Hervey Bay Gossip

It’s definitely about time

We drove down to Brisbane and back yesterday and the amount of rubbish along the side of the road right from the time we left Hervey Bay was appalling so it was great to come home and find this press release waiting for us.

Throwing rubbish from a vehicle or stomping out a cigarette butt on Queensland streets will be targeted through increased penalties under proposed new laws.

Premier Peter Beattie said the Government was stepping up its campaign to protect Queensland’s environment by doubling the fine for so-called dangerous littering and changing the onus of proof to registered owners of vehicles.

“Sadly, drivers in Queensland continue to litter our highways,” Mr Beattie said.

“In fact, 42 per cent of rubbish picked up in Queensland is from the side of our roads, and these new laws are about hitting litterbugs where it hurts - their hip pockets.

“Under the changes, registered owners of vehicles will be held responsible for litter being thrown from their vehicle, in the same way they are held responsible for parking or speeding offences,” Mr Beattie said.

“Currently, officers have to stop or approach a vehicle in order to gather evidence of the littering offence, which can be an unsafe exercise for all involved.

“We are committed to making it easier for local councils and the EPA to penalise this behaviour and we will work closely with the Local Government Association of Queensland in drafting these tough new amendments.”

Bigger penalties
Mr Beattie said in addition to changing the onus of proof to vehicle owners, penalties for dangerous littering will double from the current $150 fine.

“Cigarette butts and bottles pose significant threats to the environment and wildlife and will be considered dangerous littering under new laws, incurring a $300 fine,” Mr Beattie said.

“This hard-line approach underpins the Government’s commitment to reducing the increasing amount of litter being found and risking our pristine ecosystems and waterways,” he said.

Environment Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr said cigarette butts were the single most common litter item in Australia, accounting for 49 per cent of litter nationally.

Cigarette butts are litter too 
“Cigarette butts are litter and those caught discarding them on the street, in the gutter or out of their car windows will be fined.

“Not only do they have the potential to cause bushfires, cigarette butts can be especially harmful to our wildlife, not to mention the aesthetic effect litter has on our parks, gardens and beaches.

“This proposed legislation will give authorised officers more power to tackle environmental crime, and make people think twice before littering the environment around them.”

“The majority of people do the right thing with their litter, but we intend to send a strong message to people who think littering is OK that they can’t get away with it,” she said.

Ms Nelson-Carr added that amendments to legislation would be drafted in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

“We are keen to work with councils to keep our streets, parks, beaches and bushland free of litter,” she said.

“People want to live in a clean, pleasant environment, but we all have to play our part in ensuring that is what we achieve. These changes will aim to change mindsets, improve our local environment, and restore pride in our communities,” she said.

Have you ever wondered why groups do things that individuals would never do?

 As a people watcher they dynamics of groups fascinate me - but then that shouldn’t surprise me because the dynamics of individuals sometimes bewilder me (and you heard that from a marketer :) )

If groups interest you then you may find a paper by Dr Toni Makkai, Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology of great interest.

The paper describes different kinds of group formations:

    * raves and flash mobs, which are for fun and generally do not involve violence

    * youth gangs, which are implicated in violence almost by definition

    * riots, their formation and the break out of violence seem to be spontaneous but may be triggered by a specific event and are purposeful

    * mobs, appear similar to riots but violence occurs without any purpose or intent, possibly triggered by excessive alcohol consumption

    * gatecrashers, which may become violent if the crowd dynamics spark it.

Although the paper stresses the need to consider different forms of swarming, there are commonalities identified across events and groups:

    * the use of new communication technologies such as mobile phones

    * access to motor vehicles

    * an emphasis on excitement, thrill-seeking and taking collective control over particular public areas

    * defiance and resistance in relation to authority figures such as the police

    * the potential role of the media in exacerbating the occurrence of violent behaviour by publicising its possibility before the event occurs.

 You can download the paper for free right here

Even here in Hervey Bay you need to be prepared!

Emergency Services Minister Pat Purcell is urging Queenslanders to prepare their homes and their families for another summer of potentially devastating cyclones.

Officially launching cyclone season this morning in Innisfail, Mr Purcell said it was important that people took action now to minimise any possible damage to their homes this season.

“Many people wait until a cyclone is actually approaching before they take the necessary precautions to protect their home and property,” he said.

“But the reality is that cyclones can develop quite quickly or change course without warning and people can find themselves dangerously unprepared once the winds begin to pick up speed.”

Mr Purcell said there are a number of steps that residents can complete now to minimise damage to their homes in the event of a cyclone.

“Firstly - ensure that your roof is completely secure. This means no loose roof tiles and no leaves or other debris clogging the guttering. If you need to call in a tradesperson to check the safety of your roof then do so as soon as possible.

“Secondly - trim all the trees surrounding your property so that there are no branches overhanging your house.

“And finally - remove or secure any outdoor items, such as furniture, garden tools or toys that could become dangerous missiles once airborne.”

Mr Purcell also encouraged residents to prepare a fully stocked Emergency Kit to have on standby in their home.

“At the very least, this should include a battery operated radio to monitor weather reports, a torch in case of power failure, tinned food, bottled water, spare clothes and a First Aid kit,” he said.

“It is also worth checking the details of your home and contents insurance, just to make sure you know exactly what you’re covered for.”

Mr Purcell said residents also needed to understand the importance of being prepared for evacuations.

“People should identify family or friends who have a home that they can evacuate to if an official evacuation order is issued or if they decide to leave voluntarily,” he said.

“The best option is to go further inland or on higher ground, but it is essential that families start discussing their options now so that when the time comes, they have plans in place.”

More information on preparing for cyclones is available at www.disaster.qld.gov.au.

On the beach is the only place to be

After a week of high winds and a few storms the beach is still the only place to have breakfast here in Hervey Bay. Breakfast at Aquavue right on the beach was very pleasant and the view was priceless.

An injection of $750,000 by the State Government brings improved public transport to Hervey Bay

From Monday the 27th Wide Bay Transit will be introducing a new bus service to Hervey Bay and expanding two existing services.

The new service will run Monday to Saturday along the Esplanade and link Centro Hervey Bay with the Urangan Boat Harbour.

Services on Route 16 will now run hourly and the number of trips on Route 5 between Maryborough and Hervey Bay will be increased.

New timetables will be delivered to homes in Hervey Bay next week.

There has been a fire burning unchecked on the mainland side of Fraser Island sinced Wednesday afternoon. Smoke from the fire can be seen from anywhere along the beach in Hervey Bay.

Just to remind us that we’re in the storm season

That was quite a start to the day wasn’t it. Storm cells, thunder and lightning, heavy rain and hail and all before 8am.

The storms were caused by a major cold front coming up from the south meeting the warm air coming down from the north - and it all met somewhere over our heads.

At least Hervey Bay didn’t get quite as much rain as Maryborough did.

Even as I write this there are some more storm cells forming around Maryborough and Gympie and I think we can expect more storms in Hervey Bay this afternoon.

It’s ironic that this should happen on the day when the Minister for Primary Industries has announced four more shires are now drought declared. Gayndah and Monto are among those four.

We think we’ll pass

We did the hunting and gathering thing at the new Aldi supermarket here in Hervey Bay yesterday and came away disappointed. Sure the prices appear to be cheaper than other supermarkets in town but the quality of some of the items there was less than we expected and the range was limited.

We really didn’t see anything there to make us change from Coles, Woolworths and a dedicated butcher’s shop.

They really don’t mix

If you haven’t realised yet we’re now well and truly in the middle of storm season and the electrical storm and blackout last week once again took its toll on computers here in Hervey Bay.

The day after the storm there were plenty of computers coming in to Fraser Coast Computers for repairs. You see, the power surge that follows a blackout or a lightning strike can, and does, reak havoc with home and business computers.

Even if your computer is switched off it is still vulnerable so here are a few tips to help your computer survive this storm season.

1. When you know that there is a storm coming switch your computer off and unplug it from the wall.

2. Unplug the phone line from the modem - lighting strikes can send power surges down your phone line that will fry your modem and seriously damage other sensitive parts of your computer.

3. Invest in some power surge protection. Last week’s blackout was caused by a lightning strike in Maryborough well before there was any sign of a serious storm here in Hervey Bay.

This is the power surge protection that we use:

You can buy them from Fraser Coast Computers for around $60.00 and that is a bargain compared to the cost of repairing a damaged computer. Not only will it protect the power circuit to your computer but you can also run your phone line through it and protect that as well.

If you want more than just surge protection and have a need to be able to shut your computer down in an orderly fashion, rather than just losing everything when the power disappears, then you need one of these:

It provides battery backup and gives you an extra 15 minutes or so of power when the electricity fails. It too provides power surge protection and you can buy them at Fraser Coast Computers.

We currently use three of the battery units as well as the surge protection boards for added security and we recommend them.

It still raises some interesting questions

The average price of a litre of unleaded fuel here in Hervey Bay today is 112.9 cents per litre. The average price in Brisbane is 104.2 with the cheapest at 101.5 so we seem to be back in parity with city prices.

However the price of a litre of ULP in Sydney seems to be around the 102.9 mark so what happened to the Government subsidy that is supposed to make fuel cheaper for Queenslanders?