FIGHTING FOR OUR READERS
We know the critical role the Townsville Bulletin played in the birth of the North Queensland Cowboys.
Without the Bully, it’s highly unlikely we would have an NRL team. And the campaign for a new stadium was led by the Bully (having JT on your side always helps).
The V8 Supercars event was an idea by businessman Tony Ireland.
The Bully backed Tony and the event, when others were not quite sure.
The economic benefit to North Queensland of these iconic franchises is wellknown.
But the most rewarding campaign in my time very few people are aware of.
The Queensland government’s Cool Schools program was designed to put airconditioning into every Queensland school.
The program was a dollarfor-dollar funding model with school P&CS.
Every dollar a school’s P&C raised, was matched by the Queensland government to fund the airconditioning.
The problem with this model is that schools in wealthy suburbs received airconditioners before schools in less affluent suburbs.
By the mid-2000s every school in Townsville had airconditioning – except one.
Garbutt State School’s catchment was less affluent than many others with a high percentage of Indigenous students. And it had struggled to raise the necessary dollars.
So Garbutt State School students had to suffer through long North Queensland summers. We thought this was disgracefully unfair and published the story on the front page. The government’s response was bureaucratic and pedestrian.
So one phone call to local businessman Troy Williams from the Good Guys and the problem was solved.
The Bulletin would go halves with the Good Guys to fund the airconditioners.
The Queensland government said it was unacceptable that a local paper and a local business would fund and install airconditioners in a state school. Within a few weeks the children at Garbutt State School were enjoying what every other Queensland kid had taken for granted – airconditioned classrooms.
Some campaigns are big with big outcomes. And some campaigns are relatively small, but arguably more important.
For 140 years the Townsville Bulletin has been standing up for the people of North Queensland.
Bring on the next 140 years.