CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr BOYCE (Flynn) (16:17): These are some of the comments on my social media pages regarding the Bureau of Meteorology's new website: It's an abomination! The old saying … if it's not broken, don't fix it. We used the old one at our sports club to check the rain, so easy.
New one, not so much. These comments are not a minority. Social media feeds were filled with negative comments about the BOM's new website as soon as it launched.
The new website has left Australians struggling to find basic weather information. Rural and regional communities depend on quick, reliable updates. Now, what used to take seconds takes minutes, and that's if you can find it.
Even after spending who knows how long on this upgrade, the result is a clunky, confusing site that is not user-friendly. It is potentially dangerous when people cannot easily access critical weather warnings. I've written to the Minister for the Environment and Water seeking confirmation that the weather bureau is working to fix the website and its functionality.
I also asked how much this website upgrade has cost the Australian taxpayer. I wrote to the minister in June advocating for a much-needed upgrade of the bureau's Gladstone radar, known locally as Radar Hill. This ageing radar facility plays a vital role in weather monitoring and early warnings across a vast region, from Gympie to Mackay and inland to Taroom and Emerald.
This supports the harbour and the industrial and agricultural sectors in Central Queensland. With the BOM upgrading its sites in Taroom and Mackay with the new S-band doppler radar towers, it's important that Gladstone—located between these two sites—receives the same investment. The current radar covers key catchments, including the eastern Dawson and southern Fitzroy, as well as parts of the Burnett and Kolan, making its reliability and accuracy essential for emergency services response and flood preparedness.
Xtreme Engineering is a Gladstone based company and is a recognised expert in the field. They have successfully delivered numerous doppler radar towers across Australia and are the preferred contractor for this work. Their products are Australian made, supporting local manufacturing and regional jobs, so they would be ideally placed to deliver the Gladstone radar upgrade.
The new radar at Gladstone will improve safety and forecasting in a key economic and agricultural region, a project clearly in the national interest. It's time the minister stepped up and addressed these issues as a matter of urgency. It's all about safety, productivity and reliability for Central Queensland and the region beyond.