Opinion: The top read Ipswich stories this week with editor Andrew Korner

The tragic death of a father at Gailes was among our most read stories in the Queensland Times this week.

The top stories from across the Ipswich region this week.

Tragedy at Gailes

By far our most read stories for the past week were those on the alleged murder of Gailes man Christopher Anderson last Saturday afternoon.

We have followed developments closely since Mr Anderson was fatally shot in the chest on Old Logan Rd, with four men charged with murder and other offences several days later after some quick work by the Ipswich CIB.

There are still quite a few unanswered questions regarding this incident, which will obviously be the case in a situation like this, where police are still investigating the exact chain of events that took place.

Also, bear in mind the fact that none of the details of the allegations have been spoken about in court at this stage.

Regardless of the motives behind this incident it is tragic to see such incidents of extreme violence going on in our suburbs.

The four accused are due to face court again on August 4, and we will endeavour to bring you more information then.

Another Covid scare for Ipswich

Next to alleged murder, Covid was the next biggest story in our patch this week, for obvious reasons.

Along with what the authorities suspect to be two separate outbreaks of the Delta variant, Ipswich also made the headlines, with a positive case visiting several shops at Riverlink before having lunch at CSI North Ipswich.

The news came with a warning for staff and other visitors to those places to isolate and get tested, which will no doubt create further disruption to many lives.

On an encouraging note, the state only had one locally acquired case on Friday morning, with that case linked to a family member and not deemed to be a further risk of exposure to the public.

These latest incidents have really rammed home a couple of key things; one being that we need to keep following the advice of health authorities at the moment, regardless of how inconvenient that may be; and two being that the government needs to get its act together quick smart on vaccinations.

CEO job pays well

It was a real eye-opener for me to be reminded this week of just how much council CEOs get paid.

Call me naive, but I consider half a million dollars to be a ridiculous amount of money.

When you are a journalist, for example, the idea of earning that much in a year seems almost the stuff of fairy tales.

I’m sure there are many of you out there on an average wage who feel the same way.

There is no doubt that being the CEO of a city council is a huge responsibility, with big risks, big hours, and plenty of scrutiny.

For a pay packet that big, I would suggest that you would want to be able to stand on one leg and juggle flaming sticks while blindfolded as well as run the council.

I call on Mayor Teresa Harding and consultant Rachel Nolan to consider this as part of the criteria for their next candidate.

Footy chairman a hero behind the scenes

On a sad note, Ipswich lost popular sports administrator John Hughes this week.

John was a key figure at Swifts Leagues Club, and known for working hard behind the scenes without seeking publicity or reward for his toil.

Most clubs will have their selfless volunteers who battle away to ensure the survival of their team and to make sure young and old have somewhere to train and play every week.

John was obviously a very special example of one of these characters.

Swifts are planning a tribute to John at Saturday night’s Rugby League Ipswich A-Grade match against Brothers at Raceview.

House prices getting out of reach for some

You may have noticed house prices heading north in your area recently, which is partly a symptom of southerners relocating in the past year due to repeated Covid outbreaks in Victoria and NSW.

We’ve heard multiple stories of Victorians buying Ipswich property sight unseen for ridiculous amounts of money, obviously in a rush to get the hell out of Victoria. Why wouldn’t you be?

One place we have particularly noticed rising prices is Brookwater, with several houses going over the million dollar mark recently, and one this week selling for more than $2 million.

Whether this trend is sustainable or not remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, with wages going nowhere, it is going to price a lot of people out of the market.