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July 18, 2024 14 mins

In today's local news fix:

  • What changes to the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme means for locals
  • Contention over the future of the Cooloola Recreation Area 
  • A two-day operation to save a stranded humpback off Hervey Bay 
  • And cycling takes over Bundaberg

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have White Bay Bonnette.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to iHeart White Bay Burnett, your local news vix.
I'm Taylor Larson, joined by Bruce Atkinson.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
Coming up today the Memmoth mission to save a stranded
humpback and the community racing ahead in the cycling world.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Starting with some positive news for local patients and White
Bay Burnett residents who have to travel for specialist treatment
could save hundreds of dollars. The Patient Travel Subsidy scheme
offers financial help to people who are referred to a
specialist more than fifty kilometers from their home. For many locals,
that means trips down to the southeast and after a
few visits, costs start to stack up. That's where the

(00:37):
scheme comes in. Last year it was boosted so people
driving get thirty four cents per kilometer traveled. Train fairs
are also subsidized, but they did have to pay for
the first four nights of accommodation out of pocket. That's changing.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
From August first, last year we saw an increase in
the subsidized rate for a travel and for accommodation, and
what we've seen yesterday is further extension to ensure that
all patients traveling down to Brisbane or a Sunshine Coast
will not have to pay accommodation at the full rate
down in the South piece of Queens And what we'll
see is that every single patient accessing the Patient Travels

(01:14):
Subsidy scheme will be able to get subsidized accommodation when
they go down to the Southeast to receive their specialist care.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
That's member for Bunderberg Tom Smith. The sub city works
out to be around seventy dollars per night. Mister Smith
says increased funding follows a review of the system.

Speaker 4 (01:32):
Healthcare shouldn't have to be a decision between your household
budget and your health. We need to ensure that we
provide every opportunity for patients right across the regions, no
matter how far they're traveling, that they can have that
subsidized rate afforded to them and that they can just
focus on their healthcare. At the end of the day,
when people are having to travel down to Brisbane or
down to the Gold Coast for the health appointment, they

(01:54):
can be nervous. We don't want them stressing about how
they're going to be able to pay for it. We
want them to focus so on their health and their
well being and given that specialized care that they need.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
In the twenty twenty two to twenty three financial years,
six point four million dollars were spent on the scheme
within the Wide Bay, an annual increase of eight percent.
The lnp's member for Burnette, Stephen Bennett, has previously criticized
lower funding of the scheme and called for additional staff
to be brought on to deal with processing delays they
were announced at the end of last year. He is

(02:24):
critical of this new announcement so close to the state election,
but says anything to help local patients is welcome.

Speaker 5 (02:32):
From the first of August this comes in, there'll be
sixty days before the election. I have no doubt that
these things would continue after an election. The Patient Travel
substy scheme was something that we introduced over ten years ago.
It was as of part of a scheme that most
Queenslanders were forgotten people back in the day, back with
that and a BLY and others under the Queensland Health Scheme. Yeah,

(02:53):
but I guess that these things are about a sweetener
and if people can get a benefit out of election cycle,
I guess be cynical, but thankful that sometimes these things
do bring change, and I think what it might do,
it may just bring Politicians have not really listened to
our community for over a decade, are finally listening to
what's needed, and that is obviously healthcare is coming front
and center.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Mister Bennett says. One way to make it easier for
locals is to have health services closer to home.

Speaker 5 (03:19):
No one wants to have to get on a train
for that essential service.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
That's what we hear.

Speaker 5 (03:23):
And when you are out at your mobile offices or
standing at a market and people are coming up talking
about their loved one who's been away for a couple
of days, got down there, their appointment was canceled, they've
had to come back. It's incredibly frustrating. And as we
have an aging demographic and our population is getting older
more and more, unfortunately people are having to travel for
that essential services. So we have high expectations of what

(03:45):
healthcare looks like.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well. MP Tom Smith says that's the exact purpose of
the new Bunderberg Hospital which is expected in twenty twenty seven.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
We will increase capability for a specialists and that will
be a place to offer specialists to come into the region.
That's why they're expanding our new hostital to include an
education precinct because that's an attraction piece that will bring
specialists into Bunderbolt, make them on to work here, make
them want to leave here, and ensure that there'll be
less patients in the future having to go to Brisbane.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
There's disagreement over how to best look after a popular
beach holiday and camping destination. The state government's Kalula Recreation
Area Draft Management Plan is looking at ways to sustainably
protect the area between Rainbow Beach and NUSA. This week,
the tr and Kalula Working Group listed its key recommendations
in a submission to the government. Paul Winter from the
ty Landowners Association says the draft plan doesn't go far

(04:39):
enough and.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Keep coming back to the main issue, and that's purely
numbers of people and right from back as far as
twenty nineteen. The working group has put front and center
on the agenda that the camping numbers and day tripper
numbers need to be reduced to have many chances becoming

(05:00):
a sustainable management practice, and there's not a lot of
political world at the moment to reduce these numbers.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
The issue is causing a split in the local tr
and Colula group. Paul says its submission only contains what
members could agree on and as missing vital measures.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
This is where we've sort of got a probably two
just think groups forming within the in the group, with
those to the north and those to the south, and
in the northern regions they have more of a focus
on tourism and commercial interests. Within the Kolila Recreation area

(05:37):
to the south, we're looking at trying to conserve and
introduce some sustainable management practices. And because we can just
see that the numbers that are coming through, we can't
keep this up. That's the main issue, and unfortunately that
didn't sort of come through as coming from the from
the group itself.

Speaker 3 (05:57):
Paul says around one hundred and eight thousand permits were
issued last year allowing people to drive on the beach.
The Nurser Council, ty Landowners and Noosa North Shore Association
have all lodged individual submissions outside the working group. In
a move at odds with northern members of the group,
which includes gimp Be Council. They're asking for visitor numbers
to be drastically reduced.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
Camping numbers should be reduced to eleven hundred and fifty
permits at any one time and reducing the number of
day permits to two hundred and fifty on any single day.
So this is at the moment that's uncapped numbers on
the day trippers, and I think the camping numbers have

(06:38):
sort of been that somewhere between fifteen hundred and two thousands.
That's what we've agreed on to the south, this is
what we need to be working towards to see that
the area becoming giving it a chance to survive.

Speaker 3 (06:53):
Paul says stronger measures must be taken to better manage
the Kalula coast or it won't survive.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
People for use beach with a number of vehicles that
are traveling up and down that beach, it's a dangerous situation.
It's also destroying habitat to the wildlife. Turtles in particular,
they are a big issues hatching seasons. They've got very
little chance of surviving with the numbers of vehicles that

(07:20):
are traversing the beach. You know, we're looking at which
is really an area which is included in the news
of Iosphere in the southern end here, it's not going
to be able to cope and it'll be something that
we will regret that we didn't do something about earlier
on because once the damage is done, it gets to
a point where it can't be repaired.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
So with us after the break the incredible story of
saving a stranded whale I had.

Speaker 6 (07:54):
I har.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
You're listening to iHeart White Bay Burnett. I'm Taylor Arson,
joined by Bruce Atkinson.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
A rare rescue off the coast of Harvey Bay this
week as a team of twenty worked to free as
stranded humpback whale. The ten meter marine mammal was spotted
on the DayMen spit sand Bank on Sunday, prompting a
two day operation. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Ranges were
first on scene, then called in a crew from SeaWorld.

Speaker 7 (08:19):
So at low tide, this animal was literally completely out
of water with only a very small portion or level
of water underneath its bellley. But at high tide it
was really hard to see the animal as a one
point five meter to one point eight meter high tide,
so the animal was quite submerged and quite covered by
water at high tide, So a really dynamic situation that
this animal got itself in and it meant that we

(08:41):
had to adapt our first stated response and our supportive
care to the animal to adapt to that rising tide.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
That's SeaWorld head vet doctor Claire Madden. The team worked
to protect the whale from the elements during low tide,
using wet bed sheets to keep it cool and protect
it from the sun. It was otherwise in pretty good health.
They were encouraging it to move forward, would and free itself.
SeaWorld's Dion Griffin says they had a couple of backup plans.

Speaker 8 (09:05):
When the high tide hit. The first plan was to
try and tow that animal off the sand bank, and
the way we would do that as we use a
specially designed whale sling that obviously goes around the animal's
pectoral flippers and then attach us to a boat where
a boat would have to then gently pull that animal
into the deeper water.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Head of Marine Sciences Wayne Phillips says that plan was
thrown out though when a three meter tiger shark was
spotted nearby. Our plan had to change.

Speaker 9 (09:30):
Clearly, we just couldn't throw four people in the water
with that whale knowing that there was a shark there.
But we did have some plans in place, so we
had a drone up to check where the whale was,
and we were still willing to jump in the water,
and our team members were willing to jump in and
get those things on a little more quickly than we
would like, but they were willing to do that. Fortunately
we didn't have to.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
The whale managed to move itself across the bank as
the team was working to attach tow lines.

Speaker 8 (09:56):
With Yeah, the commotion of trying to attach some sling
to the animal, I think it was just enough for
the animal to just sort of start giving itself that
little bit of a kick and getting that momentum, And
luckily it started sort of swimming towards the deeper water,
and as soon as it felt that deep water, it
really started to kick and display that normal while behavior.

Speaker 7 (10:19):
That was absolutely the best feeling in the world. I
know we probably say this with most rescues, that it's
an incredible feeling to see the animals getting returned to
the wild, But having seen such a large animal high
and dry for such a long period of time, it's
hard to not get emotionally invested and to see that
while swim off, but swim off so strongly. I think

(10:39):
was the most exciting aspect of seeing this animal leaving
that sandbar.

Speaker 3 (10:43):
Back was followed for fifteen minutes into the deep section
of the marine park, showing normal wild behavior. And as
for how it got onto the sandbar in the first place,
well that's being put down to misadventure.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
Bunderberg is known for its rum and sugar, but the
is quickly becoming synonymous with cycling. Regional and state level
events are being held every year here and the momentum
isn't slowing down. Today kicks off the Queensland Road Cycling Championships.
It's the first time all state championships will be one
within the same weekend, featuring juniors up to masters. President

(11:19):
of the Bunderberg Cycling Club, Wayne Morden says, the comps
are happening outside of the velodrome.

Speaker 6 (11:24):
We start out at the Botanic Gardens with the juniors
nine to eleventh and thirties and we head out to
South Kolin.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
From eleven o'clock to four o'clock.

Speaker 6 (11:32):
We will be doing the time trial, so on that
circuit we'll have two hundred and thirty to two hundred
and fifty riders throughout that period of time. Then on Saturday,
we travel out to Tyrone, just out of Gingin and
we spend the whole day out there from seven o'clock
till four o'clock and we'll be racing the road race
in that area, and then on the Sunday we'll be
returning back to Bigaro Headlands and competing at the competing

(11:57):
the Criterion Race.

Speaker 2 (11:58):
Wayne admits it's a lot of work to condense all
the competitions into three days, but it's hoped it'll be
easier for those traveling. Around three hundred athletes are expected.

Speaker 6 (12:08):
Coming from Cans and obviously from Brisbane. I'll see there's
some entries coming up from Tasmania who just wanted to
have a really good hit out and have an experience
of racing up here in Queensland. The demographic lends itself
very well to drawing major events as well. So we're
only four or five hours out of Brisbane, it's quite
achievable for most people, and obviously you're having quieter roads.

(12:29):
Opens up the door for hosting state and potentially national
championships if we have the space to do so.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
The sport is gaining popularity among locals as well. The
Bunderberg Club is one of the fastest growing in Queensland.

Speaker 6 (12:43):
We're into the mid one hundred and fifty odd, one
hundred and forty odd members flutchways between one hundred and
twenty one hundred and forty to fifty, so it's a
really big club given the demographic here and given that
cycling it's not a nationally recognized thought, it's certainly making
it imprint in the region and.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
We're producing some champions.

Speaker 6 (13:03):
We've got a couple of really good local master riders
in particular, so we've got Rob Gardner, we've got Sean Livingston,
We've got Dan Watson, we've got Amy Falloncus rides really
really well in the women's sections. In the juniors, we've
got Cruise Camps and you know, obviously that's a family
name associated with cycling worldwide, and the Davises as well,

(13:24):
so we've got a lot of juniors drifting up through
which are going to be really worth checking an eye on.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
Is of course, referring to former pros Aaron Kemps and
Alan Davis, who both call Bundy home and raced around
the world. Any racing this weekend are hoping to follow
in their footsteps. They'll be aiming to qualify for state
team selection to then go on to the national championships.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
I'm sure a few locals will be qualifying given the
cycling pros the town's produced in the past.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
Yeah, definitely. Well that's all 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 (14:01):
We're back again next week with more local, trusted and
free news.

Speaker 1 (14:05):
I have Wide B. Burnett
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