Push for long-term, hi-tech farm solution

AN ANTI-ADANI protester has been given a date with the magistrate after he allegedly disrupted operations at Abbot Point last week.

Bowen police officer in charge Craig Shepherd said the 36-year-old Victorian man was facing four charges after the protest last Monday.

The man’s charges include using a dangerous attachment device, interfering with port operations and trespass.

He is scheduled to face Bowen Magistrates Court on October 27.

A BIG house party held in Bowen on Friday, September 25 has prompted police to remind residents about the hefty penalties for disobeying COVID-19 health directions.

Senior Sergeant Craig Shepherd said a limit of 30 people could be at a home at any one time, and those at home gatherings must also practise social distancing.

If a gathering exceeded this number, homeowners and tenants could be hit with hefty fines as they were responsible for ensuring parties remained at the required level, Senior Sergeant Shepherd said.

Individuals at the gathering could also be fined.

“Police are paying particular attention given it’s the warmer months to make sure if people are in violation of health directions,” Senior Sergeant Shepherd said.

He said police were continuing to investigate the party, which was held in Herbert Street.

A COLLINSVILLE man has been charged with drinkdriving after allegedly returning a reading almost twice the legal limit last Thursday.

The 36-year-old man was pulled over on the Bruce Highway at Bowen about 12.10pm.

He allegedly blew a bloodalcohol reading of .098 per cent and is scheduled to appear in Bowen Magistrates Court on October 27.

A 50-year-old Bowen man will also face the magistrate charged with drink-driving after being pulled over on Hillview Road in Bowen last Tuesday.

The man allegedly returned an alcohol reading of .120 per cent.

He is also scheduled to appear in Bowen Magistrates Court on October 27.

DRONES, cameras and sensors could hold the key to addressing shortages in the Bowen picking workforce, saving time, money and waste.

Farmers across the state have struggled to bolster the number of workers on their farms due to border closures.

The sector typically employs backpackers and people on working holiday visas, however a freeze in travel has meant owners have had to look elsewhere for workers.

Several schemes and ideas have been floated in a bid to draw people from different industries, including HECS debt reduction, programs targeting school leavers and even a scheme for troubled youth.

However, Bowen Gumlu Growers Association president Carl Walker (pictured) said while some of the plans could work in the short term, technology would be the key to longer-term resilience in the industry.

He said mapping fields using drones, automated technology that sprays pesticides and sensors to sort fruit were some solutions that could reduce working hours and increase accuracy and productivity in the sector.

“We were struggling with getting the people to do these kinds of jobs, not anymore,” Mr Walker said.

“That person who doesn’t like doing that job and doesn’t want to do it, well now we’ve got this drone that can do it all.”

Mr Walker said rather than transporting crops from the field to sheds for sorting, cameras could be used to sort produce depending on demand, and unwanted crop could then be left in the field.

“Instead of paying someone to take it to the shed and sort it and throw it away, it’s done in the paddock,” he said.

Mr Walker said the same principle would apply to picking melons, where technology could be used to determine whether the fruit was hollow and therefore not fit for sale.

However, for these projects to become a reality, Mr Walker said the region needed to rejuvenate research stations across Bowen.

Establishing agricultural hubs was listed in the Whitsunday Recovery Taskforce’s priorities for 2020.

Mr Walker said by bringing research to Bowen, technology could be trialled at a lower level before being rolled out to other farms.