Geraldton set to grow as Padbury announce "Oakajee Funding Secured"

Padbury Mining announced this morning that they have secured 100% of the funding needed to build the Oakajee deepwater port and rail. The Oakajee Port and Rail project is expected to cost approximately $6 billion to build.

The money is coming from Australian private equity investors, a big surprise as many expected the Chinese to foot the bill.

With the limited space around the Geraldton port, and the fact that it cannot accommodate larger ships, Iron Ore miners in the Mid West have been wanting a longer term solution for some time.

A dedicated rail network will be built to connect mines in the Mid West to the new port.

Perhaps most exciting beyond the building of the port and rail, is the potential development of the land surrounding the Port as an industrial estate.

Around 15 years ago the state government purchased large amounts of farming land in Oakajee with the intention of developing it into a value adding industrial estate, conveniently located next to the deepwater Oakajee port and away from the more densely populated Geraldton. The land has been sitting dormant since that time, with tenants who rent the homes scattered about the area forbidden from using the land to grow crops.

The story of the non-event that the Oakajee Port has been to date is a long and frustrating tale for those who have wanted to see it built. But today's announcement puts it firmly back on the top of the top of discussions for the business community of Geraldton and WA.

Timing

While anyone who bought an investment property in Geraldton in the last 10 years probably wanted to see this happen a lot sooner, the timing for building the project at a reasonable price might actually be great. Anecdotal reports indicate mines around WA are starting to slow or finish their building and expansion projects, meaning less staff are required for day to day operations.

This has caused an influx of unskilled labor to arrive back in Perth and other regional areas around WA, as people's positions on the mines are no longer required.

This means the cost of labour may not be as high as it otherwise would have been to build the Oakajee deepwater port and rail infrastructure, making the project somewhat more feasible.

As we mentioned in our earlier article, Padbury acquired some intellectual property from Yilgarn back in 2011, which now looks like a very good move.

What still has to happen?

• The next step toward the project becoming a reality is the definitive feasibility studies. Pre-feasibility studies are underway, but there's a few more calculations that need doing apparently.
• Finding the right engineering, procurement and construction companies. It's a complicated project and will require world class expertise to make it happen. The CEO of Padbury is in Korea at the moment shopping around for the right contractors.
• Getting the miners and investors in the project to agree on pricing. Basically each mine in the Midwest that wants to use the rail and port infrastructure is going to have to pay, but if it's cheaper just to go to Esperance, then that could hinder Oakajee. The team Padbury put together need to get all the local mines to come to an agreement on price.

 Click here to read the full annoucement from Padbury. 

 What will this mean for Geraldton?

While the amount of iron ore in the Midwest is not at the scale as our neighbours to the north, there's no doubt the extra funds flowing into the region will stimulate economic activity in Geraldton and the Midwest.

What do you think this will mean for Geraldton? What will the social impact be?

Heritage Week big for Geraldton

PHOTO CREDIT ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt

There’s a special buzz about kicking off Heritage Week in Geraldton this year.

With the City of Greater Geraldton the proud recipient of a State award from the WA Heritage Council for Outstanding Heritage Practices by a local government, it adds a special way to launch the week on Friday, April 11 with the City’s own Heritage Awards Presentation Night to recognise local nominations.

Last week City Manager Libraries and Heritage, Susan Smith, and Deputy Mayor, Cr Neil McIlwaine accepted the City’s award at a gala event in Perth.

Mrs Smith said winning the State award was a wonderful start for the City’s own Heritage Week awards.

“We are over the moon with the win. The Library has only been responsible for Heritage matters for two years, and in this time introduced the City of Greater Geraldton Heritage Awards,” she said.

“This year we have had nine entries in the two local awards and winners will be announced on Friday night.”

The two categories are Built Heritage and Individual or Organisational Achievement.

“It’s important to promote the value of our heritage whilst reflecting the diversity of interests, ages and culture in our community by celebrating our heritage achievements,” said Mrs Smith.

Heritage Week runs until Thursday, April 17 and in addition to the City’s Heritage Awards, events at the Geraldton Regional Library include:

• Mystery Photos: How well do you know your City? Keep an eye out on the Library’s Facebook Page from Wednesday April 9 to Wednesday April 16. There will be a new “mystery” photo posted each day of a local heritage site. Images will also be available at the Geraldton and Mullewa Libraries.
• Delivering the Past: Heritage Walk Trails in the City’s CBD will be the focus of a presentation by Jim Trevaskis on Wednesday April 16 from 10am to 11am at the Geraldton Regional Library. Learn about the fascinating history of key sites along the popular walk trails.

The official unveiling of the interpretative signage for Dr Foley’s Olive Tree will be held on Thursday April 17 from 10am at Honeysuckle Boulevard, Strathalbyn, following a morning tea at Bluff Point Lighthouse Keepers Cottage. This is a joint project between the City of Greater Geraldton and the Geraldton Historical Society, researched by Stan Gratte with assistance and graphic design provided by the Heritage Services team at the Library.

Information sheets are available from the Library website on www.library.cgg.wa.gov.au. These tell stories of interesting people and their significant contributions to the development of the Greater Geraldton region.

For further information visit the Library website or call the friendly staff on (08) 9956 6659.

Geraldton wins WA State Heritage Award

The City of Greater Geraldton has another award under its belt with the announcement last night, of first place in one of this year’s prestigious Western Australian State Heritage Awards.

The City was declared the winner of the 2014 Outstanding heritage practices by a local government category, beating seven other finalists to the top spot in this category.

Heritage Minister, Hon Albert Jacob MLA, made the announcement at a gala function at His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth last night and City Deputy Mayor, Cr Neil McIlwaine and Manager Libraries and Heritage, Susan Smith were on hand to accept the award.

Mrs Smith said this is a great honour and reward for the hard work put in by Heritage Services and Library staff.

“It is very satisfying to be recognised for our efforts. The Library has only been responsible for Heritage matters for two years, during which there have been many challenges as well as surprises,” she said.

“I would like to make special mention of Trudi Cornish, Coordinator Heritage Services, who has made a huge contribution to Heritage matters.

“In accepting this award the City proudly acknowledges the strong partnership that has been developed with local historical groups and individuals who are passionate about local heritage,” said Mrs Smith.

“The City’s entry highlighted the importance of taking a holistic approach to understanding and managing its valuable heritage resources, with all four City directorates playing a role in Heritage matters.”

Cr McIlwaine said this significant Heritage award is a truly fantastic recognition of the City’s commitment to all facets of heritage within the community.

“Our council has been proactive in its approach to heritage and in its implementation of many varied strategies to recognise, preserve and enhance the rich history of not only our City but the wider Mid West region,” he said.

“In particular can I thank the wonderful Library team for their fantastic focus on our heritage.

“Programs such as Oral History mornings, the Mid West Heritage Book series, the I Remember When program, all contribute to the sharing and preservation of our history for enjoyment now and into the future,” said Cr McIlwaine.

The State Heritage Awards cover criteria including conservation, understanding how to incorporate heritage in our daily lives, adapting heritage assets to modern use, using heritage to value add to places, experiences and relevance to contemporary living.

Celebrating the awards 22nd year, Minister Jacobs said the winners demonstrated the wide spectrum of heritage success stories across the State.

Original Railway building to get much needed restoration

One of Geraldton’s neglected, but much loved iconic structures is finally about to be given the restoration it deserves.

The significant Heritage listed building, Geraldton’s original first Railway Station on Marine Tce, is another step closer to being refurbished in preparation to house the Geraldton Visitor Centre - which is operated by the City of Greater Geraldton.

At the Ordinary Meeting of Council in Mullewa on Tuesday, (March 25) City of Greater Geraldton Councillors voted in favour to award the refurbishment and upgrade contract to Geraldton Building Services & Cabinets Pty Ltd.

Hocking Heritage Studio in conjunction with the State Heritage Office undertook the detail design.

City Mayor, Ian Carpenter, said the restoration will go a long way to revitalising the West End precinct.

“It will bring more life and tourists into the area and complement the Geraldton Foreshore and The Esplanade,” he said.

“Being able to advance this restoration has been made possible with a $1 million injection from Royalties for Regions, through the Mid West Investment Plan to house the Geraldton Visitor Centre.

“The cost of the restoration is in the region of $2.13 million. The City will provide $1.03 million with an additional $100,000 coming from the Federal Government’s Regional Development Australia Fund as part of the overall allocation for the West End Recreation and Entertainment Precinct Revitalisation Project,” said Mr Carpenter.

“The State Government owns the building and it is managed through the WA Department of Planning and Infrastructure and is leased to the City of Greater Geraldton.

“There have been two proponents interested in leasing the building in the past, but both have pulled out, so it is good to see it will finally get the treatment it deserves and as a bonus the City gets to use it.”

The work is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year.

Mid West strengthens relationship with China

The City of Greater Geraldton has been given a boost in its quest of fostering a friendly relationship between Linfen City, Shanxi Province, China and Greater Geraldton.

An item is to go before Council on Tuesday, March 25 to seek Council's support of the formation of a strategic partnership between the two cities.

Chinese businessman Mr Wu Xiaonian, Chairman of Shanxi Jianbang Group, a major investor of Top Iron Pty Ltd and a big advocate of Geraldton, indicated on his most recent visit this month, that he would contribute 10 per cent of his personal profits to the Mid West from Top Iron's first iron ore shipment out of Geraldton, and to facilitate co-operation between Linfen City and the City of Greater Geraldton.

Top Iron signed an agreement with Geraldton Port Authority in September 2013 to establish itself as the next significant iron ore exporter from the port.

Greater Geraldton Mayor, Ian Carpenter said Linfen City expressed interest in fostering a friendly relationship between Geraldton and Linfen City in September 2012.

"Since that time the connection between Linfen and the Mid West through Mr Wu taking on an advocation and facilitating role has been very active and growing," he said.

"There are many benefits in forming Sister City relationships and some of these have already been demonstrated - one for example through Mr Wu's facilitation of a delegation tour for the Geraldton Port Authority to visit China's Lianyungang Port to assist in solving the swell problem at the Geraldton port."

Mr Carpenter said apart from the economic benefits such as international investment and job opportunities, students and teachers can take part in educational exchange programs and joint research can be undertaken between universities.

"Forming these relationships improves our international profile in all these areas and attracts more international visitors. It also allows for further diversified cultural and community interaction," he said.



Community voice what they want

A public forum on Saturday was yet another demonstration of world’s best practice in community involvement and empowerment being developed in Geraldton.

During the “what do you want?” forum members of the participatory Budgeting community panel asked the wider community for their ideas on some areas where agreement amongst panel members is proving hard to reach.

The Community Panel has been reviewing the City’s service provision and some of the more thorny issues included whether or not the Aquarena service delivery over the winter months; library opening hours; land development and tip tokens.

About 100 people attended the forum and spoke on different services that the City provides, outlining where there were differences of opinion, or where difficult decisions have to be made.

According to the Director of Creative Communities, Ms Andrea Selvey, the panellists were grappling with some really difficult issues and were keen to have wider input into their final recommendations.

She said the City provided 39 services which have all been assessed by the panel over seven weekend workshops.

“We have developed a model that allows panellists to rate services by the perceived value of the service,” she said.

“In some cases, the panel members have said that the City should provide more of a particular service, in the knowledge that this will cost more.

“Some services have a ‘don’t change’ recommendation, while it has been recommended that others can be cut, to save money,” said Ms Selvey.

Ms Selvey said the panellists were finding it very difficult to identify services which could be cut to enable more money to go to others which they’d like to see increased.

“For instance, there is overwhelming support for more youth programs,” she said.

“However in order to provide more programs such as Midnight Basketball, we will have to cut somewhere else.

“Every recommendation the panel makes Council will have to consider in terms of how much money is in the budget. That is why it is so important that community people get in and tell us what they think is important.

“The process is about dividing up the budgetary pie and Council takes this very seriously,” she said. “The councillors really want the community to help spend the money where it is most valued.”

City make statement on Sunset Beach Precinct Plan

Community consultation was held with residents of Sunset Beach through three workshops between April and July 2013. The workshops were extensively advertised including an information stand at Sunset Beach Shopping Centre.

Towards the end of this community engagement process there was broad agreement from workshop participants on the direction of planning for Sunset Beach. The draft precinct plan has been drawn and will be discussed at the Council Agenda Forum in Council Chambers tonight and at the Council meeting on 25 March in Mullewa, the public is welcome to attend.

At tonight’s Agenda Forum, and at the meeting of the 25 March, the Council is not being asked to adopt the plan – just to approve it for further consultation with the broader community.

Any comments, objections, and/or concerns from this consultation process will be provided to the Council for a final determination at a meeting later this year.

Sunset Beach residents want feedback on new Precinct Plan

Sunset Beach residents feel as though they have not been fully consulted on a Precinct Plan for the area which will go to Council next week. (It can be viewed here)

The Sunset Beach Precinct Plan will be determined at a Council meeting in Mullewa, at 1:30pm on Tuesday, March 25th but a representative from the Sunset Beach Community Group said the group feel as though more work needs to be done on the submission.

“The Sunset Beach Community Group does not feel consulted on this plan and is respectfully requesting that the City allows the residents of Sunset Beach adequate time to consider and provide feedback prior to it being determined by Council,” they said.

“Residents of Sunset Beach this affects you. We need your support and feedback urgently.”

The group received a letter from the City advising residents of the Agenda Forum being held on Tuesday 18th March at 5.30pm at the City on Cathedral Avenue. This is where the Precinct Plan will be reviewed.

Looking towards a vibrant city centre

Revitalising Geraldton’s city centre is a high priority for the City of Greater Geraldton, retailers and property owners and the City is taking a proactive stance towards achieving this outcome.

At a workshop in November last year, Central Business District (CBD) stakeholders identified a range of specific barriers to redevelopment and revitalisation in the CBD.

City of Greater Geraldton CEO, Ken Diehm, said using the information gathered from the workshop, the City is reviewing existing policies, fee structures and administrative requirements and has developed a proposed incentives program to go before Council at its March 25 meeting at the Mullewa District Office.

“We are seeking Council endorsement in principle of the proposed program to allow further consultation with CBD stakeholders and the broader community,” he said.

The proposed Geraldton City Centre Redevelopment and Revitalisation Incentives Program outlines proposed strategies, and proposes a suite of financial concessions and incentives, administration simplification and internal advocacy support to help remove identified barriers to revitalising the CBD.

“Some of the proposed incentives could include waiving rates for a period for developers and property owners who undertake major refurbishments and make the buildings occupiable,” said Mr Diehm.

“Action is well overdue and if developers take up the proposed incentives there could be significant economic improvement to the CBD, which would lead to better amenity and increased opportunities for social activity.

“Alongside this, Council has adopted the Geraldton City Centre Vibrancy Strategy to provide a strategic focus and framework that can harness local strengths and partnerships and alignment of resources. A City Centre Vibrancy Coordinator has been appointed to drive this strategy,” he said.

Pieter Vorster has taken up the position of vibrancy coordinator and brings to the role qualifications in urban and regional planning, local economic development, tourism and business management and has worked on a number of similar projects in South Africa and New Zealand.

Mr Diehm said he looks forward to further community consultation and consultation with CBD stakeholders to progress the vibrancy of Geraldton’s city centre.

“There’s much to be done but I’m confident we can achieve some quick wins,” he said.

The Geraldton City Centre Vibrancy Strategy is available on the City website

Nursery invites community to open day

The City of Greater Geraldton Community Nursery is sprouting successfully with an abundance of seedlings since relocating to new premises at Waggrakine six months ago.

A community open day is planned for Sunday March 23 for everyone to visit see what goes on at the plant nursery.

The nursery provides the space to propagate seeds collected by community groups and individuals from local native plant species that suit local soils and climate.

City Natural Areas Officer, Wendy Payne, said the open day is to show the community where the nursery is currently at and to encourage more people’s involvement.

“Volunteering at the Community Nursery is relaxing and fun, not to mention that you are constantly working alongside people who have the same enthusiasm and interests as you,” she said.

“There are many jobs for those who wish to volunteer including pricking and potting as there is still much to do before planting season in June.”

Although the nursery has a total capacity to hold up to 200,000 seedlings, the City aims to plant 10,000 to 20,000 seedlings this year.

Ms Payne said thanks to community groups, volunteers and Durack Institute of Technology the nursery is growing fast.

“We have planted 10,000 seedlings already in the new shade house, that’s almost the half-way mark of our aim,” she said.

The open day is from 9.30am to 12.30pm with a morning tea provided. Those wanting to participate are requested to bring a hat, water, wear long sleeves and enclosed shoes.

For more information contact the City’s Sustainability Team on (08) 9956 6600 or email to robynn@cgg.wa.gov.au.

City CEO in discussions with Town Towers’ owners

Late last year, the City of Greater Geraldton placed a notice of intent to demolish on the owners of Town Towers that required them to either refurbish the building, make it occupiable, or demolish it.

Since that time there have been ongoing negotiations between the City and the owners of Town Towers to try to reach an outcome that could see the building restored to its former glory.

City CEO, Ken Diehm, said the City has been in constant dialogue with the owners and they have been genuine in their desire to redevelop the building.

“For this reason I was comfortable to defer the notice to demolish,” he said.

Over the last week the owners of Town Towers, Mr Diehm and senior Council staff have had further negotiations and it appears that an outcome has been achieved.

“This week I met with the owners of Town Towers and have personally witnessed their financing agreements, plans, work schedule and proposed leasing agreement for serviced apartments.” Mr Diehm said.

“Having sighted these documents I am satisfied that there is a very real possibility that work can start on site as soon as July this year, and have agreed to suspend the notice to demolish.

“The development proposal provides for short term accommodation and a mix of retail uses on the ground floor, which I think will be great for maintaining and enhancing the vibrancy of our city centre,” said Mr. Diehm.

“I am pleased that we have had significant progress on this matter and that the developer has been willing to work with us to reach an acceptable outcome for our City.”

Midwest among regional communities to receive $15.5m boost

Twelve community projects across five regions are set to take off following a funding injection of more than $15.5million from the State Government’s Royalties for Regions Country Local Government Fund (CLGF) Regional Grouping Fund. Communities in the South-West, Wheatbelt, Mid-West, Peel and Great Southern will benefit from a range of large-scale projects funded in the 2012-13 Regional Group Projects allocation. The CLGF Regional Grouping Fund is separate to the CLGF and encourages local governments to come together to deliver projects that benefit multiple towns and regions.

Funding in the Midwest includes construction and gravel sheeting of the East Bowes Road across shires of Chapman Valley, Irwin and Northampton and construction and upgrades of new and existing telecommunications towers in the shires of Morawa, Three Springs, Perenjori and Mingenew.

Regional Development Minister Terry Redman said the funding would improve infrastructure and services in towns and help build sustainable regional communities.

“The intention of the regional groupings component of the CLGF is to provide financial assistance to local governments to fund large-scale projects identified as priorities by the towns themselves,” Mr Redman said.

“The development of regional Western Australia benefits the entire State.  WA’s population is projected to grow to 5.4million people by 2056 and the State Government needs to ensure there are plenty of opportunities and services for people to be able to move to regional WA.

“These 12 projects will bring economic, social and environmental benefits to each community and help ensure our regional towns are great places to live, work and invest.”

Geraldton youth benefit from $184,000 grant

Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney today welcomed a major initiative to discourage risk taking behaviour in young people in the neighbourhoods of Rangeway, Utakarra and Karloo.

Mr Blayney said a grant of $184,000 to the Sun City Christian Centre from the latest round of the State Government’s Criminal Property Confiscation Grants Program would drive a project aimed at aiding and supporting youth in the city’s eastern suburbs.

He said Sun City’s ROCK (Reaching Out to Community Kids) project aimed to establish a suite of programs specifically designed to provide positive and regular engagement and support of these young people.

“ROCK aims to help in their development of relationships, confidence and skills to carve out a better future for themselves,” Mr Blayney said.

“As well as tailored programs, a Community Youth Hub will be open to these young people to drop into and connect with peers, while being exposed to support and diversionary activities.

“This safe and inclusive environment will provide support and enable early intervention as a way of preventing issues from building or situations becoming too complex for these at-risk youth.

“Some programs offered will include weekly music sessions in which the young people will learn to express themselves through music.

“Additionally, there is the opportunity to participate in sessions where the young people can gain creative and technical skills including sound mixing, audio-visual techniques, theatre, dance and production.”

The Criminal Confiscation Grants are funded by money and property seized under The Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000 (the Act). The primary intention of the Act is to deprive people of wealth that has been unlawfully acquired.

Eligible applicants can apply for grants of up to $200,000 to fund projects which prevent or reduce drug-related crime and drug abuse, support victims of crime or to aid law enforcement. Grant monies are only released to the applicants once they have met certain pre-conditions including contributing in-kind support to the project they are going to run.

Further information about the Criminal Property Confiscation Grants Program and a list of the successful applicants in this round is available on the Department of the Attorney General website at www.dotag.wa.gov.au.

Wonthella Skate Park to get makeover

The Wonthella Skate Park is set to undergo a facelift between July and August of this year.

The Park which has been extremely popular since it's inception over 10 years ago, will undergo an overhaul with a whole range of new exciting skate elements as well as amenity elements.

The City of Greater Geraldton's project manager for the skate park, William Shi, said design works are set to finish this month.

"We are currently at the final design stage, this design work is expecting to be completed by the end of this month," he said.

"The construction work of Wonthella Skate Park extension is expected between July to August because the City only has construction budget in financial year 2014/15 for this project."

Radiance of the Seas aborts Geraldton visit due to sea conditions

Cruise Ship Radiance of the Seas has had to bypass Geraldton this morning due to the swell.

The ship was supposed to be visiting Geraldton as part of a Top End Circumnavigation. Which was their first visit this year, the second being in November.

A spokesperson from the City of Greater Geraldton said the ship couldn't come in due to the swell.

"Unfortunately Radiance of the Seas had to abort her attempt to visit Geraldton due to sea conditions; high wind and a big swell made it too difficult for the tenders to operate," she said.

"The Port Authority pilot was onboard the cruise ship and tried to get the ship into the channel but it was too rough, so it was a safety call."

The cruise ship had approximately 2,500 passengers and around 850 crew members.

Radiance of the Seas will spend an extra day at sea and will visit Port Hedland on Thursday.

Council adopts Capital Works priority list

A huge milestone for democracy in Australia was reached this week when the City of Greater Geraldton adopted a set of community-based recommendations for planning City Capital Works expenditure.

The recommendations resulted from a methodology that is being trialled in Geraldton called Participatory Budgeting in which randomly selected local people review and prioritise the City’s capital budgets and set priorities.

According to CEO Ken Diehm, the whole of the City’s ($70 million capital works budget) has been “thrown open” in an attempt to honour the Council’s commitment to open and transparent decision-making.

“This is the first time, anywhere in the world, that the community has been empowered to this extent,” he said.

“I have been in local government for 28 years and it’s an extraordinary move away from the traditional way municipal councils work.

“With the adoption of the recommendations from the Capital Works Panel, Council has embedded community values into future project evaluation,” said Mr Diehm.

He said the capital works projects would, in future, be evaluated using social and technical criteria; half of the criteria have been developed in the workshops by the Community Panel.

“This is democracy in action,” said Mr Diehm.

“The new approach means that all project planning will incorporate community values in the same way as we have to look at technical and statutory issues. 

“The criteria developed by the community focuses largely on social, environmental and cultural aspects and the City has supported these criteria in full,” he said.

At the end of the process, two panels of local people will have analysed the budgets for Capital Works and infrastructure, and for the range and levels of services provided, and developed criteria against which new expenditure can be ranked.

The report from the Capital Works Plan Panel was adopted by Council at the Ordinary Meeting of Council on Tuesday, February 25, with Councillors agreeing with the new method of project evaluation.

It is anticipated that the recommendations from the Range and Level of Services Community Panel will go to Council in March, following more than two months of deliberation by the randomly selected panel members.

Participatory Budgeting is an element of the City’s innovative #changesCGGcommunity program which aims to increase community involvement in decisions that affect the development of the region into the future. 

Geraldton Airport upgrade includes secure parking

To keep up with ever increasing passenger traffic at Geraldton Airport, an upgrade to streamline access and service is almost complete.

Apart from upgrading and redefining entry and access roads and pick up and drop off points, the first stage of secure long term parking comes into operation on Monday March 3, with a daily charge of $5 per day. Three pay stations including EFT card payment facilities are located at gated access points.

The secure parking includes number plate CCTV recognition and security surveillance as well as lighting and footpaths for convenience and safety.

Long term parking is mainly used by fly-in fly-out workers, but also available for people who may be flying to Perth for any length of time and want to leave their car at the airport in a secure location.

Airport Manager, Bob Urquhart, said the second stage will be secure short term parking operational from Monday April 7.

“The first 30 minutes will be free with a $2 per hour charge, or part thereof after the first 30 minutes,” he said.

Not only is the airport expansion catering for increased visitors, but also hire car companies. There are five hire car firms operating from Geraldton Airport and their expansion has necessitated relocation of their maintenance and cleaning operations to the west side of Gordon Garrett Drive.

Future plans include permanently basing Fire Control Officers at the Brearley Terminal - Geraldton Airport’s original passenger terminal adjacent to the main terminal. 

“As there is firefighting equipment located at the airport it makes sense to have fire officers based here, as they could quickly be on the scene of any unfortunate emergency should it occur,” Mr Urquhart said.

Further terminal expansion to the airport’s secure lounge is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year.

The airport upgrade has been project managed by the City works team using local contractors.

The Geraldton Airport is self-funded and does not rely on ratepayer contributions. 

City say rabbit baiting is to protect native bushland along the Chapman River

The City of Greater Geraldton, with assistance from State Natural Resource Management (NRM) Community Grants funding, is taking action to control the rabbit population in the Chapman River Wildlife Corridor to protect flora special to the park.

Landholders nearby and visitors to the area should be aware that from February, the City of Greater Geraldton will conduct a two month comprehensive baiting program to reduce the rabbit population.

Bronte Grant, Sustainability Officer with the City said that residents enjoying the Wildlife Corridor recreation areas have expressed concern that rabbit numbers this season appear higher than those observed in recent years.

“Rabbits are impacting on biodiversity in the Chapman River Wildlife Corridor, which is one of the few remaining quality stands of remnant vegetation in this area,” she said.

“Rabbits are also a costly issue for landholders trying to establish a garden and for the City’s planting and rehabilitation programs in the park.”

Signage and advertising will alert residents and visitors that baiting is in progress.

“It is the responsibility of landholders and visitors to manage their pets carefully while the signage is present,” she said.

The baiting product, Pindone, will be mixed with oats by the licenced contractor. Pindone is an anticoagulant poison similar to that found in many rat and rodent control baits. It poses a lower risk to humans and pets than the bait used in broad acre rabbit control. There is also an antidote available from veterinarians should there be a concern about pets.

The Shire of Chapman Valley will contribute by providing 80 rabbit bait stations based on a design by the Department of Agriculture and Food that aim to protect non-target animals yet remain effective against rabbits.

“The bait will only be put out at night when rabbits are most active. This measure, combined with the use of a covered bait station, will reduce the risk to non-target species such as native fauna and pets,” she said. 

Adjacent landholders should bury any rabbit carcasses that they find on their properties. This will further assist in reducing the risk to non-target species that may consume dead rabbits.

For further information on regional rabbit baiting or feral animal control initiatives landholders can contract Bronte Grant on bronteg@cgg.wa.gov.au or 9965 6780. Read about the severe damage rabbits can cause from here: http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/european-wild-rabbit-oryctolagus-cuniculus. 

Six local clubs to get a makeover

Six local community organisations and sport clubs selected to take part in the City of Greater Geraldton’s Our Club Rules! – Club Makeover Program, were acknowledged with a small gathering in the City function room recently.

The makeover program was initiated in November last year (2013) in partnership with the Department of Sport and Recreation to enable club’s to reach their full potential.

The six successful clubs are:

• Mullewa Sports Club
• Chapman Valley Football Club
• Geraldton Hockey Association
• Mid West Disaster Relief
• Mid West Multicultural Association
• Geraldton Art Society

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor, Ian Carpenter, said community clubs and organisations are the glue of the community.

“I believe this program is important to all clubs, it helps to train them to operate more like a business, covering important areas like public liability, and teaches money management – and about budget and cash flow,” he said.

“Not only does it help the organisation but it helps people personally.”

Mr Carpenter said the program provided an opportunity for the clubs to set themselves up for the future.

“The selected clubs will be provided with expert help tailored specifically to their needs,” he said.

For more information, contact the City’s Sport and Recreation Club Development Officer, Ryan Thompson on ryant@cgg.wa.gov.au or call 9956 6600. 

City say feral rabbits are in for a shock as they start a baiting program

The City of Greater Geraldton have today released a public notice about their upcoming rabbit baiting program. The statement is as follows: 

Feral rabbits are in for a shock this month as the City of Greater Geraldton begins its rabbit baiting program for the Chapman River Wildlife Corridor.

The council will continue the program for a minimum of seven weeks to March/April 2014 in an effort to control the environmental damage caused by the notorious pest.

The baits will be laid by a licensed contractor within the park where high numbers of rabbits are observed. The bait is oats mixed with a poison called Pindone.

Pindone is an anticoagulant poison similar to that found in many rat and rodent control baits. It is used in these situations because it poses a lower risk to humans and pets than the bait used in broad acre rabbit control.

There is also an antidote available from veterinarians should there be a concern about pets.

Deceased rabbits may pose a very minimal secondary poisoning risk to roaming pets, therefore caution is advised during the baiting period.

Warning signs will be placed at the perimeter of the Chapman River Wildlife Corridor before the commencement of the program and removed when the program is completed.