Industry View: Promised investment in Queensland’s industry

Above: Significant power and torque increases deliver impressive performance both on and off-road. An extremely versatile and capable unit

Outputs of Hino’s long-serving J08 six cylinder engine have been significantly boosted.

skinned shins or twisted a foot sliding off such rims with muddy, slippery boots will attest, it’s far from ideal.

Still, it wouldn’t be hard to fix. A swinging step below the cab step and a lower grab handle would go a long way to overcoming the issue while still retaining the Hino’s ground clearance.

As capable as the GT 1528 was off-road, however, the greatest surprise was its on-road performance.

With the thought that fire trucks can be called in emergencies to districts far beyond their home turf, it was decided to take the Hino on an extended road run.

First through the NSW Hunter Valley before a hard and tortuous haul via Bylong Valley to Bathurst in the central-west, south to Canowindra to fortuitously add 30 bales of hay to the load, then home through Bathurst and Lithgow, up Scenic Hill and across the brutal Bell’s Line of Road on a fearfully wet and windy night where the blokes at the Bell weighbridge were either bored or anxiously hopeful that anyone trying to slip across the mountains in such a truck on such a night must be up to no good. Seriously, chaps!

In a nutshell, the truck handled the entire task exceptionally well. Pulling power and tenacity were never in question, steering and road handling were surprisingly good for a truck with a necessarily high centre-of-gravity and, again, ride quality on sealed roads that ranged from downright dreadful to slick highways was easily acceptable.

The only questionable aspect was the apparent programming of the transmission to kick down a gear whenever the exhaust brake was engaged. In some instances, of course, it was beneficial, but more often than not, a case of overkill when all that was needed was mild retardation for a mild descent.

Meantime, on such diverse and often demanding road conditions, cruise control was rarely engaged. Equally, there were generally few opportunities to run at 100km/h where the rev counter ticks over at a twitch under 2,100 rpm.

Yet, despite the significant demands of the day, fuel consumption over the first 500km of the road run was gobsmackingly good at 3.6km/litre, or 10.3 mpg. Without question, the expectation was for a figure far less frugal given the severity of the run.

All up, the only conclusion is that Hino’s GT 1528 4x4 is a totally surprising and surprisingly capable truck whether hauling through the bush or barrelling along the bitumen.

right on time

For a wide variety of machinery and rapid assistance they can trust, the team at Byrne Resources Group turns to Lincom

Pacific Equipment

Bravus Mining & Resources, formerly known as Adani, has awarded more than $1.5 billion in contracts for work on the Carmichael mine and rail project in central Queensland – including one to Byrne Resources Group.

Operations manager of the Byerwen Quarry for Byrne Brian Davies is part of a larger group supplying quarry materials for the project.

“We have got to meet the production levels expected for this large project – we need reliability, we need good technical back up, and good service support – so that is why we selected Lincom,” he says.

Lincom now supplies Byrne Resources Group with a Powerscreen Trakpactor 500 for contract crushing and generating rail ballast.

It also uses two Powerscreen 1300 Maxtrak cone crushers to produce aggregates of different sizes, as well as screens including the H6203 and the Warrior 2400, which is capable of handling larger feed sizes and throughputs.

“This is a large project for Adani. To meet all the production requirements for Adani it is important that we get really good utilisation out of our equipment,” Davies says.

Happily, Davies says Lincom are always able to lend a hand in case of emergency.

“They have got seven day a week technical support... There is technical support over the phone but if required they can have someone out here within 24 hours,” he says.

“That was one of the major reasons we selected Lincom – their technical back-up and back-up service is second to none.”

Above: Lincom supplied and service all of the crushing and screening equipment on the Byerwen site

economic recovery

With the Queensland election decided, it is time to look to the promised investments in infrastructure

Damian Long, CEO CCF QLD

Above: The Bruce Highway. The Queensland government has pledged investment in a new highway between Charters Towers and the New South Wales border town of Mungindi. Image courtesy Adobe Stock The result of the Queensland election has created some concern amongst the civil construction industry. Whilst the outcome was heavily weighted towards personal protection from COVID-19, industry is looking for some substance to the Queensland government’s Unite and Recover Plan. The overarching policy is sound, but it lacks details as to how the objectives will be achieved.

What we do know is that the four-year infrastructure budget ($51.8 billion infrastructure guarantee) announced in 2019 will be maintained and there is additional funding from the federal government.

During the election campaign the state government announced many promises with respect to infrastructure delivery: • $12 billion in joint funding for a second Bruce

Highway • Beams Road overpass – $128m • Centenary Bridge duplication – business case $20m • Sunshine Coast stadium $20m • New Bradfield Scheme – business case • build on $1.2 billion in water infrastructure by actively assessing further investments

CCF QLD is looking forward to the new year and is committed to conducting business as close to normal as possible and overcoming any hurdles.

The federal government has committed to $14 billion of short-term funding and committed to $110 billion over 10 years. It has also committed to supporting housing construction through extending the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

As international immigration has been stifled, state growth will increasingly rely on interstate migration. The New South Wales government has identified this concern and has provided significant incentives in its state budget to encourage interstate migration. It is hopeful the Queensland government will act accordingly and recognises that incentives are required, as there is plenty of state by state competition.

The Queensland government will need to fund its contribution to any new expenditure and CCF QLD will provide an analysis of the budget, once released. We pledge to act upon the budget results and continue to lobby for security of a fully funded increasing pipeline of infrastructure projects beyond four years.

There is some optimism on the horizon. As we approach Christmas, the prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine is becoming increasingly real, the pipeline of projects into the next calendar year is improving.

CCF QLD is looking forward to the new year and is committed to conducting business as close to normal as possible and overcoming any hurdles. We are pleased to announce that our annual Field Days will be returning in 2021 and in a new partnership with the Brisbane Truck Show.

Our partnership with the Brisbane Truck Show means reciprocal ticketing for both events, as well as free shuttles every 15 minutes between the two events.

Partnering the CCF QLD Field Days with the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) and its 2021 Brisbane Truck Show provides an opportunity to demonstrate the best on offer in both industries. There is significant crossover with the owners, operators, equipment and technology used in both industries. The combination of the shows will reach a larger and broader audience. Although being held in separate locations in Brisbane, the reciprocal entry rights mean it does not matter which event ticket has been purchased.

The Civil Construction Field Days will be held from Thursday 13 until Saturday 15 May 2021, incorporating the Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show, in conjunction with the Brisbane Truck Show. This event will be held at 92 MacArthur Avenue (Hamilton Northshore) in the northside of Brisbane, with ample parking and multiple exhibitions. We expect it to be bigger and better than ever.

Keep an eye out on our website in early 2021 for tickets.

Although the lead-up to Christmas this year will certainly be different to any other year, we will still be enjoying Christmas parties and gatherings with our staff and members. We will also continue to fight and advocate for industry – no matter what the time of year and no matter how many challenges are thrown at us!

Have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2021!