We arrived in Emerald Friday afternoon and checked out the town, ready for listening today.
There seems to be a divide between people that work for the coal industry in Emerald and those that don’t.
It has been interesting talking to people employed in various types of work and we’re looking forward to the public meeting on Sunday night at the Town Hall.
On first stop we heard many different views.
We had a public meeting organised for us in Mt Larcom, a small town close to Gladstone. Their main concerns were the noise pollution from the heavy train traffic and the land acquisition for the expansion of the train line.
While on a tour of the Port of Gladstone we came across a spillage from the line of loaders – this was identified as ’sump’
Our public meeting in Gladstone had a wide array of opinions and people including a councillor, deputy mayor, plain clothed police officer, PR representative from the Gladstone Port Corporation & a high school student.
We found people in Blackwater to be extremely friendly.
The severe storm on the night of the 20th with hail the size of softballs mobilised the SES and members of the community into a big clean-up the next day.
Some people we spoke to connected unusual storms like this with climate change and worried that more could happen in the future.
We’ll be in Chinchilla on the 28th & 29th with listening posts in Fuller St and near the IGA.
The will be a public meeting on the 28th at the Club Hotel at 6pm
The listening tour will be stopping off in Wandoan on the 27th of November.
Join us for a public BBQ at the Bowls Club starting at 6pm. Bring a plate of food to share if you can.
The listening tour will be in Alpha on the 25th of November.
Come along to the public meeting at the Town Hall in Tennyson St at 6pm.
We’ll be in Blackwater on the 20th & 21st but unfortunately we don’t have time for public meeting. There will be one in Emerald on Sunday 23rd at 6pm in the Town Hall – Supper Room.
The listening tour will be in Emerald on Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd. Listening posts will be in the main street.
Come along to the meeting on Sunday at the Town Hall – in the Supper Room at 6pm where we will be reporting back on what we’ve heard so far.
The listening tour will be stopping off in Gladstone on the 17th to the 19th of November. We’ll be holding listening posts and a public meeting at the Police Citizens Youth Club at 7pm on the 19th.
