I think Australian Sugar Manufacturer chief executive Ash Salardini makes an excellent point when he marries something like the Isis Sugar Mill's current financial dilemma, with the more global issues of rising fuel costs.

Our region can't afford to lose this mill, but it would also be irresponsible to take government funding and remain at the whim of fluctuating sugar prices.

Mr Salardini isn't alone, Isis Central Sugar Mill chief executive Simon Brooks wants federal government to match the state funding and build a bioenergy business precinct.

It is beyond time to diversify our region's sugar industry and produce real outcomes. The sugar industry — itself heavily invested in the cost of transport — can only benefit. If 100 truck trips are made each day from Maryborough to rail transfer stations, they see first hand how the cost of fuel bleeds the bottom line of any freight industry.

Reporting back in 1999, the sugar industry was researching ways to maximise juice, fibre and sugar quality. Now, we can access a whole other market that lowers operational costs.

That's a sweet deal in any industry.

Peta Johansen

Editor

Police launch an investigation into the sudden death of a man found unresponsive on a street in Maryborough on the Fraser Coast.

Queensland will send a team of 14 athletes to compete at the table tennis debut at the national games, with three participants from the same regional club. 

There are calls for government departments to speed up decades-old negotiations as markets in Asian countries worsen and Australia faces citrus oversupply.

After multiple interest rate rises, regional business owners are being forced to choose between absorbing the costs or passing it onto their customers.

The way Australians drink coffee is changing, with more and more switching to home brews while cafes are "running on a shoestring".

Calls for a change of mind on disaster funding: Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn is among more than 70 across Queensland to call for the federal government to abandon plans to change disaster funding arrangements. The government has announced future funding will be a on 50-50 basis. Cr Blackburn says Queensland is Australia's most disaster-prone state and the changes will leave councils having to make decisions on what to rebuild. A government spokesperson says the changes are being made because disasters are becoming more frequent and more intense and the recovery funding arrangements have not evolved at the same pace.

Photo: ABC Wide Bay/Russell Varley

Good news for hospice: AA Wide Bay palliative care facility is one step closer to financial security after receiving more than $1.6 million from Queensland Health. Fraser Coast Hospice chair Ross Zelow says the funds will help relieve operational costs but that more support was required.

E-bike crackdown in the Wide Bay Burnett: Police have seized more than 50 illegal e-bikes in the Wide Bay Burnett in the past three months. Officers across Queensland have been targeting non-compliant devices and ensuring age and licensing requirements are adhered to by e-mobility device riders since the start of July. They've issued more than 2,400 traffic infringement notices across the state including more than 130 to riders in the Wide Bay.

Marine rescue changes continue: Commanders say merging Wide Bay's marine rescue units with a state government service brings improved funding and collaboration. The Tin Can Bay and Sandy Straits Volunteer Coast Guard units have merged with Marine Rescue Queensland, a statewide service hosted by Queensland Police. The VMR units in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg transitioned to Marine Rescue Queensland in 2024 and 2025. Unit Commander of Marine Rescue Sandy Straits Richard Lange says his crew has been looking forward to the improved state government support.

Calls for ethanol production in the sugar industry: The chief executive of Australian Sugar Manufacturers says the financial issues at Isis Central Sugar Mill highlight the need for the industry to diversify into