June 20, 2024 • 15 mins
In today's episode, how a controversial nuclear plan will impact the region.
Advice to locals ahead of the fire season.
A teenager reunited with the aeromedical team that helped save his life.
And the Gympie Rattler launches the 'Buy a Sleeper' program.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have White, Bay Burnett.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to Iheartwired bay Burnett, your local news fix. I'm
Taylor Larson, joined by Bruce Atkinson.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
On today's episode. The fight for improved medical services and
how you can help keep a piece of history alive.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Starting in the southern part of our region and a
South Burnett community has been included in Opposition leader Peter
Dutton's bold new nuclear policy is announced this week. If
the Coalition is elected, they will pursue nuclear rather than
renewable energy. The plan is to transition seven coal power stations.
Two of them are in Queensland and close to us.
(00:35):
First there's Callide, about an hour north of Monto, and
then to Wong in the South Bernett. Mister Dutton is
yet to reveal the full costs, admitting more studies still
need to be done, but he claims nuclear will drive
down household power bills.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It will be a big bill, there's no question about that.
But this is about modernizing our energy system. It's about
making sure that we have cheap electricity. It's about making
sure that we underpin economic growth and jobs growth for
generations to come.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
He believes the plan will provide cheaper, cleaner and consistent energy.
The assets will be owned by the Commonwealth, which will
work with premiers to deliver the plan.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Some debate about that, I see as you know that
somebody famously said I wouldn't stand between a premier and
a bucket of money. And we've seen the premiers in
difference debates before where they've been able to negotiate with
comn Wealth and we'll be able to address those issues.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
One of the proposed reactors will be based in Colin
Boyce's electorate.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
To Flynn, the reason that this is a historic moment
is that nuclear power will provide reliable energy into the
future for Australia. It is quite clear that the renewable
sector is not capable of doing this. Wind turbines, solar
panels and batteries cannot supply continual power to things like
(01:49):
the alumina industry, to our electric railway lines, to drag lines,
these sorts of things. We have to have reliable power
in Australia to have manufactureing an heavy industry into the future.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Director of Queensland Conservation Council Dave Copeman unsurprisingly disagrees.
Speaker 6 (02:08):
Nuclear power generates this huge amount of energy by nuclear
phisient so you're splitting uranium or platonium. The small modular
reactors that Peter Dutton is talking about one they don't
actually exist anywhere in the world, so they're relatively unproven,
which is a risk. But also because they're small, they
tend to use more reactive weapons grade fissile material. Now,
(02:32):
this produces highly radioactive waste, and the half life of
this waste is tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of years.
So you're effectively creating waste that will be in existence
not just longer than white people have been in Australia,
not just longer than First nations have been in Australia,
but longer than with bad language. So this is incredibly
(02:56):
damaging and we just we don't have the capacity to
stare this. There's no long term storage of nuclear waste
anywhere in the world yet, and so what happens is
is most of the waste that is produced by nuclear
power stations is stored close to the power stations, and
that's a real risk. I'm concerned about how will we
do that and what happens if there is an emergency
or an accident. What is that going to mean for
(03:18):
the neighborhoods and the communities around the area. If we
see what happened at Fukushima or at Chernobyl happening here
in Queensland, that would be an absolute disaster and something
that we can avoid, and we can only do it.
We can avoid it with cheaper, cleaner power that will
be available sooner.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Dave is worried about a potential spillover as well as
flooding that could cause radioactive water to end up in
communities which are away from the sites.
Speaker 6 (03:43):
The impact that we would face in terms of tourism,
in terms of exports, in terms of agriculture. Just the
fear and the concern that that would cause could be
a huge impact to us. It's risk on top of risk,
delay on top of delay, and we don't need it.
That's the really I mean, there are countries in the
world for hume. The transition away from fossil fuels is
(04:04):
difficult because they're in areas where they don't have land
and they don't have a lot of sun, and so
for them, you know, maybe they're looking at the picture
and they say, nucle we've got to be a part
of it. But we don't have that problem. We've got
the space, We've got the sun, we've got the wind
where the sunshine state.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
The Council wants to see more detailed planning for the
scheme to see how the waste will be disposed to
ensure it doesn't end up in our waterways. The goal
is for the first plan to be producing power as
early as twenty thirty five, with all seven to be
operational by twenty fifty.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Last year was a busy one for fire is across
our region, with blazers starting early in the season and
eventually exhausting cruise. You've probably seen smoke in the air
recently as rural fire cruise carry out hazard reduction burns
with landowners, parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry. I thought
it would be timely to catch up with RFS Area
Manager Joe Cullen for an assessment of this year's fire season.
(04:59):
He says late summer rain has promoted vegetation growth into winter,
which means an increased number of grass fires.
Speaker 7 (05:04):
It's likely it's important to understand the difference between say,
forest fires of bush fires and grass fires. A grass
fire when the grass drives out, as we're starting to
see now, fires start easily and they spread really quickly. Typically,
grass fires are fueled by very fine fuel and they're
fans by the wind, so a light breeze in standing
(05:26):
Haideoff grass can spread really quickly and they're quite dangerous.
It's important for people to be aware of the amount
of grass fuels that are around at the moment from
the rain we've had this summer and take measures now.
Slashing and mowing are really effective ways of minimizing the
amount of fuel that's around your property and around your assets.
(05:48):
It's a really effective way of stopping fires from spreading.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And if you had a fire near you're placed last season,
it doesn't mean you can relax.
Speaker 7 (05:57):
Some of the seasons that we've gone through, we've even
in the same area burn two or three times as
the season has gone on and dried out further, as
more fuel has dried and become available. We've seen the
same area burn two to three times in one season.
It's important to stay vigilant and remain focused around understanding
(06:19):
your risks and understanding the type of fuel you're dealing
with and the condition of the environment around you. It's
important to stone your toes and continue to assess how
much potential there is for a fire starting in your
area and making sure you're taking measures now to minimize
the potential of fire starting and spreading.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Joe Colin is regularly driving throughout the region checking conditions
and receiving reports from fire wardens and rural brigades.
Speaker 7 (06:47):
The reports are that there's a lot of fuel out there,
a lot of grass from the summer rain, and it's
starting to hang off really quickly. The cold snaps we're getting,
we're starting to hear frosts in different patches. As it
gets cold, were more likely to see broad spread frosts
across the region. That's going to impact the fuels really quickly.
Where we're in the stages now of undertaking hazard reduction
(07:09):
burns with property owners with the Royal Fibergates, they're working
with the property owners to assess different areas for the
bushfire risk or grass fire risk and they're working with
those property owners to undertake hazard reduction burning to remove
some of those fuels in the high risk areas. What
we expect to see this season is more grass fires
(07:30):
than forest fires. So with the fuel loads having grown
from the sumner rain around the different parts of the region,
we're expecting to see more grass fires than bushfires this season.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
After the break, the team who helped save a local.
Speaker 8 (07:48):
Team, I heard Wi.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Ihar W.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
You're listening to iheartwed bay Burner. I'm Taylor Larsen, joined
by Bruce Atkinson. The Bunderberg based RACQ Lifelight Rescue is
pushing to increase its services thanks to an earlier fundraising
drive and donations. Critical care doctors are now based on
board seven days a week, but the roster only includes
the day shift the services. It could be life saving
(08:18):
to have stuff on board twenty four to seven. That
was certainly the case for a thirteen year old Eli Jarrett,
who fell six meters from a tree in his backyard
in March.
Speaker 8 (08:27):
I think I needed life flight because if I didn't
have light flight and I think I'd be here today.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
His mum, Sarah Jane, heard the branch snap, then saw
her son lying motionless on the ground.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Before life flight got here. I was in total panic mode.
I thought he was dead. I was helpless. We didn't
know what to do. I was just praying that he
would be okay, and just praying for the ambulance and
for Lifelight to turn up luckily.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Critical care doctor Richard Parker was just starting his shift
and was able to fly out to the Emily's Pine
Creek property.
Speaker 9 (09:02):
So Eli had what we call a rapid sequence intubation,
which is a doctor only procedure where essentially we put
Eli into an induced coma, put a tube down his
throat so that we can control his breathing and that
way we can monitor his progress in flight and look
after his brain to make sure that there's no further
injury before we get into the Queens and Children's Hospital
(09:24):
for specialist care.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
He basically told us that they were going to put
him into a deep sleep to protect his brain. At
the moment, he can probably hear us, but once they
put him to sleep, he would not be able to.
So as they were doing it, we were just telling
him that we loved him, that everything was going to
be okay, and just reassuring him in ourselves that you know,
it's the best place for him to go and that
(09:46):
everything was going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Dr Parker was able to perform doctor only procedures and
administer medication to reduce Eli's swelling on his brain. On
the flight to Brisbane. Flight Paramedic Kevin Charter It sees
the ability to have specialist care earlier is invaluable.
Speaker 10 (10:01):
With my twenty six years of experience on the helicopter,
I've seen a lot of stuff as the flight paramedic,
but the level of care the flight paramedic can provide
is to a certain level. And then the critical care
doctors that come on board with us now during the
day shifts, they just provide that extra level of care,
which is the same as the emergency services in the hospital,
(10:22):
the emergency departments, intensive care units. It's the same level
of care that we can provide the patients in the
helicopter flying around the skies to our rural communities.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
It's just wonderful.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Eli had punctured lungs, a sprained rest, and a traumatic
brain injury. Dr Parker believes the induced coma saved his brain.
Speaker 9 (10:42):
It's difficult to know exactly how bad Eli could have been,
but what I am certain of is without those early
interventions from a critical care perspective, he wouldn't be walking
around as the kid he is today.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Well, Eli is thankful to have been reunited with those
who help save him.
Speaker 8 (11:00):
The very grateful for what he did, and I'm just
glad he was there.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
We're encouraged to help out a historic steam train service
by contributing to its upkeep. The Mary Valley Ratler resumed
in twenty eighteen. Later this year, the one hundred and
fifty thousand passenger will make the twenty five kilometer journey
from Gimpey to amm Or. General manager Sherry Lowe says
the volunteer run organization is seeking one hundred dollars donations
through the support of Sleeper program.
Speaker 11 (11:29):
It goes towards purchasing a sleeper, which we source right
here in the Gimpei region from Mary Valley Timbers. That
goes towards the installation of a timber sleeper out on
twenty five kilometers of the track. So it's about half
of what it costs to actually install a sleeper with
all the jewelry and everything else that goes into putting
(11:51):
a sleeper under the tracks. Something we're really proud of
where we're sourcing our timber sleepers from and Mary Valley
Timbers do it in such a systemable forest management way
and it's in accordance with the Australian.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Standard and it's one hundred dollars donation per sleeper. Can
you get ten sleepers or more if you want.
Speaker 11 (12:10):
To, Bruce, you can buy as many sleepers as you want,
and it is a tax deduction as well. We are
DGR registered here at the Mary Valley Ratler. It's definitely
a good purpose, you know, if you're thinking of donating
to a worthy cause or something here in the Greater
Gimpu region, this is your opportunity to really sponsor and
support a piece of history.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
How many sleepers do you need, Bruce.
Speaker 11 (12:32):
We've put in about two thousand sleepers a year. We've
got two thousand program to go in next year. Forty
two thousand, five hundred sleepers are underneath the twenty five
kilometers track. Now, every little bit goes towards helping us
undertake that track works and putting those timber sleepers in.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
And it'd be a pretty big job because two thousand
this year, two thousand next year, and it's ongoing.
Speaker 11 (12:55):
I imagine absolutely, Bruce. It is an ongoing thing. And
some of the sleepers they can laugh a couple of years,
they can last as long as ten to fifteen years.
It depends where they are positioned along the track, how
much water al mosture gets into them as well, and
how much pressure goes on them, so there is a
lot that goes into it as well. You know, that's
the labor components, there's the spikes, the drilling transporting.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I imagine this is crucial in your maintenance program to
be able to get people to donate and help out,
because it'd be you'd be on a pretty tight budget.
Speaker 11 (13:26):
I imagine we are on a very very tight budget here.
Safety is our number one priority in this business and
there is absolutely a requirement for us to put a
number of timber six under the line over a period
of each year. It is really important for us to
maintain that amount of sleepers in the line every year
(13:46):
for the track to be safe for operations.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And anyone who donates gets recognized. Tell me about that.
Speaker 11 (13:51):
Our way to give back is to acknowledge on a
digital billboard throughout the station. It's one hundred percent online,
so not only is the timber sleeper sustainably sourced, it's
also a paperless transaction as well, so there's no print
outs or anything like that, and digitally you go up
on our boards and TVs in the main station here
(14:13):
at the historic Impty station.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Shall we just give us an update on how the
Ratler's going and what it's like at this time of year.
Winter it's getting pretty chilly, but it's pretty nice to
go through some foggy valleys and stuff there on the
old steam trainer.
Speaker 11 (14:24):
I imagine it is a perfect time in the year
to jump on board the Mary Valley Ratler. The weather
is brilliant. Any trip out into the beautiful Mary Valley
any day of the year is wonderful here. And yes,
as we move into the school holidays, we will get busy,
so I really encourage everyone to book early.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Have vict opportunity to get involved as we get towards
the end of the financial year. Well that's it for
this week. If you want to hear this episode again
or search for previous ones, look up Iheartwired Bay Bernette
on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Tune in again next week for more local, trusted and
free news.
Speaker 8 (15:00):
I heard White magh Bernad
I have White, Bay Burnett.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to Iheartwired bay Burnett, your local news fix. I'm
Taylor Larson, joined by Bruce Atkinson.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
On today's episode. The fight for improved medical services and
how you can help keep a piece of history alive.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Starting in the southern part of our region and a
South Burnett community has been included in Opposition leader Peter
Dutton's bold new nuclear policy is announced this week. If
the Coalition is elected, they will pursue nuclear rather than
renewable energy. The plan is to transition seven coal power stations.
Two of them are in Queensland and close to us.
(00:35):
First there's Callide, about an hour north of Monto, and
then to Wong in the South Bernett. Mister Dutton is
yet to reveal the full costs, admitting more studies still
need to be done, but he claims nuclear will drive
down household power bills.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It will be a big bill, there's no question about that.
But this is about modernizing our energy system. It's about
making sure that we have cheap electricity. It's about making
sure that we underpin economic growth and jobs growth for
generations to come.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
He believes the plan will provide cheaper, cleaner and consistent energy.
The assets will be owned by the Commonwealth, which will
work with premiers to deliver the plan.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Some debate about that, I see as you know that
somebody famously said I wouldn't stand between a premier and
a bucket of money. And we've seen the premiers in
difference debates before where they've been able to negotiate with
comn Wealth and we'll be able to address those issues.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
One of the proposed reactors will be based in Colin
Boyce's electorate.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
To Flynn, the reason that this is a historic moment
is that nuclear power will provide reliable energy into the
future for Australia. It is quite clear that the renewable
sector is not capable of doing this. Wind turbines, solar
panels and batteries cannot supply continual power to things like
(01:49):
the alumina industry, to our electric railway lines, to drag lines,
these sorts of things. We have to have reliable power
in Australia to have manufactureing an heavy industry into the future.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Director of Queensland Conservation Council Dave Copeman unsurprisingly disagrees.
Speaker 6 (02:08):
Nuclear power generates this huge amount of energy by nuclear
phisient so you're splitting uranium or platonium. The small modular
reactors that Peter Dutton is talking about one they don't
actually exist anywhere in the world, so they're relatively unproven,
which is a risk. But also because they're small, they
tend to use more reactive weapons grade fissile material. Now,
(02:32):
this produces highly radioactive waste, and the half life of
this waste is tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of years.
So you're effectively creating waste that will be in existence
not just longer than white people have been in Australia,
not just longer than First nations have been in Australia,
but longer than with bad language. So this is incredibly
(02:56):
damaging and we just we don't have the capacity to
stare this. There's no long term storage of nuclear waste
anywhere in the world yet, and so what happens is
is most of the waste that is produced by nuclear
power stations is stored close to the power stations, and
that's a real risk. I'm concerned about how will we
do that and what happens if there is an emergency
or an accident. What is that going to mean for
(03:18):
the neighborhoods and the communities around the area. If we
see what happened at Fukushima or at Chernobyl happening here
in Queensland, that would be an absolute disaster and something
that we can avoid, and we can only do it.
We can avoid it with cheaper, cleaner power that will
be available sooner.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Dave is worried about a potential spillover as well as
flooding that could cause radioactive water to end up in
communities which are away from the sites.
Speaker 6 (03:43):
The impact that we would face in terms of tourism,
in terms of exports, in terms of agriculture. Just the
fear and the concern that that would cause could be
a huge impact to us. It's risk on top of risk,
delay on top of delay, and we don't need it.
That's the really I mean, there are countries in the
world for hume. The transition away from fossil fuels is
(04:04):
difficult because they're in areas where they don't have land
and they don't have a lot of sun, and so
for them, you know, maybe they're looking at the picture
and they say, nucle we've got to be a part
of it. But we don't have that problem. We've got
the space, We've got the sun, we've got the wind
where the sunshine state.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
The Council wants to see more detailed planning for the
scheme to see how the waste will be disposed to
ensure it doesn't end up in our waterways. The goal
is for the first plan to be producing power as
early as twenty thirty five, with all seven to be
operational by twenty fifty.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Last year was a busy one for fire is across
our region, with blazers starting early in the season and
eventually exhausting cruise. You've probably seen smoke in the air
recently as rural fire cruise carry out hazard reduction burns
with landowners, parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry. I thought
it would be timely to catch up with RFS Area
Manager Joe Cullen for an assessment of this year's fire season.
(04:59):
He says late summer rain has promoted vegetation growth into winter,
which means an increased number of grass fires.
Speaker 7 (05:04):
It's likely it's important to understand the difference between say,
forest fires of bush fires and grass fires. A grass
fire when the grass drives out, as we're starting to
see now, fires start easily and they spread really quickly. Typically,
grass fires are fueled by very fine fuel and they're
fans by the wind, so a light breeze in standing
(05:26):
Haideoff grass can spread really quickly and they're quite dangerous.
It's important for people to be aware of the amount
of grass fuels that are around at the moment from
the rain we've had this summer and take measures now.
Slashing and mowing are really effective ways of minimizing the
amount of fuel that's around your property and around your assets.
(05:48):
It's a really effective way of stopping fires from spreading.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And if you had a fire near you're placed last season,
it doesn't mean you can relax.
Speaker 7 (05:57):
Some of the seasons that we've gone through, we've even
in the same area burn two or three times as
the season has gone on and dried out further, as
more fuel has dried and become available. We've seen the
same area burn two to three times in one season.
It's important to stay vigilant and remain focused around understanding
(06:19):
your risks and understanding the type of fuel you're dealing
with and the condition of the environment around you. It's
important to stone your toes and continue to assess how
much potential there is for a fire starting in your
area and making sure you're taking measures now to minimize
the potential of fire starting and spreading.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Joe Colin is regularly driving throughout the region checking conditions
and receiving reports from fire wardens and rural brigades.
Speaker 7 (06:47):
The reports are that there's a lot of fuel out there,
a lot of grass from the summer rain, and it's
starting to hang off really quickly. The cold snaps we're getting,
we're starting to hear frosts in different patches. As it
gets cold, were more likely to see broad spread frosts
across the region. That's going to impact the fuels really quickly.
Where we're in the stages now of undertaking hazard reduction
(07:09):
burns with property owners with the Royal Fibergates, they're working
with the property owners to assess different areas for the
bushfire risk or grass fire risk and they're working with
those property owners to undertake hazard reduction burning to remove
some of those fuels in the high risk areas. What
we expect to see this season is more grass fires
(07:30):
than forest fires. So with the fuel loads having grown
from the sumner rain around the different parts of the region,
we're expecting to see more grass fires than bushfires this season.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
After the break, the team who helped save a local.
Speaker 8 (07:48):
Team, I heard Wi.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Ihar W.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
You're listening to iheartwed bay Burner. I'm Taylor Larsen, joined
by Bruce Atkinson. The Bunderberg based RACQ Lifelight Rescue is
pushing to increase its services thanks to an earlier fundraising
drive and donations. Critical care doctors are now based on
board seven days a week, but the roster only includes
the day shift the services. It could be life saving
(08:18):
to have stuff on board twenty four to seven. That
was certainly the case for a thirteen year old Eli Jarrett,
who fell six meters from a tree in his backyard
in March.
Speaker 8 (08:27):
I think I needed life flight because if I didn't
have light flight and I think I'd be here today.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
His mum, Sarah Jane, heard the branch snap, then saw
her son lying motionless on the ground.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Before life flight got here. I was in total panic mode.
I thought he was dead. I was helpless. We didn't
know what to do. I was just praying that he
would be okay, and just praying for the ambulance and
for Lifelight to turn up luckily.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Critical care doctor Richard Parker was just starting his shift
and was able to fly out to the Emily's Pine
Creek property.
Speaker 9 (09:02):
So Eli had what we call a rapid sequence intubation,
which is a doctor only procedure where essentially we put
Eli into an induced coma, put a tube down his
throat so that we can control his breathing and that
way we can monitor his progress in flight and look
after his brain to make sure that there's no further
injury before we get into the Queens and Children's Hospital
(09:24):
for specialist care.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
He basically told us that they were going to put
him into a deep sleep to protect his brain. At
the moment, he can probably hear us, but once they
put him to sleep, he would not be able to.
So as they were doing it, we were just telling
him that we loved him, that everything was going to
be okay, and just reassuring him in ourselves that you know,
it's the best place for him to go and that
(09:46):
everything was going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Dr Parker was able to perform doctor only procedures and
administer medication to reduce Eli's swelling on his brain. On
the flight to Brisbane. Flight Paramedic Kevin Charter It sees
the ability to have specialist care earlier is invaluable.
Speaker 10 (10:01):
With my twenty six years of experience on the helicopter,
I've seen a lot of stuff as the flight paramedic,
but the level of care the flight paramedic can provide
is to a certain level. And then the critical care
doctors that come on board with us now during the
day shifts, they just provide that extra level of care,
which is the same as the emergency services in the hospital,
(10:22):
the emergency departments, intensive care units. It's the same level
of care that we can provide the patients in the
helicopter flying around the skies to our rural communities.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
It's just wonderful.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Eli had punctured lungs, a sprained rest, and a traumatic
brain injury. Dr Parker believes the induced coma saved his brain.
Speaker 9 (10:42):
It's difficult to know exactly how bad Eli could have been,
but what I am certain of is without those early
interventions from a critical care perspective, he wouldn't be walking
around as the kid he is today.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Well, Eli is thankful to have been reunited with those
who help save him.
Speaker 8 (11:00):
The very grateful for what he did, and I'm just
glad he was there.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
We're encouraged to help out a historic steam train service
by contributing to its upkeep. The Mary Valley Ratler resumed
in twenty eighteen. Later this year, the one hundred and
fifty thousand passenger will make the twenty five kilometer journey
from Gimpey to amm Or. General manager Sherry Lowe says
the volunteer run organization is seeking one hundred dollars donations
through the support of Sleeper program.
Speaker 11 (11:29):
It goes towards purchasing a sleeper, which we source right
here in the Gimpei region from Mary Valley Timbers. That
goes towards the installation of a timber sleeper out on
twenty five kilometers of the track. So it's about half
of what it costs to actually install a sleeper with
all the jewelry and everything else that goes into putting
(11:51):
a sleeper under the tracks. Something we're really proud of
where we're sourcing our timber sleepers from and Mary Valley
Timbers do it in such a systemable forest management way
and it's in accordance with the Australian.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Standard and it's one hundred dollars donation per sleeper. Can
you get ten sleepers or more if you want.
Speaker 11 (12:10):
To, Bruce, you can buy as many sleepers as you want,
and it is a tax deduction as well. We are
DGR registered here at the Mary Valley Ratler. It's definitely
a good purpose, you know, if you're thinking of donating
to a worthy cause or something here in the Greater
Gimpu region, this is your opportunity to really sponsor and
support a piece of history.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
How many sleepers do you need, Bruce.
Speaker 11 (12:32):
We've put in about two thousand sleepers a year. We've
got two thousand program to go in next year. Forty
two thousand, five hundred sleepers are underneath the twenty five
kilometers track. Now, every little bit goes towards helping us
undertake that track works and putting those timber sleepers in.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
And it'd be a pretty big job because two thousand
this year, two thousand next year, and it's ongoing.
Speaker 11 (12:55):
I imagine absolutely, Bruce. It is an ongoing thing. And
some of the sleepers they can laugh a couple of years,
they can last as long as ten to fifteen years.
It depends where they are positioned along the track, how
much water al mosture gets into them as well, and
how much pressure goes on them, so there is a
lot that goes into it as well. You know, that's
the labor components, there's the spikes, the drilling transporting.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I imagine this is crucial in your maintenance program to
be able to get people to donate and help out,
because it'd be you'd be on a pretty tight budget.
Speaker 11 (13:26):
I imagine we are on a very very tight budget here.
Safety is our number one priority in this business and
there is absolutely a requirement for us to put a
number of timber six under the line over a period
of each year. It is really important for us to
maintain that amount of sleepers in the line every year
(13:46):
for the track to be safe for operations.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And anyone who donates gets recognized. Tell me about that.
Speaker 11 (13:51):
Our way to give back is to acknowledge on a
digital billboard throughout the station. It's one hundred percent online,
so not only is the timber sleeper sustainably sourced, it's
also a paperless transaction as well, so there's no print
outs or anything like that, and digitally you go up
on our boards and TVs in the main station here
(14:13):
at the historic Impty station.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Shall we just give us an update on how the
Ratler's going and what it's like at this time of year.
Winter it's getting pretty chilly, but it's pretty nice to
go through some foggy valleys and stuff there on the
old steam trainer.
Speaker 11 (14:24):
I imagine it is a perfect time in the year
to jump on board the Mary Valley Ratler. The weather
is brilliant. Any trip out into the beautiful Mary Valley
any day of the year is wonderful here. And yes,
as we move into the school holidays, we will get busy,
so I really encourage everyone to book early.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Have vict opportunity to get involved as we get towards
the end of the financial year. Well that's it for
this week. If you want to hear this episode again
or search for previous ones, look up Iheartwired Bay Bernette
on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Tune in again next week for more local, trusted and
free news.
Speaker 8 (15:00):
I heard White magh Bernad
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