Team Turbo’s green machine hits road
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On the Pulse salutes the Team Turbo foursome of Jann and Duane O’Brien, their daughter Gabi Potbury and her boyfriend Mitch Anderson. They departed Inverell yesterday, and today head from Dubbo to Broken Hill where they will join the seven-day Camp Quality EsCARpade road trip in their mean, green ’69 Holden HT. The convoy of classics will wind their way to Albury, making plenty of good-will stops along the way.
Duane said the team has already raised about $15,500 for the charity and more is still coming in for the kids living with cancer.
Anybody wanting to tip a bit more into the Team Turbo kitty for Camp Quality can visit Commonwealth Bank, Inverell, or donate to the dedicated esCARpade page for Team Turbo on http://www.mycampquality.org.au/smoovemove.
Duane reported from Coonabarabran yesterday afternoon and said there was harmony in the car and didn’t anticipate any incidents of back-seat driving.
On the Pulse wishes safe travels to the team, and we hope they have a whale of a time.
Calling for solution to mobile black spot
On the Pulse was overjoyed by the Abbott government’s $100 million Mobile Black Spot Program.
There’s just such a massive choice in spots out there today, it’s hard to know which one to pick, and Copeton Dam is one of 6000 outer metropolitan, regional and remote black spots according to the government data base.
But the Member for New England is onto it.
In a media release he revealed 170 submissions were received identifying numerous spots across the New England electorate.
Now, that $100 million will be competitively allocated, with providers nominating from the 6000 locations on the database where they would build or enhance a mobile base station.
Another $100 million is expected to be raised from this process, with between 250 to 300 new mobile phone stations expected to be built.
Could leave us a bit short?
Nope, says BJ, and he can explain that.
You see BJ says it’s important to understand that even though 6000 locations were nominated, it did not mean there were 6000 locations where new base stations were required.
Eh? Seems like the usual suspicious dish cooked up here to On the Pulse, but this has just that hint of something different.
“Initial analysis suggests that in many cases the nominated locations are within a few kilometres of another nominated location, meaning that one base station may be able to provide coverage to multiple nominated locations,” BJ continued. “In addition, to nominate a location it was not a requirement to give any proof that it does not have coverage – so it is likely that at least some nominated locations actually do have coverage already.”
It’s a familiar recipe, but what’s that taste?
“When the Department of Communications compared the nominated locations to the mobile carriers’ existing reported coverage, by asking how many of the nominated locations had at least some coverage in a circle of 10 kilometre radius around the nominated location, it found that over 80 per cent of locations had coverage to more than 30 per cent of that circle,” BJ said.
Of course! It’s a clever, tangy mix of Hockeen and Ruddian spices.
Both have a sour aftertaste; combined they leave you wondering if you’re going to swallow it or not.