Petition created to protest mining at Oakabella

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An online petition at change.org has been set up protesting a proposed quarry at Oakabella, which is between Geraldton and Northampton. 

Tonya Constantine, who set up the petition, stated that:

Oakabella is a part of the Moresby Range and the Local Planning Strategy states "Developments not in keeping with the landscape qualities such as quarries and rural industry should be located outside the Moresby Range if possible"

The quarry proposal is clearly contrary to the Councils (sic) (Shire of Northampton) own Local Planning Strategy.

Quarrying the rock at Oakabella has long been of interest. 108 years ago, the newspaper "The Geraldton Express" ran an article (link) about the Mayor and Town Clerk journeying to Oakabella to find a suitable place to establish a quarry. 

Click here to visit the petition.

Governor of Western Australia visits Geraldton

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Geraldton was honoured to have Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC pay a visit this week. 

Following visits to numerous community organisations over the last two days, a civic reception for the Governor was held this evening at the new Multi Purpose Centre on Geraldton's foreshore, which included a traditional dance (see video below), and was attended by many community leaders. 

In a short speech to those in attendance, Her Excellency shared that she had come in a community role, to learn more about what is happening in the region. 

She will be visiting Mullewa and Mt Magnet tomorrow. 

The Governor of Western Australia is the representative of the Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II. 

The Governor performs constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:

  • presiding over the Executive Council;
  • proroguing and dissolving the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council;
  • issuing writs for elections; and
  • appointing Ministers, Judges, Magistrates and Justices of the Peace.

Furthermore, all Bills passed by the Parliament of Western Australia require the Governor's signature before they become Acts and pass into law. (Wikipedia)

Kerry Sanderson succeeded Malcolm McCusker in October 2014.

Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre opened

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Nationals WA MP and candidate for the seat of Geraldton, Paul Brown has welcomed the official opening of the Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre in Geraldton. The opening of the centre coincides with the 100 year anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone for the St Francis Xavier Cathedral, which is considered one of Monsignor Hawes finest works.

The Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre is a wonderful complement to the St Francis Xavier Cathedral which is an iconic building identifiable to Geraldton,” Mr Brown said.

Representing the Minister for Regional Development Hon Terry Redman MLA at the event, Mr Brown acknowledged the work done by the Roman Catholic Diocese, and the considerable fundraising efforts of the Geraldton community.

“The Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre is a wonderful example of how a community can support something that they are very passionate about. In this case, the wonderful legacy that Monsignor Hawes has left throughout the Mid West through built infrastructure,” Mr Brown said.

The Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre will house an extensive collection of Monsignor Hawes artefacts currently held by the Geraldton Diocese. This includes original architectural plans, models, sketches, artisanal objects, assorted memorabilia and furniture. Previously, these artefacts have been held without an appropriate display and preservation forum.

“Preservation of these artefacts is important to ensure that the Mid West legacy of Monsignor Hawes lives on, and is shared via the tourism opportunity that the Heritage Centre now offers visitors to the Mid West,” Mr Brown said.

Funding of the $3.6 million project was made possible from:

  •   Royalties for Regions, with $1.541 million provided through the Mid West

    Development Commission’s Mid West Investment Plan;

  •   Lotterywest ($651,038);

  •   The Roman Catholic Diocese; and

  •   Community fundraising efforts.

    The Monsignor Hawes Heritage Centre will be the interpretive gateway to the Monsignor Hawes story, and showcase the 23 Monsignor Hawes buildings throughout the Mid West, encouraging locals and visitors alike to visit all 23 sites along the Monsignor Hawes heritage trail.

Thanks to S&K Electrical for the images. St Francis Xavier Cathedral. 

Geraldton businessman charged with fraud after stealing clients' credit card details

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Police say they have arrested and charged a Geraldton man with multiple counts of fraud. 

The person is a 34 year old Geraldton man. Police say the man is charged with numerous counts of Gains Benefit by Fraud.

Police say he is a local businessman who used client credit card details for his own private use.  

He is due to appear in court later this month. 

A 34 year old Geraldton man has been charged with numerous counts of Gains Benefit by Fraud and is due to appear before the Geraldton Magistrates Court on 8 September 2016.

A person familiar with the matter has spoken with Everything Geraldton regarding the person. They stated that they have had dealings with the accused, and told Everything Geraldton that they had been overcharged by the business in question that the accused is involved with, and was disputing several charges for goods and services that were not supplied.

5 reasons you should keep getting the Geraldton Guardian

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Newspaper sales have fallen dramatically around Australia in recent years, and our local Guardian has not been immune to the changes in how we all consume content. 

Even though Everything Geraldton may compete in some ways with the Geraldton Guardian, I honestly believe Geraldton is better served if said newspaper continues does well. 

Here are some of the reasons I believe you will benefit from buying our local paper.  

1. Public notices

They may be the most boring part of the paper, but I think they're the most important.

Why?

When a local government WANTS to get the word out about something, they will send a press release or public notice to all media, usually including Everything Geraldton. 

I'm grateful for this. EG wants to help locals stay informed about what's happening in their community. Many people who never read the paper, including young people, are now far more connected and informed.

Sometimes the City will even pay Everything Geraldton to promote or publish something. This too is very helpful for us in terms of paying our staff and continuing operating. We think we're pretty good at getting information out to the Geraldton public. And we're super grateful for support from the CGG. 

But when the council HAS to put something out to the public, but doesn't necessarily WANT a lot of feedback, I've noticed they just purchase an ad in the public notices section of a paper. 

They are legally obligated to do this much of the time.

While I'm sure there's nothing malicious happening behind the scenes, I do believe that for much of the general public, only putting a public notice in a newspaper essentially makes it invisible. I don't think I know anyone under the age of 35 who even buys the paper with any regularity. 

Here's a recent example. I've seen no hoo-ha or press release about it, despite it potentially having a massive impact on our city. 

There were a number of complaints when the Jaffle Shack opened on the foreshore, saying that others weren't given the opportunity to put a business on the most prime piece of real estate in Geraldton. Now the city can technically say they have given everyone the opportunity. All you had to do was be one of the few people that buy the Guardian twice a week and always checked the public notices section. 

In fact, each time there's a public outcry about a decision the city makes, I have heard: "We published a public notice in a newspaper and very few people responded."

So until the laws change to better reflect how people actually get information in 2016, it's incumbent upon us, the general public, to keep an eye on the public notices in our local papers. 

2. Journalists.

The Geraldton Guardian employs a small team of journalists who put effort into chasing up stories. 

It's no secret that journalism isn't exactly a growing industry, but it will probably survive for the foreseeable future. Even though it's not the highest paying career, it can lead to other fulfilling professions. 

The Geraldton Guardian has a good track record of giving young journalists a start and helping them get their uni degree. I personally know a couple of people who are doing well in other careers now, who started off at the Guardian. Had they not had the support of the local paper in their youth, they may have struggled somewhat more. 

3. Geraldton needs multiple media voices

I admit I'm extremely inconsistent when it comes to reading the paper. Or rather, I'm consistently terrible at it. 

I will try harder after writing this article.

Three years ago I knew I wanted local content in a digital format, but no-one was going to do it in Geraldton. So instead of complaining, I started a business doing just that. But The goal of Everything Geraldton was not to replace other the media completely, but to be another voice.

I don't think a community is well served if there is only one media voice. If you piss off the wrong person, you can essentially be cut off from having your say. 

Fortunately, this isn't the case in Geraldton.

We have Everything Geraldton, which is independant and I'm obviously an advocate for. There's the Geraldton Guardian/Mid West Times, who have been around for 100+ years and are backed by Seven West. There's a talented and creative team over at the ABC, who publish great stuff. And there's a few radio stations. 

Having more media publications means a more diverse voice, and fewer newsworthy items are likely to slip through the cracks. It also gives advertisers more choices and opportunities to promote their products and services. 

4. Responsible people at the helm

I know a couple of people who work at the Geraldton Guardian in the editorial team, and from what I know of them, I do believe that they care about the people of Geraldton. 

It's not very common to have people who care so much about the community in charge of local media. Often the agenda to simply sell more papers at the cost of sensationalising everything wins out over the mandate to serve the community by printing the facts. 

Anita Kirkbright is the current editor, and I've dealt with her in other capacities in the past. I've read several of her articles over the last year or two, and she certainly seems to have a desire to surface encouraging stories from the Mid West. It's a refreshing change from the usual negativity that seems to fill our Twitter and Facebook feeds. 

That's not to say I agree with every publishing decision the Guardian makes, but for the time being I think it's well above par. 

5. It's not too big

I'm pressed for time. I don't sit down and read the paper to alleviate boredom. I know reading the paper was a favourite pastime for our Granddads. But I have a million things to occupy me that are more interesting than a newspaper. And when something big happens I will probably hear about it well before the paper comes out anyway. 

So when I do read the local paper, I want to get through it as quickly as possible. 

I have listened to complaints for about 8 years now about how thin the Guardian is. But looking at it as someone who mostly reads content online, I consider thinness a positive. 

When someone "reads" the paper, they don't actually read very much. You scan through the headlines until something stands out, and you end up reading about 1 and a half articles. 

What you leave with is the knowledge that you haven't missed anything important that may affect you, your business, or your family.

And with a world of information now accessible through our smartphones, we don't need our local papers to try and be all things to all people, publishing all manner of lifestyle articles that we may or may not be interested in. They can just give us important local content, and we can follow our particular interests through apps, social media, websites, podcasts, YouTube etc. 

In conclusion, my vision of the future of media in Geraldton doesn't involve a winner take all outcome as was the case in the past, but a diverse range of voices, each serving the community and playing a part in our daily lives. I hope the Geraldton Guardian is a part of that future. 

Note: No one from the Geraldton Guardian had any involvement with this article.

 

 

Fire at Tarcoola Tavern

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Sent in via Snapchat. Follow us on snapchat = everythinggero

Just before 5.00am Police and DFES were called to a tavern on Brand Highway that was on fire.

DFES were able to extinguish the fire and Geraldton Detectives are currently investigating the cause of the fire, which at this stage appears to be suspicious.

Residents around town were shocked to see the damage, with many contacting Everything Geraldton regarding the incident.

"Does anyone know what happened outside Tarcoola Tavern this morning? Police had it taped off, police in sperm suits, and two paddy wagons. Traffic control was in place closing off the lane."

"... Tarcoola tavern. Looks like it's been on fire. Cops everywhere!"

"Goodbye tarcy tavern its burnt to the ground =( office and part bottleshop is gone"

Building a competitive Western Australian defence supply sector

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Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney has congratulated GCo Electrical in Geraldton on their receipt of a $30,000 grant toimprove their competitiveness to secure work related to the Australian Government's multi-billion dollar defence programs.

The funding is part of the defence-specific round of the State Government's Industry Facilitation and Support Program (IFSP).

Mr Blayney said IFSP would enable small and medium-sized businesses in Western Australia to purchase equipment, upgrade facilities, and contract finance and marketing experts.

“The successful recipients will use this funding to up-skill and diversify their business base, ensuring they are in the best position possible to take advantage of defence-related contracts,” Mr Blayney said.

“GCo Electrical will use this funding to improve internal business infrastructure systems to ensure they continue to offer a broad scope of works and solutions to their customers.”  

The IFSP defence round will provide more than $350,000 in dollar-for-dollar assistance to 16 WA businesses.

Mr Blayney said IFSP has supported 257 WA-based SMEs to win 539 major contracts valued at $313 million since 2011.

"The State Government's $4.4 million investment in local industry has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in major contracts that have created 565 new jobs, including 66 apprenticeships," Mr Blayney said.

“I’d like to congratulate Murray Hadley and his team for developing a company that looks across WA and Australia for work.

“One of Geraldton’s strengths into the future is to develop as a venue for education and training, and as a base for companies like GCo,” said Mr Blayney.

Consumer Watch - What everyone building a house should know

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With Consumer Protection Geraldton receiving enquiries recently about builders experiencing financial difficulty, the Building Commission has provided the following information to assist anyone whose building work remains unfinished or whose builder becomes insolvent.

We understand the frustration homeowners face when they are confronted with incomplete work and a builder who is no longer able to trade.  It is important to know that all residential building work valued over $20,000 is required to be covered by home indemnity insurance (HII).  

HII protects owners against financial loss if a builder cannot complete residential building work because of death, disappearance or insolvency of the builder. 

Occasionally, there is a period of uncertainty for owners between when a builder begins to experience financial distress and when they actually become insolvent. The following points may be helpful if you find yourself in this situation.

  • Before construction or renovation of your home starts it is vitally important that you read and understand the terms and conditions of the contract and what should be agreed as the progress payment points at the various stages of construction. 
  • Progress payments should only be made in accordance with the contract terms and when the work has been carried out.
  • A builder having trouble meeting its obligations may attempt to make arrangements with another builder to complete the building work. You have a choice as to whether or not you go ahead with this new builder or wait until it is confirmed that your builder is insolvent and lodge a claim with your HII provider.
  • Understand what your rights and obligations are if you wish to terminate your contract.  You should get legal advice.
  • Contact your home indemnity insurance provider. Details of who you need to contact will be on your certificate of insurance, which can be obtained from your builder or applicable local government.  
  • Delays may result in other unplanned expense or stresses including additional rent or storage costs while your home is completed. If you are experiencing any financial difficulties as a result of the delays, you may need to contact your bank or lender.

Once the builder has become insolvent and you haven’t transitioned to a new builder, you are able to make a HII claim against your policy. The claim will be treated in a timely manner as the insurers and their agents are very aware that it can be a frustrating and anxious time for home owners and can represent a significant financial burden.  

If approved, the insurer will work with you to resolve the issues associated with the completion of the building contract.  This may involve seeking quotes to complete the work, appointing a new builder to complete construction of the works and assess the shortfall (if any) of work against the progress payments.  Claims made under HII are capped at $100,000 and the policy may have up to a $500 excess that the home owner has to bear.

Talk to the Building Commission

If you are worried about your builder’s ability to complete your home you should raise these concerns with the Building Commission by phoning 1300 489 099 or email bcinfo@commerce.wa.gov.au.

Clustering for Growth – Cluster Musters

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  • Global Cluster Expert in Geraldton to meet with businesses
  • Aim is Growing the Pie for the region
  • Focus on Horticulture; Wind and Wave and Marine Services

International clustering expert Ifor Ffowcs-Williams, CEO from Cluster Navigators Limited will be in Geraldton for a series of follow up meetings with local businesses to continue with cluster development in the Mid West on June 8, 9 and 10.

Mr Ffowcs-Williams previously visited Geraldton earlier this year to explore possible cluster development approaches for horticulture, adventure and experiential tourism (Wind and Wave) and marine services. Since then, more businesses have been communicated with and the response has been overwhelmingly positive with several ideas put forward where collaboration could hold the key to "growing the pie" for the Region. 

The project, led by local business identity Todd West (Glassco) and Trish Palmonari (Mid West Development Commission), is part of the Mid West Regional Blueprint and Growing Greater Geraldton, a partnership project by the City of Greater Geraldton, Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Regional Development, as part of the Government's regional centre development program. 

According to Todd West – Clustering is a “coalition of the willing”.

“Whilst the opportunities are apparent, the missing ingredient for such collaboration is often the "glue" - who has the time or resources on top of their day jobs to organise meetings, facilitate the agreements, do the research and manage the initiatives?” Mr West explains.

“That is where the public sector can play a useful role. The business leaders just focus on what they are best at and what will help their cluster grow. 

“This is a proven methodology for business-led growth, with public sector in support. Academia (research and education) completes the "triple helix". 

“Following the exploratory meetings in April, the Greater Geraldton Growth Plan Partnership met to assess the potential of the cluster development approach and expressed wholehearted support for offering this approach to the development of a Horticulture, Marine Services and Wind and Wave (adventure and experiential tourism) cluster. 

“This means that a highly capable facilitator will be available to work with the group to assess and agree the areas to focus on, starting with the "low hanging fruit". There will also be some seed funding to enable those early initiatives to get up and running quickly and produce results. 

“We are fortunate that Ifor Ffowcs-Williams will be in WA in mid-June. We are making the most of this opportunity by holding a series of "cluster musters" to ignite the cluster developments. The musters will review the information we have about the growth potential and identify the priority areas to pursue.

“We are looking forward to seeing as many businesses there as we can. We know that other regions in the world have achieved impressive results that in today's global economy just couldn't be achieved without a structured approach to collaboration - we are excited by what this approach could deliver for us here,” Mr West said.

For further information about the Cluster Musters contact Trish Palmonari on 0428 210 712.

Response from city regarding ‘Geraldton may have to pay back $9 million’

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Letter to the Editor

In response to your article today ‘Geraldton may have to pay back $9 million to the federal government’, I would like the opportunity to provide some clarity around the commentary. 

The Karloo Wandina Project involved building Verita Road, Abraham St Bridge, the Ackland Street to Abraham Street connection, the extension of Columbus Boulevard, as well as water, electricity and sewerage infrastructure to enable the further residential and commercial development of the area.

At the time this project was approved Geraldton was experiencing strong growth but there was a shortage of available residential land, and house prices were becoming unaffordable for the average resident. 

The Federal Government’s contribution of $9 million was made on the condition that 400 affordable housing lots would be sold by the Department of Housing by June 2016, this date was later extended to June 2017. 

At the time, the Department of Housing were selling 80 affordable housing lots a year and there were no indications that this demand would wane. Put simply, selling 400 lots was not seen as a difficult target to reach as the residential housing market was booming and all indications were that it would continue to boom for some time.

The City of Greater Geraldton’s predicament is that we have spent the funding to build the required infrastructure but the Department of Housing will not be able to sell the required lots because of the significant downturn in the local residential property market.

The Federal Government has recently advised us that they are considering policy changes that may require the City to return the funding if 400 affordable housing lots are not sold by the Department of Housing by December 2017.

The City and our community does not have the capacity to repay the funds and have asked the Federal Government to provide a reasonable extension of time to suit our local market conditions. To date we have not had a response.

We have also had a number of discussions with the Department of Housing and have called upon Melissa Price, the Member of Durack to provide assistance on our community’s behalf. 

This is a ridiculous situation for our City to be put in. We have spent the money building the infrastructure that was required but because the residential housing market has collapsed and the State Government can’t sell the lots – the Federal Government wants us to pay it back.

We have a good relationship with Melissa Price and will continue to work closely with her to convince the Federal Government Policy makers to reconsider their position.

 

-Ken Diehm, City of Greater Geraldton CEO

(click here to read original article)

Geraldton may have to pay back $9 million to the federal government

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"Financial Millstones"

As I scanned Hansard earlier this week (as one does) I noticed a mention of $9 million that the federal government is requesting back from the City of Greater Geraldton for funding of a particular project. (Hansard is the formal record of what was spoken in parliament.)

Another $9 million bill when funds are already tight, staff have been cut, and services reduced, would not be great news for the people of Geraldton. 

You'll notice the reference to Royalties for Regions projects now being "financial millstones". Millstones are quite handy when you're running a mill, but we think Blayney is using the term in the biblical "millstone around your neck" context.

We haven't had confirmation of which project is being referred to, but... 

A quick search reveals that $9 million is the exact amount granted to the City of Greater Geraldton for the Karloo-Wandina project, which was meant to produce 800 affordable blocks of land, as well as the construction of Verita Road and the accompanying bridge. The grant came from the "Building Better Regional Cities" program created under the Gillard government back in 2010. 

The project has been beset by cost blow outs, with the original figure to be contributed by ratepayers expected to be around 4 or 5 million, but that seems to have grown somewhat higher. (In last year's budget, $18 million was allocated to finalise the project.) Money also came from Royalties for Regions and other government departments for the project.

The project also turned out to be a major ongoing financial burden to the people of Geraldton. This is a statement from Mark Atkinson, who was the Manager of Infrastructure Planning & Design with the City of Greater Geraldton:

"Whilst higher levels of government have provided the majority of the upfront capital, this represents only about 20% of the whole of life costs of the asset. The CGG will ultimately inherit the ongoing maintenance of the road infrastructure and will now need to budget for in the order of an additional $1M/year for depreciation if it intends to maintain the same level of service."

The purpose of the Building Better Regional Cities grants was to increase the number of homes for sale and rent that were affordable for working families on ordinary incomes, in communities that are experiencing positive jobs and population growth that need more homes to be built. The program was largely unsuccessful and poorly run according to an audit in 2014, resulting in projections that the program would be lucky to result in helping 2000 homes be built across Australia, instead of the original goal of 15,000.

According to the 2014 audit done on the project, Geraldton suffered the most delays of any of the BBRC projects, with the expected completion being 30 June 2017. The BBRC projects were originally given until the deadline of 30 June 2016 to complete their residential works. 

The BBRC program stated in the funding agreement that is it a "performance-based, legally enforceable agreement between the Australian Government and the Successful Applicant."

Interestingly, according to an article from Darcy Hay of the Geraldton Guardian in 2013, Ian Blayney and Shane Van Styn were at odds with each other over the project, with Van Styn, who was at the time a National Party candidate and is now Geraldton's Mayor, strongly supporting the project, but MLA Ian Blayney, (our state government representative in the Legislative Assembly) opposed to the project. (link). Comments on the Facebook post embedded below are worth a read too (or click here).

We have emailed the City of Greater Geraldton for comment, and to confirm for which project the federal government is asking the funds be returned. 

Update: 5:00pm - CGG CEO Ken Diehm has sent a response. Click here to read.

3 tips for promoting your organisation online in Geraldton

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From the conversations I've had lately, it seems many businesses in town are doing it tough right now. Unemployment is up, government spending is down, people are leaving town, and there's less money floating around.

That being the case, it's more important that ever that your advertising efforts are fine tuned, and money isn't being wasted as you try to promote your business. 

With that as a backdrop, I thought I'd share a short list of things you can do to help better promote your business, community group, event, or not for profit, in the digital age.

This poster probably looks great on a large screen, but is terrible on a small phone, which is what most people are using. 

1. Stop using print content online

 We often get flyers and posters sent to us by advertisers who want to run the same thing they did in the paper on the Everything Geraldton website. But print is completely different to the online world. Your beautiful poster may look wonderful on the 27 inch iMac the graphic designer was using, but 70% of our readers are using mobile phones, and now your beautiful poster is impossible to read.

Instead, provide the details in text format, and use a few relevant images separately to add life to your information.

2. Your press release sucks

Most press releases we get sent go straight in the (digital) bin.

Perhaps back in the print age they would have been useful newspaper filler content. But that's because newspapers had no way of knowing who was reading what, and they needed to fluff the paper out so people felt like they were getting their monies worth. And it explains why newspaper readership in Geraldton has plummeted over 30 percent in recent years. 

Everything Geraldton, on the other hand, sees exactly how many people read (or don't read) each article. We can see how long they spend on the page, and what device they're using. So we know people don't read boring press releases.

How I file most press releases. 

While that public relations agency may have made a convincing argument for why you needed a professionally worded, long form, boring-as-hell, press release about the thing your organisation is doing, 99.9% of people just glazed over it as soon as they saw your headline.  

Instead of a headline from the 1990's like "Local business implements wonderful upgrade", try something like "Three amazing deserts you should try at Local Business".

You could run something like that on Everything Geraldton for about a quarter of the price of a full page ad in the local paper, and reach about twice as many people. AND people would actually want to read it and share it with their friends.

Instead of making your press release sound like it was written by a journo from 1992 who's never heard of the Internet, ask yourself "What would I want to read?" and go from there.

3. Take photos of yourself.

You need to get the hell over the fact that you don't like seeing pictures of your own face. To understand marketing is to understand people, and you should recognise that people trust people... not your fancy logo, shop front, or new car. 

If I see a post in my Facebook feed with a human on it, I'm more likely to pause for a moment and look. If I see a business logo, I'm more likely to scroll by as quick as possible.

The next time you place an ad on Everything Geraldton, instead of just a picture of the product, consider a photo of you or your staff. Three years of doing this has convinced me that people are interested in other people.

Faces are interesting. Logos are boring.  

----  

Everything Geraldton's most successful style of ads are the sponsored posts... articles that appear alongside other news, about your business or organisation. They're affordable and well read, and don't get glazed over like most other ads.  

I've been running Everything Geraldton for over three years now, and feel that I know what works and what doesn't. So if you want some ideas or help writing a sponsored post for your business, you are welcome to call me personally on 0404 443 442.

Good luck, and all the best in business.  

Jason Smith