LIFE & STYLE
Eather Group rings up Telstra award
by Greg Martin
It was way back in 1721 when the proverb “ willful waste , makes woeful want ” was first recorded .
Over the centuries since , the proverb has morphed into “ waste not , want not ”.
Meaning of course , a person must not waste anything because they may need it in the future .
Peter Eather has not wasted his knowledge of that proverb , turning his company , Eather Group , into an extraordinarily successful and burgeoning waste solutions company .
Over the past 14 years , the Londonderry resident has steered Eather Group into a major player in the game of excavating , carting and disposal of waste to approved facilities across New South Wales and the ACT .
During that time , Eather Group has managed to save nine million tonnes of “ waste ” material and divert it back into the building industry .
During his presentation speech , Peter reported that four million of those tonnes of that “ waste ” has been manufactured into bricks which have been used in the building of 250,000 homes . Presentation speech ? Oh yes , forgot to mention that Peter , accompanied by his lovely wife , Sallyann , and delightful daughter , Divinia , was on stage to receive a major prize at the prestigious national 2024 Telstra Best of Business Awards .
Eather Group , which had previously won the state component to earn a berth at the national awards , was the recipient of the Indigenous Excellence Award .
Peter , the company ’ s managing director , is certainly doing his bit to enhance the lives of Aussies with First Nations lineage .
The Eather Group certainly cultivates diversity and equity within its workforce .
“ Thirty-seven percent of our staff are Indigenous , 35 per cent are women and 95 per cent of us are locals ,” Peter said .
Peter commenced his acceptance
PODCASTS
The Matty Johns Podcast
by Lorna Gordon
I ’ m not the biggest sports fan , but you would have to be oblivious to not notice our nation ’ s love of any kind of competitive game . Whether it ’ s cricket , NRL or basketball , there is always something to be watched or listened to and ‘ ahem ’ debated about by fans of the games .
But with so many sports out there , where do we start as far as sports podcasts go ? There are a lot of them out there covering all the sports you can imagine , but for this month ’ s focus we are looking at a sports podcast with a difference , the Matty Johns Podcast . Matty Johns is well known in Australian sport , having played rugby
speech by praising all the other finalists across the nine categories .
“ We are blessed to meet so many good humans , especially in our category – all of whom are doing great things for their communities ,” he said .
Peter went on to give praise to those who work alongside him at Eather Group , and that included the two women who stood proudly beside him as he made the acceptance speech - Sally-ann ( executive manager ) and Divinia who is marketing manager .
“ Seriously , I ’ m just the tool , they ’ re the fuel ,” he said , much to the delight of not only loved ones but all the guests ,” Peter said .
“ Fourteen years ago , I worked in an industry called ‘ destruction ” – without a bit of care , the construction industry is just destruction . I saw better ways that they could do with the waste to resource , and the material they were mishandling .
“ Over the past 14 years we have been able to save nine million tonnes of material and diverted that back into the building industry , changing a Neanderthal mentality that it is a waste product .
“ It ’ s not a waste – these are products that need to be respected !
“ This award means so much to us . I ’ m honoured and believe that what we are doing will make a change nationally .”
Peter ended his speech with a few words which nearly brought the house down . “ Here we come Eather Group – let her rip !” league for Newcastle Knights and for NSW State of Origin teams . His podcast takes a look at NRL , but here is where it differs from other sports podcasts - Matty also has guests from all walks of life and in between the NRL shows his family joins him to talk about what they have been up to .
With the NRL season underway you ’ ll get Matty ’ s analysis of the game ’ s highs and lows along with his cohost Cooper Cronk . They look at the behind the scenes action as well as the on field play and break down who they think is playing well and who needs to up their performance .
You can find the podcast on the usual streaming apps , and it ’ s also on YouTube if you want to watch it !
You bewdy ! Divinia , Peter and Sally-ann Eather celebrate winning the Indigenous Excellence Award at the 2024 Telstra Best of Business Awards .
THE POWER OF ... SERIES
The power of unsubscribing
by Lorna Gordon
It ’ s so easy to hit the button to follow , like or subscribe on social media that we don ’ t even think about it , but by doing so you are inviting that content into your life , which can have consequences .
For the most part we follow people or accounts that are either entertaining or teach us something , which is great , but what if you start to feel a disconnect to the content that is making its way into your life on a daily basis ?
Recently I went through the channels I subscribed to on social media and realised that a lot of them made me feel quite negative . I wasn ’ t working towards the same goals as these people or felt that I was somehow lacking when I was watching what they were doing , my viewing had moved from enjoyment and inspiration to making me feel I was in some way behind in life . I sat and thought about it for a few minutes and decided to unsubscribe to the people that were no longer making me feel happy , which were quite a lot , and it felt really good !
It ’ s not just social media accounts you can unsubscribe from , you can cut back on unnecessary emails in the same way , or even things like the amount of time you spend watching news , or TV if you mindlessly watch it . If you don ’ t want to unsubscribe from the people you follow , you can have a time you set down your devices and give yourself a digital detox and take a break from them for a day , a night or a weekend . Unsubscribing can be good for you in a few ways , it cuts down on the
Unsubscribing to content or switching off your device altogether can feel amazing !
comparison negativity that I was feeling , it clears out the clutter of information you are bombarded with on a daily basis and lets you focus on the things that you enjoy . It encourages you to connect with people in person instead of scrolling or watching TV , you no longer have an underlying fear of missing out as you are actually doing things that make you happy .
You will have more time to spend doing other things that make you happy , like playing board games with your kids , exercise or reading . It lets us connect better and be a good role model for our kids by being present with them .
If you have been feeling that you need a break from the content you consume , give unsubscribing a go , you might be surprised at how little you miss it !
14 ISSUE 167 // APRIL 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT