Application fee for new Tattersalls Club members to skyrocket

Prospective members of one of Brisbane’s most exclusive clubs have been warned to get in quick, with the application fee set to spike by more than $1000.

The fee to apply to join Tattersalls Club has skyrocketed. File picture

If you want to join Tattersalls, better move quickly. The exclusive club in Queen St will increase its application fee for new members from $400 to $1500 from November.

“We encourage you to invite friends, colleagues, and family members who are interested in joining the club to submit their applications before the end of October. Those who apply by that date will benefit from the current application fee of $400,” the club says.

The Tattersalls Club building on the corner of the Queen Street Mall and Edward St

Miner slams government over worker camps

The state government has been accused of hypocrisy and double standards on workers’ camps. City Beat readers will recall mining company QCoal, founded by rich lister Chris Wallin, is fighting a battle with the Labor government over a workers’ camp next to his Byerwen coal mine in the Bowen Basin complete with free meals, rooms, a gym and even a wet bar. The state government has passed special legislation that will force him to close the camp and progressively move its workforce into the town of Glenden almost 40km away.

The law followed a campaign by the former mayor and some locals to “save Glenden”.

Wallin is now fuming the government is happy to dig the foundations for permanent workers’ camps outside Hughenden, Julia Creek and Richmond as part of the CopperString project. QCoal head of communications Paul Turner says the State Government’s “blatant political campaign” against the Byerwen mine and its owners to force the Byerwen workforce to live in the nearby Glencore mining camp town of Glenden has been exposed yet again.

Aerial view of Glenden

“Why are workers camps okay for some, but not others,” Turner says. “Is it because this is a state government project, a pet project of the Premier? Are the towns of Richmond, Julia Creek and Hughenden less important than Glenden now? Why aren’t these workforces also forced to support the local towns by living in the many empty homes in Hughenden and Richmond? Is it only coal mines and coal miners this State Labor Government hates?”

The state government pushed through legislation in August last year to force QCoal to close the mining camp for its 800 workers at the Byerwen coal mine and force them all to live in Glenden. Nearby mines such as Glencore’s Hail Creek have been allowed to continue to operate its 1000-person mining camp and house no workers in Glenden, despite actually being the current lease holder for the town.

Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart told City Beat the government “makes no apologies for backing regional Queensland and stepping in to save Glenden.”

“In its own environmental impact statement, QCoal committed to accommodating workers in Glenden,” says Stewart. “There is already accommodation in Glenden and there is limited supply in Hughenden and Julia Creek. These facilities are fit for purpose for a project spanning about 1,000km. I find it disappointing that QCoal are walking back on their commitments to regional Queensland.”

Twinkle toes

Queensland Ballet is celebrating a decade long partnership with Ergon Energy and Energex in fostering the talent of 60 young Queensland Ballet Academy dancers.

The Ergon Energy and Energex Scholarship has assisted selected Queensland Ballet Academy students by providing financial support towards their tuition fees for the pre-professional program. The fund has enabled these aspiring artists to access world-class training, which has led to flourishing ballet careers, despite their financial circumstances.

Queensland Ballet Academy director Christian Tàtchev says Ergon and Energex’s support has proved invaluable to retaining talented and aspiring dancers.