TOOWOOMBA & SOUTH WEST QUEENSLAND

Vale Mark Stehn

Recently we were saddened by the passing of Comrade Mark Stehn

After a long battle with cancer and with his family by his side Mark passed away peacefully

A long-term ETU member of over 19 years, Mark will be remembered fondly “Affectionally known as Big Fella, Mark was a real comrade and very respected brother in the Toowoomba and SW region, always the first to put his hand up to help in any campaign that would improve the working lives of his fellow ETU members and will be sadly missed by members in those parts ” said Former ETU President Chris McGaw

Mark was also well known for his opinion on “Right-wing media bullshit” as most of us will agree

On behalf of the Electrical Trade Union of Queensland and the Northern Territory we pass on our heartfelt condolences to Mark’s family, friends and work colleagues

Vale – Mark Stehn.

McIntyre Wind Project

The project managers and main contractor at McIntyre Wind Farm, Acciona, continue their record of poor safety with multiple vehicle/plant incidents

The latest being a mobile crane coming into contact with a 127KV SWER powerline whilst moving a water tank on a property adjacent to the wind farm The operator of the mobile crane was a very lucky worker, jumping from the cab as the mobile crane caught on fire Workplace Health and Safety Queensland visited the scene and issued several improvement and prohibition notices to Acciona

On a positive note for members, we have Yurika Energy about to commence work on the project Yurika will bring a level of safety and professionalism that will lead the way and hopefully show Acciona what is expected on Queensland’s major projects UGL continues to build transmission lines and substations for Powerlink to connect the project to the national energy grid

Gatton Prison

Construction continues slowly after the Christmas break with safety issues and weather delays continuing to plague the project The ramp-up in employment hasn’t happened as we had expected With Easter fast approaching, a change in attitude toward safety and weather will be very welcome

BIG T – (Lake Cressbrook Pumped Hydro)

BE Power have commissioned Bechtel to plan for the $12 billion, 400MW pumped hydro project Once planning and financing is complete, the hope is that initial road works for access will start towards the end of 2023 Construction and commissioning is believed to take the best part of four years

New Toowoomba Hospital Project

Initial haul roads have started to be constructed for the highly-anticipated new Toowoomba Hospital The Hospital is to be built on the Baillie Henderson site in North Toowoomba Conjecture around the make-up of companies that will build the $13 billion project continues with tenders still open at the time of writing

Wandoan South Solar Project

Wandoan Solar Farm is currently under construction with Mega Watt Power doing the bulk of the electrical works On recent visits to site, we reminded Mega Watt Power of their obligation to workers and will continue to work with GRS and Mega Watt Power to improve amenities and facilities for members

Western Downs Solar Project

This project is coming to the end of construction, and commissioning of the solar project is continuing UGL has won the tender to build a 200MW battery to provide up to 400MWh of power storage

Ergon Energy

A big shout out to all our members who continue to do the hard yards by keeping our distribution network up and running during storm season On our recent visit to Charleville, we saw first-hand the important work that all Energy Queensland employees do When a 66 KV concrete pole failed in an extreme wind event between Charleville and Cunnamulla, all hands were on deck with help from the local council to build an access road, resulting in a temporary pole being put in place to get the power back on