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It’s a Successful World Championship Campaign for St Peters Western Reps, Rest of Australian Junior Swimming Team!

The Australian junior swimming team, including St Peters Lutheran College Springfield’s Mollie O’Callaghan and Jenna Forrester, successfully finished their 2019 Fina World Junior Championships campaign, landing third in the medal tally and recording some new personal best times in the process.

Team Australia captured their first two medals on the first night of the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships, which had more than 800 swimmers from 122 nations seeing action at the Duna Arena in Budapest.

Thomas Neil snared silver medal in the Men’s 400m Freestyle with a personal best time of 3:46.27. Whilst the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay saw the team of Lani Pallister (1.58.61), Michaela Ryan (1.59.11), Rebecca Jacobson (2.00.71), and Jenna Forrester (1.59.44) finishing second behind USA.

Our Fina World Junior Championship 4×200 Freestyle 🥈 medalists!#TeamSPW ⚫⚪🔴
Posted by St Peters Western Swim Club on Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Aussies claimed their first gold of the meet, courtesy of Lani Pallister, after she powered her way through in the Women’s 800m Freestyle, whilst Mollie O’Callaghan clocked 1:00.27, beating her personal best recorded the night before, to finish fourth in the Women’s 100m Backstroke.

The third night of the competition saw Australia bagging back-to-back bronze medals. St Peters Western Swim Club‘s Meg Harris took home the bronze in the 100m Freestyle final after a heart-stopping finish of 54.58. USA’s Gretchen Walsh (53.74) and Torri Huske (54.54), took first and second place, respectively. Thomas Neil contributed another bronze to the Australian medal haul, finishing third place in the Men’s 800m Freestyle

Lani Pallister secured another gold medal for Australia in the Women’s 400m Freestyle, on night four of the championship meet. Cotton Tree’s Pallister swam to a new personal best and a new championship record, timing 4:05.42. Australia also took the bronze in the Men’s 4x200m freestyle relay that night.

By the fifth night, Australia had already amassed four gold, three silver, and three bronze medals, thanks to the back-to-back junior world titles of Bronte Job and Lani Pallister. Job struck gold in the Women’s 50m Backstroke in 27.87.

Proving that she is in it to win it, Lani Pallister continued to shine with another sterling performance by breaking the 16-minute barrier in the Women’s 1500m Freestyle clocking 15.58.86 — a new personal best and championship record by the 17-year-old. The Women’s 4x100m Freestyle team of O’Callaghan, Harris, Pallister, and Jacobson captured the silver medal behind the USA.

Some action shots of our #TeamSPW crew competing at the 2019 Fina World Junior Championships in Budapest.🇭🇺We have had…
Posted by St Peters Western Swim Club on Saturday, August 24, 2019

Capping off a massively successful showing, Lani Pallister was named “Female Swimmer of the Meet” on the final night, after making another trip to the podium to wear her Women’s 200m Freestyle silver medal.

Thomas Neill also claimed another silver medal for the Australian junior swimming team via Men’s 1500m Freestyle Relay with a new personal best of 14:59.19.

Rounding off the successful Aussie championship campaign was Meg Harris bronze finish in the Women’s 50m Freestyle “splash n dash” with a personal best time of 24.89 seconds.

All told, Australia took home four gold medals, five silver, and four bronze with the USA leading the medal tally board with 37 medals (18 gold, 10 silver, and nine bronze). Russia had 22 (seven gold, 11 silver, and four bronze), Italy with 12 (3 gold, 2 silver, and 7 bronze), and Canada with 12 (2 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze)

Ipswich City Council Calls for Submission of Entries for the Upcoming Ipswich Film Festival for Youth 2019

Let your child’s creativity flow by joining Ipswich City Council’s Ipswich Film Festival for Youth (IFFY) 2019.

This film festival is accepting entries from youth members who are aged 7 to 25 years old. All participants who are interested in joining the festival must submit a short film with their friends under the theme of “FUTURE— What is Possible”.

The Ipswich City Council will be accepting entries until Friday, 20 September 2019; whilst the Ipswich Film Festival for Youth short film screening and awarding ceremony will take place on Saturday, 19 October 2019, at The Circle in Robelle Domain.

Age Group Categories

For this year’s film festival, the Council have decided to split up the competition into 3 age groups with different categories on each level. Below are the listed categories for IFFY 2019:

7 – 11 Years

Best Picture (age overall winner)
Share It (social media format – phone video recordings in portrait or landscape)
Single Shot (60 seconds non-stop)
Silent Film (black and white with no audio)

12 – 17 Years

Best Picture (age overall winner)
Documentary (storytelling)
Sci-Fi
School Entry (school groups only)

18 – 25 Years

Best Picture (age overall winner)
Documentary (storytelling)
Music Video (video to suit the soundtrack Evolution (this is a royalty-free soundtrack, but entrants must credit Bensound)
Animation/Stop Motion (comic or computer animated)

Prizes

A major prize of GoPro will be awarded for each age group category. Minor prizes will also be given at the festival, and these include various gift cards that are worth $3,600.

Ipswich Film Festival for Youth — *Photo credit: Ipswich City Council/ Facebook*

How to Enter

Each participant must create and upload their own entry video or videos online via Film Freeway. Submission of entries is open until 20 September 2019.

The length of the short film must be1 to 3 minutes with a maximum size of 10GB. The following video formats are accepted: MPEG4, MP4, MOV, AVI, and WMV.

Judging Criteria

All submitted entries will be judged conducted according to the following criteria:

Use of the theme 25%
Use of storytelling 25%
Use of editing 25%
Use of visual and audio effects 25%

Members of the judging panel for Ipswich Film Festival for Youth 2019 are: Mikaele Lese, EJ Garrett, and Connor Fairclough.

For more information about the judges and the terms and conditions of IFFY 2019, click here.

Greenbank Among Suburbs with Highest Percentage of Households with Rooftop Solar Installations

The recently released Climate Council report has ranked Greenbank in Logan among the top Queensland suburbs for percentage of households with rooftop solar installations.

The Climate Council report released 7 August 2019 underscored how Queensland is leading the way in terms of rooftop solar installations, as Australia continues to embrace renewable sources of energy, demonstrated by the soaring number of households with rooftop solar.

The Report stated that Queensland remains to be a leader in rooftop solar where 25 out of 34 Australian suburbs and towns with more than half of dwellings have rooftop solar installations, are Qld suburbs.

Australian PV Institute reports that one third of all households in Qld have installed solar PV — almost 600,000 rooftop solar households, according to Clean Energy Regulator — outnumbering all other Australian states and territories.

The Logan suburbs Greenbank, Boronia Heights, Lyons, and New Beith are collectively ranked 10th among the top Qld suburbs in terms of rooftop solar installations, with a total of 3,728 or 56.1 percent of total dwellings.

Ranking	Post Code	Suburb / Town	Region	Rooftop solar installations	% of dwellings with rooftop solars*
1	4516	Elimbah	Moreton Bay	923	70.6%
2	4280	Jimboomba, South and North Maclean	Logan City	3,479	60.9 %
3	4270	Tamborine	Logan City/Scenic Rim	846	59.6%
4	4553	Diamond Valley, Mooloolah Valley, Glenview, Palmview	Sunshine Coast	1,279	59.1%
5	4520	Samford Valley, Cedar Creek, Enoggera Reservoir	Moreton Bay	2,062	57.1%
6	4512	Wamura, Bracalba	Moreton Bay	706	56.7%
7	4156	Burbank, MacKenzie	Southeast Brisbane	582	56.5%
8	4561	Yandina, Maroochy River, North Arm, Yandina Creek	Sunshine Coast	1,526	56.4%
9	4228	Tallebudgera, Tallebudgera Valley	Gold Coast	960	56.4%
10	4124	Boronia Heights, Greenbank, Lyons, New Beith	Logan City	3,728	56.1%

*excluding postcode with under 1,000 dwellings

Source: APVI 2019 / Climate Council of Australia Ltd 2019

In the decade of 2007 to 2016, Queensland incurred a total of $11 billion yearly in economic cost due to extreme weather events such as heat waves and coastal flooding, making Qld the most vulnerable Australian state to climate change.

“The sun-drenched state of Queensland is making the most of an abundant natural resource. Powering your house with the sun rather than fossil fuels is an incredibly powerful step in tackling climate change,” said the Climate Council’s CEO, Amanda McKenzie.

DA to Build a Football Stadium and Training Facility in Springfield Central Lodged

A development application has been lodged for a Master Area Development Plan that will involve the construction of the $70-million football stadium and training facility in Springfield Central.

The proposal development called the “Reserve Community Arena” will accommodate the Premium Sports Stadium Facility along with training and administration facilities, as well as a range of complementary uses.

The boutique 10,000-seater football stadium, which will serve as the permanent home of the Brisbane Lions and AFLW team, and its supporting facilities will be located at 60 Springfield Greenbank Arterial, 7003 Eden Station Drive and 7001 Centenary Highway, Springfield Central.

To be delivered in two stages the development will include five key precincts:

Entry Plaza and Western Concourse
Lions Training and Administration Facility
Members Standing and Grandstand Spectator Area
Grassed Berm Spectator Area
Complementary Activities

*Photo Credit: Ipswich City Council / pdonline.ipswich.qld.gov.au*

Entry Plaza and Western Concourse

The entry plaza will provide an open space public area interfacing Springfield Town Centre, Orion Springfield Central Shopping Centre, Robelle Domain, Springfield Central Train Station, and the adjacent short term/commuter parking facilities which is currently being developed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads

The entry plaza will link directly into the main oval and viewing areas through the

open ground floor of the training and administration facility and by the Mountain Creek concourse to the Grandstand and Grassed Berm spectator areas.

The Western Concourse is a low-speed shared area for servicing and maintenance vehicles with a dedicated maintenance link provided directly to the main oval.

Footbridges across the Mountain Creek corridor, to serve as additional linkage with the Town Centre North area to the west for the western concourse, may be proposed in the future.

Football Stadium Springfield Central — *Photo Credit: Telstra Corporation Limited / thereservespringfield.com.au*

Lions Training and Administration Facility

The two-storey high indoor field will incorporate ground level transparency and openness to allow public viewing. The remainder of the building to comprise the high performance training facilities and administration functions of the Brisbane Lions club within the eastern portion.

In addition, administration and ancillary functions of the club, catering, members club dining, players lounge, and auditorium and meeting space for community use will be provided within the wertern portion.

Members Standing and Grandstand Spectator Area

The members standing and grandstand spectator areas will comprise an open standing area and a 700-seating-capacity public grandstand over the upper level.

Provided on the upper level behind the tiered seating and overlooking the oval the are coaches and officials area and the radio and television broadcasting facilities. Below the tiered seating are sporting facilities for AFL, community use, and local sports matches with dressing rooms, warm up area, officials areas, and player amenities.

Grassed Berm Spectator Area

The large grassed berm area will be provided in two locations and can be accessed from either end of the grass berms adjoining the Western Grandstand or the eastern pedestrian concourse. This area is where the main digital scoreboard and replay screen will be situated.

Complementary Activities

A separate precinct to house a range of complementary activities to support the Brisbane Lions players and staff, and also available to the broader community, will be provided including child care, a gymnasium, ancillary business, and health facilities which includes medical imaging, sports medicine, and a lap pool.

The development proposal includes two key parking areas with the primary northern car park, accessible from Eden Station Drive, containing 108 car parking space.

Whilst the restricted access eastern parking areas, accessible from Springfield Greenbank Arterial, will accommodate 60 spaces exclusively for staff and club use including the use by emergency and operational vehicles on game days .

The Reserve will be owned by Ipswich City Council and will be leased to the Brisbane Lions Football Club. Minor work has commenced in 2018 and major construction is expected to start in late 2019.

The Reserve will likely have its ribbon-cutting/ball up ceremony in early 2021.

State Budget Backs Jobs for Ipswich

Job-generating infrastructure and frontline services are the focal points of the State Government’s 2019-20 Budget allocation for Ipswich.

Speaking to local businesses and community members last 15 July at the Brookwater Golf and Country Club, Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad said that the Budget will deliver large investment in jobs, infrastructure, and frontline services throughout Ipswich.

“We’re investing in job-generating infrastructure and the frontline services that the Ipswich region needs,” Ms Trad said.

“Over the next 12 months Palaszczuk Government will invest nearly $896 million in local infrastructure and support an estimated 2000 jobs in the process.”

Local business is also an important focus of the Budget, Ms Trad said, particularly with the $885 million Payroll Tax Package that is meant to help 270 Ipswich businesses absorb additional workers.

*Photo Credit: The State of Queensland 1995–2019 / budget.qld.gov.au/highlights*

The State Government will invest $107.3 Million in 2019-20 to maintain, improve, and upgrade existing schools, $895.9 Million for productivity enhancing infrastructure and capital works, and $642.8 Million for West Moreton Hospital and Health Services. The State Government spending is expected to support around 2,000 jobs in the region.

“This Budget will invest $642.8 million in health for this region and almost $107.3 million to maintain and upgrade schools in the Ipswich region.

“Our investment in frontline services has delivered 524 extra nurses, 164 new doctors, 556 additional teachers and 221 extra teacher aides, based right here in Greater Ipswich since 2015,” Ms Trad added.

*Photo Credit: Kgbo [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] / Wikimedia Commons*

Ipswich also stands to benefit from the $238-million Ipswich Motorway upgrade which includes the construction of additional lanes between Oxley Road and Granard Road, in partnership with the Australian Government.

A total of $60.6 million will be allocated in 2019-20 out of the $94.1-million total investment towards the construction of the first stage of two new school.

*CleanCo | Photo Credit: Energy – Queensland / Facebook*

“We’re also delivering a major overhaul to the Swanbank E electricity generator and Wivenhoe Dam as part of the new publicly owned, low emissions CleanCo electricity generation company,” Member for Jordan Charis Mullen said.

CleanCo Queensland is the State Government’s latest publicly-owned electric generation and trading company. Capital projects in 2019-20 include $3.626 million for maintenance and overhauls at Wivenhoe and $52.25 million for the Swanbank E major overhaul, Fast Start Upgrade and other projects.

Apart from the already mentioned, other major projects funded in the 2019-20 Budget include:

$2.53 million for additional classrooms at Springfield Central State High School.
$550,000 to upgrade Woodcrest State College.
Over $1,000,000 to upgrade schools across the Jordan electorate.
$869,171 as part of a $2,625,943 commitment over four years to provide Mental Health Funding Program services
$7.2 million capital, safety and maintenance investment in training infrastructure at Ipswich TAFE.
$2.4 million 2019-20 to upgrade Springfield Central train station park ‘n’ ride facility to provide an additional 650 car spaces, at a total cost of $44.5 million.

State Allocates Budget for Transport and Education in Springfield Area

The State Government is investing on educational and transport infrastructure projects in Springfield as part of its 2019-20 Budget allocation for Ipswich, aimed at supporting more jobs and helping around 270 businesses in this region.

About $2.4 million of the State Government’s budget allocation for Ipswich in 2019-20, out of a $44.5 million total spend, will be spent towards upgrading the Springfield Central train station park ‘n’ ride to improve safety and amenity for customers departing the train station.

Once completed, the new multi-storey park ‘n’ ride will provide around 1,100 parking spaces and enhance public access from the Springfield Central train station.

Also, Springfield Central State High School will receive $5.2 million in 2019-20, out of a $17.8 million total spend, that will go toward the construction of additional classrooms and a new multipurpose hall.

The $9-million multi-purpose hall will feature two multi-purpose sports courts with retractable basketball backboards, amenities, storage areas, learning areas, staff room, and meeting rooms.

The State Government will invest $12.9 billion in essential infrastructure to improve roads, hospitals, and schools across Queensland, directly supporting 40,500 jobs with 25,500 of which will in regions outside of Greater Brisbane.

In Ipswich, the State Government will invest $107.3 Million in 2019-20 to maintain, improve, and upgrade existing schools, $895.9 Million for productivity enhancing infrastructure and capital works, and $642.8 Million for West Moreton Hospital and Health Services. The State Government spending in educational and transport infrastructure projects is expected to support around 2,000 jobs in the region.

Taco Bell to Debut in Ipswich By Replacing Sizzler

Photo Credit: Google Street View

Mexican food giant Taco Bell will open its first restaurant in Ipswich City, at Sizzler’s former location in the area.

This news comes after the Ipswich City Council approved Collins Restaurants’ development application for fast food premises and advertising devices at 70 Brisbane Road, East Ipswich.

Based on approved plans, the new restaurant will be a single-storey building with drive-through for 12 cars queuing. The drive-through and signage will be located on the south eastern portion of the site.

Taco Bell’s Ipswich location will have a total of 250 sqm gross floor area, with 58 sqm dedicated for outdoor dining. It will also have 50 on-site car parking spaces.

Photo Credit: Taco Bell Australia/Facebook

Although this is good news for fans of burritos and quesadillas, it is disappointing news for Sizzler regulars. Sizzler spent more than three decades in the area and was the go-to place for people looking for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

This is not the first time a Taco Bell restaurant will replace a space once occupied by Sizzler. In 2017, they made their anticipated return to Australia by operating at site of Sizzler in Annerley.

There is no exact date when the Ipswich location will open but once up and running, Collins Restaurants is planning to operate 24 hours seven days a week if customer demand warrants it.

What seems very likely is that this isn’t going to be the last because Collins Restaurant announced in 2018 that they are planning to have a major expansion for Taco Bell in Australia, with more than 50 locations to roll out over the next three years.

IGA Springfield Lakes Cited for Its Role in Plastic Bag Ban’s Success

IGA Springfield Lakes was praised for its role in the success of the State Government’s plastic bag ban, a year after its introduction.

Minister for Environment Leeanne Enoch announced last 1 July 2019 that plastic bag litter had dropped at least 70 percent, from up to 16 million, since the introduction of the plastic bag ban last year.

“These have significant impacts on our environment, waterways and species. But now, thanks to our ban on single-use lightweight plastic bags, we are seeing an incredible drop,” Ms Enoch said.

Minister Enoch said that supermarkets like IGA Springfield had played an enormous role in the success of the measure.

“In the last 12 months this store alone has taken around 364,000 single use bags out of circulation, or about 7,000 per week, which is wonderful.

“Each bag that is taken out of circulation is one less bag that can end up in the environment or wasted in landfill.”

IGA Springfield plastic bag ban — *Photo Credit: orderinchaos [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)] / Wikimedia Commons*

“Our customers have adjusted well to the changes,” IGA Springfield store owner Terry Slaughter said.

“Many bring their own bags and have told us they are happy to play their part.

“We have alternatives available for customers to use, including multiple-use bags provided to us by the Greater Springfield Landcare Group.”

Waste disposal levy

Minister Enoch also announced the reintroduction of the waste disposal levy beginning 1st of July, underpinning the State Government’s latest strategy — Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy — which is aimed at reducing waste, increasing recycling, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting the environment.

“The waste levy will help to grow the recycling and resource recovery sector – creating jobs – while reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfills,” she said.

“There are more jobs in recycling than landfill, so this is a clear economic opportunity for Queensland.”

New Medical Centre, Child Care Centre to Rise in Goodna

The Ipswich City Council has approved the application to develop a medical centre, pharmacy and a cafe, and a child care centre in Goodna.

Designed by WG Architects, the development will sit on a 6,478sqm land at 41, 41A and 43 Queen Street in Goodna. The two-storey multi-purpose complex will house two complementary services: a Medical Centre and a Child Care Centre.

On the ground level will be a medical centre to be comprised of health related tenancies including a pharmacy which will have a total gross floor area of 1,300sqm, as well as an associated cafe with an area of 100sqm.

A child care centre will be located on Level 1 with an indoor area of 945sqm and an outdoor area of 805sqm.

“The proposed development allows for the erection of a contemporary styled complex for the offers health services with ancillary café and pharmacy and a child care services comprising of 2,345sqm of gross floor area. The proposal will provide significant community benefit at a highly accessible location, being the provision of valuable services to the locality,” the Planning Initiatives Assessment Report says.

*Photo Credit: 2019 Ipswich City Council / epathway.ipswich.qld.gov.au*

“The proposed uses of a medical centre and child care centre offer specialised services which will not challenge the primary centres in the surrounding area nor compete with the existing commercial uses. Conversely the proposal will provide additional community services in the form of health and child care that will support the locality and community.”

The developer proposed access to the site from Queens Street with car parking at the street level and at an above ground parking located at the upper level. A total of 107 vehicles including 5 PWD and 1 Ambulance bay will be accommodated.

Spring Mountain: Qld’s Top Suburb for Sales Growth

An analysis of total sales over the 12 months up to February 2019 revealed that Spring Mountain recorded the largest sales growth in Queensland.

The latest CoreLogic report ranked the suburbs with the highest total value of sales, the largest decline in total sales values, and the greatest increase in sales values.

The report shows that Spring Mountain had a total value of sales of $41,473,228 (91 sales) over the 12 months to February 2019 compared to $9,076,303 (26 sales) in 2018. That figure equates to a 356 percent increase in sales value.

According to CoreLogic’s propertyvalue.com.au, the median house price in Spring Mountain for the last 12 months is $478,000 or an increase of 49.14 percent. This makes Spring Mountain the fifth best performing suburb in Queensland in terms of price change.

Other Greater Brisbane suburbs which recorded the highest change in sales value are Joyner and Windaroo with 128.3 percent and 81.6 percent, respectively. Other Qld suburbs with impressive sales value growth are Blackwater which rose 95 percent and River Heads which is up by 67.7 percent.

Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast recorded the greatest value of transactions. Surfers Paradise’s total value of sales is $816,360,562 (1,348 sales), dropping 11.8 percent whilst Buderim declined 11.1 percent with a total value of sales of $460,938,384 (694 sales).

The slowing rate of decline in national dwelling values at the start of 2019 has continued on in May with prices across Australia falling 0.4 percent — the smallest decline month-on-month in the past 12 months.

Experts attribute the decelerating rate of decline to the improving market conditions in Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane also recorded declines in dwelling values — 2.3 percent over the past 12 months to May 2019 and 2.4 percent since peaking.

Although, experts predict the downturn in national house prices will continue throughout the year, prices may start rising by 3 percent in 2020 and 5 percent in 2021.