Ann-Marie Johnston has this week been appointed as the Finance and Business Strategy General Manager at Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC).
TRC CEO Brian Pidgeon said Ms Johnston had been successful following a highly competitive nation-wide recruitment process. During an extended period as Acting General Manager, Ann-Marie excelled in this role so it’s great to see her formally appointed to the position,†Mr Pidgeon said.
Ann-Marie joined Council in 2011, following an extensive career in financial management in diverse industries including manufacturing, insurance, transport, education, engineering, agri-business and arts management.”
This extensive experience includes 12 years at the Empire Theatre, 10 of those as General Manager, five years as Council’s Principal Accountant and more than three years as Financial Services Manager.”
In the role of General Manager I’m confident our organisation and Executive Leadership Team will continue to benefit from Ann-Marie’s professional approach to financial management, sustainability and strong commitment to improving diversity and inclusion.”
I know she’s committed to helping our organisation thrive and will continue to improve the services we provide to our communities throughout the Region.”
Ann-Marie lives in the Toowoomba Region, loves the community she serves and is a wonderful asset to Council. On behalf of Council, I wish Ann-Marie every success in the role as General Manager and look forward to working alongside her over the coming years.â€
Abby Blaikie Communication and Engagement Officer Customer, Communication and Engagement Toowoomba Regional Council
Darling Downs residents are being encouraged to protect themselves against influenza, as the cooler months start to set in. The best way to avoid getting sick is to talk to your GP about receiving a flu vaccination.
For the year to date, 1st January to 8th May 2022, there have been 39 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza in the Darling Downs Health region. Director of Public Health and Community Medicine at Darling Downs Health Dr Liam Flynn said this is slightly increased in comparison to previous years, which is why it’s important to get the flu vaccine.
Now is a great time to protect yourself and your loved ones, so you’re immunised before the flu season arrives,†Dr Flynn said. Flu season in Queensland typically peaks in August, so I’d encourage all members of our community to visit their GP or pharmacist and get the influenza jab soon. The flu hasn’t gone away, and we still face the possibility of a serious flu season this year.â€
Influenza is a very contagious, viral infection that can affect the upper airways and lungs. In addition to receiving the vaccination, there are also some simple steps that can be taken to help fight the flu. These include washing your hands, covering your coughs and sneezes, and staying home if you’re sick.
Some members of the community are more at risk from influenza and its complications, therefore are eligible to receive the vaccination for free under the National Immunisation Program.
These people include people 65 years and over, pregnant women, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over six months of age, children from six months to five years of age and people with certain medical conditions.
To find out where you can receive your flu vaccination talk to your local GP or pharmacist.
Submitted by: Anthea Holborn Media, Communications and Engagement Manager Darling Downs Health
Many neurological disorders like Parkinson’s, chronic depression and other psychiatric conditions could be managed at home, thanks to a collaborative project involving researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ).
Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) Professor Peter Silburn AM said his team, together with Neurosciences Queensland and Abbott Neuromodulation have developed a remote care platform that allows patients to access treatment from anywhere in the world.
Professors Peter Silburn AM and Terry Coyne OAM
By creating the world’s first integrated and completely wireless remote care platform, we have removed the need for patients to see their doctor in person to have their device adjusted,†Professor Silburn said.
Electrodes are surgically inserted into the brain and electrical stimulation is delivered by a pacemaker which alters brain function – providing therapeutic relief and improving quality of life.
This digital platform allows clinicians to monitor patients remotely, as well as adjust the device to treat and alleviate symptoms in real time. We have shown that it is possible to minimise disruption to patients’ and carers’ lifestyles by increasing accessibility to the service, saving time and money,†Professor Silburn said.
There are no cures for many of these conditions which often require life-long treatment and care, so for those people the device would be a game-changer.†He said the system also fostered increasingly personalised treatment and data-driven clinical decisions, which could improve patient care.
During the study, we established the platform safety, security, usability and effectiveness and optimised its features using patient feedback in a biodesign process,†Professor Silburn said. In the initial weeks of a limited market release, we conducted 858 remote care sessions and maintained a robust and high success rate.â€
While the team started working on this digital health solution before COVID-19, the pandemic elevated the need for remote care platforms, particularly for older people and those living in remote areas with increased travel difficulties.
Through the pandemic patients have become more familiar with telemedicine and far more willing to adapt to platforms that connect them remotely to their healthcare teams,” Professor Silburn said.
The researchers are confident the technology could be adapted for many other conditions in the future. As we discover more about the biomarkers in brain-related disorders, we will refine neuromodulation systems to improve treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders like depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia and Tourette’s syndrome, to name just a few,†Professor Silburn said.
The digital health platform for remote neuromodulation systems has regulatory approval and launched in Australia in October 2021. It has also been adopted in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration Service and the European CE-Mark. Professor Silburn and QBI Director Professor Pankaj Sah and Associate Professor Terry Coyne will present at a series of information sessions for patients and carers living with Parkinson’s Disease, Dystonia, Essential Tremor and Tourette’s Syndrome in regional Queensland in the coming months.
The first information session will be held in Toowoomba on Saturday 30th April 2022 at the City Golf Club in Toowoomba from 9-11am.
Register here.
This research was published in Nature Scientific Reports (DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06098-7)
World Parkinson’s Day is recognised on April 11th each year. Today, in Australia, 37 people will hear the words ‘you have Parkinson’s’ for the very first time. That’s more than one person every hour, of every day, in Australia alone.
There is a widespread lack of public understanding about the disease which is a neurological, degenerative, chronic disease with no cure. Most people think of a stooped old man with a shuffling gait and a shaky hand, but Parkinson’s Disease has over 70 symptoms and each person with Parkinson’s has their own cocktail of these symptoms and problems to differing degrees, so each person walks their own path of pain and suffering.
Parkinson’s Disease can affect both men and women, young and old.
Toowoomba Parkinson’s Support GroupÂ
We aim to provide information and contacts to help sufferers and carers through their journey with Parkinson’s Disease. parkinsonssupportgroup-toowoomba.com
Submitted by:
Carol Chalmers
Co-ordinator
Toowoomba Parkinson’s Report Group
Toowoomba resident Graeme Snell will save at least 150,000kgs of blue plastic strapping from landfill this year as his recycling project evolves into a sustainable business.
Mr Snell purchased a $15,000 granulator machine in July to shred and compress the blue plastic strapping used to bind boxes and parcels by more than 90%.
He had been collecting the plastic waste from Toowoomba businesses over the past three years and had cut up nearly one tonne of strapping by hand with a pair of scissors before his machine arrived.
David Janetzki MP and Graeme Snell
Bundaberg Drinks saw Mr Snell’s story on the news in August and have since trucked 30 tonnes of strapping to Mr Snell’s Toowoomba workshop for him to recycle. He has applied for a recycling grant to purchase a second, larger granulator which would increase his recycling output more than three-fold to 500,000kgs per year.
I am ecstatic. It is beyond my wildest dreams that my project idea has turned into a business, and I can make a difference,†Mr Snell said.
Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki MP has been writing letters of support for Mr Snell’s recycling grant applications. The best ideas, like Graeme’s, always come from the grassroots and we need to get behind them,†Mr Janetzki said. In the coming years Graeme will single-handedly save millions of kilograms of plastic waste from landfill which is an extraordinary feat.â€
Mr Snell is searching for other large-scale businesses in Queensland and interstate to supply him with their strapping waste. He is also getting Colgate-Palmolive onboard as a client.
I believe there is too much of a political thought bubble around the environment with carbon emission targets and so on, but this is a real figure – 150,000kgs of plastic – it is something you can see and touch,†Mr Snell said.
Mr Snell sells the shredded plastic to a company in Brisbane who uses it to make new plastic strapping. It can also be melted into pellets and then used to produce new plastic products such as containers, floor mats, plant pots, bins and more.
I’ve always been quite passionate about recycling, and I knew that blue strapping was going straight into landfill,†Mr Snell said. I knew there was an end-use for it as it was a very clean source of plastic, but recyclers wouldn’t take the bulky product,†he said. I have now closed that loop by using my granulator.â€
Submitted by: Lacey Maguire
Media Manager
Office of David Janetzki MP Member for Toowoomba South
This Palm Sunday April 10th, join with thousands of Australians who are standing together to call for peace. Â
In the face of the escalating crisis in Ukraine and ongoing calls for help from the people of Afghanistan, people across Australia are using Palm Sunday as an opportunity to gather and call for Peace and Justice for Refugees.
For many years Palm Sunday has been associated with the tradition of a Peace March. In the early 1980s the focus was on non-violent demonstrations for nuclear disarmament More recently, the Palm Sunday marches have focused on achieving justice for refugees waiting for years in off-shore detention.
This Palm Sunday 10th April, Amnesty Toowoomba, The Social Justice Commission and the Uniting Church are creating an opportunity for the people of Toowoomba to participate in A Gathering for Peace, Hope and Justice.  It will be an opportunity for locals to stand in solidarity with all people displaced by war and natural disasters. At 2pm on Sunday 10th April we will gather at the Village Green on Ruthven Street, where people will be able to make a banner or a sign. Then together we will walk down Ruthven St to Queens Park where Nasir Haidarzai will share his story of fleeing Afghanistan. Phil Armit, from Amnesty Toowoomba, will talk on Justice for Refugees, and there will be the opportunity to engage in ongoing work for justice.
THIS VISION – TRISHA WATTS
We hold this vision in our hearts and minds
We hold this vision in our hearts and minds
O, we hold this vision, we hold this vision
We hold this vision in our hearts and minds
We build the future with our hopes and dreams
We build the future with our hopes and dreams
O, we build the future, we build the future
We build the future with our hopes and dreams
We stand together as we call for peace
We stand together as we call for peace
O, we stand together, we stand together
We stand together as we call for peace
We act for justice for all refugees
We act for justice for all refugees
O, we act for justice, we act for justice
We act for justice for all refugees
EVENT DETAILS A Gathering for Peace, Hope and Justice. 2:00 pm The Village Green, Ruthven Street. Submitted by: Phil Armit for Amnesty International Toowoomba Group Rev Kate Fraser 0438 525 343 Middle Ridge Uniting Church
On Sunday 3rd of April, St Vincent’s Private Hospital Toowoomba will welcome current and past staff, their families, Visiting Medical Officers, Sisters of Charity and anyone with a connection to the hospital to a centenary picnic event.
In 2022, the hospital celebrates 100 years of caring for our community.
The picnic will be held in the beautiful hospital gardens at Entrance 2 on Scott Street. There will be live music, a free sausage sizzle, plus a jumping castle and face painting for children.
Guided hospital tours will also be held for those who wish to see the new Emergency Department, or have not visited the hospital for some time. Attendees are welcome to bring their own food and something to toast the occasion. Submitted by: Pandora Bevan
St Vincent’s Private Hospital ToowoombaÂ
You are invited to attend a local climate strike on Friday, March 25th (2pm) at Queens Park, Toowoomba (corner of Hume and Margaret Sts). This event will be held by Toowoomba for Climate Action and School Strike 4 Climate in association with Fridays for Future and is part of an international strike day.
Local students and supporters are asking politicians to act on the climate crisis and stop taking donations from fossil fuel companies.
As part of the global strike day on Friday, March 25th, students will be marching from Queens Park to Groom MP Garth Hamilton’s office, demanding action on climate change.
Climate change isn’t something which can only be seen on a graph anymore. You only have to look outside your window to see the effects,†local strike organiser and university student Robert Baillie said.
Fossil Fuel corporations are the largest contributors of donations in our political system. This is clouding the decision-making of politicians who are deciding the fate of our futures.â€
Our community has faced some of the most severe manifestations of climate change in recent years. When our communities aren’t on fire, they’re flooded instead. It seems as if the only thing that will stop an extreme weather event is an even more catastrophic weather event.â€
With a federal election coming up, these students have three demands of their
politicians. At this strike, we are calling on politicians to fight for #PeopleNotProfit, and we are demanding an end to fossil fuel handouts and political donations,†he said.
We will talk about how rural and regional communities are on the frontlines of
experiencing the effects of climate change.
We are demanding
1. Net-Zero by 2030, which means no new coal, oil or gas projects.
2. 100% renewable energy generation and exports by 2030
3. Fund a Just Transition and Job Creation for all Fossil Fuel Workers and their
communities.â€
Everyone is invited to turn up at Queens Park at 2pm, Friday 25th March at the corner of Hume and Margaret Streets Toowoomba.
Submitted by: Secretary, Toowoomba for Climate Action
E: Tba4climateaction@gmail.com
