AFTER a series of false dawns, the skies are finally clear for JetGo to launch from Tamworth.
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In just 10 days, the airline will embark on its maiden voyage from Tamworth to Brisbane, bringing to a close 15 months of uncertainty for travellers.
The history of regional aviation is littered with collapsed airlines and broken dreams.
Remote communities like ours enter into an unusual business relationship with carriers – we need them as much as they need us.
It is thus incumbent upon those who lobbied for a new carrier to Brisbane after Brindabella’s collapse to put their money where their mouth is.
Air travel is a crankshaft for growth in regional communities, driving tourism, business and helping lure professionals to town.
Tamworth to Brisbane is a marginal leg and JetGo will disappear into the clouds if it doesn’t enjoy early support.
The message to travellers is simple – use it or lose it.
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IT’S the mind that beats you in the end, as endurance freak Warren Wright was discovering.
Face drowned in sweat and body at war with itself, Mr Wright collided with what athlete’s call “the wall” at 3.30am yesterday morning, 17 hours into his world-record cross-trainer attempt.
His inner voice suddenly turned from cheerleader to chief critic – “you shouldn’t be doing this; you’re not going to make it”.
But what defines most champions is their single-minded determination, and Mr Wright has it in spades.
Inspired by his late foster mum, the 41-year-old forged ahead and emerged from the dark tunnel as a new world record holder.
He raised thousands for the NSW Cancer Council but achieved something else just as important.
He proved to himself, and thousands of others, that impossible is just a word.
His extraordinary feat also acts a powerful metaphor for those battling cancer.
The moment you feel hope fading is the moment you must fight your hardest.
Wazza, you’re an inspiration.