Big W extends lease
Big W announced on Monday 21 March that they will extend the lease of the Warwick Distribution Centre until 2026.
Managing Director of BIG W, Pejman Okhovat, said: “We believe that continuing operations in Warwick will best support the needs of BIG W’s customers in our Queensland and Northern Territory stores, continue to bring employment to the community and retain our loyal and high performing team members.
In April 2019 an announcement was made to review Big W’s Store and Distribution Centre network. The intention at that time was to close two Distribution Centres, Monarto in SA and Warwick.
David Littleproud meets with QFF to discuss ag sustainability
Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) led a delegation of members to meet with the federal Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud MP, to discuss the sustainability of the agriculture sector in the face of spiralling input costs and concerns regarding input supply security.
With diesel prices hitting record levels and farm input costs across the board rising significantly, QFF and its member organisations were pleased to take the opportunity to meet with the Minister to not only voice their concerns but more importantly to initiate discussions on how industry and government can work closely together to find solutions.
QFF chief executive officer, Jo Sheppard said that member feedback clearly demonstrated the growing concern of farmers who cannot continue to bear the brunt of spiralling input costs.
Flood consultation T2W
Community consultation on a proposed pipeline from Toowoomba to Warwick has been extended, to ensure any residents who may have been impacted by the recent floods still have time to have their say.
Consultation was scheduled to close this week, but Minister for Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water Glenn Butcher said late submissions will be accepted until the end of March.
“We know there are many who are working through a range of issues associated with the recent floods and we don’t want those people to lose the opportunity to share their opinion about this important project,” he said.
The proposed pipeline aims to improve Warwick’s drought resilience and provide water supply to Toowoomba regional towns along the route while ensuring there are no negative impacts to Toowoomba’s water security.
New generators to back up regional and remote phone towers in Maranoa
Maranoa communities are to benefit from more reliable mobile connectivity following power outages thanks to Round 2 of the Coalition Government’s Mobile Network Hardening Program (MHNP).
Government funding will be used to purchase backup generators for use at mobile sites in Longreach, Roma, Warwick, Stanthorpe, Goondiwindi and Bony Mountain.
Federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said Optus, Telstra and TPG Telecom will deliver the mobile network resilience upgrades across the country, including the six generator projects in the Maranoa region.
“Telecommunications, including mobile phone towers, rely on power to operate. Having permanent and portable generators in place will play a key role in keeping people informed about local conditions and issues during a natural disaster,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Having access to up-to-date information can genuinely save lives, particularly during a fast-moving event like a bushfire, where conditions can change dramatically.”
