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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins
A north Queensland woman has been jailed for five and a half years for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, killing a man near Mackay. Amy Ellen Ford, 25, was sentenced in the Mackay District Court on Monday over the 2023 crash that killed 35-year-old Jamie Winn, who was riding his motorbike to work. She pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle, causing death.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins
Queensland Health has launched an investigation into medical recruitment at Mackay Base Hospital after senior doctors raised concerns. The review will examine the credentialing process over the past two years and whether senior medical officers are working within the scope of their role, education, training, experience and competence. Credentialing is a process used in hospitals to verify the qualifications and experience of doctors to assess their ability to provide safe and skilled care.
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Dec 13, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins |Liam O'Connell
Landowners in the Pioneer Valley, west of Mackay, will soon be given the option to buy back properties acquired for the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro energy storage project. Residents say the move will mark the beginning of efforts to rebuild their community. Letters will be sent to 57 former property owners asking if they are interested in buying their property back.
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Oct 27, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins
On an October afternoon three years ago, patient advocate Beryl Crosby picked up the phone to call the head of a public health service more than 600 kilometres away. It was a conversation that spectacularly led to the unravelling of the Mackay Hospital and Health Service (MHHS), including the sacking of its board and revelations that "inadequate care" contributed to the deaths of three babies.
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Sep 19, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins
Authorities have killed a two-metre crocodile at a popular tourist spot in the Whitsunday Islands after seven sightings in two weeks. Readers are advised this article includes an image some may find distressing. Kit Todd, a Department of Environment officer involved in a search for the reptile, said it was found in mangroves at Nara Inlet, Hook Island, a spot popular with tourists and boat users.
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Sep 15, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins
A tropical island in North Queensland that inspired the Chronicles of Narnia movie franchise is back in local hands after 15 years of foreign ownership. Little Green Island, a seven-minute boat ride from Mackay's northern beaches, sold at auction for $5.6 million today. The island has been owned by British-American movie producer and actor Douglas Gresham, who purchased it for $2.45 million 15 years ago.
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Aug 30, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Liam O'Connell |Sarah Simpkins
She could well be 18 and old enough to be in the bar, but this lady is not welcome at her North Queensland local. Precious the Siamese cat has called the Koumala Hotel home for the past 14 years. But Mackay Regional Council says on a recent visit she was seen in the restaurant, a breach of food safety legislation. The Food Standards Code bans animals from bars and dining areas where food or drinks are served. Dogs, however, may be in outdoor dining areas.
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Aug 23, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Jenae Madden |Liam O'Connell |Sarah Simpkins |Adam Stephen
Queensland's mining industry regulator has effectively shut down a Bowen Basin coal mine where a 56-year-old Bundaberg man died on Thursday afternoon. QCoal, the owners of Byerwen Coal Mine near Glenden, about 160km west of Mackay, earlier voluntarily suspended operations. The man died in a two-vehicle "industrial accident", just three weeks after another mine worker died when he was hit by a demountable building being lifted by a pick and carry crane.
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Aug 22, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Sarah Simpkins |Jenae Madden |Alex Brewster
A worker at the Byerwen Coal Mine near Glenden, about 160km west of Mackay, has died in a surface incident involving two vehicles. It's the second death this month at the Bowen Basin mine, which is owned by the Brisbane-based QCoal. Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart has told Queensland Parliament he had been informed of the death. "There has been an incident between a haul truck and a light vehicle," he said.
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May 27, 2024 | 
ausdoc.com.au | Sarah Simpkins
Private equity investment firms are buying up GP practices, taking over 256 clinics in just five years, a Medical Journal of Australia study has found. The study, published last month, found that 2008 was the first year in which multiple healthcare clinic companies were sold to equity investors in Australia. × If this is your first visit to the new AusDoc website, reset your password here. Remember MeForgot Password? Having trouble logging in? Back to sign in
