Bill Byrne misled parliament
The Queensland Public Service Commission has confirmed Labor’s outgoing Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Bill Byrne misled parliament over staff numbers at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
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The release of official staff numbers from the Commission supports the staff figures put to the Minister during Budget Estimates which he vehemently denied.
The figures show Labor has cut employee numbers at the Department by 200 staff.
The Commission’s figures show at the end of June, the Agriculture Department had 1968.7 FTEs (full-time equivalent) staff compared with 2168 FTE’s under the LNP.
What this shows is that Labor and its Ministers will say and do anything, except tell the truth, when it comes to departmental staff numbers.
Before he leaves Parliament Bill Byrne owes Queensland agriculture an apology.
The LNP worked hard to re-establish a dedicated Department of Agriculture and all we’ve seen under Labor is a revolving door of Ministers and a gross misleading of Budget estimates proceedings about staff employed under this do-nothing, say anything government.
Dale Last
LNP Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
The battle of El Alamein
On October 23 we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the second Battle of El Alamein. Between July and November 1942 there were three battles fought at El Alamein and Australian forces figured prominently in two of them.
Over five months of fighting, Australia suffered almost 6000 casualties.
It was the Battle of El Alamein that turned the war in North Africa, where Rommel and his Panzer Army were rebuked and the Axis forces were subsequently driven out of the continent.
On the 75th anniversary of the battle, it will be an honour to welcome veterans of the Battle of El Alamein to Canberra for a reception held in their honour.
I ask all Australians to pause and reflect on the service and sacrifice of these great Australians and of all those who served in North Africa during the Second World War.
Dan Tehan
Minister for Veterans Affairs
Thanks for support
I am writing to thank The North West Star and the Mount Isa community for their support of McHappy Day in 2017 - the largest annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).
The Mount Isa community helped us celebrate 26 years of McHappy Day and raise a record breaking $4 million for RMHC. These donations equate to 30,000 nights of accommodation at a Ronald McDonald House, ensuring that Aussie families get to stay together while their sick or injured child undergoes treatment.
Throughout the country we saw communities, such as Mount Isa residents, help to raise vital funds for RMHC. We saw local bucket brigades, Scout groups, emergency services as well as sporting and TV personalities visiting McDonald’s restaurants.
I want to personally say a big thank you to everyone in the Mount Isa community, who got involved last weekend, making generous donations that helped McHappy Day raise more money than ever before.
Fundraising efforts like this are crucial to helping RMHC continue to expand programs and services to families who need them, as many of the Ronald McDonald Houses across the country have waiting lists, and are unable to accommodate everyone who needs help.
With so many Aussie kids requiring treatment, every donation goes a long way to keep families close together in their toughest times. You can support families in need by donating to rmhc.org.au all year round.
Barbara Ryan,
CEO of RMHC Australia
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
