Herald 20220823

Three arrested after reckless joyride
Three people were charged after a stolen ute
was allegedly driven dangerously between Ipswich
and Toowoomba last week.
It was alleged a Toyota Hilux was stolen during
a break-in at a Laidley residence just after 2am on
Monday, August 8.
It was further alleged the Hilux was sighted in
different locations driving at high speed and on the
wrong side of the road.
At around 8.30am on Monday, August 8, the
vehicle was driven straight at a police vehicle on
Stone Gully Road at Coolan, forcing the officers to
take evasive action and pull away from the road.
Polair continued to monitor the ute as it proceeded
onto the Warrego Highway towards
Toowoomba, allegedly continuing to travel dangerously
and at a high speed.
The two occupants of the vehicle abandoned
the ute on Sixth Avenue in Toowoomba and were
picked up by two other people allegedly driving a
black Toyota Rav4.
The Rav4 was then allegedly driven dangerously
on Toowoomba Streets including crossing onto
the wrong side of the road and through a service
station.
Polair continued to track the vehicle until it
travelled into the carpark of Grand Central shopping
centre where the four occupants exited and
ran inside.
Officers immediately attended the location and
took four people into custody.
An Ellen Grove man, 29, was charged with
three counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle
and one count each of burglary, receiving tainted
property, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, possession
of dangerous drugs, driving unlicensed, driving
uninsured, driving unregistered, and offence to
possess medicines.
A Toowoomba woman, 27, was charged with
two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle
and one count each of burglary, receiving tainted
property, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, driving
unlicensed, driving uninsured and driving unregistered.
A Newtown woman, 35, was charged with two
counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and one
count each of burglary and possession of tainted
property.
All three appeared in the Toowoomba Magistrates
Court on Tuesday, August 9.
A Rockville boy, 15, was charged with unlawful
use of a motor vehicle.
Council cuts red tape to
aid housing supply
Toowoomba Regional Council has endorsed
seeking Ministerial approval to remove regulations
to aid new housing supply.
Planning and Development Committee chair Cr
Megan O’Hara Sullivan said this was one of four
measures the council would use to simplify and
speed up the approval process for new housing
across the region.
Cr O’Hara Sullivan said the simpler process
would streamline development mostly in emerging
areas in Cotswold Hills, Torrington, Glenvale
and Drayton. Around 430 hectares of land or 3700
lots (mostly 700sqm, in keeping with sizes agreed
to by the development industry) would be available
for new dwellings.
“This move will create a simpler, shorter and
lower-risk process for the development of land
with access to existing or planned infrastructure,”
she said.
“It also creates more options for the management
of stormwater for medium density development
on sites that slope away from the street, making
them more feasible for redevelopment.
“The council has taken this action to encourage
the development of new housing stock on appropriately
serviced and located land in the planning
scheme area to assist with addressing our current
housing shortage.
“Senior TRC planning officers consulted with
their state government counterparts and other development
industry professionals to devise a range
of measures and other policies to enable developers
to offer greater housing choice across the region.”
Cr O’Hara Sullivan said the council continued
to investigate options and hold discussions about
suitable council-owned land that could be developed
by social housing providers or private developers.
“We will continue to lobby the state government
and community housing providers to find solutions
for the urgent provision of social housing and
affordable housing for the private rental market,”
Cr O’Hara Sullivan said.
TRC Planning and Development Committee
portfolio leader Cr Bill Cahill said the council’s
initiatives were designed to assist in the provision
of more rental accommodation in the region’s existing
urban areas, as well as making it easier for
developers to provide new housing lots for owner
occupiers in the short term, (especially given the
demand for new owner occupier homes that has
been driven by federal stimulus incentives).
“History and statistical evidence show us that
these measures look to give us the greatest yield
for new dwellings on the ground,” Cr Cahill said.
“The council is also looking to unlock the latent
capacity in our existing infrastructure networks,
particularly around in-fill development. This also
delivers a more cost-effective solution as we encourage
more dwellings to be built.
“We acknowledge that housing supply and
housing rental stress are key issues being experienced
in our community, that have been compounded
by the COVID-19 pandemic and other
economic changes.
“These challenges are not unique to the
Toowoomba Region and reflect challenges being
experienced across Australia.
“The council continues to meet with the development
industry as part of ongoing discussions to
address housing supply concerns across the Region.
“The council must manage growth sustainably
and responsibly and is actively planning for the
future in developing a new Toowoomba Regional
Growth Plan and planning scheme.”
The council’s additional housing incentive measures
(that were endorsed in June 2022), include:
• Reducing application fees by 50% for building
new infrastructure associated with new subdivisions
for a period not exceeding 12 months from
June 2022, • Bringing forward an incentives policy
for adoption, that in principle reduces the infrastructure
charges normally applicable to a medium
density development. The details of this incentives
policy are yet to be determined and endorsed by
the council.
National Wattle Day - September 1
GOLDEN WATTLE AWARD RECOGNISES
CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIA
Since 1992, the first day of
spring, September 1, has been
proclaimed as the nation’s National
Wattle Day. This was
done to unify individual State
and Territories Wattle Days that
had been celebrated between
July and October depending on
when the local wattle flowering
was at its best.
There are 1070 Acacia species
native to Australia. The Golden
Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) was
officially gazetted as Australia’s
national floral emblem in 1988.
The Golden Wattle Award is
presented to an Australian or
Australians who have brought
‘gold’ to Australia during the
year by their contributions to the
land and/or the people.
Previous winners include
Olympic swimmer Emma McKeon,
Australian health and medical
professionals, and Craig
Challen and Richard Harris, the
doctors involved in the rescue of
the Wild Boars Football Team
from the cave in Thailand.
Golden Wattle - 1070 species native to Australia
The Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander nations have used
acacias for a wide variety of
purposes, including food, medicines,
digging sticks, weapons,
musical instruments, firewood
and dyes. A number of wattle
species are suitable for garden
planting. Obviously, if you wish
to plant one, check that the size
is suitable for your garden, and
that the species can grow in your
locality, as some are not frost
hardy. Acacia are a good source
of pollen for help with bee populations,
and the seeds are a food
source for different bird species.
So, if this has germinated an
interest in our national floral emblem,
what are you ‘Wattling’
for! • Check out http://www.
wattleday.asn.au and Facebook
www.facebook.com/WattleDay
for more details
Garth
HAMILTON
Federal Member for Groom
516 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba QLD 4350 07 4632 4144
garth.hamilton.mp@aph.gov.au
garthhamilton.com.au
Authorised by G. Hamilton, Liberal National Party of Queensland, 516 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba QLD 4350.
4 - HIGH COUNTRY HERALD - AUGUST 23, 2022
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