There have been a number of ride incidents in the US recently, in particular one involving the death of an employee on the Mind Scrambler at Playland in White Plains, New York.

County officials' preliminary conclusion is that Gabriela Garin, who was supposed to be on duty, was riding without her seat belt fastened, knelt or stood on the seat, and was thrown to her death.

This is a sad reminder to us all that we need to be constantly vigilant and ensure adequate training and checklists are in place not only for customers but also for our employees.

This should be part of our Hazard ID but we need to regularly reinforce procedures and responsibilities to all employees.

On the home front, The north Queensland show run is almost over and there have been good reports from Townsville and Cairns both having been blessed by fine weather. The rain, however, dampened spirits and impacted profits at the Concurry and Mt Isa shows.

Other operators have been enjoying a little down time during July; however, things get busy again in early August starting with the Royal Brisbane show.

This year’s Brisbane EKKA is shaping up well with great looking marketing material and an impressive concert line up sure to pull in big crowds.

Preparations for the Royal Adelaide show are well underway as we revisit the scene of last years ride incident. A great deal of work has been undertaken by all parties to ensure a safe and incident free event this year and we look forward to the continued good working relationship with Ian Marcos and the Safework SA team.

I do not have much to comment in relation to the Royal Melbourne show, as we are yet to hear of the planned line up of rides and games.

Finally, everyone we speak to have been affected by the unpredictable weather throughout July, some of the coldest temperatures in memory with some towns recording overnight temperatures as low as -10c and other towns experiencing previously unheard of snowfalls.

It has, however, been great to see during my recent travels how green many parts of country VIC and NSW have become since the last rainfalls. We hope this has a flow on effect with good crops in the lead up to summer and a brighter outlook for our rural communities.

Phil Durkin

Chair, Transportables & Showmen

SHOW DATES: JULY 2007

Darwin (Royal Darwin) 26-28

AUGUST 2007 Pine Rivers- 3-5

Brisbane (THE EKKA) 9-18 Gold Coast 30-1

SEPTEMBER 2007

Beaudesert 7-8 Adelaide (Royal Adelaide) 7-15

Melbourne (Royal Melbourne) 20-30 Perth (Royal Perth) 29-6