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Seahorse nippers host carnival Main Beach was abuzz with activity last Saturday when Noosa Surf Lifesaving Club hosted its third annual joint Seahorse inclusion program, bringing together surf lifesaving clubs to celebrate inclusion and provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to experience surf lifesaving. Deputy president of the club and one of the founders of Noosa Seahorse Nippers Steve Mawby said the carnival event also aimed to create awareness around different pathways in surf lifesaving for volunteers, participants and the community, and provided an opportunity for clubs wishing to commence an adaptive program to come along, observe and learn. This year’s event brought together about 60 participants and 100 volunteer lifesavers, with about a dozen clubs, (an increase from nine last year) represented, from Port Douglas, Cairns, Noosa, Sunshine Beach, Peregian Beach, Coolum Beach, Dickie Beach, Kurrawa, North Burleigh, Pambula, Miami and Coolangatta. The carnival serves as a platform for members of different clubs to come together, share experiences and challenges, and improve the growth and sustainability of their adaptive programs. This year clubs from Coolangatta and Cairns were looking to start their own adaptive programs, and the event provided them with a chance to observe and learn from the experiences of established programs like Same Wave, Starfish, Pippies, Turtles, and Seahorse, Steve said. “The objective for ourselves and many other clubs operating in this space is to give every surf club in Australia the opportunity to commence, deliver or participate in an adaptive program. Continued page 14
Nippers excel in the relay on Noosa Main Beach. (Rob Maccoll)
Nats push for local By Margie Maccoll Newly elected Nationals leader Matt Canavan visited Noosaville steel fabricator NEACH on Tuesday to highlight his message, delivered in his opening address as leader, to ensure the country’s sovereign manufacturing capability. “I want more Australian everything, and that includes more Australian steel,” he said. “I want to see us use the blessings of the best coking coal in the world, the biggest iron ore industry in the world. The two main things you need to make steel. “Unfortunately under this government you’re not getting more Australian steel, you’re getting more foreign steel. Our imports have surged by 50 per cent and fabrication of Australian fabricated steel products has fallen 43 per cent. Wide Bay MP Llew O’Brien described NEACH
as one of Noosa’s iconic businesses but said the steel fabrication industry was under threat from inferior imports. “NEACH has been operating in Noosa, employing locals and apprentices for over 50 years. They’ve got a staff of over 30 and staff of five apprentices they sign through. “Steel fabrication is an incredibly important part of our economy and it’s currently under threat. It’s a very serious issue. “We want young people to have jobs and we want those jobs to be sustainable and we want people to have the confidence to invest and buy Australian products but at the moment we’re under attack. NEACH managing director Ryza Garbacz agreed there were challenges to their industry
from foreign imports and they had been pushing for fairer laws around free trade. “We have a lot of work for cross river rail project. We’re been lucky to do a number of projects across that project but we were sad to see a number of those stations did go overseas to offshore fabrication,” he said. “Our industry is in a bit of flux at the moment in relation to the way we have to comply to a stringent set of specifications, standards and regulations here yet we see steel coming in that doesn’t necessarily have to comply to that same standard. “What we’re trying to do is push for fairer laws around free trade and make sure that steel coming in is meeting that standard. At the same time we’re passionate as a business about continuing to employ local people.
“”We’re giving opportunities to these young apprentices in my factory to go out and earn a living and spend that money in our community. When we spend that work offshore that money just disappears straight away. “We’ve got fabricators in Australia going broke on the back of not having enough work to do when we see that work coming from offshore. I think there needs to be some discussions around that. Australian Steel Institute (ASI) Queensland manager John Gardner said ASI, which represents steel fabricators across Australia that manufactured about 70 per cent of fabricated steel in Australia, had submitted a safeguard application to the government. Continued page 2