EXPRESS The
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Locally owned and proudly independent
Where cars go to die
Ever wonder what happens to cars left abandoned on the side of the road across the Tableland? Rex Russel (pictured) knows. He’s been supervisor at the Mareeba Waste Transfer station for nine years, and sees the many abandoned vehicles council removes every year. Last week, two wrecks that had been long-abandoned after running off the side of the Kuranda Range Road were finally towed to their final resting place in Mareeba. Find out their fate on page 7.
Centre under threat By Ryan Groube
T
he State Government has appointed Apex to manage the underperforming Lake Tinaroo Active Recreation Centre. Apex chief executive Michael Brierley travelled to the Tableland this week to brief the centre’s 12 staff about planned changes under the new regime. In November 2013, The Express broke the story that the State Government was looking to offload the management of the centre. Occupancy rates had hovered at about 25 per cent with expenses outstripping revenue by more
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than $500,000 each year between 2004 and 2008. Mr Brierley said Apex already managed similar centres on the Sunshine Coast and Magnetic Island and was confident in the long-term future of the site. He said where possible existing staff would be maintained and that a thorough review of how the centre was priced would be undertaken. “I don’t think that the market [for using these centres] is down I just think that they need to be priced at a point that makes them attractive to school, sporting and community groups,” he said. “For those staff interested in remaining involved with us we will look to re-employ as many of them as we can.”
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Mr Brierley however did say that to help bolster the centre’s bottom line staff may be required to work at Apex’s other centres across the State. He said that Apex would “look to take advantage of busy and slow times” at the different centres by relocating staff to various locations. Despite low occupancy rates, Mr Brierley said there was room for growth at the centre and that the Tinaroo site was “comparatively small”. The camp can accommodate up to 136 guests but the commercial kitchen that is located on site can cater for up to 180 people. Queensland Recreation and Sports Minister Steve Dickson said awarding Apex the management contract secured the future of the centre.
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Member for Cook David Kempton congratulated Apex on its successful bid to run the centre. “This is a great outcome for the people of the Atherton Tableland,” he said. “Apex proposes to use the centre for a range of active recreation and education based programs and will no doubt deliver a great experience for school and community groups. “It’s a good fit for Apex, which will take over the centre’s operation on July 7 this year, pending normal lease negotiations.” In 2008, the former Labor Government closed five active recreation centres due to poor occupancy rates and high operating costs.
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