Dave Glasson

So this is a good springboard into next year's Expo at the now opened Buchanan Park. Congratulations to Joyce McCulloch and her team and all the Council staff and builders for the huge effort they all put in to get Buchanan Park ready for the opening. Mount Isa has a world class facility that will open itself up to a lot of other uses in the years ahead.

Driving through town over the weekend, it is good to see the new chemist will be open for business today. I, along with a lot of other people, have been watching all the work that has been happening there over the last couple of months. No doubt for the new owners, it has been painstakingly slow, but by the looks of the outside the results speak for themselves. To me, this is a small example of optimism that is in the air in Mount Isa at the moment. Mount Isa is bursting at the seams - and it is great to see.

There is a bit of speculation that we might end up with another airline in Mount Isa. There are currently two companies that are very keen to run an air service out of Mount Isa. Whether or not they come to fruition, only time will tell but if they do, I urge people to support it where they can, because if they come and it is not supported it will be the last chance Mount Isa gets to have a bit of honest competition in the airline world - something which at the moment we just haven't got.

A few weeks ago, myself and the CEO went to a freight conference over in the Northern Territory. We saw first hand the infrastructure that has been and is being constructed to meet the needs of the future.

Contrary to what a lot of people say, the new rail line is a success and it has presented so many new opportunities for industry in the Northern Territory that were just not possible even a few years ago.

The Port facilities they have up there in the NT are world class. They have been built for the future.

As well as these two facilities, they are being supported by a huge fuel oil terminal, a huge LNG facility and huge warehousing and storage facilities to link the rail and port together into one big seamless freight solution.

As sure as night follows day, mining activity will follow a rail line, and that is exactly what is happening over the NT, the Territory has had a huge expansion in Mining activity the rail line was completed.

This is one reason why if Mount Isa and the region want to expand in the coming years, we need a rail link to link up with the Adelaide to Darwin rail line because the infrastructure that Mount Isa currently uses, the Mount Isa-Townsville rail line and port facilities are, contrary to what they tell us, are at full capacity. So there is no more room left for any new players in the market place.

One of the new players that is looking good for the Mount Isa region at the moment is Uranium mining. Now it doesn't take much thought to realise that there won't be a lot of Uranium shipped out of Townsville, as there port is not licensed to handle Uranium and I doubt it ever will be.

For those of you that follow some of the things I write in this newsletter, you will remember that I have spoken about the fuel industry and the domination and effect that Woolies and Coles have in the fuel industry.

Fuel at the moment is again a hot topic and there is a lot of argy bargy between the Government and the ACCC over who is responsible and what powers they have to sort it all out.
With Woolworths/Caltex and Coles/Shell now controlling 65% of the retail market, the question needs to be asked what role, if any, are Woolies and Coles involved in price fixing and the so called 4 cent a litre discount, is a genuine discount or not. I would say it's not, because if you think Woolies and Coles are giving you 4 cents a litre discount, then you would believe me that Qantas is going to start a service to the moon next month.

Cheers,
David Glasson.

Hon. Mark Vaile MP - Deputy Prime Minister
Minister for Transport and Regional Services Leader of the Nationals;
David Glasson and His Worship the Mayor Cr. Ron McCullough

CHAMBER REMINDERS

• The 2007/2008 edition of the Quicksmart Easifind telephone directory is currently underway and is due to be released in September. If you're not already listed in the directory please contact Cassandra Bird on
  Phone: 07 4743 9881; Mobile: 0404 840 113 or via Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

  This year's deadline for print is 31st July 2007.

  The Quicksmart Easifind is Mount Isa's ONLY local directory. Don't let your business miss out!

  Quicksmart Easifind Statistics

  • 25,000 Easifinds are printed annually
  • The inaugural Quicksmart Easifind on CD was introduced for the 2006-2007 edition
  • The directory covers more than 20 different shires and towns
  • Each Easifind includes a pull-out full colour gloss map of Mount Isa
  • In excess of 50,000 Mount Isa maps are printed each year
  • The Easifind also includes a Regional Queensland map indicating all local mines and stations
  • The publication provides additional information such as the Mount Isa & Regional Calendar of Events; a Community Service Directory; a Sporting & Recreational Organisation Directory; CPR chart and Annual Calendar.
  • Easifinds are delivered to each and every business, household, letter box, and mail bag in North West Queensland FREE of charge
  • Additional copies are available from the Chamber of Commerce office

• There are currently a number of surveys being conducted through the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce. These include Airline Service surveys and surveys for the 2007 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo. Please continue to send your information through to us as this assist us to improve services in and around the City.

• Commerce Queensland in association with the Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce is hosting an Experience Pays Awareness Strategy Launch and Briefing at the Redearth Hotel on 20th & 21st June.
  Attendance is free and each event will be catered. Registration is essential. Come along and find out how to Recruit, Retrain and Retain Mature-Age workers to keep your business growing.
  Times are as follows:

  Launch - Wednesday, 20th June 12.00pm - 2.00pm Redearth Hotel Ballroom
  Briefing - Thursday, 21st June 3.00pm - 5.00pm Redearth Hotel Ballroom

• This year's Mount Isa Business Awards will see a number of changes. Firstly, we'll have a whole new venue as the 2007 event will be staged at the recently opened multi-million dollar Buchanan Park complex. The Xstrata Entertainment Centre will have a greater capacity to ensure a spectacular night.
  Secondly, due to the expansion of the Awards over the years, the evening will now incorporate our regional conglomerates that will be open to nominate for all of the regular categories as well as the inaugural Regional Business Award.

The 2007 CS Energy Mica Creek Mount Isa & Regional Business Awards will be held on
Saturday, 20th October at the Buchanan Park Pavilion

AFTERHOURS NETWORKING FUNCTION

The last Afterhours Networking Function was held on the 3rd April at The Buffs Club. The night was sponsored by the WorkPac & ITT Flygt.

Over 65 people turned up to help make the night a great success. Prizes for the night were won by the following people:

Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce - ½ Page Full Colour Advert in 2007/08 edition
Mitch Warrener - Louminco

4LM/Hot FM - $1000 Advertising Package
Jasmine Ziegler - Good Shepherd Catholic College

Mount Isa Home & Garden Centre - Potted Office Plant
Melanie Field

Better Promotional Products - Personalised Wine Cooler Bag
Kate Toms - Gloria Jeans

WorkPac / ITT Flygt Sponsor's Pack
Michael Dougall - Mount Isa City Council

Woolworths $100 Gift Card
Julie-Anne Trundell - Centacare

CUSTOMER SERVICE RECOGNITION AWARD

Brooke Jayet of BellaObsessions Hairdressing Salon is the recipient of this month's Customer Service Recognition.

Brooke's fun and friendly nature always makes her customers feel welcome and her bubbly personality is infectious whenever you're in her presence.

As part of the Chamber's Customer Service Recognition, Brooke will automatically be in the running for this year's Mount Isa & Regional Business Awards Customer Service Award category.

BellaObsessions has been operating since February 2006 and is located in the Simpson Central Plaza.

Brooke Jayet of BellaObsessions

NEW MEMBERS WELCOME

The following organisations have recently joined the Chamber's comprehensive membership database.
We are now officially at 230 members with several more applications expected in the coming weeks.

• Mount Isa Family Support Service & Neighbourhood Centre
• Tyco Flow Control Pacific
• Herron Todd White (North QLD) Pty Ltd
• TLC Chiropractic
• North West QLD Defence Reserve Support Council

2007 XSTRATA MOUNT ISA MINING EXPO

The 2007 Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo was without doubt the most successful Mining Expo in its thirteen year history.

The record number of exhibitors, smarter marketing techniques and an unsurpassed level of participation by key industry stakeholders and senior mining personnel are all indicative of the success of this year's event.

Frequent exhibitors believed attendance numbers were up on previous years and many commented the quality of visitors was also impressive. Through 360 visitors surveyed during the expo, it was found that 38% of respondents listed their occupations in the top three fields of interest to suppliers - Managers, Supervisors and Business Owners.

The intense interest in this year's Expo can also be attributed to the current boom in regional mining and exploration which in turn demands a greater need for self-promotion by industry suppliers to keep abreast of ever changing technology and increasing competition within the trade.

This year's event attracted a high number of visitors to the city both through its metropolitan suppliers and various international exhibitors hailing from countries as far as China and Sweden.

The Xstrata Mount Isa Mining Expo is now the largest annual Mining Expo in Australia.

While other expositions attract a higher quantity of displays, the Mount Isa Mining Expo has the potential to improve its exhibitor numbers by focusing on the frequency of the event as a unique platform for launching new products, services and the like.

The 2007 Expo boasted its greatest number of exhibitors with a 65% increase in the previous year's figures. At 127 exhibits, visitors were very impressed with the varied and diverse range of displays.

Overall, feedback to date has been encouraging and positive and has already led to an impressive number of site registrations received for the 2008 event.