Media | Local News

Local News - August 2022

Safety upgrades needed following flood tragedy

Safety upgrades needed following flood tragedy

18th August 2022

Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington says she has written to the South Burnett Regional Council calling for safety improvements on Brown Street in Nanango following the tragic loss of life in the recent flash floods.

Mrs Frecklington said she was approached by a local resident who suggested several safety measures which could be introduced at the dangerous location.

“Brown Street is a well-known detour through Nanango for people using the D’Aguilar Highway, however, it is prone to flash flooding from Sandy Creek,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“The event of 22nd July saw waters rise rapidly, and in the early hours of the morning it was very difficult to see that the flash flooding had completely blocked the road.

“Sadly, this resulted in the tragedy which occurred, and I offer my sincere condolences to the family.

“There were also several other near misses at this location.

“I have written to the South Burnett Regional Council asking for their consideration of installing a guard rail on the northern side of the Brown Street Sandy Creek crossing, street lighting at this location, and raising the road with larger culverts to replace the current small drainage pipe.

“I also highlighted Council’s recent announcement of $250,000 for upgrades to Tipperary Flat, which is adjacent to Brown Street and whether the Brown Street improvements could be included in this project,” Deb said.

False hopes for Brisbane Valley Highway funding

17th August 2022

It is extremely disappointing to learn that the funding for the Brisbane Valley Highway, secured through the SEQ City Deal, has been undermined by the State Government.

They have given false hope to the Somerset community, who have been led to believe a new injection of $40.5 million would be made to fix substantial sections of this substandard highway.

We now know the State Government’s contribution includes previously announced funding, effectively cutting the City Deal funding in half.

I will continue to work with Mayor Lehmann and the Somerset Regional Council to keep fighting for funding to fix the Brisbane Valley Highway.

NAB lets down Esk and the Somerset

17th August 2022

The Somerset continues to be hit with bank closures and this time it’s National Australia Bank Esk who will abandon their regional customers

I have been advised that Esk NAB will close its doors on 3 November 2022, leaving behind thousands of business, community group and individual customers.

This follows in the wake of the closure of the ANZ branches in Kilcoy, Toogoolawah and Kingaroy over recent years.

Unfortunately, this is now the common theme for the big banks, who believe they can service their customers just as well online.

However, it will always be necessary for community groups, businesses and many individual customers to have access to face-to-face banking services. And we know that many people in regional areas have poor internet connection, or no computer access at all, so internet banking isn’t always the answer.

The other trend we’re seeing in regional Queensland is the issue of cybercrime. More and more people are being targeted in scams and there is a genuine need for victims of these crimes to be able to access their bank in person to discuss their situation.

I am hugely disappointed with the National Australia Bank and their decision to strip services from Esk.

Record crowd marks 20th Queensland Health Crisis Town Hall at Kingaroy

Record crowd marks 20th Queensland Health Crisis Town Hall at Kingaroy

9th August 2022

Nearly 200 locals shared their stories of a sick system at the LNP’s biggest Queensland Health Crisis Town Hall held in Kingaroy today.

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli, Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates and Nanango MP Deb Frecklington heard firsthand experiences with the region’s ailing health services which they’ll take straight to the floor of Parliament House to demand action and change.

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said the huge turnout marked the biggest town hall hosted by the Opposition.

“We wanted to hold the 20th Health Crisis Town Hall in Kingaroy so we could listen and understand how the region is being let down by a sick system,” he said.

“The record number of locals who attended just proves this third term Labor government is losing control of Queensland Health.

“We’re committed to supporting these communities and backing their fight for better healthcare services.”

Mr Crisafulli said the first town hall was held at Mt Gravatt in June last year and was getting bigger at every visit across the state.

“Since then, we’ve travelled across the state and listened to the stories of Queenslanders from Cairns to Mt Isa, Bundaberg, Ipswich and the Gold Coast to name a few,” he said.

“We’ve had some wins along the way, including locals finally getting a crucial specialist appointment, or even surgery after years of delays.

“We’ll keep hosting these town halls across the state so we can hear firsthand these stories and demand action from the government.”

Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said the LNP was committed to improving the system and had put solutions on the table including more beds, better triage and giving power back to the frontline staff to make better decisions to improve patient care.

Ms Bates said doctors, nurses, paramedics, and allied healthcare workers were exhausted and deserved more respect.

“As a nurse and former hospital administrator, I know how stressful it can get for the staff who are doing everything they can to keep our hospitals running,’ Ms Bates said.

“The embattled Health Minister doesn’t have a plan to fix it.

“What has this State Government been doing for the last seven years to improve our hospitals?”

Nanango MP Deb Frecklington said the local health system had been struggling for years with staff shortages and the withdrawal of critical healthcare services.

“Today multiple nurses spoke out and revealed they had walked away from their careers because they felt undervalued,” she said.

“A father told us that his seven-year-old son’s surgery was cancelled at the last minute.

“A mother waited with her son to be seen for seven hours in the emergency department.

“These problems existed long before Covid and the people of Kingaroy and neighbouring areas just want the State Government to fix it.

“The entire region is suffering because of the lack of health services. Labor simply does not have a plan to fix regional health.

“We need more investment in mental health, palliative care and paediatric services.

Ms Frecklington said she would keep up the fight for better health care for all Queenslanders.

“Together, I know we can make a difference to fix this ailing healthcare system,” she said.

Biosecurity matters, just not to the Palaszczuk Government

9th August 2022

The Premier’s biosecurity announcement today is window dressing and seriously misleading.

Since 2015, the Palaszczuk Government has reduced the number of Animal Welfare and Biosecurity inspectors by 13, from 64 to 51 positions.

In May, it was revealed the Palaszczuk Government had also failed to fill 5 vacant positions in the department.

Both these facts were confirmed by the Agriculture Minister to Parliament.

Queenslanders can see the answer to the Question on Notice here.

Why does the Palaszczuk Government only act after there is a crisis on our doorstep?

Where is the planning and vision for our state?

Queenslanders are growing tired of lurching from one crisis to another because the Palaszczuk Government cannot properly plan for the future.

Today’s PR stunt by the Premier proves she presides over a government that is all about announcements and showmanship instead of protecting our great Queensland way of life.

The Premier and the Agriculture Minister have been habitually slow to act on biosecurity issues and the department has been underfunded and understaffed on their watch.

An outbreak of foot and mouth disease would be catastrophic with wide-reaching effects to our agricultural industries, and rural and regional communities.

Today’s announcement proves this government only cares about how things look, not how they are.

Queenslanders deserve better than this.

Deb questions high rate of Flood Grants being declined

Deb questions high rate of Flood Grants being declined

3rd August 2022

Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington says she has questioned the Labor Government about why so many flood grant applications by primary producers and small businesses are being declined.

Mrs Frecklington said she has asked two Questions on Notice* to the Minister for Agriculture in relation to the Extraordinary Disaster Assistance Grants, being administered by QRIDA, following concerns about the guidelines and many reports of applications being rejected.

“I am very concerned by feedback I am receiving from primary producers about their applications for flood disaster grants not being approved on the basis of not meeting the eligible item criteria,” Mrs Frecklington said.

“This is leaving producers with large bills for equipment and services which they understood would be eligible, but have now been told do not meet the criteria.

“The main example is the purchase of equipment, which according to the guidelines is allowed*. However it seems the fine print, which is not available to applicants, is resulting in some equipment purchases being deemed ineligible by QRIDA.

“I asked the Minister if a clearer and more detailed set of guidelines could be provided, however, this has not been provided.

“My second question tried to get to the bottom of why there have been so many applications that have been declined, with 20% of primary producers and 33% of small business rejected. The answer did not shine any real light on the main reason, but it would appear ineligible items are one of the areas for concern.

“If the guidelines were clearer, it would make it much simpler for primary producers to understand what items they can claim, rather than purchasing very expensive equipment only to find equipment purchases are not being honoured.

“To have an application rejected is extremely stressful for primary producers and small businesses owners who have already suffered so much loss with the floods. There is also a large amount of time and effort which goes into these grants and to then have to turn around and make an appeal is extremely hard,” Mrs Frecklington said.

ENDS…

*Question on Notice 475 – https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableoffice/questionsanswers/2022/475-2022.pdf

*Question on Notice 718 – https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableoffice/questionsanswers/2022/718-2022.pdf

* Extraordinary Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant Guidelines – https://qrida.qld.gov.au/s3fs-public/2022-05/Guideline%20Cat%20C%20EDARG%20-%20PP%20South%20East%20Queensland%20Rainfall%20and%20Flooding.pdf?uQ_ghXt6EPZ_EjAXi82k0Ksh5k7pCQGQ=

See section 3f) purchasing, hiring or leasing equipment or materials that are essential for immediately resuming operation of the primary production enterprise.

Photo: Flooding in the Nanango Electorate

South Burnett Health Crisis Meeting - Change of Venue

1st August 2022

Due to overwhelming numbers of people expressing an interest in registering for the South Burnett Health Crisis Meeting in Kingaroy, we have decided to move to a larger venue to ensure there is enough room is available for everyone who would like to attend.

The new venue is:

St John’s Lutheran Primary School Hall
92 Ivy St, Kingaroy

Registration is from 10am, with the meeting to start at 10:30am on Tuesday 9th August.

I would like to thank everyone who has registered so far and look forward to this important opportunity for our community to have their say and make a contribution towards helping to fix the system.

Our doctors, nurses and other health staff are working as hard as they can, but the Queensland Health system is failing both them and patients.