Latest news with #Toowoomba
ABC News
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Celebrated composer Richard Mills AO to take the helm of Darwin Symphony Orchestra
An internationally-acclaimed conductor and composer, best known in Australia for reorchestrating the ABC's news theme, is set to take the helm of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra (DSO). In a significant coup, Richard Mills AO will become the orchestra's new artistic director from its 2026 season. The Toowoomba-raised musical visionary is best celebrated for operas Batavia and The Love of the Nightingale, that won him two Helpmann awards. But Mills's reorchestrating of Charles Williams's Majestic Fanfare is perhaps what he's best known for nationally, with the work becoming synonymous with the ABC's radio news. "It's symbolic. The power of the tune was such that: 'be quiet — shut up kids, here comes the news', you know," Mills told media in 1988. Opera Australia head of music Tahu Matheson described Mills as "one of the most important people in the Australian musical scene". "I think it's incredibly significant to have a man of this stature coming to take over this orchestra," he said. "He comes with a wealth of experience that's second to none. "If he has grand ideas, he will turn them into reality. "He will bring a stature and a prominence to the [Darwin Symphony] orchestra that I think will not have happened before." Speaking to the ABC on an empty stage at the Darwin Entertainment Centre, Mills shrugged off these significant successes. "It's important to look at the future, not at the past," Mills said of his extensive body of work. "I have had a wonderful life, but now is the time to contribute." Mills's DSO appointment sets the scene for the Northern Territory's unique First Nations cultures to be shared with the rest of the country and the world. "We'll be looking north to make work with Indonesia, with Dili and with Melanesia," Mills said. The sky is the limit in terms of what form that collaboration could take. "We'll be looking to manifest that work both in media and in physical presence in other places, because the Darwin Symphony Orchestra has the potential," Mills said. It's an exciting prospect for the 18 paid principal artists and more than 60 volunteers that make up the orchestra. DSO chair Claire Kilgariff described the orchestra as unlike any other in Australia, and one that was embedded in its community. "What we can offer Richard is the opportunity to explore things in a different way, that perhaps he may not have the opportunity to do in the southern states," she said. "We all know that music is the thing that connects people and Richard firmly believes in this." For Mills, the position will be centred on community service. "Music has always given that sense of spiritual enrichment and that's why it's very important in a community," Mills said. He believes that's what keeps the musical greats like Beethoven and Brahms evergreen. "The thirst for beauty and the thirst for hope are constants of the human condition," Mills said. "When you play a great work, for that moment, everything checks out … and this gives people hope. Richard Mills will take up the baton from outgoing DSO artistic director Jonathan Tooby next year.
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Final report into fatal outback plane crash blames pressure issue for lack of oxygen, finds operator AGAIR was aware
A pressurisation defect that deprived the pilot of oxygen resulted in a fatal plane crash that claimed the lives of three people in outback Queensland in 2023, a transport safety investigation has found. The Gulfstream 695A aircraft took off from Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on November 4, 2023 and was on its way to photograph fire zones north of Mount Isa. But the plane crashed about 55 kilometres south-east of Cloncurry in open bushland and burned up after impact. On board were a pilot and two camera operators, including 22-year-old William Jennings from the United States, all of whom died in the crash. The flight was operated by operated by Victorian company AGAIR. In its final report, released this morning, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found the pilot was experiencing hypoxia when the crash occurred. ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said the "aircraft's pressurisation system was not reliably maintaining the required cabin altitude", which had been in issue for "many months". "This led some company pilots to employ a variety of actions in the aircraft to manage the potential and deadly effects of hypoxia, including at times briefly descending to lower altitudes, and improperly using emergency oxygen systems," he said. On the day of the accident, the pilot had descended from 28,000 feet to 15,000 feet for about six minutes before climbing back up to 28,000 ft, he said. "Later, while the aircraft was ... nearing Cloncurry at 28,000 ft, both power levers were probably reduced, possibly with the intention of undertaking a similar descent," the ATSB report found. "This caused the aircraft's speed to decay, before it ultimately entered a steep, descending, anticlockwise turn. Mr Mitchell said it was almost certainly due to pilot control inputs made in an unsuccessful attempt to regain control. "The ATSB found the onset of hypoxia during the flight significantly degraded the pilot's ability to safely operate the aircraft, and it is possible that at stages the pilot also experienced some loss of consciousness," he said. The ATSB said the pressurisation defect in the plane was known to senior AGAIR management, who attempted to have it rectified. "However, they did not formally record the defect, communicate it to the safety manager, undertake a formal risk assessment of it, or provide explicit procedures to pilots for managing it," Mr Mitchell said. An online fundraiser to bring Mr Jennings home received over $92,625 US in donations — about $142,000 AUD. In the fundraiser, his family said William was "a bright light extinguished too soon". "William was a 22-year-old promising mechanical engineer who recently graduated from Northeastern University," his family said. "He had an exciting life ahead of him, but tragically lost his life in a plane accident while surveying fires in Australia. "William was known to bring light to any room he walked into, and his sense of humour was infectious. "He was an avid hiker and lover of nature, always seeking new adventures in life." The other two people on board the aircraft are yet to be publicly identified.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Husband of allegedly murdered woman Frances Crawford charged with breaching bail
A Lockyer Valley man accused of murdering his wife and staging a lawnmower accident as a cover-up has been charged with breaching his strict bail conditions. Robert John Crawford, 47, was granted Supreme Court bail last month with a string of conditions. They included a $250,000 surety, a night-time curfew to remain at his Upper Lockyer home and the requirement to report daily to police. It is understood that the bail breach relates to the night curfew. Mr Crawford, an RAAF pilot, is accused of murdering his wife, Frances Crawford, and interfering with her corpse. He was arrested on Saturday in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and charged with breach of bail. The matter was briefly mentioned in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday, where he was bailed to reappear in Toowoomba on August 14. He entered into a new bail undertaking. Ms Crawford, 49, was a psychologist in Toowoomba, and the couple had three adult children. She died at the family's rural property, in the Upper Lockyer region, in the early hours of July 30 last year. Mr Crawford was arrested and charged with his wife's death in October last year. Emergency services were called to the Upper Lockyer property at 3:37am on July 30. Ms Crawford's body was found at the bottom of a retaining wall with a ride-on lawnmower nearby. The court has previously heard that Mr Crawford will contest the charges. During his Supreme Court bail application, Justice Frances Williams said she was satisfied that the bail conditions imposed had lowered the risk to an "acceptable level". "The Crown alleges that following an argument, [Mr Crawford] strangled the deceased and then manipulated the deceased's body so it appeared she had died in an accident," Justice Williams said. The Crown had opposed Mr Crawford's bail application, arguing that he posed an unacceptable risk of interfering with witnesses and that no conditions could be imposed to ameliorate the risk to an appropriate level. A committal hearing is set down for hearing in the Ipswich Magistrates Court in October.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
SBS Filipino Radio Program, Wednesday 18 June 2025
Hear from Roberto Garcia, Multicultural Development Officer at Toowoomba Regional Council, as he shares the story of Toowoomba's vibrant multicultural communities. SBS Filipino also spoke with Feli Lacorte, President of the Filipino Australian Business, Industry and Communities Council of Queensland (FABICCQ), about how Filipino skilled migrants and international students are helping address labour shortages. Australia Day Cultural Awardee Maricris Bracamonte highlights the importance of culturally safe support services in regional areas, while Agnes Cabe, President of the Filipino Communities Council of Australia (FILCCA), emphasizes the role of cultural preservation. SBS Filipino 18/06/2025 46:43 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Queensland councils revive plans for Nathan Dam with $3.4b-plus price tag
After more than a century of false starts, a major Queensland dam project is back at the starting line and, as always, there is no promise it will ever finish the race. First proposed in 1922 for the Dawson River near Taroom in central Queensland, the Nathan Dam has repeatedly stalled over the decades, most recently in 2021. But with water security concerns across the region, regional leaders are uniting to urge the state government to fund a proper study into whether the $3.4 billion-plus dam project stacks up. The revived plan, published by Western Downs Regional Council (WDRC) in 2023 and officially backed by Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) this week, includes building a dam 30 kilometres north-east of Taroom. It would also involve a pipeline stretching more than 700km through the Western Downs to Toowoomba. WDRC described Nathan Dam as "the most critical water project in modern Queensland history", with Mayor Andrew Smith citing urgent urban, agricultural and energy water needs. "Water is becoming more like gold every day," Mr Smith said. "A lot of our communities aren't too far away from approaching unsustainable levels." Mr Smith said the dam was needed to support the region's booming agriculture and energy sectors. Government AgTrends data showed the Toowoomba region was Queensland's top agricultural producer in 2023-24 with a gross value of production of $1.27 billion, followed by the Western Downs at $951 million. "If the state wants the Western Downs to participate in the economy, we need to come up with a solution for water," Mr Smith said. The pipeline alone is expected to cost at least $750 million, while the broader project was pegged to cost at least $3.4 billion — though this was considered a "significant underestimation" in a more recent report for TRC. Toowoomba Deputy Mayor Rebecca Vonhoff, who holds the water portfolio, said despite all three regional dams being full, the region's growth, coupled with future climate risks, demanded long-term water planning. "There's this tendency to sort of sit back, and that is really not the way to go," Ms Vonhoff said. "We have to be pushing forward right now because this is exactly the time that we can try to make some big picture strategic decisions when we don't have the weight of having to come up with a solution really fast." Banana Shire Mayor Nev Ferrier, whose region would host the 888-megalitre dam, said he supported it in principle but was sceptical. "There's no way in the world we'd be against sending water down [to Western Downs] for town usage, but if they want to irrigate, it'd be a lot easier to buy country up here and use water that's already here instead of building hundreds of kilometres of pipeline — that's billions of dollars," Mr Ferrier said. He said the idea of pumping all that water into pipelines connected to other dams further south would mean his community would "end up with nothing here". He also questioned whether the dam would be big enough to serve its purpose and raised concerns over environmental hurdles. "It's never going to be big enough," Mr Ferrier said. "It'd be nearly impossible to pass all the environmental stumps that they'll put in front of you now." Mr Ferrier referenced the boggomoss snail, an endangered species native to the area, which has posed a significant obstacle to past versions of the project. Despite the challenges, TRC formally endorsed the project at a meeting on Tuesday, while ruling out further investigation for a new dam at Emu Creek, north of the city. Water Minister Ann Leahy said she was aware of the renewed advocacy, saying the state was assessing water infrastructure projects across Queensland, including Nathan Dam. Ms Leahy would not confirm whether there was any funding for a feasibility study in the state budget next week. However, she said, "We need to make sure we don't invest in things that don't stack up."
