News Archives - September 2001

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Commercial Lavender Farm for Kilkivan

28th September 2001: Federal Minister for Agriculture and Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss has announced that JoJudo Pty Ltd, a farming enterprise in Kilkivan Shire, has been given a $38,500 Dairy Regional Assistance Program grant to allow its lavender farming business to expand from trial plantings to full commercial production. The new operation will scale up its operations to become a wholesale and retail nursery, as well as a new tourist attraction for the region. Lavender has already been grown successfully at several locations throughout the South Burnett.

New 17-Unit Motel, Olive Oil Processing Plant

25th September 2001: A new 17-unit motel and licensed restaurant will be built in central Kingaroy once development plans are approved by Kingaroy Shire Council, it was announced today. The 2509 sq. metre project will replace an obsolete row of shops between the Commercial Hotel and Elios Restaurant, strengthening the CBD area and providing badly-needed extra accommodation facilities in the town. Meanwhile, it was also announced today that Burnett Valley Olives Pty Ltd have received a $220,000 grant under the Dairy Regional Assistance Program to help establish a new olive processing factory at Murgon. The facility will be constructed in the former Murgon Cheese Factory as a joint venture with Clovely Estate Wines. The South Burnett already has a strong olive-growing base and the plant is designed to add extra value-adding capabilities to the industry. At present, Australia imports approximately 24,000 tonnes of olive products each year. The joint venturers hope the new plant will help South Burnett olive products reduce that total.

Free Financial Management Seminar For Clubs

21st September 2001: SBLGA Sport and Recreation Development Officer Scott North will be holding a free financial management seminar for the region's clubs next Thursday, September 27th. The seminar is designed to help local clubs manage their finances better and/or raise funds, and anyone involved in community club finances is most welcome to attend. It will be held at the Kingaroy Town Hall Reception Room from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (tea and coffee will be supplied). You can obtain more details by phoning Scott on (07) 4168-5599 or by emailing him. STOP PRESS! The initial seminar was so successful that a second seminar will now be held at the Nanango Cultural Centre in Drayton St, Nanango between 7:00pm and 9:00pm on Tuesday, 2nd October 2001

SBLGA Secures $162,000 In Sports Grants

18th September 2001: SBLGA Sport and Recreation Development Officer Scott North has secured almost $162,000 in grants for a number of the region's sporting and recreation groups, it was announced today. Mr North recently secured 4 grants from the Minor Sports and Recreation Facilities program ($25,000 for Kingaroy Shire Council towards a skatebowl; $17,610 and $31,000 for Murgon Shire Council for the redevelopment of Goodchild Oval and heating of the Murgon swimming pool, respectively; and $19,370 for the Kingaroy Netball Association for the development of a clubhouse). Mr North also secured 4 grants from the latest round of the State's Gaming Community Benefit fund ($15,000 for the Kingaroy Tennis Club for court lighting; $9,000 for the Wondai Martial Arts Club for security screens; $30,000 for the Murgon Tennis Club to resurface their courts and $15,000 for the Kingaroy Indoor Bowls Club).  

Regional Branding Stickers Released

14th September 2001: The South Burnett's new regional branding stickers were released today as part of the area's overall Economic Development Strategy. The new stickers - which come in 32mm and 72mm sizes - are designed to be attached to products that will be distributed outside the South Burnett to help raise awareness of the area as a unique destination. The SBLGA funded the initial cost of designing and setting up the stickers along with a 50,000 print run, which is currently being distributed through the region's three Visitor Information Centres at Nanango, Kingaroy and Murgon. Additional reprints will be co-ordinated by the SBLGA's Economic Development Office (call (0429) 782-795 or email for more information about this). In accordance with the SBLGA's local purchasing policy, the stickers were printed by Nichol's Printing in Kingaroy.

Tarong Gets Gong From Prime Minister

12th September 2001: Tarong Coal's Community Development Fund - which has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to South Burnett job and skills development projects over the last two years - has been recognised in this year's Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships. The Awards committee found that the Community Development Fund had made a significant difference to the South Burnett region, and gave Tarong Coal's parent company Rio Tinto Ltd a special national award for Impact on Community by a Business. Prime Minister John Howard said that such partnerships demonstrated that any business could contribute to the local community and help make a difference regardless of its size, and lauded the company as an "outstanding example" of enlighted corporate conduct.

New Distillery Opening In November

10th September 2001: The third largest distillery in Queensland will begin operations on a Booie Range site near Kingaroy in November this year. The project - which has been developed by a group of South Burnett business people - will incorporate a 100-seat restaurant, cafe and wine bar as well as cellar door sales for a variety of distilled spirits such as whiskey, rum, brandy, vodka and gin. The new venture will be known as The Belltower and has been designed to capitalise on the South Burnett's growing tourism trade. Supplies for the distillery will be sourced from the region's ample production of molasses, corn, barley and grapes. The Belltower project has been in planning for the last three years and is intended to complement the region's existing dozen wineries and expanding range of cellar door outlets.

VisitOz Scheme Wins State Tourism Award

8th September 2001: The VisitOz Scheme at Goomeri - which provides young overseas visitors aged 18 to 30 with with training and real-life jobs on Australian farms - has been given an award at this year's Queensland Tourism Awards. The scheme, which operates from Springbrook Farm near Goomeri, received a Yellow Pages Directions award in the Hosted Accommodation (up to 5 stars) category and a high commendation as well. Owners Dan and Joanna Burnett said that they were "very pleased" with the accolade since it acknowledged that they did something different - and did it extremely well. The Burnetts market the VisitOz scheme internationally and frequently travel to Europe and the USA to promote the venture. Every year several hundred young people from around the world visit the South Burnett to take part in this highly innovative programme.

SBLGA Web Site Hits New Record

5th September 2001: After close to 12 months of operation, our web site hit a new record in August by distributing almost 5,000 pages of useful information to our visitors. This included 27 copies of the region's 78-page Tourism Development Strategy, 26 copies of the regional Cellar Door Strategy, 19 copies of the South Burnett's Economic Development Strategy and 15 copies of our sports funding database (amongst many other things). Had we had to photocopy and post the same information to our visitors, this would have cost around $1,000 in materials and considerably more for labour. Our site now has an annual audience of approximately 6,000 people - a 25-fold increase on the audience we drew for our first month on the Net in October 2000.

South Burnett Portal On Show In Melbourne

2nd September 2001: South Burnett Online - the South Burnett's regional internet portal - will be on display in Melbourne this week, along with SBLGA member councils' web sites. SBLGA Economic Development Officer Cameron Bisley and SBO Project Manager Dafyd Martindale have been invited to address the Municipal Association of Victoria's inaugural Local Government Online conference about the development of the portal and South Burnett council web sites as examples of current Australian best practice in this area. The conference is being held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on September 6th and 7th. Other speakers at the event include Brisbane City Council, Melbourne City Council and the City of Seattle in the USA.

 
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