cr Whitney submitted a notice of motion calling for Council to hold a public meeting at the Airlie Beach PCYC within a month to provide a community update on the project.

"Walking around the streets of Airlie, there’s still a great deal of confusion," Cr Whitney said. "Businesses are struggling to survive week by week."

Cr Brunker was critical of the suggestion.

"Putting something like this onto a new council has never happened in my lifetime," Cr Brunker said. "We may as well set the budget now, too."

Despite Cr Whitney claiming that "people are very anxious to have a community meeting," the motion was defeated.

The second motion submitted by Cr Whitney requested Council to advise of the total debt following the funding of the Water and Sewerage Infrastructure.

Cr Brunker claimed that the figures had been available since 2011.

"In two days you could be mayor, and you don’t know that information," Cr Brunker said.

After the two motions were debated, Whitsunday Regional Council CEO John Finlay praised the achievements of the Mayor and Councillors.

"This isn’t something you can learn by reading a textbook," Mr Finlay said.

Mr Finlay acknowledged Council’s achievements, among them the Bowen PCYC, front beach development, sewerage treatment and water treatment facilities, the Whitsunday Coast Airport upgrades, extensive road upgrades, and the "tackling of inherited deficit from the previous council."

"This council has set the bar for the next," Mr Finlay said.

Cr Mark Gaudry, who chose not to recontest his position as Division 6 representative, used his final meeting to deliver a light-hearted speech, thanking council staff, his colleagues and his constituents.

"Thank you for your friendship, help, advice and support," he said.

"Council is a cross between the Commonwealth Bank and Vinnies," Cr Gaudry said. "You’ve got to run an efficient business, while also being the first port of call for support and donations."
Cr Gaudry expressed his faith in the local government system, and wished current and prospective Councillors well.

Development to help rejuvenate Airlie Beach

Mayor Mike Brunker is confident that the proposed Airlie Beach entertainment precinct will rejuvenate the community, whilst helping to address the town’s parking problems.

“Once you’ve done the islands and visited the lagoon, you’ve got limited options, especially if it’s raining,” he said.

The planning of the precinct and development of the 2.1ha site, beside the Magnums car park and adjacent to

Waterson Way

, will commence after an extensive community consultation process.

“Community consultation will be important,” Cr Brunker said. “Suggestions include a cinema, library and conference facilities.”

Cr Brunker was supportive of relocating the library, currently situated at Centro, to the precinct.

“There will be greater access to the library’s services if it’s at the heart of the community,” he said.

Cr Brunker explained that there were plans for a Woolworths to be built next to the site, and for extensive parking spaces to be a feature of the development.

“(The precinct) will eventually be a continuation of the town centre,” Cr Brunker said.

When asked if he was confident ahead of the local government election, Cr Brunker replied that he was “quietly confident,” and dismissed rumours of a potential tilt for the Burdekin electorate at the next state election, should he be unsuccessful in his bid to remain Whitsunday Regional Mayor.

“Rumours have been around for years,” he said. “Those days are over.”

Whitsunday autism fundraiser gains momentum

A Whitsunday mother whose son was diagnosed with autism some 14 months ago says her life changed forever when she began talking to people about her only child Riley.

Debbie Henshell’s three year old son was diagnosed with autism just over a year ago.

“Riley is awesome. He is non-verbal … but he is starting to learn to talk now. For the first six months since I found out he was autistic I didn’t talk to anyone … and that does not help at all. Maybe I was slightly embarrassed about the label, I was in disbelief … it was just a combination of so many things and I stuck my head in the sand,” Ms Henshell said.

Some six months later and this passionate mother has certainly come a long way. She is now holding the reigns to one of the Whitsundays biggest autism fundraisers which is gathering momentum among businesses in the Whitsundays and continues this Friday night at the Reef Gateway Hotel.

“In our support group there are 23 people and that is just the people we know about … I believe there are a lot more people out there who are affected by autism and we want to let people know that this group is open to everyone."

Ms Henshell says a few months ago she started taking Riley to the AEIOU foundation in Townsville which has been a huge inspiration behind her fundraising.

“Many people are still taking their kids to Brisbane, but I want people to know that there are intensive specialised programs right here in north Queensland.”

This month is Autism Awareness Month, and Autism Queensland has launched a new campaign “Go Blue for Autism” to raise funds and awareness of the condition, which Ms Henshell has grabbed hold of with both hands.

“I have received such an overwhelming amount of support from local businesses which is why we are having the spinoff raffle this Friday night at the Reef Gateway Hotel,” she said.

Tickets in the major prize, which will be drawn in conjunction with Rotary Club of Airlie Beach on May 23, can be purchased from many Proserpine businesses including Trish-Annes’ Beauty, Sirene Sea Pearls, Cherry Baby, Blackies Produce, The News Express and Fitness Venue.

“Even if people don’t want to buy tickets, at least they can pick up a brochure and see what our group is about and what support we offer,” she said.