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QER’s “Fuel For Thought”

QER’s “Fuel For Thought”

Fuel for thought

The Art of Community

Last column I talked about how Gladstone is a key player in producing the commodities which are the building blocks of our quality of life in the developed world. And one of the benefits our comfortable civilization gives us is the time and opportunity to express ourselves through the arts.
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Fuel for thought

Gladstone Punches Above its Weight… Again

Last week I attended Gladstone Engineering Alliance’s annual conference with Peter Zambelli, QER’s General Manager. We also attended the Gala dinner at which the achievements of so many hard working and innovative people involved in the Gladstone Engineering sector were celebrated.
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Fuel for thought

Commitment, Energy and Innovation

Recently a friend (and former work colleague) took it upon himself to celebrate his birthday by walking a Marathon distance at Spinnaker Park while raising charity for the Mission to Seafarers and Roseberry House. This got me thinking about how innovative, committed and energetic people in our community are.
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Fuel for thought

Big Shoes…

It is a hard act to follow but here goes… I’m very pleased to be able to introduce myself as QER’s new Gladstone Site Superintendent. Firstly, I’d like to thank my predecessor, Bruce Andersen and wish him and Anna well in retirement.
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Fuel for thought

Retirement

After 21 years, 5040 Morning Coffees, 221,760 km travel to and from work, and at least 10 forgotten lunches my time at QER is coming to an end. I am retiring and whilst it brings with it a sense of the unknown, it also provides for a time of reflection of what was and an opportunity to say some important thank-you(s).
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Fuel for thought

Changing of the Guard

A number of years ago I was having dinner at Scotty’s restaurant – a sorely missed part of Gladstone’s culinary history. It was a pleasant and uneventful evening until a lady sitting near me stood up and staggered back with a terrified look in her eyes.
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Fuel for thought

The Joy of Something New

We all look for a bit of adventure in our lives from time to time. It gives us something to talk about, and an experience to share, dream about and more often than not, save for. It’s what keeps me going – that ‘something’ to look forward to.
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Fuel for thought

The Team Behind the Team

If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen enough of Neil Armstrong over the last week to keep you going for another decade. Those first few lunar steps were one of humankind’s great achievements, and there’s no doubting the skills and courage of the two brave astronauts who first set foot on that little, moving rock, 384,000 kilometres away.
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Fuel for thought

Expect the Unexpected

The last edition of this column was titled “Living Safety” and contained the ominous words “…a busy (and potentially dangerous) time on our roads, so take extra care and be patient”. Perhaps I should have added “touch wood”.
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Fuel for thought

Living Safety

We’ve recently held a course at QER to keep our people up to date with the many legislated safety requirements that fall on us as a mine and process plant. While the legislation is a bit complicated, the heart of the requirements is very simple: managing risk to an acceptable level.
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Fuel for thought

Running on Reserve

I’m a classic motorbike fan, and one of the features I like about bikes is the reserve fuel tank which most have. It’s maybe not the most sexy feature on a bike, but it’s always there as a backup and has saved me from many a long, hot walk.
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Fuel for thought

Being Prepared

As I write this, Cyclone Oma is lurking off the coast, trying to decide whether to visit the Sunshine State. We are on alert and busily working on our preparations – clearing drains; tying everything down; stocking up on provisions and batteries. We want to be ready in case she (or he?) does wander across the coast.
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Fuel for thought

The Trials and the Blessings of Life

It’s not very long since we were talking about the devastating impacts of drought and fires in this column. Now our friends and families to the North are grappling with the consequences of flooding.
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Fuel for thought

Mapping Out a Plan

Well we have survived the Christmas – New Year season. The rellies have returned home, we’ve got through the stifling heat, we’ve had way too much to eat, spent too much money and the kids go back to school next week. (Oh the joy!!!!)
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Fuel for thought

When Being Dense is a Good Thing…

Sometimes people ask me why QER is working to develop new sources of diesel and aviation fuel for transport while other transport energy alternatives – such as electric vehicles – are being developed. The reality is that different fuels have different strengths and weaknesses. And the big strength of diesel is that it has very high ‘energy density’.
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Fuel for thought

The Peace (and Wars) of Christmas

Well, Christmas is nearly here again and its that time when families get together in (for the most part) peace and harmony. Of course it’s never quite that simple. It always starts out pretty well.
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Fuel for thought

Our Country… Our Community

We are so fortunate to live in this beautiful part of the world, despite its harshness, as Dorothea Mackellar so beautifully expressed it in her famous poem “My Country”. But the beauty is not just in the landscape. It’s even more so in the spirit of our community.
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Fuel for thought

Snakes and Ladders

These days, you don’t often see the old game snakes and ladders, which is a shame because there are lessons in that game for life and business.
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Fuel for thought

State of Origin Reflections

I thought our State of Origin players did themselves proud on Sunday night, despite criticisms of a few armchair commentators. Of course there were a couple of little brain snaps – but that’s to be expected in such a pressure situation.
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Fuel for thought

Ecofest this Weekend

QER is again this year a proud sponsor and participant in Gladstone Ecofest. This year’s theme is ‘Turn a new leaf, love our reef’. It’s a terrific community event in which families, community groups, local business and industry come together to celebrate the amazing environment we live in and to focus on initiatives to keep it that way.
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