Hervey Bay Gossip

If you’re one of the small businesses here in Hervey Bay that does business overseas then you will have seen your income steadily dropping as the Australian dollar continued to climb against the US dollar.

While we haven’t stopped to quantify what that has meant to our small business one person I was talking to last week - who earns his money overseas - suggested that over the last few months, due to the increasing value of the Australian dollar, he has basically taken a 30% pay cut.

Fortunately though there might be light at the end of the tunnel as a report, on the Courier Mail’s website suggested … unfortunately that report has now been removed.

Of course, for some of us, there’s also the possibility of turning our focus back on the market place here in Hervey Bay. If you’ve been competing successfully overseas you’ll find that the competition back here in the Bay is a lot weaker than what you’ve been used to.

It’s hard to believe that it really is autumn here in Hervey Bay but then mornings down on the beach have a timeless quality about them.

This morning there was plenty to look at off the beach. Apart from the Fighting Whiting, the barge that’s still out there and the outriggers there were three other vessels moored just off the beach too.

Queensland Traders opening illegally on Anzac Day risk prosecution, Employment and Industrial Relations Minister John Mickel warned today.

Mr Mickel said trading laws had been reformed and liberalised in recent years and there was no need to intrude on days set aside for solemn remembrance and religious worship.

He said some traders pleaded ignorance at Easter about which stores could trade but the issue had since been widely publicised and there could be no excuses for any breaches.

“Any shopping centre management thinking of asking their tenants to open illegally on Anzac day before 1pm better think again,” he said.

“Only exempt shops, such as newsagents, chemists, cafes, service stations, and bakeries, can open on Anzac day before 1pm. Small food and grocery shops also can open.”

Mr Mickel said Australian values demanded Anzac Day not be just another normal trading day.

He also warned restaurant owners to do the right thing and pass on any surcharges they were imposing on diners on to their workers - if in fact they were being used to meet their obligations under industrial agreements.

Employees believing they had been unfairly treated with regard to pay on Anzac Day could telephone the Fair Go Queensland Advisory Service on 1300 737 841 for information.

Well I’ve just seen another infomercial in a local newspaper for a local web design company here in Hervey Bay that talks the talk and walks the walk but doesn’t seem to produce a damn thing. I’ve even gone to the website that they are pointing to as an example of their work and seeing nothing but web and search engine marketing errors.

Getting it right isn’t rocket science but it seems that at least one of the big three web design businesses here in Hervey Bay are so far behind the times that I should find it funny instead of incredibly frustrating.

If you have a business here in Hervey Bay and your website isn’t performing as well as you would hope - or if you’re looking for a web design business in Hervey Bay - then call Copytext on 0438 655 110 for an obligation free quote on getting the design of your business website handled by people who know what they’re doing and have been doing it right for years.

One of the nastiest blackspots on the roads around Hervey Bay is about to be upgraded … but will it be enough?

Speed and red light camera fines are being invested in a $200,000 dollar upgrade of a key Hervey Bay intersection.

Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Paul Lucas, said the intersection of Booral Road and Main Street would receive a safety makeover as party of a state wide strategy to reduce the road toll.

“The intersection will gain a painted median and a dedicated right turn lane into Main Street, and its being paid for by speeding motorists and red light runners,” Mr Lucas said.

Main Street intersection is one of 77 high priority projects worth more than $46 million approved by the Safer Roads Sooner Ministerial Advisory Committee chaired by Parliamentary Secretary for Main Roads, and Member for Hervey Bay, Andrew McNamara.

“It’s an intersection under considerable pressure with traffic volume using Booral Road and Main Street growing by about 8 percent every year.

“This upgrade will deliver substantial road safety benefits for motorists.

“With Safer Roads Sooner the primary focus is projects with potential to reduce the state’s road toll.

“The committee has targeted projects which will make the biggest impact on road safety,” Mr McNamara said.

In all, a total of 261 projects have been made possible by the Beattie Government’s Safer Road Sooner program since beginning in 2005.

Computer monitors are a fairly sturdy piece of equipment and they can last for quite a few years before they need to be replaced. Even when they do need to be replaced you may not notice the problem for quite some time because the problems usually creep up on you.

You may not notice it but the image your monitor displays may begin to become darker or one colour may slowly become more prominent than others. Over the years we’ve had monitors that have become very dark before we noticed the problem and others that have displayed a distinct green tinge to everything before we realised there was a problem.

But you will see this problem almost as soon as it begins to happen.

Now that is fairly severe but you can get it in some slightly more subtle variations. Even if they are a little more subtle you will still notice it and the good thing is, it’s not necessarily indicative of a major problem.

The pink computer monitor screen in this image was caused by a fault within the cable that connects the monitor to the computer and can be identified with a very simple test. All you have to do is have someone watch the monitor screen while you squeeze and roll the cable between your thumb and forefinger.

If the colour returns to normal while you’re squeezing and rolling you can be fairly sure that the problem is due to a fault within the cable. The remedy is simple - buy a new cable.

The other problem that can cause a pink computer screen is caused by a loose connection. All you have to do is make sure that the plug at each end of the cable is firmly connected to the monitor and the computer.

If that doesn’t fix the problem - or if you need a new cable - then see Rick at the only computer shop in Hervey Bay that we recommend, Fraser Coast Computers. We don’t let anyone else touch our computers.

The State Government announced yesteday that Queensland’s 157 local councils will undergo their first sweeping reform in more than a century.

A seven-member commission - the Queensland Local Government Reform Commission - has been formed and will spend the next three months considering changes to local government boundaries and the amalgamations of neighbouring councils across Queensland.

You can read the full text of Government’s press release on the local government changes by following the link.

Obviously the changes are going to affect Hervey Bay and if will be interesting to see if becoming part of a much larger local government area proves to be a blessing or a curse for the town.

Exactly what the changes mean in terms of what other councils Hervey Bay will be amalgamated with remains to be seen. Only time will tell if we’re to be joined with Maryborough, Tiaro etc. (which seems to be the logical choice) or somehow connected to Bundaberg.

While that last option may seem to be a little unusual it was proposed recently by the local member for Hervey Bay so it could come to pass.

While I’m not a big fan of the local member I can see some advantages in being amalgamated with Bundaberg that may not be present if we joined the councils to our west.

A four-year-old girl was attacked by a dingo near Eurong on Fraser Island yesterday. The girl suffered bites to the thighs, buttocks and lower back that required treatment by a paramedic. The bites were later described as being ‘minor’.

Rangers are now hunting the dingo.

Dingo numbers are reported as being at their lowest for some time but that doesn’t mean that visitors can be complacent about the risk of attack and visitors are warned not to feed them or leave scraps where they can be scavanged by the animals.

Changes are coming to the way households in Queensland purchase their electricity and, once again, the State government has decided to alert the people of Hervey Bay to the changes by having a leaflet delivered with their junk mail.

The leaflet is called ‘Protecting your power in regional Queensland’ and it outlines the way the changes will affect us.

If you’ve already tossed your junk mail into the recycle bin then you can always visit the website and get all the information at: http://www.thepowertochoose.qld.gov.au

The ABC Wide Bay is running an interesting report on their website today that raises some doubt as to whether the jellyfish found off the northern tip of Fraser Island really were irukandji.

Of course it was enough to stop the filming of a movie and it gave the local press here in Hervey Bay something to talk up on a what was possibly a slow news day but there is no guarantee that those jellyfish really were irukandji.

In fact George Hill, Lifesaving services manager for Surf Life Saving Queensland is quoted as saying “… they have not been confirmed as irukandji yet.”

You can read the full story here

Of course, if the jellyfish turn out to be something other than irukandji the damage will have already been done.