Get ready to rock 'n' roll!

By Don Gordon-Brown

Australia's first officially recognised entertainment precinct comes into force this Saturday, July 1 - with one of the principal architects of the idea now pushing for a music walk of fame as well.
The Fortitude Valley Special Entertainment Precinct (VEP) will be officially launched today (Wednesday) by one of the proponents of the idea, Deputy Mayor and local Councillor David Hinchliffe. The launch will take place at the stage area in the Brunswick Street Mall at 2pm.
Cr Hinchliffe, who is also Urban Planning and Economic Development Committee chairperson, told The Independent yesterday: "It will consolidate the Valley's reputation as an incubator of local musical
talent.
"In addition, I want to establish a walk of fame for musicians, either in the Brunswick Street Mall or Chinatown Mall, but preferably the (main) mall.
"The walk will involve plaques in the mall that identify and celebrate bands and musicians from south-east Queensland.
"The death of (Go-Betweens founder) Grant McLennan has been the stimulus for this idea and the Valley Malls Committee has agreed with my proposal.
"We are now knocking that into shape and it will be another way of consolidating the music focus of the mall."
Cr Hinchliffe, who has long championed the Valley's "Loud and Proud" heritage, said he and the committee were also looking at ways to resurrect funding for free live music in the mall proper.
Funding for live music in the mall had been cut "but we are hopeful of getting funding returned over the next few months," Cr Hinchliffe said.
Brisbane Marketing had spent $75,000 annually on free live music in the mall.
"That funding is no longer available and we are looking at individual venues volunteering a contribution and we are also looking at what further monies could be available from the existing malls budget."
One of the main changes arising from the establishment of the VEP is that noise level monitoring and policing moves from state government control to become a Brisbane City Council responsibility.

New laws protect child workers
By Andrew MacDonald

With Roman Polanski's remake of Oliver Twist now in cinemas it seems fitting that the State Government is introducing laws ensuring calls of "boy for sale" echo through Queensland streets nevermore.
From this Saturday, July 1, the Child Employment Act will see the implementation of new measures to protect children - those under 18 years of age - in the Smart State from workplace exploitation.
A spokesman for Minister for Employment and Industrial relations Tom Barton said the February passing of the act followed an inquiry into child labour by the Children's Commission.
"The Department of Industrial Relations implemented the new laws as part of the commission's recommendations," he said.
Several laws, including the Children's Services Act 1965, the Mines Regulation Act 1964, the Factories and Shops Act 1960, the Pawnbroker Act 1984 and the Collections Act 1966, have regulated children's employment up to now.
The Children's Commission report found the biggest concerns facing children in the workforce were difficulties combining work and study, as well as uncertainty over appropriate working conditions such as breaks, hours and pay.
The new law makes employers keep records of their child employees available for inspection, and provide detailed inductions for new child workers.
And children will only be able to work a maximum of 12 hours per week during school term and up to 38 hours during holiday periods.
In bad news for over-worked children at home, domestic chores will not count as employment, a proviso that could see cries of "please, sir, I want some more" all but disappear from dinner tables if it means more washing up.

Quiet library suits homeless
By Zane Jackson
Some of Brisbane's homeless are finding a free safe refuge in the City Central Library on Adelaide Street during its opening hours.
The library's facilities and location were described by one homeless patron as "perfect" because it is safe, warm, has nice staff and is next to King George Square and metres away from a concrete alcove suitable for sleeping and shelter from rain.
"It's good, very good, close to the park and is clean, safe and comfortable," said Tom, a homeless man who frequents the library.
"The staff are kind, and we have no problems if we are quiet."
A library staff member said homeless people were more than welcome and on the whole did not cause any problems.
"On some rare occasions, where they have obviously been under the influence of something and been unduly noisy, we've had to ask some to leave," he said.
"But the majority of the time they are great patrons, they stay from opening to closing without making a sound."
Chair of Community Services Cr Kerry Rea said Brisbane City Council welcomed everyone to the libraries.
"I'm pleased, but not surprised, to hear this positive feedback about Council's library staff treating homeless people with utmost courtesy," Cr Rea said. "Our libraries are an accessible resource for everyone to use and we encourage an inclusive environment where everyone is treated equally."

Rising fuel prices threaten tourism
By Leysha Penfold

Tourism in Quensland is under threat from increasing oil and fuel prices, new figures have revealed.
The recently released Draft Queensland Tourism Strategy identified rising petrol prices as a key concern for the state's third largest export industry.
Queensland relies heavily on the drive tourism market which accounts for three-quarters of all domestic travel in the state.
The price of fuel in Brisbane had increased by more than 75 per cent in five years, according to the Australian Automobile Association website.
Tourism Minister Margaret Keech said last week that while the international forecasts for Queensland and Australia were positive, the outlook for the "bread and butter" domestic market was less ambitious.
The decline in intrastate holiday travel was shown in a drop in travel by private cars, down 4 per cent on the previous year.
The jump in fuel prices mid-year resulted in a 21 per cent decline in holiday travel by car in the June quarter although, by September, motorists had become more used to the prices and resumed travelling, she said.
"I am confident the Queensland Tourism Strategy will help us overcome the current difficulties. Better research and a more focused marketing strategy will produce results," Ms Keech said.
According to the draft, tourism generated domestic and international visitor expenditure of more than $18 billion and employed about 140,000 Queenslanders.
In 2004 Brisbane received an injection of
$3 billion, a figure expected to rise to more than $4 billion by 2015.
Development of the draft strategy involved input from 800 industry and government representatives. Public feedback and comments on the draft strategy have been invited before July 14.

Mall fountain to flow again
The City Council will recommission the fountain in Queen St Mall which was turned off at the beginning of Level 2 water restrictions last year.
Malls Chairman Councillor David Hinchliffe said that as a result of requests from local business people, he had negotiated with Council officers to ensure the fountain could be reactivated using recycled water.
"Council will source recycled water from our fire hydrant testing program," Cr Hinchliffe said.
"We already use this recycled water for watering plants in the mall. Now we'll be able to use it for the fountain as well.
"Our managers advised that there had been some damage by vandals to the lights, spigots and fittings to the fountain since it was decommissioned. There will be some costs associated with recommissioning it.
"While the fountain was turned off as a symbol of the difficult times imposed by the drought, turning the fountain back on using recycled water is probably just as important a symbol. We now have bi-partisan agreement to turn it back on.
"Using recycled water has to be a lesson for us all," he said.

Govt promises to cut red tape
The state government says it will cut red tape for many small community organisations by removing the need for fully audited annual financial reports and mandatory public liability insurance.
Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech said up to 15,000 community based incorporated associations would benefit from the relaxation of the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act, expected to take effect before the end of the year. Mrs Keech said under the changes organisations with both gross income and current assets of $20,000 or less would be able to simply certify the accuracy of their accounts lodged with the Office of Fair Trading.
"Associations with income or assets between $20,001 and $100,000 will have to lodge accounts kept according to good accounting practice and have their accounts certified by a registered accountant," Mrs Keech said.

IR probe labelled 'waste of money'
A Queensland government inquiry into the federal government's new industrial laws started last Friday, with the state's peak business body, Commerce Queensland, describing it as a waste of money.
Minister for Industrial Relations, Tom Barton, said the inquiry by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission would holding hearings in Brisbane and travel to regional centres between July and October.
"I urge all employees, employers, organisations, community groups and other interested parties to indicate their interest in participating in the inquiry at the earliest opportunity," Mr Barton said.
"This is an important matter that touches on the lives of most working Queenslanders and their families and should not be left to the federal government to monitor on its own.
"The Queensland government wants to know if the reports coming in about unfair dismissals and Spotlight-style attacks on employee pay and conditions are indicative of a wider trend and what that means for Queenslanders."
Mr Barton said the inquiry was expected to be finalised by December.
But Commerce Queensland condemned Mr Barton for spending public money on an inquiry that would have no impact on federal laws.
Commerce Queensland chief executive officer Joe Barnewall said neither the state government nor the QIRC could change the WorkChoices legislation.
Mr Barnewall also said the QIRC had been put in an impossible position by Mr Barton's "blatant attempt to politicise" the commission's independence.
"Not only has the QIRC been instructed by Tom Barton to hold the inquiry where it can't change the legislation, the Minister also set a biased terms of reference designed to elicit the results the unions and he seek for their own political advantage," Mr Barnewall said.