ABC North West Queensland

11/12/2025

🏥 In September, the Medical Board of Australia and the Federal Government endorsed and approved rural medicine becoming a field of speciality practice.

Ella Reeves is a fifth-year medical student from James Cook University, who spent a year's worth of placements in Mount Isa. 👏

"Everyone was so welcoming, everyone was so lovely. Mount Isa snared me in," she said.

"It's a lot different practicing medicine inland than practicing it on the coast, way more limited in terms of traveling and supply chains. The skills of the doctors here were really good in that they had to be prepared to handle critically ill patients for longer times."

💬 Ms Reeves was happy to hear rural doctors were being recognised as specialists, saying it makes the pathway to her future career clearer.

"I'm really excited that something that I want to do is now formalised. Before you had to jump through some hoops, now we have a designated training pathway."

Although she believes the change will likely attract more doctors to the bush, Ms Reeves said there was still work to do in supporting families to move.

"I'm a single person, so it's very easy for me to make that decision, I'm very privileged. Lots of my colleagues have families or partners that can't."

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11/12/2025

We are currently experiencing intermittent outages across regional TV services in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. We apologise for this inconvenience.

We’ll update you as more information emerges. Thanks for understanding as we investigate further.

10/12/2025

"We, his family, have never been the same,"

🏛️Family and friends of missing man Tallis Ahfat have given evidence at an inquest into his 2022 disappearance in Mount Isa.👇

The inquest into a man missing in Queensland's north-west for the past three years has heard CCTV footage at a drug dealer's home from the night of the disappearance had been erased.

10/12/2025

🌪 Carpentaria Shire Mayor Jack Bawden said the lack of reliable weather radar coverage in the cyclone-prone region is failing the region's residents. 🌪

The Gulf mayor said his concerns with accessing information from the Bureau of Meteorology predate recent changes to the website. 💬

"My concern has always been the most cyclone-prone part of the state has got no proper radar coverage," he said.

"We've got radar at Mornington that's not reliable, particularly during a cyclone or when the cyclone is close and the wind hits, which usually takes it out.

"There's a big gap between Mornington, Mount Isa, Richmond and everywhere else.

"There needs to be a radar put on Normanton or Croydon or somewhere on land where it can be repaired."

💬A spokesperson for the Bureau of Meteorology said it does not currently have funding to operate a new radar in the Gulf and radars are just one part of a broad observation network.

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10/12/2025

🏥 Eight Mount Isa school students have marked six months since beginning their school-based traineeships with North West Hospital and Health Service as part of the Queensland Health School-based traineeship initiative. 🏥

The students are completing a Certificate III in Health Service Assistance, a nationally recognised qualification that enables them to work as an Assistant in Nursing or operational health service roles.

Year 11 student Poppee Butler said the traineeship has strengthened her passion for nursing. 👏

“So far, I've enjoyed building confidence and learning how to care for people in a genuine way. It's taught me about patience and how much small actions matter,” she said.

Fellow trainee Sophia Politch said the experience has allowed her to explore different career pathways. 👏

“This traineeship has shaped my career, as experiencing different wards has definitely helped in my decisions towards what I'd like to specialise in,” she said.

🚑 Over the 12-month program, each trainee will complete 375 hours of learning, including hands-on experience, ward rotations, workbook assessments, and observation.

NWHHS Learning and Development Coordinator, Renaee Takurit, said the initiative is part of a broader goal to increase school-based traineeships across Queensland.

“These young people are part of our future workforce. By supporting them early, we’re building confidence, skills and a connection to their local health service,” she said.

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09/12/2025

🐤 The endangered Carpentarian Grasswren is continuing to defy the odds, with the latest regional survey confirming stable populations across North West Queensland, despite consecutive years of major wildfires. 🐤

👉 The 2025 Carpentarian Grasswren survey, carried out by BirdLife Northern Queensland volunteers and the Muu Tjaa Kalkutungu Warriors Traditional Owners, recorded the elusive bird at nearly 80 per cent of previously monitored sites north of Mount Isa.

👉 Even more encouraging, new populations were found in areas that burned during the 2023 and 2024 fire seasons.

👉 Damian Miley, CEO Southern Gulf NRM said it's good news, but there's more work to be done.

"It's a good news story, but sort of, we need more information," he said.

"They were in burnt and unburnt areas, but the population numbers haven't expanded, so we don't have breeders.

"It's a cautious tale of how great they're holding on, but there's more work to be done."

The survey effort involved 15 volunteers and rangers who visited more than 90 sites. 👏

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08/12/2025

👏 Pilots Theresa MacDonald and Amanda Deed have completed the international Dawn to Dusk challenge, flying from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria in one day. 👏

They completed 2,500 kilometres of flying in a Beechcraft Bonanza plane, across a 13-hour time span, leaving Melbourne at 6am local time and landing in Karumba at 6pm. ✈

💬 Theresa MacDonald said the team completed the challenge "just in time," landing just before sunset.

"As we were approaching, wet season storms were beginning to develop," she said.

"We had a little bit of a worry in Cloncurry that we wouldn't make it through before dark, but miraculously, the weather got amended, and Amanda, who flew the final leg, managed to get us through and we landed safely."

The flying team 'Ships of the Desert' were inspired by the original Burke and Wills trek from the south to the north of Australia.

They were accompanied by Delia Jones, who is also an accredited pilot, and comedian Sammy J, who documented the flight.

🎉 The team has raised over $12,000 for Outback Futures along the way, a charity supporting mental health in remote communities. 🎉

"We're still encouraging people to donate, it's never too late. We'll keep the fundraising open until the end of December," Ms MacDonald said.

💻 You can find out more about their fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Ships-of-the-Desert

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08/12/2025

A young Cloncurry cattle producer has been named one of Cattle Australia's 2026 National Beef Leaders. 👏

🐂 Ben Reardon has worked across Northern Australia's cattle industry for more than a decade and is currently managing a station in North West Queensland.

The Beef Leaders program is designed for people in agriculture between 21 and 35 years, who are looking to get into leadership and advocacy roles. 👇

"I see it as a great opportunity to get down to Canberra, see how governance works, see how policy is created," Mr Reardon said.

"I think the sheer scale of what we have in Northern Australia is what gives us a big drawcard for how we can advocate for industry.

"Our workforce is built on the back of young people, so the more young people we can keep coming through, the more we can give them a greater understanding of why things are in place."

💬 Cattle Australia Chief Executive Officer, Will Evans, said the seven young people selected have already proven they are capable, focused, and committed to the beef industry.

"The National Beef Leader program will help them take their careers to the next level through a series of face-to-face training workshops covering leadership, policy development, corporate governance, and media engagement," Mr Evans said.

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08/12/2025

🚂RAIL LINE REOPENS AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT🚂🚧

Queensland Rail has confirmed the Mount Isa to Townsville line reopened last night, after it was closed on December 5 due to damage caused by a freight train derailment.👏

👉The derailment happened at Warrigal between the towns of Pentland and Torrens Creek about 1pm on Friday.

👉One locomotive was on its side and another two left the track.

💬The service, operated by Qube Holdings, was carrying zinc and copper from Glencore.

🛤️Three train crew members received minor injuries. There was no major spillage.

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08/12/2025

🏁🏎 The Mount Isa Go Kart Club will be holding an AGM in the new year in the run up to hopefully re-opening the track this March. 🏎🏁

The track, built in 1981, fell into disrepair during the pandemic lockdowns, but a group of hardworking volunteers have spent 2025 bringing it back to life. 👏

The club will be looking for at least a president, treasurer, and secretary, as well as ordinary members.

💬 President Alex Johnstone said there's been strong community interest in the track's reopening.

"I think it's something the town hasn't had for a long time, so once it's up and going, there should be a lot of people involved," he said.

📅 AGM: Monday February 23, 2026.
Find out more: Mount Isa Go Kart Club

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07/12/2025

RED BENCHES TO ROLL OUT ACROSS MOUNT ISA👏

👉 The Red Bench Project creates visible community action against family and domestic violence.

👉 Currently on display in Outbact at Isa, the red benches will be installed across Mount Isa in public spaces as a reminder of the importance of speaking out and supporting those affected by violence.

👉 AIDRWA Coolamon Connections and NWQICSS Ngukuthati Men's Shed collaborated on the project and will be hosting a launch event this Friday.

📅Friday, December 12
🕑2:00pm
📍Outbact at Isa

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07/12/2025

☀️🔥HEAT CONTINUES☀️🔥

🥵A severe heatwave settled over the North West over the weekend, with the mercury in some places climbing above 43 degrees.

💬Senior Forecaster Felim Hanniffy said "there are more sweltering temperatures to come for the North West and possibly some isolated afternoon storms".

🌩️The heat will continue, but Mount Isa is in for some isolated storms that could cool things down.👇

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