Clarence Valley‘s most influential people #15-18
Power hitters in the manufacturing, shipping, racing and political arenas fill spots 15 to 18 in The Daily Examiner’s Power 30 countdown.
Grafton
Don't miss out on the headlines from Grafton. Followed categories will be added to My News.
TODAY we continue The Daily Examiner’s Power 30 countdown revealing No.15 to No.18 in the list of the Most Influential People in the Clarence Valley in 2020.
More movers and shakers will be revealed each day until the announcement of the No. 1 Most Influential on December 22.
• #30-27
• #26-23
• #22-19
Do you agree with our list? While it is by no means definitive and built by design to stir debate, there is no doubt those on the list have, for better or worse, made an impact in some way in 2020 …
18. Bill Collingburn
WHEN many companies were on the brink of collapse due to the COVID-19 crisis, Yamba Welding and Engineering managing director Bill Collingburn was surging ahead with plans of expansion.
A week after pandemic lockdowns strangled Australian economic confidence, it was business as usual for YWE’s 36 employees while Mr Collingburn put pen to paper to acquire New Zealand design company and long-time business partner Naiad.
“When the company came up for sale we saw it as a way forward to lock in our future work with defence, marine rescue and other organisations,” Mr Collingburn said.
Related Articles:
YWE acquires NZ company, promises jobs on horizon
READY FOR RECOVERY: Jobs growth, expansion in face of crisis
During the pandemic he advocated for a national approach to boost onshore manufacturing and self-sufficiency.
“This has to be a wake up call for all Australians,” he said. “Australia’s got to get smarter, make ourselves more resilient, make sure we can sustain ourselves and lessen our reliance on China and other countries.”
In August NSW Nationals politicians Adam Marshall and Gurmesh Singh sprayed champagne on Solitary Ranger - a 22-metre NSW Fisheries boat built by YWE - heralded the state’s most technologically advanced vessel.
Related Articles:
$4M vessel makes a splash in Yamba
New boat makes waves at Palmers Island
ALL ABOARD: Monster boat launched at Coffs Marina
But not every piece in Mr Collingburn’s puzzle for the company he founded in 1974 fell into place. In May he lost a drawn out and divisive battle to gain rezoning approval for the Palmers Island Marine Industrial Planning Proposal when it was rejected by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes on the grounds of the plan being incongruent with multiple planning strategies, severely hampering the company’s ability to expand operations and potentially employ up to 100 people locally.
Related Articles:
Minister rules on Palmers Island development
Council on front foot after Palmers Island decision
Palmers Island decision welcomed by residents
In a sign that Mr Collingburn has handed over the gloves, in September watercraft company The Whiskey Project Group acquired YWE. Aged in his 70s, the YWE former managing director has stayed on as technical director and become a shareholder in The Whiskey Project Group.
RELATED: Bright future: Yamba boat builder bought out
17. Ross Roberts
Across the river from Palmers Island is the Harwood Marine Precinct, backed by the NSW Government as the home of marine industry growth in the Clarence Valley and where its planning strategies would support YWE’s expansion plans. However, Mr Collingburn’s business feasibility plans suggest otherwise, comparing relocation to the Harwood Marine-owned land to Woolworths and Coles sharing the same loading dock.
Under managing director Ross Roberts, Harwood Marine employs 65 people, with a large commercial fish factory vessel and a search and rescue vessel for Marine Rescue Jervis Bay among its major projects in 2020.
Related Articles:
Harwood Marine’s growth amid coronavirus pandemic
30 JOBS: New contract boosts Clarence industry
Mr Roberts is an advocate for developing cleaner, smarter technologies, and over the past decade has worked with Japanese marine engineer and inventor Yoshiaki Takahashi on GILLS (Gas Injected Liquid Lubrication System), a technology that could drastically reduce shipping emissions.
GILLS works by producing tiny bubbles underneath the hull of a ship, which then expand, helping the boat slide through the water with less resistance, resulting in a 10 per cent fuel saving and reduction of biofouling (spreading invasive species).
Related Articles:
POWER POINT: Climate issues hit boiling point
‘It ticks all the boxes’: Harwood Marine’s big new idea
Is this the key to global shipping woes?
But a seeming lack of interest from political and industry leaders to tackle climate change seriously has hampered Mr Roberts’ efforts to deliver the technology into the market, despite tighter world standards on sulphur levels in fuel coming into place in 2020.
16. Michael Beattie
When just about everything shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic including the world of sport, the racing industry soldiered on.
RELATED: Racing kicks on as sport grinds to a halt in the Clarence Valley
Locally the Clarence River Jockey Club played its part in Racing NSW’s successful bid to keep the industry on the track, implementing rigorous health and safety protocols.
Led by CEO Michael Beattie, who had previous experience dealing with pandemics as part of the harness racing industry during equine influenza in 2007-08, the CRJC was also the first non-metropolitan club to welcome owners and the general public back to the track for its July Racing Carnival, with up to 600 people able to enjoy the Grafton Cup and Ramornie Handicap race days.
Related Articles:
July racing carnival to get a crowd
How the July Racing Carnival kicked off under COVID-19
In October the club was rewarded a $1 million NSW Government grant to start work on an innovative water efficiency project which will see a dam built on the former 9th fairway of the Westlawn Golf Course, allowing the club to irrigate its racecourse with recycled stormwater and effluent.
RELATED: Dam good idea: $1M gets project off the ground
15. Richie Williamson
Clarence Valley’s mayor from 2008 to 2016, Richie Williamson is the longest serving councillor on the current team, who continue to lean heavily on his experience and influence.
Cr Williamson is yet to indicate whether he will stand for re-election in 2021, suggesting broader political ambitions could be on the horizon, and a rise up this list beckons.
In the Clarence Valley community Cr Williamson’s popularity is second to none and 12 months ago the 2GF radio presenter used his rapport and affable nature to great effect, when he galvanised the whole community to display an unprecedented outpouring of generosity for the Clarence Christmas Bushfire Appeal.
Related Articles:
FIRE APPEAL: Help cheer up those hit by disaster
Gifts keep flooding in for Clarence Xmas Bushfire Appeal
Organisers overwhelmed by huge response to bushfire appeal
The appeal was Williamson’s brainchild, and grew to include multiple drop-off points in Grafton, Yamba and Maclean for donations of non-perishable food items, unwrapped Christmas gifts and dignity bags.
The Salvation Army in Grafton and Maclean came on board to deliver no less than eight truckloads of Christmas gifts to Clarence Valley bushfire victims.
Meanwhile today marks a milestone moment for Richie, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian join a political throng at New Italy to celebrate the competion of the Pacific Highway dual-carriageway upgrade.
RELATED: Richie about to reach end of the road
Cr Williamson has been the chair of the Pacific Highway Taskforce, a group made up of all councils linked by the Pacific Highway and formed in 2005 with the sole purpose to secure funding for the upgrade following years of failed political promises by successive governments.
Grafton sale and auction results, week ending February 15
See the latest auction and sales results in Grafton for last week.
WATCH: Moment man with baseball bat turns on kids
Wild footage has emerged of a northern NSW man armed with a baseball bat charging towards two young boys on e-bikes, with one screaming “trying to hit little kids are ya?” See the video.