New owners, same great brewery

COPPERHEAD Brewery is under new ownership.

Sunshine Coast locals

John and Bill Bennett bought the popular Cooroy brewery in June.

General manager Rachel

Newman said customers can expect the same great food and service.

“We have the same great team; all the staff and chefs have stayed on.

“We have the same quality food and beers and are still open seven days a week for

Lawnville Road Bridge Replacement

Bridge closed August - November 2023

Detour via Cooroy Belli Creek Road

Cooroy’s Lawnville Road Bridge will soon undergo a $2.33M replacement to boost safety and improve connectivity.

The 15.8m two-lane timber bridge will be replaced with a new two-lane concrete bridge in the same location.

Scope of work: lunch and dinner.” noosa.qld.gov.au

Removal of the current two-lane timber bridge.

Installation of a two-lane concrete bridge.

Rachel said they are looking forward to meeting the local Cooroy community and spicing some things up a bit in the brewery.

Copperhead Brewery is at 52 Kauri Street, Cooroy.

The new bridge will have a design life of 100 years and require less maintenance than the existing bridge, which has been identified for replacement based on its age and condition.

Associated road reconstruction. Widening to allow for 2x 3m traffic lanes and 2x 1.5m on road shoulders.

For more information please visit Council's 'Work in Progress' page online, or call 07 5473 9611.

Real-world sounds, minimal distraction

More than 7 out of 10 hearing aid users are challenged by disruptive sounds.

These include:

• Ringing phones

• Blowing wind

• Clicking keyboards

• Slamming doors

• Rattling keys

• Creaking doors

• Tapping fingertips

Soft and loud sounds are everywhere. They are the sounds of the real world.

Together, they provide richness and meaning to an environment. But for most hearing aid users, those everyday sounds can be disruptive, which can be challenging on a daily basis.

As a hearing aid user, you want those sounds to be available without being disruptive.

You want to hear the turn signal in your car without stealing your focus. Or hear the sound of chopping vegetables, without interrupting a conversation with dinner guests.

Traditional hearing aid technology has been too slow to react, leading to unnatural overamplification of these sounds.

Introducing Oticon Real™. Oticon Real™ introduces new innovative technology — designed to handle the real sounds of life.

Oticon Real™ provides access to all relevant sounds, in balance, with exceptional detail and clarity. These sounds are produced with minimal disruption to remain comfortable, focused, and sharp in the real world.

We invite you to a free trial^ of Oticon Real™ hearing devices. It’s risk-free and without obligation. Call 5443 6633 to take advantage of this offer.

IT was a privilege and a pleasure to attend the Cooroy Rotary Club’s 30th anniversary and changeover dinner. Thank you to Andrew Aves for the invitation, and your dedication and service to the Cooroy Rotary Club as their outgoing president. And a big congratulations to Chris Durie as the incoming president. Queensland Rotary has been running in Queensland for 100 years this year, having been founded in 1923 with a membership of just 16. In that time they have made immeasurable contributions to our communities, including Vision Queensland, Riding for the Disabled, and the Queensland Drought Appeal.

I joined with Treasurer Cameron Dick, MP for Caloundra Jason Hunt, and members of the LifeFlight family to announce $18.6 million in additional funding in this year’s state budget for the vital rescue service. This investment will provide for a new three-bay hangar at Sunshine Coast Airport which will house two helicopters for the Coast and a backup helicopter for Bundaberg. Our government will always back crucial health services like LifeFlight, as they literally are the difference between life and death for many Queenslanders.

The Palaszczuk Government takes community health and safety seriously, which is why we’re inviting Queenslanders to have their say on a newly released discussion paper proposing measures to crack down on irresponsible dog owners and keep the community safe from dangerous dogs. These proposals include a new offence with potential jail time for serious attacks, a standardised state-wide requirement for all dogs to be effectively controlled in public places, and the banning of restricted dog breeds. Anyone who wishes to contribute can do so at daf.engagementhub.com. au/dog-laws. Rob

NOOSA Council recently handed down its record $171 million budget. The focus has been firmly on building infrastructure, continuing to look after the environment and providing vital community services while keeping rate increases minimal. It’s a budget that is financially responsible in the current economic climate, and for most property owners rates increases are below CPI. The average residential ratepayer faces a 5.5 per cent increase on their total rates notice – equivalent to an extra $1.72 per week. In fact, 4,000 property owners will have a drop in their total rates bill because of the mechanisms implemented to combat the unprecedented land valuations. Seventy-five per cent of ratepayers will have an average rate rise that is lower than CPI. Although we did our absolute best to reduce the impact of state-government-imposed land valuations (a whop- ping 62.5 per cent average increase across our shire) a number of outlying properties were unable to be captured and will incur a significant rate rise. As a council, we worked incredibly hard to mitigate the impact of these land valuations across our shire on our residents as we understand the financial pressures people across our shire are facing due to substantial increases in the cost of living as we, too, are facing them. With this in mind, all eligible pensioners are now to receive the full rebate of $230 per year whether they are single or a couple and we have frozen all levies to keep the rates bill as low as we can. This budget however delivers for our community, and the $39.4 million capital works program is on top of the $80 million flood recovery program funded by the Qld Reconstruction Authority but which we as a council have to deliver through our infrastructure team.

Hinterland capital works include $496,000 to build missing links in the hinterland pathway network (Walking and Cycling Strategy Commitment); $75,000.00 to entirely replace the park furniture at Cooran Park; $45,000.00 for the restoration of the Noosa Botanic Gardens Wedding Chapel; $2.08 million for Lawnville Road Bridge renewal; $475,000 to continue the shire-wide gravel road re-sheeting program, and $4.29 million for the shire-wide road reseal program. We’ve put aside around $1 million for parks, playgrounds and sports facilities this year and $1.5 million to upgrade public amenities. When it comes to our environment, we have a 50 per cent increase in investment for land conservation and rehabilitation work to facilitate more Land for Wildlife and Voluntary Conservation agreements, and funding for our environmental grants has increased by 6 per cent, as well as over $1 million allocated to community grants this financial year. To take advantage of our 5 per cent early bird discount on general rates, be sure to pay by 18 August 2023. Finally, 30 July 2023 is National Tree Day and council has partnered with the Kin Kin Bushcare group to host a local planting event between 8 am and 12 noon. Morning tea will be provided and the team from VIP Wildlife will be on hand offering locals the chance to check out Australian reptiles and insects. For more information including local planting location details and to register to attend, visit treeday.planetark.org.

Clare

WE love hearing your feedback or things in our community you want to discuss. Email editorial@ cooroyrag.com.au

IN the last couple of weeks, my good friends and parliamentary colleagues, Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud, and the Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Barnaby Joyce, visited communities in the Noosa hinterland.

David and I met with representatives from the local groups in Cooroy and Pomona that received funding from the Australian Government to support their delivery of services and activities in the community.

David and I also were present at the very first graduation ceremony of PTSD Dogs Australia at the Cooroy RSL. We heard how this local organisation is transforming the lives of both dogs and people and I acknowledge Angie Weeks and her dedicated team for the work they do in rescuing dogs who rescue veterans and first responders.

PTSD Dogs Australia, Pomona Meals on Wheels, and the Cooroy Pomona Lions Club, all received funding

O’Brien Federal Member for Wide Bay

Llew

from the Volunteer Grants program. The Lions Club also received funding from the Saluting Their Service program to install a memorial seat and plaque at the Pomona Rotunda War Memorial. The Noosa Museum was awarded funding from the Stronger Communities Program, which will be used to protect their valuable data and pave the way for making their collection available to the wider public.

I regularly send out information about current and upcoming grant opportunities. Small grants can make a big difference, and I encourage community and service groups to contact my office and ensure they are included on my distribution list.

Barnaby Joyce also visited Wide Bay recently, and together we met with members of the Tewantin-Noosa, Cooroy Pomona, and Mary Valley RSL Sub Branches as part of our policy development process.

We had productive and wide-ranging discussions with veterans on topics including mental health, drug and alcohol services, education, and advocacy, as well as DVA benefits and processing times. We came away with a number of policy recommendations raised by sub branch members, that merit further evaluation.

It is clear that we need to be doing more to support our veterans, ensuring the services they need are available to them. If Australia is to provide the programs and supports that veterans who have served our nation need, we must examine policies that boost recruitment, incentivise military service, and improve transitional arrangements to help people move from military to civilian life.

It is easy for us to say thank you for your service to our veterans, but far harder to put in place the resources they need in civilian life. It shouldn’t be, and we need to fix this. It just needs the will to do it, and Barnaby and I have given our commitment to not give up the fight.

Llew

NOOSA Shire has been active and vibrant throughout the month of July with bright blue skies with warm sunshine reviving the senses. Connecting people and building community resilience into the future remains a key priority of the Noosa Council.

The Floating Land Exhibition has been alive showcasing events throughout the shire from the hinterland to the coast.

The opening launch of Floating Land: Us and Them highlighted the work of the ‘Brotherhood of the Wordless’, a unique group of writers and poets with assorted disabilities that impair their ability to communicate; their words and ideas come to life using facilitated communication. The writers on the day, with support from their carers, provided the audience with an inspiring array of works with profound insights into life and love. Exhibiting artists bring to Floating Land proactive and engaging works for viewers to experience around ideas of identity, conversations and connections.

For those looking ahead, mark your calendar for the opening of Experimenta Life Forms: International Triennial of Media Art which is to open at the Noosa Regional Gallery on 6 August. The exhibition is set to feature a diversity of art forms including robotics, screen-based works, and participatory and generative art showcasing 20 artworks by leading Australian and international artists who are making significant contributions to the changing notions of life, at a time when research findings and new life forms are emerging through technological and biological adaptation.

Plastic Free July has been spreading the message to eliminate single-use plastics from circulation by supporting the switch to more sustainable alternatives such as reusable or 100 per cent compostable items – given it can take up to 30 years for a single-use, takeaway coffee cup to break down.

Grant funds to boost the environment and climate change initiatives have seen 22 projects and community organisations set to share in more than $422,000 in this round of Noosa Council Environment and Climate Change Grants. For those interested, the next round of Environment Projects Grants will open February 2024. National NAIDOC Week celebrations are beingwere held across Noosa Shire to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, giving everyone the opportunity to learn about First Nations’ cultures and histories and participate in celebration.

Living Well Noosa is a free and low-cost, preventative health initiative developed to improve the health and well-being of the Noosa community. The program offers some low-cost and free activities to improve your physical, social, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Try yoga, tai chi, aqua aerobics, and events specially designed for seniors with our Living Well Seniors program. Download the July 2023 calendar from council’s website. Stay safe and keep well. Karen

A unique gathering of Australia’s leading jazz musicians coming together for a feast of exciting, classic jazz Performances in theatres, restaurants, bars, on river cruises at sunset and a free riverside outdoor concert

A fabulous festival of jazz in the natural beauty that is –naturally Noosa. Check out the programme and buy tickets with the QR Code or go to the website

Copperhead Restaurant Brewery in Cooroy has a real focus on quality food and killer beers, sourcing the best local produce available.

Enjoy a snack at the bar with a cold beer or sit down to an a-la-carte meal with full restaurant service from 11.30 am 7 days a week.

An extensive wine list and fully stocked bar are also available, making Copperhead a great choice for your next function, wedding or special occasion.

Copperhead

Bush Dance in Kandanga

What’s On

What: Bush Dance

When: Saturday 12 August. Doors open at 6:30 pm, starts at 7 pm

Where: Kandanga Public Hall, 81 Main St, Kandanga

Tickets: Family $10, Adults $5. To book, phone Diane 0468 494 029.