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.

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.

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.

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!!!!)

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’.

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.

Perhaps the most important reason for QER to develop a Queensland kerogen fuels industry – starting here in Gladstone – is to help improve Australia’s fuel security situation. These days Australia is heavily dependent on oil and fuel imports to meet most of our freight, transport, agriculture, mining, defense and aviation needs.

Isn’t it amazing how, over time, humans have been able to overcome seemingly insurmountable problems. Very often, underlying these solutions, is science. Science is really just a way to understand the world we live in through systematic observations and experiments.

I recently saw that Gladstone’s own Tondoon Botanic Gardens will feature in Australian Geographic as one of Australia’s top ten regional botanic gardens. Thie year we’ll also celebrate the Gardens’ 30th Birthday. The Gardens have come a long way from their humble beginnings, and there’s no doubt they are now an important and unique part of life in Gladstone.

I hope you’ve had (or are still having) a great break over the festive season. It’s a wonderful time to be together with family and friends and for that well-earned rest and reflection. However, as they say, no rest for the wicked, so at QER we’re back at work and straight into it.