Friday 12 August 2005

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Greg Hunt, MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment & Heritage
Federal Member for Flinders

David Jull, MP
Federal Member for Fadden

Construction of new Brisbane weather radar under way

Greg Hunt, MP, Parliamentary Secretary with ministerial responsibility for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and David Jull, MP, Federal Member for Fadden, today announced that construction work on the new Doppler weather radar at Mount Stapylton, near Brisbane, is under way.

“This is the second of the new Doppler radars for Australia and a first for Brisbane and Queensland,” Mr Hunt said. “The Mt Stapylton radar is one of six new Doppler radars being developed as part of the Australian Government’s $62 million, five-year commitment to replace older and less powerful meteorological radar systems throughout Australia. Excavation of the site for the tower footing is now complete and the contractors have commenced laying the reinforcement for the tower pad. The radar tower is due to be delivered and installed in September and general building and site works are expected to be complete by the end of September.

"My thanks to David Jull for his ongoing drive and support for quality meteorological services to the South East Queensland region. As one of the fastest growing residential regions in the country he knows how important this radar will be to local communities and industries including this region’s thriving tourism industry,” Mr Hunt said.

Mr Jull said the radar represented a $3.5 million investment in weather services for South East Queensland. “This radar demonstrates a Federal Government commitment to delivering state-of-the-art meteorological services to the growing communities of South East Queensland,” Mr Jull said.

“South East Queensland is one of Australia’s busiest storm regions. New data from this radar will complement imagery from the existing radar at Marburg, about 50 kilometres west of Brisbane city, and will help meteorologists to better understand some of the uniqueness of our local weather, including severe storms. This will help improve warning times and forecasts by better detection of these severe weather patterns and more detailed monitoring of rainfall. Doppler radars can also provide better tracking of wind changes, and this will give greater assurance to marine and bushfire fighting communities.”

Mr Jull said the installation of the radar and dome will start during October and take a month or so to complete. Testing and commissioning will follow and the radar is expected to be operational by January 2006.

Media inquiries
Fiona Murphy, tel: 0423 577 045 (Mr Hunt’s office)
Robyn Murphy, tel: (07) 5580 0355 (Mr Jull’s office)

Ends