Minister’s Mackay visit to canvass ideas

29 JANUARY 2016: Mackay residents will provide direct input into a regional policy process when the Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister visits Mackay. The Liberal National Government is formulating a policy that will set out a long-term vision for regional Australia and North Queensland will play a vital role in the process. Grassroots input is central to our plans and the Assistant Minister, Michael McCormack, is keen to speak with people in the Mackay region because our local industries play an important in the national economy. Mr McCormack will travel across the nation to talk to a diverse range of local community leaders, regional businesses, academic institutions and regional Australians and I will discuss times for a North Queensland visit with the Assistant Minister when parliament resumes next week. These discussions will put regional communities, including Indigenous communities, firmly in the driver’s seat by focusing on growing opportunities through nurturing innovation and investing in infrastructure. More often than not, the opportunities and solutions identified at the local level to meet local needs are the best. These meetings will be a direct channel for the Government to hear first-hand ideas that will harness the potential of regional Australia to build a more prosperous future – from the grassroots up. When we look at the big opportunities for Australia today and the decades ahead, regional Australia is at the epicentre of real growth potential. Be it producing the highest quality agricultural products in the world, capitalising on our rich natural resources or opening up more innovative small businesses, regional Australia needs to be at the forefront of our nation’s prosperity. We are already building first-class road and rail projects to underpin regional Australia’s growth through our record $50 billion investment in infrastructure and opening up northern Australia to fresh opportunities. The Australian Government is all about powering the regions and the economy.